"Welcome Home", Baccano! NaNoWriMo response
If it hasn't been figured out, yet, I've been making an effort to write a request for every independent individual before going back through the list again. (After this one, I think there's four others to write something for ATM). I said before that I would write in my personal preferred order, but at the same time, I want to thank everyone ASAP for taking the time to help me out. Even if it seems that I'm never going to get to the requests you're all most looking forward to reading, I just want to assure everyone that I will eventually respond to all of them, even if it'll take me into 2008 to finish. I think I have enough prompts to achieve the 50,000 word goal, now, but feel free to keep sending more in up until the end of the month. Let's see how far I can take this thing. :3
Anyway, I broke the established order a bit with the last request (before the Maizafic, I was taking on prompts based on order of submission), but that was because I wanted to tie these two together somewhat. This response to rachia's request is written as a loose continuation to "Closure", in the sense that Firo should just go ahead and open a psychiatric clinic alongside Isaac and Miria, what with their combined efforts of helping put everyone around them at peace with themselves. Today's projects are Ennis and Czeslaw. :D
I believe that the prompt was made expecting something lighter, but I couldn't help myself from inserting a heavy mix of plot-like substance (especially where Ennis is concerned. ...I have way too much love for Ennis. <3). XD Rest assured, after a bunch of heavy angst and drama, I'll take it to a grand finish of cavity inducing adorableness. :D (But holy heck, does Czeslaw get shafted in terms of content. ;_; I'm so sorry, Czes! ;-; I'll write more about you next time!)
Characters: Firo/Ennis, Czes (may also include Isaac/Miria, Maiza and/or Luck, if you'd like)
Genre/Rating: Any!
Prompt: Family
Title: Welcome Home
Pairings: Firo/Ennis, Isaac/Miria
Other Characters: Czeslaw
Genre: Drama/Angst/Fluff/Comedy
Rating: PG
Warnings: Spoilers up to and including episode 13 and a watered down portrayal of the violence contained within the series.
Wordcount: 5590
Total Progress: 24386/50000 = 48.77% complete
Before coming to New York, Ennis knew that there was more to live than following orders, but was never really given the opportunity to explore or investigate the way people related to one another in anything other than her own business relations and servitude. She knew that she was being stifled and that so much more waited for her beyond the chains, but freedom was a hopeless wish and death was the only method. She was well educated on the consequences of rebellion, learning that she was only the latest incarnation of Szilard's homunculi. All she had been told of her brothers was how their futile attempts at mutiny had lead to their deaths, knowing nothing of their thoughts, what they had felt, and why they had chosen to risk their lives so desperately. Ennis thought of them sadly, wishing that she could have been able to meet them, but they had all lived and died in separate times. Her brothers hadn't even been able to meet each other.
On the days she was sent to go outside to do errands instead of waiting on Szilard and his acquaintances, the occasions few and far between, Ennis' gaze was drawn to the people she passed in the street, wondering what type of lives they led, where they were going, and if they were happy. She wondered if she would ever be happy, but at the same time, did not believe she was deserving of happiness. In her early days, before she had acquired a clear moral sense of right and wrong, she had been ordered to devour the essence of one of Szilard's acquaintances after having been betrayed in some small insignificant way. She hadn't realized it until after the man's knowledge and memories became her own that killing was a sin, and his final desperate thoughts, no no please no I don't want to die please don't kill me please no, tore deep into her heart and she sealed the rest of his memories from her mind, never once allowing herself to sort through them. She had taken the man's life, but even worse, life was constantly taken from all around her and she was its key assistant, allowing it to continue, allowing it to expand. There was nothing she could do to stop it until the day she finally had enough and stepped off the path of destruction and descended into the gulley of death in a useless insurgence that wouldn't change a thing, only leading to the next hopeless created existence and the next and the next and the next. Every year she endured was a year another like her did not have to suffer.
Ennis lost track of how long she lived that way, suppressing her disgust and sealing away her disturbed feelings as the days passed, the unbearable events surrounding Szilard's quest to track down and kill every single one of his fellow immortals and unleashing his incomplete formula upon unsuspecting people he would devour at a later date. There were times that she fought back in small ways, intentionally disobeying parts of orders, especially the ones related to ending lives with her own hands, but in the end, her efforts only secured them a few minutes more of life before Szilard ate them himself. Lucky for her, his greed to gain more and more knowledge distracted him from ever actually punishing her for her insubordination in these cases.
However, all of the carefully erected barriers surrounding her cemented heart she had prepared over countless years were torn down and smashed in the course of a single day. Running into Firo Prochainezo for the first time had been the first sign, when what should have been a simple, forgettable encounter had put her in a state of ill ease. She wanted to stay, she wanted to run, but she had a job to do and left after a brief moment of hesitation. Ennis couldn't shake the feeling of dread that had overtaken her after she learned that he had been looking for her after they'd parted, leaving her off balance for the next unexpected encounter of that day, saving Isaac Dian and Miria Harvent from Dallas Genoard and his gang after she had been sent to retrieve them. Something about their excitable nature had torn through all of her reeling defenses, leaving her heart wide open to invasion. After they revealed that they were on a journey to atone for the many mistakes they'd made in the past, Ennis replied vaguely of her own sin, causing them no small amount of heartache. They tearfully told her that even the most terrible person became good when they helped someone else for the first time, insisting that whatever awful thing she had done was made up for when she saved them. After they had parted, Isaac and Miria calling out after her to meet again soon, Ennis felt something icy within her begin to melt, bringing tears to her eyes for the first time in at least twenty years. Was it true that she could be forgiven? Ennis still didn't think she was deserving, but meeting them had brought a much needed light into the darkness of her life. She wanted to see them again and bring a little bit more of their love of life into her heart, but at the same time, she hoped to never see them again, fearing that her situation would somehow destroy them.
Her fears were justified once it quickly became apparent that finding a way to spare them would be difficult. The missing elixir had fallen into their hands and she couldn't stop Szilard from discovering that eventually. After witnessing them fall in with Maiza Avaro, the man he was most interested in tracking down, she hadn't had any other choice but to make her report to Szilard. If he found out that she was withholding such valuable information, there was no possibility of her continued survival, and all she could do was hope that they managed to stay safely out of harm's way, planning to make sure of that from the sidelines while Szilard battled Maiza. She had definitely come to think of Isaac and Miria as her treasured friends, like valuable replacements for her lost brothers, but her feelings about Firo were a muddled mess unable to be deciphered. When they met again in the back alley and it was revealed that he had been trying to track her down to return a simple lost button, she felt something beyond the realm of friendship in response to his unguarded smile, and once they overheard the fighting break out, she found herself desperately attempting to stop him from throwing his life away to save his friends, her mouth loosening and spilling all sorts of information to stall him and convince him to stay out of danger, but he just continued to fight back and confused her with remarks pertaining to her beauty. Whatever the increased warmth in her face and irregular heartbeat meant didn't matter anymore once Dallas Genoard suddenly reappeared, gunning down both of them alongside several of Firo's friends. He had been on his way to help Maiza again, but had ran back in an attempt to shield her from the bullet spray, but in the end, was only able to spare her a little additional pain by sacrificing his life, taking many of the bullets meant for her. There had been no time to tell him that there wasn't any point to it and that he should have taken the opportunity to save himself, and the emotional turmoil she felt upon recovering only to see his wide and empty eyes was nothing compared to the sensation of bullets tearing through her body. In a moment of pure hate and anger that she'd never felt before, she'd gotten to her feet to pursue Dallas and his gang, fully intending to kill them for what they had done.
