The Ink Family Legacy: Generation 5, Chapter 3 Part 3
I really like this chapter title page. :)
I have nothing else of value to say here, ha ha~ After all, you already read Parts One and Two, right?
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"So that's the whole story, huh?" Kira said softly.
It had taken the better part of two hours, but Abel managed to explain everything he needed to Kira - Anne, his father, the Bridgeport coven, everything. He figured the more he said now, the better it would be later...if she was still interested in a 'later' with him.
"Yep, all the gory details." Abel chuckled self consciously.
Kira remained silent, processing the information. Abel wondered what she thought of him after all this, but took it as a good sign that she was still sitting so close by.
More silence. It was good that Abel picked a shady spot for them to sit in.
Finally Kira stood, and Abel followed suit.
"Well, I guess that explains a lot about you." she said, smiling slightly and tapping the side of his face where his scar should have been. "No wonder you were so into your grandfather's movie."
She wasn't running away. She didn't even seem that surprised! Abel was so relieved that all he could do was laugh.
"God it's good to finally tell someone all that!" he said. "That brings the total of 'humans in the know' to four - you, Rhyme, Isis, and Tyler. Hell, even Levi doesn't know everything."
Kira raised an eyebrow. "You haven't even told your own cousin?"
"It's better the less people know about it." Abel admitted. "But for some reason I felt like it was okay to tell you, Kira. I wonder why that is...?"
"Although I do wonder..." Abel mused, turning to her. "...why you believe in vampires in the first place. Read one too many teen romance novels and started dreaming?"
"Please. You're no Edward Cullen."
"Thank god for that!"
"But to answer your question, the slums of Bridgeport are a shithole to live in." Kira explained. "It got especially bad with disappearances about seventeen years ago, when I was still a baby."
Abel counted back the years - that wasn't long after Jin left Bridgeport. The vampires that moved in must have been pretty reckless.
"Anyway, everyone half believed that if you went out at night, a vampire would get you." she chuckled. "Not that anyone really knew what they looked like. I suppose your fangs should have given you away to me sooner."
Abel grinned. "It's amazing what you can explain away as a rare genetic disease."
"I'm kinda curious though - if you've got those teeth, why do you and your siblings drink those plasma packs? They've got to be a poor substitute."
He shrugged. "I've never bitten a person, so I wouldn't know if that's any better. It seems kinda messy, don't you think?"
"So you've never been tempted to bite anyone?" she pressed.
"You really wanna know the answer to that one?"
Kira flushed and looked away, not oblivious to the way his eyes briefly flickered to her neck. "Never mind then, you pervert."
"Such accusations! You wound my delicate heart."
"Do I get to ask a question now?" Abel inquired, his grin tinged with nerves.
Kira nodded, wondering what he could possibly be nervous about.
"You don't find me...scary? Bizarre?" he asked hesitantly. "I mean, knowing about vampires in general has to be different than finding yourself face to face with one."
"Your personality is bizarre." she quipped. "But scary? Not really. Hell, we've known each other what, almost two years now? If you wanted to make dinner out of me, you probably would have already."
Abel looked away, smiling. She was so calm about this! He definitely hadn't expected this. Isis, sure - she was supernatural herself. Tyler, well, he was a sci fi nerd - he thought this was cool.
But normal people should be a little more wary, shouldn't they? He remembered his mother joking that she ran away screaming when she found out Dad was a vampire. The look on Jin's face right after told Abel that he didn't find the story as humorous as Clover did, that he was genuinely concerned that that was it for their relationship.
"You're weird, Kira."
"Isn't that a bit of the pot calling the kettle black?"
Abel started to realize why he felt like he wanted to tell Kira everything. He wanted her to be okay with this. He wanted her to be okay with him. He wanted her to like him...and he wanted her to know that he liked her.
"I think I'm falling in love with you."
The words were out of his mouth before he could filter them - like Kira, he wasn't very good at subtlety. He always said what he honestly felt.
Kira's response wasn't what he wanted. Her face fell as if she were devastated by his words.
"Why would you say that...?" she whispered.
"Because that's how I really feel." he replied.
"No." she said, her voice louder but more unsteady. "Why would you say that out loud? Why would you tell me?"
