The Ink Family Legacy: Generation 4 Chapter 12 Part 2
Here's Part Two! And yes, we're back in Bridgeport for a bit! I was also reminded why I no longer play there. |D
Make sure you read Part One first!
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By now, Tyler was running out of good excuses to give to his roommate. He couldn't exactly say that he was visiting a vampire with split personalities every night, but Artemis was getting suspicious of this so called 'night class'.
"Hey Junco!" he called cheerfully. "How are you doing tonight?"
Junco smiled weakly. "Sparrow rejected me. Again."
Tyler sighed - he couldn't have any idea of what she was going through, but he hated to see her so torn up over it. If this were a comic, surely a super-villain would have come along by now to force the two Sparrows to work together! But it seems that real life wouldn't be so easy.
He could always cheer her up though.
"Hey, I brought something really cool for you today! Drag that old bench over and I'll set it up." he enthused.
"A telescope?" Junco said curiously, poking the rusting metal.
"Yep! It belonged to my great-great-grandpa, who was a cartographer or something. Now I've got it and it makes for some awesome stargazing!"
"Are we looking for anything in particular?" she asked.
"Aliens, of course!" he replied, humming a pop song. "I heard that someone got abducted a couple years ago in Strangetown! Wouldn't it be cool if we met someone extraterrestrial?"
"After all, searching for the extraordinary makes life ten times more exciting!"
Junco's shoulders drooped a bit. "Sometimes I wonder." she whispered.
"Huh?"
"I don't want to be extraordinary. Not a vampire, not a split personality...not some kind of monster that hates the idea of herself so much that she induces amnesia. It would be better if there was nothing special about me."
"Don't say that, Junco!" Tyler said, holding her arms. "There's nothing wrong with who you are. We're always afraid of what we don't know, and right now you're scared of being a vampire. Once Sparrow accepts that, you'll realize that there's nothing to be scared about."
"What if there is?" she hiccuped. "What if I start wanting blood so bad that I hurt people? If I hurt you, Tyler, I wouldn't be able to stand it."
Tyler smiled. "I know you, Jun. You wouldn't hurt a fly. In fact, you'd probably grow plasma fruit so you'd never have to bite anyone!"
"And that's what's special about you, Junco. Not that you're a vampire, but that you're a good person. You worry about the safety of others when you're going through something so crazy. The fact that your vampire side is just as gentle as your human side is amazing." Tyler said gently.
"You...you really think that?"
"I do. And now," Tyler added, "I think we should have a seat on that bench and keep an eye out for UFOs. What do you think?"
So they did. No UFOs, naturally, but Junco didn't care as long as Tyler was there. She wished that Sparrow would hurry up and accept her so that they could visit Tyler during the day like a normal girl.
"I'm sorry." she said.
"For what?"
"Sparrow isn't very friendly with you, is she?"
"Ah, it's no big deal! Plus, I think I'm almost friends with you during the day. We keep running into each other!" he laughed.
Junco wondered how Tyler felt when he saw her during the day when she had no memory of the night. Even though he laughed, she was sure it was hard for him to be treated like a stranger when they were such good friends at night.
Tyler, however, was more concerned at being as smooth as possible.
"Hey, uh, you cold? Because I'm totally warm over this way."
Okay, so he was no smooth criminal. Junco didn't seem to mind too much, though.
"That would be nice." she replied with a smile.
Tyler was trying to keep his cool and not start babbling like an idiot, but luckily Junco started singing quietly to herself to fill the silence. It was incredibly soothing, but Tyler knew she was a singer so he wasn't surprised.
Then, her singing stopped for a bit. "Thanks for always coming to meet me, Ty. I can't interact with my brothers or Rhyme, but I'm never lonely with you around."
Tyler, unable to contain himself anymore, blurted out, "Junco I like you! O-oh god, that was so uncool, why did I say it like that?"
Junco, for her response, nudged her head up and kissed him.
And for a guy that considered himself lucky enough to even cuddle with a girl like Junco, he reacted pretty well to the kiss.
"I like you too, Tyler."
"Awesome! Though this does make me ten times more likely to be taken by the super villain, though."
Junco laughed and threw both arms around him, hugging him close. She hoped she could be with him in the day as well very soon.
--- --- --- --- ---
Average weeknight evening? Check. The quads played crazy video games while Rhyme did something quiet nearby.
"That's my phone!" Abel said. "Pause!"
"Don't need to." Seth said with a smirk, blasting Abel's character offstage.
"Weak, bro."