Just as she turned the corner, however, Ennis came face to face with Maiza, on the run from Szilard, who had just been hit by a car driven by Isaac accompanied by Miria. She'd stood there for a moment, taking in the absurdity of the situation, before Szilard pulled her reins, sending her off balance with orders to kill her new friends while he finished Maiza. Ennis took the knife and numbly ventured forward, but it was only once she saw the looks on their faces that she realized exactly why her brothers chose to die. Had they been forced into similar types of situations, where they'd suddenly come to realize that there were simply some things that they could never forgive themselves for? Killing Isaac and Miria meant trading two lives for one, and even one of them would have a greater right to live than herself, who'd finally proven herself ready to kill without hesitation after all. She apologized for frightening them and thanked them for everything, offering them the vaguest goodbyes she could muster so that they wouldn't try to stop her. She had no chance to kill Szilard on her own, but she would be more than able to stall him and provide Maiza Avaro an opportunity to either fight or flee, giving Isaac and Miria a chance to get away.
In the end, however, the mutiny of a homunculus was even more hopeless than she'd believed. Szilard didn't even fall to his knees when she stabbed him in the back, and disabled her body with a simple thought, and she fell to the ground, feeling death take hold of her limbs. He still allowed movement above her neck and her continued awareness, wanting her to see and feel the final moments of her life before he killed her. Ennis was prepared for it, and lay in silent surrender as Szilard approached, but was surprised when Maiza failed to make a move to defend himself with Szilard's back turned and instead, it was Isaac and Miria that came to her defense, throwing their flour bombs at his face and shouting at him to leave her alone. Ennis couldn't feel much but her heart glowed for them, silently thanking them again but wishing that they would just hurry up and flee. Szilard was trapped within an aged body, but he had always been a skilled fighter, having taught her everything she knew, and they wouldn't be able to stand a chance in hand-to-hand combat.
She was surprised once again, however, to hear Firo's voice again as he and all the others that should have been killed stepped into the alley. For a few long moments, she thought that what she was seeing was a last, spiteful dream brought about by randomly firing nerves as her brain slowly died, but once Szilard was lit on fire, all was illuminated. Isaac and Miria had shared the elixir with everyone present without realizing what it was. Firo was alive. Suddenly, Szilard was surrounded by an entire group of people with the power to kill him, and Ennis realized that her rebellion was not past hope and she didn't have to die in vain. She called out the method and Szilard was too occupied with the flames, and then Firo's advance, to silence her. Ennis was never so happy to see an immortal eaten.
However, Szilard's death did not reverse the effect on her body, and she was still unable to forgive herself, so when Firo stepped forward to prop her up, she asked him to end her pitiful existence as well. Telling her not to say such stupid things, he gently tapped her forehead and she was suddenly able to move again. Somewhere within the flow of events, she had forgotten that devouring Szilard's essence would have granted him all of Szilard's knowledge, so of course he would have been able to fix her body, since it had been well within the old man's ability. Despite his sudden awareness of everything she had done within Szilard's sight since the moment she had been created, though, upon finally introducing himself to her, he asked her for her name in return as he helped her stand. She gave it to him, but upon asking why he wanted her to tell him something he already knew, he just confused her again with more of his flirtatious nonsense, inviting Isaac and Miria and several of the others to whistle at them. Ennis, not knowing how to respond to being teased in that way, not to mention being oblivious as to why they were being teased in the first place, could only stand in silence, allowing Firo to take care of it on his own as he continued holding her hand.
With the excitement over, the party continued on for a few more hours before everyone began to return to their homes, and Ennis realized that she didn't have a place to stay. Firo, on the other hand, had already taken that into consideration. Before she even had a chance to ask him herself, once they found themselves alone, walking the darkened streets, Firo immediately voiced his offer. "If it's all right with you, Ennis, I have an apartment just a few blocks away. You're welcome to stay with me for a while until we can figure something out." He seemed a little shy, not quite meeting her eyes.
"I was about to ask the same," Ennis replied, surprising Firo with her immediate answer. "I can't return to that underground club the way things are, now. They wouldn't be able to kill me, but they'd certainly do their very best to make me wish they could."
"Ah, wait a second," Firo blurted out. "Of course you're not going back to that place, but more importantly, I know I offered first, but, you're perfectly all right with that? A man and woman sleeping under the same roof? I mean, I wouldn't, um, do anything, but aren't you worried about your reputation?" He paused, noting her confused expression. "...Don't you have any idea what I'm talking about?"
Ennis shook her head. "I don't understand, but are you saying that something bad might happen?" she asked.
Firo waved his hands about in an attempt to add emphasis as he insisted, "No! No, of course not! The problem is that other people might start to think that something..." He trailed off, coming to a realization. "Ennis, I can't be sure, since I only know what that old man knew, but... how much do you know about... relationships?"
"Isaac and Miria are my very first friends," Ennis replied, starting to smile at the thought of them, but quickly grew melancholic. "I don't have anyone I can call family."
It was exactly the type of response that Firo expected. Scratching the back of his head, he explained, "The thing is, relationships aren't just about friends and family. Well, they all boil down to friends and family. For the positive relationships anyway." He shook his had in an effort to get himself back on track. "What I mean to say is that, not to say it's a bad thing, but, well, if you stay at my place, there's going to be people assuming that you're, um, my... girlfriend."
"Girlfriend?" Ennis repeated. It was the first time she'd heard of such a term, and was a little baffled that such a seemingly simple concept was causing Firo such trouble. "I might be mistaken, but isn't that just a friend that happens to be female?"
"That's not it," Firo corrected her. "A girlfriend, to a guy--her boyfriend--is something less of a friend and more like family, I guess. Not that they're actually related, of course."
Confused, Ennis asked, "If they're not related, how can they be family?"