"I...I wanted you to know." Abel responded, baffled.
"You know I'm dating Reese."
"I know that. But you don't love him."
It unnerved her how sure he was of that last statement. Her only response was to lash out.
"Don't assume things about me!" she snapped. "You don't know how I feel."
"You don't love Reese." Abel repeated. "And you know what? I think you're scared that you're starting to feel something for me."
"Don't be so conceited!!"
His gaze grew more intense than she had ever seen it. "You're saying that you have no feelings for me at all, then?"
"I'm saying you can't assume what I feel!" she hedged.
He assessed her expression. "You're lying."
"How can you -?!"
Show, don't tell. Abel wanted to make sure that Kira couldn't ignore his feelings, not anymore.
There was no trace of hesitation when it came to reciprocating the kiss. She responded more strongly than he expected, her hands clutching at the fabric of his shirt.
It wasn't until Abel muttered Kira's name against her lips that she remembered why she shouldn't be doing this in the first place. She released him quickly, blushing at the boldness of her actions.
"I knew you were lying." Abel said, still serious. "You wanna tell me that was nothing?"
"I...that's..."
All the alarms were going off in her head. You'll hurt him! Reese will find out! And then Reese will tell him your secret and Abel will regret having ever touched you. He won't be able to stand to even look at you.
And then you'll really be alone.
Kira solved her problem like she solved all her problems - she ran away.
"Kira! Kira, wait!!"
"Kira!!"
"I..."
"ARGH!"
"Stupid, stupid, stupid!! Why the hell did I freak her out like that?! I know that I have to be careful around her, so why did I - dammit!!"
"Why do I suck so much at this romance thing?" he sighed.
"She must be disgusted with me."
"He must be disgusted with me."
"Why couldn't you just leave things the way things were, Abel? If you didn't tell me, we could have gone on ignoring our feelings. Neither of us would have to give anything up." she hissed, more mad at herself than him. "And now I've gone and hurt him, when that's the one goal I set for myself. I'm an idiot."
"There you are Abel!" Noah said as Abel walked through the door a few hours later. "Where have you been all day? We..."
Noah trailed off, getting a better look at Abel's expression. "What's wrong with you?"
"Nothing!" Abel replied with a smile. "Why would you think anything's wrong?"
Noah remained quiet, knowing something was off. "You're lying to me. Why would you do that when you know I can sense lies?"
Abel moved on as if he hadn't heard him. "Hey, are those the food plans for the wedding? Cool! I have a couple of suggestions..."
With that he brushed past his brother and sat down with the bewildered Rhyme and Levi.
"What happened to Abel?" Seth asked worriedly.
Noah frowned, shrugging. "Hell if I know. He's not acting like himself..."
Even Amélie was able to pick up on the weird atmosphere (though it helped that she was a fairly perceptive child).
"Row? Is Abel upset about something?"
"I don't know." Sparrow answered honestly. "I don't think any of us knows what an upset Abel looks like."
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The week ended in a flash without Abel saying what was wrong. His mood seemed to be improving, but his siblings were suspicious that he was just getting better at hiding his discomfort. And, considering that Kira wasn't visiting as much as she used to, they had a faint idea why.
But angst or not, the people of Shang Simla needed a concert!
So a concert they had!
Rocking out at the Temple of Heaven, Nicotine Dreams put on a spectacular show.
Abel wasn't particularly smiley, focusing unusually hard on playing the songs correctly. The band was so far up that the fans didn't notice, though.
And, with beautiful scenery like that, it was a testimony to the music that it held the crowd's attention!
Naturally, Blue Amnesia came next! But unlike Nicotine Dreams, their music was slightly shifted - Reese's guitar riffs were a little harsher, and Kira's voice was more morose.
For the most part they played just fine, charming the crowd as much as the quads had.
There was a moment, however, when Kira was supposed to be singing but she was completely silent. Reese covered up the missed beat with some complicated guitar work, and by the next stanza she was back in the swing of things.
Blue Amnesia managed to finish in one piece, but Abel wasn't oblivious to the mistake. It was enough to shift his mood from upset to worried - what was going on with those two?