He checked the caller ID and answered, "Hey Big Steve? What's cracka-lackin'?"
...
"Hey, at least you know you didn't get the wrong number." he pouted.
"First thing tomorrow morning? Are we in trouble?"
...
"Blue Amnesia will be there too? We must be in trouble."
"Right, right, we'll be there."
So what news did Steven have for his six teen stars?
"Congrats guys - we've been booked for a double concert in Bridgeport!"
Nicotine Dreams had one reaction...
...and Blue Amnesia another.
"About time." Reese muttered.
Kira didn't looked too pleased with the prospect of going to Bridgeport, but she remained silent.
But like it or not, they were off!
--- --- --- --- ---
Eclipse Records had a good deal of influence in Bridgeport, as that's where the parent company was based. Thus ND, BA, and all their entourage were given high rise suites to enjoy until the concert in three days' time.
"Holy crap, there's a balcony with a hot tub!!"
Well, the quads seemed to approve of the arrangement!
"This place is pretty snazzy, huh Levi?" Rhyme commented.
Yes, even Levi got to tag along for this trip! The quads didn't seem to think too much of him being invited along, but Rhyme was trying to prepare herself for telling them about the relationship while they were here.
"Hey guys, I'm going to check out the sleeping arrangements. You guys go hit up the hot tub and I'll join you in a sec!"
Levi and Rhyme decided to go with him, since with six people it might be a little difficult to get everyone situated.
"Well Abel," Rhyme said, "it looks like there are two rooms - a smaller one with two beds and a bigger one with four. Only one bathroom upstairs, so we'll all have to share..."
"That's fine! So we'll put you and Row in one room and the rest in the other?" Abel replied.
Levi, however, cut in to say, "Or Rhyme and I can share a room."
Rhyme glared at him - Abel was standing right there!
AWKWARD.
"Sooooo...I'll just be in the hot tub. Yeah. You guys work out whatever you're going to...uh...bye." Abel managed before he scurried downstairs.
Awkwardness aside, the quads did get to enjoy their hot tub time...
...as well as a stunning view from the balcony at night.
"So this is the city Mom grew up in." Seth said quietly as they stared out over the city.
"Where she met Dad." Sparrow added.
"Rhyme grew up here too." Noah noted.
"And Mom spent six months of her pregnancy with us here!" Abel finished.
"Let's be sure to rock Bridgeport guys!"
--- --- --- --- ---
Rhyme got to enjoy Bridgeport too.
Levi, as usual, was spoiling her by treating her to dinner. Normally she would have protested, but she was a bit curious as to the food out here, so she went along with it.
"You get a pass this time, Lee." Rhyme chuckled.
"You should probably get used to me doing this." Levi laughed. "Restaurants are usually the only places open when you get off of work!"
"Ha! Maybe next time we'll go somewhere on my day off, huh? Though you do work Thursdays..."
Levi was unusually pensive throughout the whole dinner, not eating much and picking at his dinner. He did seem to stare at Rhyme an awful lot, though.
"Something wrong? You're usually talking my ear off by now!" Rhyme asked.
"Nothing's wrong, per se...I was thinking about the music. Wanna dance?"
"Sure! That's sounding pretty good right now."
The music had the oddest tempo, so they mostly held hands and laughed as they weaved their way on the dance floor. There might as well have been no one else there, focused as they were on each other.
"I think that a rooftop club/restaurant would be fun in Riverview, don't you?" Rhyme mused. "We should tell Ryder about this place. They did talk about opening a second bar..."
"Hmm?"
"Levi, you've been distracted the whole time! Seriously, what's up?"
"I've...been thinking."
"Mostly thinking about how you're this amazing girl who's way too good for me, but somehow decided that she liked me."
Rhyme smiled. "Love you, not just like. And I'm not really all that amazing."
"Ah, well you know how love makes everything seem rosy and great. That's how you manage to put up with me, right?" he chuckled.
"And well, I figured that I might as well pluck up a little bit of courage while you still think my faults are lovable."
When Levi dropped to one knee, Rhyme registered what was going on, but she couldn't quite believe it. He wasn't really going to-!
"Rhyme, I've never been good with words, so I can't make it as poetic and musical as I'd like. But I can say that you're the most beautiful woman I've ever met, and you're just a wonderful person all around. You take care of everyone else before you take care of yourself."
"So, I'd like to be the one who gets to take care of you."
"I'm lucky to have you as a friend and even luckier to have you as a girlfriend. So, to push my luck one more time..."
"Will you be my wife?"