Never in a million years would Firo have expected he would be having this conversation with a woman he liked. "It's because when a boyfriend and girlfriend get together, a new family is created," he ventured, staying as deliberately vague as possible to save himself some embarrassment, wondering if he could get Miria to have a long, enlightening talk with her about it later. During the course of the party, he'd seriously come to doubt that those two were actually a priest and a nun.
The explanation brought a smile to Ennis' lips. She'd assumed that a person couldn't gain another family after losing one. "If that's the case, I don't understand the problem with becoming your girlfriend. It would be wonderful to start a family with you," she told him, but started to wonder if she'd said something wrong because Firo had frozen in mid-step and his eyes had glazed over.
It just took a moment for him to recover, but instead of returning to her side, he stepped over to the closest building, which happened to be the building he lived in, he realized vaguely, and started to smack his forehead against the wall, saying to himself, "Stop it! Stop it! She doesn't know what she's talking about, so stop it!"
"Firo!" Ennis cried out in horror, pulling him away from the wall by his arm. "What do you think you're doing?!"
"Nothing!" Firo replied, a little too loudly, brains addled and slightly concussed. He'd torn open his forehead on the bricks, but the wound was small and was already starting to knit back together. His back straightened when Ennis didn't immediately release his arm, and he quickly lead her into the building and up the stairwell in an awkward silence.
He had been thinking hard and planning to say something upon reaching the door to his apartment, but he set it aside upon hearing voices inside. Senses heightening, he pressed himself and Ennis against the wall, removing his knife from his jacket as he tested the doorknob, which was unlocked. Not having much to fear with his newly discovered immortality, Firo didn't hesitate for a second before bursting through the door, but whatever he was expecting upon entering, it certainly wasn't Isaac and Miria holding each other in liplock on his couch. Yep, definitely not a Father and Sister, that much was for sure. "How did you two get in here?" he asked, pocketing his knife. "The door was locked when I left this morning."
Isaac and Miria rose from the couch, swaying tipsily and laughing as Ennis followed Firo inside. "As I suspected!" Isaac shouted as Firo closed the door before he woke the neighbors. "Having no other place to spend the night, Ennis was forced to rely upon the kindness of others! However! It is not appropriate for an unmarried young man and woman to spend the night alone under the same roof! Thus! We decided to become your chaperones!"
"Shlapparones!" Miria slurred, then giggled upon hearing her own silly pronunciation.
"...I wonder what I just saw happening between our chaperones on my couch," Firo replied, blown out of the water, but then realized something much more important. "I only have a single twin sized bed and that couch! Where are we all going to sleep?!"
Ennis had found his bedroom. "The bed isn't that small. We can share it," she suggested, but once again, the incredulous look on Firo's face implied that she'd said something very wrong.
Firo couldn't take much more of this. "Ennis and Miria get the bed," he decided. "Isaac and I will share the couch."
"But I want to stay with Isaaaaac!" Miria complained, latching onto him.
"Why don't you share the bed with Ennis?" Isaac suggested, also holding Miria tight.
"...How, exactly, are you two being chaperones, here?" Firo asked, really, really wanting to know.
After a little additional arguing, Firo had managed to pry Isaac and Miria apart, though they called out each other's names in drunken mourning as Ennis pulled Miria into his bedroom, and with a lot of uncomfortable positioning and shifting, Firo and Isaac somehow managed to fit themselves on the couch, and even more surprisingly, actually managed to fall asleep eventually.
Firo woke up the next morning halfway off the couch with his face pressed into the rug by one of Isaac's feet. "I am so buying a house," he declared. "Today."
It hadn't been hard to find a nice place with plenty of room for guests. In the middle of the depression, people were moving to more affordable housing left and right, leaving plenty of places for a Camorrista to choose from, especially with so many of his fellow executives willing to lend him money after only a little ribbing about shaking up with Ennis. He could deal with that. He could not deal with Isaac's smelly feet.
Time passed, and Isaac and Miria eventually left for California once the local police started turning up the heat, looking for a peculiar robber duo making their rounds throughout the city. Firo was sad to see them go, especially since Ennis loved them both so much and being around them made her so happy, but at the same time, he was glad for all the additional time he was able to spend with Ennis, whether they were did household chores together or going out on the town. She still didn't have any solid concept of love, and Firo fell fast with each passing day, but he didn't mind having to wait--they had all the time in the world. Ennis never once mentioned wanting a place to herself and she was starting to show signs of progress. A happy smile here, a slight blush there, and that was enough for Firo.
But, as the months wore on, Ennis grew more and more lonely without company while Firo was busy working, and started thinking about becoming more active in his Camorra, something that Firo was hesitant to agree on. As far as he was concerned, after all her years of servitude, she deserved a long vacation, if not all out retirement, for her troubles, yet, at the same time, understood completely that the boredom involved in sitting around the house with nothing to do was driving her crazy, and no amount of good books or other forms of solitary entertainment was going to cure that. Finally, while looking particularly miserable as she picked at the dinner Firo had prepared, he asked her, "Why don't you invite Isaac and Miria over?"
Surprised, Ennis looked up and asked, "How did you know I was thinking about them?"
"I can tell because you've never been this sad when they were around," Firo answered, not having much of an appetite that evening himself. "You've been writing each other, right? You told me last month that they were still mining in California. If they're still there, you should write them a letter and invite them to come over and visit. But don't pretend to be happy. Write about how sad you are that they aren't here and they'll definitely drop everything and come back to cheer you up."
"Do you really think so?" Ennis asked. "If they're busy, I shouldn't bother them."
"Ah, listen to yourself, Ennis. Isaac and Miria would be heartbroken if they heard you say that. You're much more important to them than whatever they're doing in California," he assured her. "If you don't write them, I will," he promised.
Ennis began the letter that night, planning to finish it before going to bed, but it ended up being the hardest thing she'd ever written. It was easy to write letters assuring them that she was fine and perfectly happy and hoped they were well, but it was unnaturally difficult for her to give words to her selfishness. In the end, as morning light passed in through the windows, Ennis looked down at the mess of scattered thoughts and emotion, resolving to throw it out later and try again, but for now, she was exhausted and all she wanted and needed at that moment was a good amount of sleep. Turning off her lamp and pulling her curtains closed to block the sun, Ennis lay down in her bed to do just that.
She woke up early that evening when Firo stepped into her room with a tray of food. "Finally awake?" he teased her, extending the tray's legs so she could eat and stay in bed. "You haven't eaten anything all day, have you? Are you feeling all right?"
Rubbing at her eyes, Ennis sat up as Firo carefully lowered the tray, immediately taking in a few spoonfuls of the broth, starving. Once she felt a little better, she answered, "I'm not feeling sick or anything. I just didn't sleep at all last night."
Firo had gone to grab her desk chair so he could sit by her bedside as they spoke. "That's no good, Ennis. Being immortal doesn't mean we're invulnerable to disease. We still have to take care of ourselves. Did you stay up all night writing that letter?"
Glancing over at her desk, Ennis replied, "Yes, I did," but then looked a little closer, not seeing the paper anywhere, and turned to Firo with a look of dread. "What happened to it?"
"I mailed it earlier," Firo answered, showing off an impudent grin. "I had to rush it to the post office before they closed."
Ennis dropped her spoon in the soup. "How could--why did--it wasn't finished!" she protested.
"It was perfect," Firo disagreed. "They'll definitely be back here in just a couple weeks. You did just like I said and wrote about things that made you sad. Miria will be so upset that Isaac won't have any other choice but to bring her back to visit."
Fishing the spoon out of the bowl, Ennis sighed. "So, you read it."
Firo's grin fell from his face. "Of course I read it. I wanted to know what made you sad, too. If there was some way I would able to help out even a little, I wanted to know. I didn't realize how you felt about your brothers, since you never said anything about them before. Would it make it a little easier on you to know more about them?"
Ennis propped the spoon up against the side of the bowl, believing she wouldn't be able to eat any more for a little while. "I only know how they died," she answered. "I would like to know why they died."
"It always happened the same way," Firo replied. "The same way you almost died. They found people, important people, and sacrificed themselves to keep them safe."
"Did they get away?" she whispered. "Did their friends survive, or did they fight to the end to protect my brothers?"
Firo breathed deeply, not liking the answer. "A little of both. A coin flip. But whatever the case, they were satisfied at the end, knowing they wouldn't be used anymore, and hoping that they'd be able to meet their friends again somewhere beyond this world. They were sad at the end, but also very happy to finally stand up for themselves."
Ennis pushed away the tray, making her decision. "I want to know them. I want to know everything about them. I want them to become a part of me so I can carry them with me always; so they can know that they didn't die for nothing, because their deaths lead to my life, and my life lead to his death."
Firo rose from the chair and sat beside Ennis on the bed, curling his right arm around her shoulders, resting his hand on her cheek. "Tell me when to stop," he said, and opened the floodgates moments after. Ennis didn't say a word until well after he was through, and sobbed brokenly against his chest. They had all been so much like her, and so very strong. It hurt, but she was glad to have finally met them; glad to finally have known them. If there ever came a time that she also left the world of the living, she would now be able to recognize them.
"Thank you," she whispered into his shirt after calming down. "Thank you."
Holding her tightly, rubbing her back tenderly, Firo replied, "The two of us together make a little family, don't we? Let's talk a little more openly from now on. The next time you get sad or angry, I want you to tell me all about it, and whenever you're happy and content, I want you to show me. Tell me what you want. Show me what you feel. I want to know everything about you."
"I want to know everything about you, too," Ennis answered him. "It's your turn to tell me something that makes you sad."
"I'm really selfish," Firo said, laughing at himself. "Right now, what makes me saddest is that we've been living together all this time and I haven't been able to kiss you, yet."
"Let me cheer you up a little," Ennis told him, pulling away from his chest just enough to push their lips together for a brief moment before hiding in his shirt again, her face aflame.
"Wow," Firo murmured in amazement. "That was--wow, is it okay with you if I keep being a little selfish from time to time, Ennis?"
"We could both use a little more selfishness in our lives," Ennis replied.
~~~
When Isaac and Miria returned a few weeks later, they brought with them a little souvenir just for Ennis. Having read her letter, they'd somehow come to the conclusion that what she'd wanted most was a little brother, and delivered one straight to her. Firo was, as per the norm, confused by their crazy sense of logic, but appreciated it in this case. Having Czeslaw Meyer around the house would keep Ennis occupied even when he, Isaac, and Miria were away, and Maiza would visit more often as well. It wasn't long before Czeslaw's situation was explained to them, and both Firo and Ennis felt no small amount of sorrow to learn of his story, having the man responsible for raising the young orphan slowly lose his mind as a direct result of the stress surrounding the constant threat of Szilard finally tracking them down. His mind became so broken that he had tortured the immortal child in many horrendous ways before Czeslaw had finally been able to stop him the only way he knew how. Having the inherited the tortured memories of Fermet, Czeslaw grew to find it nearly impossible to trust another living soul, and lived his life in constant fear. Even after learning of Szilard's defeat, he was still unable to move on. It was only upon meeting Isaac and Miria on the train and meeting Maiza again that he was finally able to let the past go, and it was decided that he would come to live with Firo and Ennis, legally adopting him as Ennis' little brother.
It was hard to get used to each other at first, and Maiza had come to live with them for a short period of time along with Isaac and Miria to help ease the transition, but after more than a few false starts, Firo and Ennis were always careful to only extend their left hands in his direction, and Czeslaw was eventually able to talk more often and open himself up to them. It didn't take very long for them to get accustomed to their new living arrangements. The Prochainezo household was a collection of broken pieces that fit together to recreate the sense of family they missed and craved. As long as they remembered that, they were able to overcome any obstacles or disagreements that came to pass.
On a regular day, upon arriving home from work, Firo was struck by how familiar it felt to step inside the door, loudly announcing his presence, impatiently kicking off his shoes and pulling off his jacket so he could hurry up and join his family moments faster. He knew the story well from the happier days of his early childhood, but now fully understood the joy his father felt, being able to return to his wife and child after a long day at the office. Firo didn't even give Ennis or Czeslaw enough time to come into the entryway to greet them, running into the living room to capture Ennis in a spontaneous hug.
"Welcome home!" she gasped in-between her laughter as Firo spun her around a bit.
"Get over here, Czes," Firo demanded when he didn't step over immediately. "It's family bonding time!"
"You're such a pain," Czeslaw protested, but obediently came over, allowing Firo to pick him up so they could all huddle together at the same height, and couldn't stop himself from chuckling after a while, knowing full well that Firo wouldn't release either of them until he was completely satisfied.
"This feels more and more like a completely normal family every day," Firo announced.
"I've always felt we were a completely normal family," Ennis disagreed, "but I really wouldn't know myself."
"It's normal," Czeslaw told her. "Firo's just really slow."
"AH!" Firo cried out, pretending to be offended, but moved on immediately. "What should we do tonight? I'm too lazy to make dinner, so let's go to a restaurant!"
"I want cake," Czeslaw supplied, feeling the need to satisfy his eternal sweet tooth. "You better pick a place with good deserts."
"There's also that new film in town I want to go see. It's supposed to be very good," Ennis suggested.
"Dinner and a movie, it is, then!" Firo decided, lowering Czeslaw back down to the floor and hurrying away. "I have to get changed quickly, so get ready fast, you two!"