That's when things finally started moving in Rhyme's brain again. Levi had asked her to marry him. Marriage! Truth be told, she hadn't thought about it much. Who would want to marry a girl who had four teenaged siblings to raise? Who would want a girl so insecure about losing her family that she has to peek into all the bedrooms two to three times a night to make sure everyone was there? Who would marry her, for whom her siblings took top priority over everything else?
Well, the man kneeling in front of her knew all of that. He still chose her.
"Yes." she replied softly.
"Oh thank god." Levi laughed, letting out the breath he had been holding. "You just had to let me have that mini heart attack, didn't you?"
"I was too shocked to speak!"
"I was almost too nervous to speak." Levi replied, sliding the ring carefully onto her finger. "I really had to fight to keep the French out of my proposal. If I would've had to translate I might have melted in anxiety!"
"Your proposal was perfect, Lee." she replied with a smile. "How long have you been planning this?"
"It's been a work in progress for a while." he laughed.
"Now how about a hug for your future husband?" he said cheekily.
"I can barely believe it when you say it like that! I never really thought about being anyone's wife."
"Especially my wife, right? No one will believe it!"
Rhyme threw her arms around Levi and squeezed him tight. It felt like a dream, being this happy. For all her worries about her family, she was now getting the chance to build her own.
And this family, hopefully, would last as long as she lived.
--- --- --- --- ---
It was early that morning that Seth and Sparrow found themselves on the balcony, watching the moon sink below the skyline. Rhyme and Levi were still out while Abel and Noah were crashed on the couch, so it was quiet. Not a problem for the loner and the shy one.
"Row?"
"Words, Seth."
"Sparrow," he corrected, "what do you think about dating someone older than you?"
For some reason, to Sparrow, a fleeting image of the boy who was always outside the comic store flashed across her mind. She blinked - why would that happen? She had talked to him a few times and knew his name was Tyler, but other than that...
Then she remembered that Seth was waiting for a response. "Why do you ask?"
"There's a girl." he said simply. "She's four years older and is at such a different place in her life. I want to be with her, but I think that she still sees me as too much of a kid."
"That's tough."
"Mmm."
The sun was coming up, so they had to go inside, but Seth asked her another question first. "Am I immature, Row? I wonder if I'll always be a child to her."
"No way are you immature Seth! You just need to graduate high school or something, and then she'll see that you're an adult."
"You really think that will be enough?" Seth asked.
He was worried that his and Stella's problems were more complicated than that, but he hoped that once she saw him as an adult she would trust him. Let him work with her on any problems that came up. Seth wished he could just grow up faster.
"It should definitely be enough. Plus it's you Seth - you, Abe, and Noe have always had your pick of the girls! You'll be fine." she reassured.
Seth stepped forward to hug her. "Thanks little sis."
"No problem big bro."
Just then the doorbell rang, letting them know that Rhyme and Levi were back. The two of them dashed inside, shook the other two awake, and let them in.
"Well guys, there's a reason we're all gathered here." Rhyme started once they got inside.
The quads stared at her curiously, the older boys still bleary eyed from sleep. Rhyme just hoped this announcement wouldn't be too much for them, especially since she never got around to telling them that she was dating...
"The truth is, I've been dating Levi for a while now. And I know it's really soon, but I've known Levi as long as I can remember, and we love each other. So we're getting married."
The following silence was only five seconds, but it was the longest five seconds of Rhyme's life. And then...
"Congrats!!"
Their cheer in unison startled Rhyme. Wait...congrats?!
"Good job playing it cool, Levi."
"Wait...you all knew?! When did you-"
"I'll take responsibility for that one." Levi laughed. "Since I can't ask either of your fathers for your hand in marriage, a couple of weeks ago I consulted this lot and explained everything. I got their approval after the longest interrogation session that is legally possible."
"And the four of you are okay with this? You don't think it's disgusting or weird at all?" she asked.
"It did seem a little weird at first." Sparrow admitted.
"But then we figured you've done so much for us that we owed you whatever made you happy." Noah added on.
"So if you loved him enough to say yes, we love you enough to agree with your decision." Seth followed up.
Rhyme stepped forward and pulled all four of them as close in as she could. "Thank you guys. You have no idea how much this means to me." she whispered.
"And even though I'm getting married, you guys know I'll always love you, right?"
"Of course!"
"We know."
"Never doubted it."
"After all..."
We're family.
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Rhyme/Levi is totally my OTP. Of course, Rhyme had to be a double orphan to get her bit of happy, and she isn't even heiress!
Part Three is all that stands between you and that shiny new heir poll...