Watching him go, Czeslaw told Ennis, "He really reminds me of my father sometimes. He was always so happy when he got home."
"You ought to tell him that one day," Ennis suggested, smiling down at him. "It would make him really happy to know that."
She smiles like Mother did, Czeslaw thought, but kept it to himself for now.
Anyway, I broke the established order a bit with the last request (before the Maizafic, I was taking on prompts based on order of submission), but that was because I wanted to tie these two together somewhat. This response to rachia's request is written as a loose continuation to "Closure", in the sense that Firo should just go ahead and open a psychiatric clinic alongside Isaac and Miria, what with their combined efforts of helping put everyone around them at peace with themselves. Today's projects are Ennis and Czeslaw. :D
I believe that the prompt was made expecting something lighter, but I couldn't help myself from inserting a heavy mix of plot-like substance (especially where Ennis is concerned. ...I have way too much love for Ennis. <3). XD Rest assured, after a bunch of heavy angst and drama, I'll take it to a grand finish of cavity inducing adorableness. :D (But holy heck, does Czeslaw get shafted in terms of content. ;_; I'm so sorry, Czes! ;-; I'll write more about you next time!)
Characters: Firo/Ennis, Czes (may also include Isaac/Miria, Maiza and/or Luck, if you'd like)
Genre/Rating: Any!
Prompt: Family
Title: Welcome Home
Pairings: Firo/Ennis, Isaac/Miria
Other Characters: Czeslaw
Genre: Drama/Angst/Fluff/Comedy
Rating: PG
Warnings: Spoilers up to and including episode 13 and a watered down portrayal of the violence contained within the series.
Wordcount: 5590
Total Progress: 24386/50000 = 48.77% complete
Before coming to New York, Ennis knew that there was more to live than following orders, but was never really given the opportunity to explore or investigate the way people related to one another in anything other than her own business relations and servitude. She knew that she was being stifled and that so much more waited for her beyond the chains, but freedom was a hopeless wish and death was the only method. She was well educated on the consequences of rebellion, learning that she was only the latest incarnation of Szilard's homunculi. All she had been told of her brothers was how their futile attempts at mutiny had lead to their deaths, knowing nothing of their thoughts, what they had felt, and why they had chosen to risk their lives so desperately. Ennis thought of them sadly, wishing that she could have been able to meet them, but they had all lived and died in separate times. Her brothers hadn't even been able to meet each other.
On the days she was sent to go outside to do errands instead of waiting on Szilard and his acquaintances, the occasions few and far between, Ennis' gaze was drawn to the people she passed in the street, wondering what type of lives they led, where they were going, and if they were happy. She wondered if she would ever be happy, but at the same time, did not believe she was deserving of happiness. In her early days, before she had acquired a clear moral sense of right and wrong, she had been ordered to devour the essence of one of Szilard's acquaintances after having been betrayed in some small insignificant way. She hadn't realized it until after the man's knowledge and memories became her own that killing was a sin, and his final desperate thoughts, no no please no I don't want to die please don't kill me please no, tore deep into her heart and she sealed the rest of his memories from her mind, never once allowing herself to sort through them. She had taken the man's life, but even worse, life was constantly taken from all around her and she was its key assistant, allowing it to continue, allowing it to expand. There was nothing she could do to stop it until the day she finally had enough and stepped off the path of destruction and descended into the gulley of death in a useless insurgence that wouldn't change a thing, only leading to the next hopeless created existence and the next and the next and the next. Every year she endured was a year another like her did not have to suffer.
Ennis lost track of how long she lived that way, suppressing her disgust and sealing away her disturbed feelings as the days passed, the unbearable events surrounding Szilard's quest to track down and kill every single one of his fellow immortals and unleashing his incomplete formula upon unsuspecting people he would devour at a later date. There were times that she fought back in small ways, intentionally disobeying parts of orders, especially the ones related to ending lives with her own hands, but in the end, her efforts only secured them a few minutes more of life before Szilard ate them himself. Lucky for her, his greed to gain more and more knowledge distracted him from ever actually punishing her for her insubordination in these cases.
However, all of the carefully erected barriers surrounding her cemented heart she had prepared over countless years were torn down and smashed in the course of a single day. Running into Firo Prochainezo for the first time had been the first sign, when what should have been a simple, forgettable encounter had put her in a state of ill ease. She wanted to stay, she wanted to run, but she had a job to do and left after a brief moment of hesitation. Ennis couldn't shake the feeling of dread that had overtaken her after she learned that he had been looking for her after they'd parted, leaving her off balance for the next unexpected encounter of that day, saving Isaac Dian and Miria Harvent from Dallas Genoard and his gang after she had been sent to retrieve them. Something about their excitable nature had torn through all of her reeling defenses, leaving her heart wide open to invasion. After they revealed that they were on a journey to atone for the many mistakes they'd made in the past, Ennis replied vaguely of her own sin, causing them no small amount of heartache. They tearfully told her that even the most terrible person became good when they helped someone else for the first time, insisting that whatever awful thing she had done was made up for when she saved them. After they had parted, Isaac and Miria calling out after her to meet again soon, Ennis felt something icy within her begin to melt, bringing tears to her eyes for the first time in at least twenty years. Was it true that she could be forgiven? Ennis still didn't think she was deserving, but meeting them had brought a much needed light into the darkness of her life. She wanted to see them again and bring a little bit more of their love of life into her heart, but at the same time, she hoped to never see them again, fearing that her situation would somehow destroy them.
Her fears were justified once it quickly became apparent that finding a way to spare them would be difficult. The missing elixir had fallen into their hands and she couldn't stop Szilard from discovering that eventually. After witnessing them fall in with Maiza Avaro, the man he was most interested in tracking down, she hadn't had any other choice but to make her report to Szilard. If he found out that she was withholding such valuable information, there was no possibility of her continued survival, and all she could do was hope that they managed to stay safely out of harm's way, planning to make sure of that from the sidelines while Szilard battled Maiza. She had definitely come to think of Isaac and Miria as her treasured friends, like valuable replacements for her lost brothers, but her feelings about Firo were a muddled mess unable to be deciphered. When they met again in the back alley and it was revealed that he had been trying to track her down to return a simple lost button, she felt something beyond the realm of friendship in response to his unguarded smile, and once they overheard the fighting break out, she found herself desperately attempting to stop him from throwing his life away to save his friends, her mouth loosening and spilling all sorts of information to stall him and convince him to stay out of danger, but he just continued to fight back and confused her with remarks pertaining to her beauty. Whatever the increased warmth in her face and irregular heartbeat meant didn't matter anymore once Dallas Genoard suddenly reappeared, gunning down both of them alongside several of Firo's friends. He had been on his way to help Maiza again, but had ran back in an attempt to shield her from the bullet spray, but in the end, was only able to spare her a little additional pain by sacrificing his life, taking many of the bullets meant for her. There had been no time to tell him that there wasn't any point to it and that he should have taken the opportunity to save himself, and the emotional turmoil she felt upon recovering only to see his wide and empty eyes was nothing compared to the sensation of bullets tearing through her body. In a moment of pure hate and anger that she'd never felt before, she'd gotten to her feet to pursue Dallas and his gang, fully intending to kill them for what they had done.
Just as she turned the corner, however, Ennis came face to face with Maiza, on the run from Szilard, who had just been hit by a car driven by Isaac accompanied by Miria. She'd stood there for a moment, taking in the absurdity of the situation, before Szilard pulled her reins, sending her off balance with orders to kill her new friends while he finished Maiza. Ennis took the knife and numbly ventured forward, but it was only once she saw the looks on their faces that she realized exactly why her brothers chose to die. Had they been forced into similar types of situations, where they'd suddenly come to realize that there were simply some things that they could never forgive themselves for? Killing Isaac and Miria meant trading two lives for one, and even one of them would have a greater right to live than herself, who'd finally proven herself ready to kill without hesitation after all. She apologized for frightening them and thanked them for everything, offering them the vaguest goodbyes she could muster so that they wouldn't try to stop her. She had no chance to kill Szilard on her own, but she would be more than able to stall him and provide Maiza Avaro an opportunity to either fight or flee, giving Isaac and Miria a chance to get away.
In the end, however, the mutiny of a homunculus was even more hopeless than she'd believed. Szilard didn't even fall to his knees when she stabbed him in the back, and disabled her body with a simple thought, and she fell to the ground, feeling death take hold of her limbs. He still allowed movement above her neck and her continued awareness, wanting her to see and feel the final moments of her life before he killed her. Ennis was prepared for it, and lay in silent surrender as Szilard approached, but was surprised when Maiza failed to make a move to defend himself with Szilard's back turned and instead, it was Isaac and Miria that came to her defense, throwing their flour bombs at his face and shouting at him to leave her alone. Ennis couldn't feel much but her heart glowed for them, silently thanking them again but wishing that they would just hurry up and flee. Szilard was trapped within an aged body, but he had always been a skilled fighter, having taught her everything she knew, and they wouldn't be able to stand a chance in hand-to-hand combat.
She was surprised once again, however, to hear Firo's voice again as he and all the others that should have been killed stepped into the alley. For a few long moments, she thought that what she was seeing was a last, spiteful dream brought about by randomly firing nerves as her brain slowly died, but once Szilard was lit on fire, all was illuminated. Isaac and Miria had shared the elixir with everyone present without realizing what it was. Firo was alive. Suddenly, Szilard was surrounded by an entire group of people with the power to kill him, and Ennis realized that her rebellion was not past hope and she didn't have to die in vain. She called out the method and Szilard was too occupied with the flames, and then Firo's advance, to silence her. Ennis was never so happy to see an immortal eaten.
However, Szilard's death did not reverse the effect on her body, and she was still unable to forgive herself, so when Firo stepped forward to prop her up, she asked him to end her pitiful existence as well. Telling her not to say such stupid things, he gently tapped her forehead and she was suddenly able to move again. Somewhere within the flow of events, she had forgotten that devouring Szilard's essence would have granted him all of Szilard's knowledge, so of course he would have been able to fix her body, since it had been well within the old man's ability. Despite his sudden awareness of everything she had done within Szilard's sight since the moment she had been created, though, upon finally introducing himself to her, he asked her for her name in return as he helped her stand. She gave it to him, but upon asking why he wanted her to tell him something he already knew, he just confused her again with more of his flirtatious nonsense, inviting Isaac and Miria and several of the others to whistle at them. Ennis, not knowing how to respond to being teased in that way, not to mention being oblivious as to why they were being teased in the first place, could only stand in silence, allowing Firo to take care of it on his own as he continued holding her hand.
With the excitement over, the party continued on for a few more hours before everyone began to return to their homes, and Ennis realized that she didn't have a place to stay. Firo, on the other hand, had already taken that into consideration. Before she even had a chance to ask him herself, once they found themselves alone, walking the darkened streets, Firo immediately voiced his offer. "If it's all right with you, Ennis, I have an apartment just a few blocks away. You're welcome to stay with me for a while until we can figure something out." He seemed a little shy, not quite meeting her eyes.
"I was about to ask the same," Ennis replied, surprising Firo with her immediate answer. "I can't return to that underground club the way things are, now. They wouldn't be able to kill me, but they'd certainly do their very best to make me wish they could."
"Ah, wait a second," Firo blurted out. "Of course you're not going back to that place, but more importantly, I know I offered first, but, you're perfectly all right with that? A man and woman sleeping under the same roof? I mean, I wouldn't, um, do anything, but aren't you worried about your reputation?" He paused, noting her confused expression. "...Don't you have any idea what I'm talking about?"
Ennis shook her head. "I don't understand, but are you saying that something bad might happen?" she asked.
Firo waved his hands about in an attempt to add emphasis as he insisted, "No! No, of course not! The problem is that other people might start to think that something..." He trailed off, coming to a realization. "Ennis, I can't be sure, since I only know what that old man knew, but... how much do you know about... relationships?"
"Isaac and Miria are my very first friends," Ennis replied, starting to smile at the thought of them, but quickly grew melancholic. "I don't have anyone I can call family."
It was exactly the type of response that Firo expected. Scratching the back of his head, he explained, "The thing is, relationships aren't just about friends and family. Well, they all boil down to friends and family. For the positive relationships anyway." He shook his had in an effort to get himself back on track. "What I mean to say is that, not to say it's a bad thing, but, well, if you stay at my place, there's going to be people assuming that you're, um, my... girlfriend."
"Girlfriend?" Ennis repeated. It was the first time she'd heard of such a term, and was a little baffled that such a seemingly simple concept was causing Firo such trouble. "I might be mistaken, but isn't that just a friend that happens to be female?"
"That's not it," Firo corrected her. "A girlfriend, to a guy--her boyfriend--is something less of a friend and more like family, I guess. Not that they're actually related, of course."
Confused, Ennis asked, "If they're not related, how can they be family?"
Never in a million years would Firo have expected he would be having this conversation with a woman he liked. "It's because when a boyfriend and girlfriend get together, a new family is created," he ventured, staying as deliberately vague as possible to save himself some embarrassment, wondering if he could get Miria to have a long, enlightening talk with her about it later. During the course of the party, he'd seriously come to doubt that those two were actually a priest and a nun.
The explanation brought a smile to Ennis' lips. She'd assumed that a person couldn't gain another family after losing one. "If that's the case, I don't understand the problem with becoming your girlfriend. It would be wonderful to start a family with you," she told him, but started to wonder if she'd said something wrong because Firo had frozen in mid-step and his eyes had glazed over.
It just took a moment for him to recover, but instead of returning to her side, he stepped over to the closest building, which happened to be the building he lived in, he realized vaguely, and started to smack his forehead against the wall, saying to himself, "Stop it! Stop it! She doesn't know what she's talking about, so stop it!"
"Firo!" Ennis cried out in horror, pulling him away from the wall by his arm. "What do you think you're doing?!"
"Nothing!" Firo replied, a little too loudly, brains addled and slightly concussed. He'd torn open his forehead on the bricks, but the wound was small and was already starting to knit back together. His back straightened when Ennis didn't immediately release his arm, and he quickly lead her into the building and up the stairwell in an awkward silence.
He had been thinking hard and planning to say something upon reaching the door to his apartment, but he set it aside upon hearing voices inside. Senses heightening, he pressed himself and Ennis against the wall, removing his knife from his jacket as he tested the doorknob, which was unlocked. Not having much to fear with his newly discovered immortality, Firo didn't hesitate for a second before bursting through the door, but whatever he was expecting upon entering, it certainly wasn't Isaac and Miria holding each other in liplock on his couch. Yep, definitely not a Father and Sister, that much was for sure. "How did you two get in here?" he asked, pocketing his knife. "The door was locked when I left this morning."
Isaac and Miria rose from the couch, swaying tipsily and laughing as Ennis followed Firo inside. "As I suspected!" Isaac shouted as Firo closed the door before he woke the neighbors. "Having no other place to spend the night, Ennis was forced to rely upon the kindness of others! However! It is not appropriate for an unmarried young man and woman to spend the night alone under the same roof! Thus! We decided to become your chaperones!"
"Shlapparones!" Miria slurred, then giggled upon hearing her own silly pronunciation.
"...I wonder what I just saw happening between our chaperones on my couch," Firo replied, blown out of the water, but then realized something much more important. "I only have a single twin sized bed and that couch! Where are we all going to sleep?!"
Ennis had found his bedroom. "The bed isn't that small. We can share it," she suggested, but once again, the incredulous look on Firo's face implied that she'd said something very wrong.
Firo couldn't take much more of this. "Ennis and Miria get the bed," he decided. "Isaac and I will share the couch."
"But I want to stay with Isaaaaac!" Miria complained, latching onto him.
"Why don't you share the bed with Ennis?" Isaac suggested, also holding Miria tight.
"...How, exactly, are you two being chaperones, here?" Firo asked, really, really wanting to know.
After a little additional arguing, Firo had managed to pry Isaac and Miria apart, though they called out each other's names in drunken mourning as Ennis pulled Miria into his bedroom, and with a lot of uncomfortable positioning and shifting, Firo and Isaac somehow managed to fit themselves on the couch, and even more surprisingly, actually managed to fall asleep eventually.
Firo woke up the next morning halfway off the couch with his face pressed into the rug by one of Isaac's feet. "I am so buying a house," he declared. "Today."
It hadn't been hard to find a nice place with plenty of room for guests. In the middle of the depression, people were moving to more affordable housing left and right, leaving plenty of places for a Camorrista to choose from, especially with so many of his fellow executives willing to lend him money after only a little ribbing about shaking up with Ennis. He could deal with that. He could not deal with Isaac's smelly feet.
Time passed, and Isaac and Miria eventually left for California once the local police started turning up the heat, looking for a peculiar robber duo making their rounds throughout the city. Firo was sad to see them go, especially since Ennis loved them both so much and being around them made her so happy, but at the same time, he was glad for all the additional time he was able to spend with Ennis, whether they were did household chores together or going out on the town. She still didn't have any solid concept of love, and Firo fell fast with each passing day, but he didn't mind having to wait--they had all the time in the world. Ennis never once mentioned wanting a place to herself and she was starting to show signs of progress. A happy smile here, a slight blush there, and that was enough for Firo.
But, as the months wore on, Ennis grew more and more lonely without company while Firo was busy working, and started thinking about becoming more active in his Camorra, something that Firo was hesitant to agree on. As far as he was concerned, after all her years of servitude, she deserved a long vacation, if not all out retirement, for her troubles, yet, at the same time, understood completely that the boredom involved in sitting around the house with nothing to do was driving her crazy, and no amount of good books or other forms of solitary entertainment was going to cure that. Finally, while looking particularly miserable as she picked at the dinner Firo had prepared, he asked her, "Why don't you invite Isaac and Miria over?"
Surprised, Ennis looked up and asked, "How did you know I was thinking about them?"
"I can tell because you've never been this sad when they were around," Firo answered, not having much of an appetite that evening himself. "You've been writing each other, right? You told me last month that they were still mining in California. If they're still there, you should write them a letter and invite them to come over and visit. But don't pretend to be happy. Write about how sad you are that they aren't here and they'll definitely drop everything and come back to cheer you up."
"Do you really think so?" Ennis asked. "If they're busy, I shouldn't bother them."
"Ah, listen to yourself, Ennis. Isaac and Miria would be heartbroken if they heard you say that. You're much more important to them than whatever they're doing in California," he assured her. "If you don't write them, I will," he promised.
Ennis began the letter that night, planning to finish it before going to bed, but it ended up being the hardest thing she'd ever written. It was easy to write letters assuring them that she was fine and perfectly happy and hoped they were well, but it was unnaturally difficult for her to give words to her selfishness. In the end, as morning light passed in through the windows, Ennis looked down at the mess of scattered thoughts and emotion, resolving to throw it out later and try again, but for now, she was exhausted and all she wanted and needed at that moment was a good amount of sleep. Turning off her lamp and pulling her curtains closed to block the sun, Ennis lay down in her bed to do just that.
She woke up early that evening when Firo stepped into her room with a tray of food. "Finally awake?" he teased her, extending the tray's legs so she could eat and stay in bed. "You haven't eaten anything all day, have you? Are you feeling all right?"
Rubbing at her eyes, Ennis sat up as Firo carefully lowered the tray, immediately taking in a few spoonfuls of the broth, starving. Once she felt a little better, she answered, "I'm not feeling sick or anything. I just didn't sleep at all last night."
Firo had gone to grab her desk chair so he could sit by her bedside as they spoke. "That's no good, Ennis. Being immortal doesn't mean we're invulnerable to disease. We still have to take care of ourselves. Did you stay up all night writing that letter?"
Glancing over at her desk, Ennis replied, "Yes, I did," but then looked a little closer, not seeing the paper anywhere, and turned to Firo with a look of dread. "What happened to it?"
"I mailed it earlier," Firo answered, showing off an impudent grin. "I had to rush it to the post office before they closed."
Ennis dropped her spoon in the soup. "How could--why did--it wasn't finished!" she protested.
"It was perfect," Firo disagreed. "They'll definitely be back here in just a couple weeks. You did just like I said and wrote about things that made you sad. Miria will be so upset that Isaac won't have any other choice but to bring her back to visit."
Fishing the spoon out of the bowl, Ennis sighed. "So, you read it."
Firo's grin fell from his face. "Of course I read it. I wanted to know what made you sad, too. If there was some way I would able to help out even a little, I wanted to know. I didn't realize how you felt about your brothers, since you never said anything about them before. Would it make it a little easier on you to know more about them?"
Ennis propped the spoon up against the side of the bowl, believing she wouldn't be able to eat any more for a little while. "I only know how they died," she answered. "I would like to know why they died."
"It always happened the same way," Firo replied. "The same way you almost died. They found people, important people, and sacrificed themselves to keep them safe."
"Did they get away?" she whispered. "Did their friends survive, or did they fight to the end to protect my brothers?"
Firo breathed deeply, not liking the answer. "A little of both. A coin flip. But whatever the case, they were satisfied at the end, knowing they wouldn't be used anymore, and hoping that they'd be able to meet their friends again somewhere beyond this world. They were sad at the end, but also very happy to finally stand up for themselves."
Ennis pushed away the tray, making her decision. "I want to know them. I want to know everything about them. I want them to become a part of me so I can carry them with me always; so they can know that they didn't die for nothing, because their deaths lead to my life, and my life lead to his death."
Firo rose from the chair and sat beside Ennis on the bed, curling his right arm around her shoulders, resting his hand on her cheek. "Tell me when to stop," he said, and opened the floodgates moments after. Ennis didn't say a word until well after he was through, and sobbed brokenly against his chest. They had all been so much like her, and so very strong. It hurt, but she was glad to have finally met them; glad to finally have known them. If there ever came a time that she also left the world of the living, she would now be able to recognize them.
"Thank you," she whispered into his shirt after calming down. "Thank you."
Holding her tightly, rubbing her back tenderly, Firo replied, "The two of us together make a little family, don't we? Let's talk a little more openly from now on. The next time you get sad or angry, I want you to tell me all about it, and whenever you're happy and content, I want you to show me. Tell me what you want. Show me what you feel. I want to know everything about you."
"I want to know everything about you, too," Ennis answered him. "It's your turn to tell me something that makes you sad."
"I'm really selfish," Firo said, laughing at himself. "Right now, what makes me saddest is that we've been living together all this time and I haven't been able to kiss you, yet."
"Let me cheer you up a little," Ennis told him, pulling away from his chest just enough to push their lips together for a brief moment before hiding in his shirt again, her face aflame.
"Wow," Firo murmured in amazement. "That was--wow, is it okay with you if I keep being a little selfish from time to time, Ennis?"
"We could both use a little more selfishness in our lives," Ennis replied.
~~~
When Isaac and Miria returned a few weeks later, they brought with them a little souvenir just for Ennis. Having read her letter, they'd somehow come to the conclusion that what she'd wanted most was a little brother, and delivered one straight to her. Firo was, as per the norm, confused by their crazy sense of logic, but appreciated it in this case. Having Czeslaw Meyer around the house would keep Ennis occupied even when he, Isaac, and Miria were away, and Maiza would visit more often as well. It wasn't long before Czeslaw's situation was explained to them, and both Firo and Ennis felt no small amount of sorrow to learn of his story, having the man responsible for raising the young orphan slowly lose his mind as a direct result of the stress surrounding the constant threat of Szilard finally tracking them down. His mind became so broken that he had tortured the immortal child in many horrendous ways before Czeslaw had finally been able to stop him the only way he knew how. Having the inherited the tortured memories of Fermet, Czeslaw grew to find it nearly impossible to trust another living soul, and lived his life in constant fear. Even after learning of Szilard's defeat, he was still unable to move on. It was only upon meeting Isaac and Miria on the train and meeting Maiza again that he was finally able to let the past go, and it was decided that he would come to live with Firo and Ennis, legally adopting him as Ennis' little brother.
It was hard to get used to each other at first, and Maiza had come to live with them for a short period of time along with Isaac and Miria to help ease the transition, but after more than a few false starts, Firo and Ennis were always careful to only extend their left hands in his direction, and Czeslaw was eventually able to talk more often and open himself up to them. It didn't take very long for them to get accustomed to their new living arrangements. The Prochainezo household was a collection of broken pieces that fit together to recreate the sense of family they missed and craved. As long as they remembered that, they were able to overcome any obstacles or disagreements that came to pass.
On a regular day, upon arriving home from work, Firo was struck by how familiar it felt to step inside the door, loudly announcing his presence, impatiently kicking off his shoes and pulling off his jacket so he could hurry up and join his family moments faster. He knew the story well from the happier days of his early childhood, but now fully understood the joy his father felt, being able to return to his wife and child after a long day at the office. Firo didn't even give Ennis or Czeslaw enough time to come into the entryway to greet them, running into the living room to capture Ennis in a spontaneous hug.
"Welcome home!" she gasped in-between her laughter as Firo spun her around a bit.
"Get over here, Czes," Firo demanded when he didn't step over immediately. "It's family bonding time!"
"You're such a pain," Czeslaw protested, but obediently came over, allowing Firo to pick him up so they could all huddle together at the same height, and couldn't stop himself from chuckling after a while, knowing full well that Firo wouldn't release either of them until he was completely satisfied.
"This feels more and more like a completely normal family every day," Firo announced.
"I've always felt we were a completely normal family," Ennis disagreed, "but I really wouldn't know myself."
"It's normal," Czeslaw told her. "Firo's just really slow."
"AH!" Firo cried out, pretending to be offended, but moved on immediately. "What should we do tonight? I'm too lazy to make dinner, so let's go to a restaurant!"
"I want cake," Czeslaw supplied, feeling the need to satisfy his eternal sweet tooth. "You better pick a place with good deserts."
"There's also that new film in town I want to go see. It's supposed to be very good," Ennis suggested.
"Dinner and a movie, it is, then!" Firo decided, lowering Czeslaw back down to the floor and hurrying away. "I have to get changed quickly, so get ready fast, you two!"
Watching him go, Czeslaw told Ennis, "He really reminds me of my father sometimes. He was always so happy when he got home."
"You ought to tell him that one day," Ennis suggested, smiling down at him. "It would make him really happy to know that."
She smiles like Mother did, Czeslaw thought, but kept it to himself for now.