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The following day, however, managed to pull a genuine smile out of Abel. How could it not? It was finally time for Rhyme and Levi's wedding.
"I can hardly believe we're standing here." Levi chuckled. "Who could've imagined this when we first met, huh?"
Rhyme smiled. "When we first met, you were a little kid chewing on blocks. So I'd say our relationship has come a long way since then."
Levi laughed, "That's my Rhyme!"
"But to be serious for a minute, I love you Rhyme. I'm looking forward to being with you and supporting you for the rest of our lives - building our family together so that you'll never feel lonely again." Levi said.
One exchange of rings later...
...and they were Mr. and Mrs. Levi Ink.
The small but enthusiastic audience cheered them on!
No one was happier than the quads to see Rhyme finally getting the happiness she deserved. They had been so worried that she sacrificed too much raising them, so seeing her happily married was amazing.
"At least we won't have to worry about changing your name." Levi chuckled.
Rhyme rolled her eyes. "You make it sound so weird when you say it like that."
"What can I say, saying the inappropriate is part of my character." he said with a wide grin.
Since the wedding was just the seven of them, they sat down to a quiet meal right there in the orchard. The quads even ate the regular food to humor Rhyme, wishing that it didn't taste like sand to them.
"So while we're all here..." Levi said when everyone was almost done eating. "...Rhyme and I wanted to talk to you guys about something."
"Let me explain Lee." Rhyme cut in.
"Well, here's what we were thinking. Since we were running around with the concert and the set up for the wedding, we never really got to appreciate the scenery of China. Levi and I think that it's really lovely here, and we really wanted to see the sights..."
She paused for a second, then continued, "Basically, we were thinking of staying behind in China for a little while for our honeymoon. Is that okay with you guys?"
"Why wouldn't it be okay? That sounds like a great idea!" Abel encouraged.
"You guys will be okay without me?" Rhyme said cautiously.
"Rhyme, we're not ten anymore." Noah replied.
"I think we can figure things out amongst ourselves." Sparrow chuckled. "You don't have to worry so much about us!"
"We want you to enjoy yourselves." Seth added. "Because honestly, when was the last time the two of you got more than five hours to yourselves with us around? This will be good for you."
"Yeah, we're not babies Rhyme. Go have fun!" piped in Amélie.
"Well if Amy says so, I guess it's okay!" Rhyme laughed.
She knew that this was a baby step towards letting the kids live on their own, without her. She was both incredibly proud and a little lonely that they were so independent now. A part of her would always see them as they were eight years ago, scared little kids on the porch in their pajamas, when she was all they had.
Amy got to go play with the butterflies while the adults worked out the logistics of everything.
It was decided that Rhyme and Levi would rent a small apartment here while the rest went home on the weekend for the concert in Riverview. The newlyweds promised to watch every second of the concert on TV, but the quads thought it was more than enough that they had been to every other concert!
It would be up to Abel to get Amélie settled and into school, but he was sure he could handle it. They would manage. After all, they still had Uncle Ethan and Aunt Paige around to help!
"Enjoying the view or your ring?" Levi said as he approached her. Now that the wedding was over, everyone could relax a bit.
"Just marveling over the fact that I'm really married, actually." she replied.
"I got to marry the man I love. I managed to raise my siblings into independent adults. I finally did everything Dad wanted and found Amy. It's almost like a dream."
"Well, you deserve it." he said softly. "You've worked hard enough for it."
"I just can't believe I got to a place where the kids are okay without me." she said. "It's almost a little lonely."
"Oh? Is being alone with me such a bad thing?" Levi said, grinning deviously.
"Lee, if you tickle me, I swear to god..."
"Aw Rhy, you know that sounds like an invitation to me!"
"H-hey! L-Levi - ha ha! - st-stop it!"
"You're an idiot." she laughed, still gasping.
"Ah, but I'm your idiot. And we still have the rest of the day to ourselves..."
Rhyme smiled. "You know, for once, I think our minds are in the same place."
Rhyme didn't know if she was a particularly hard worker or if what she did for her family was normal. It was hard to say whether her happiness was something she earned through hard work or if karma was finally swinging back in her direction.
All she knew was that her family seemed like it would be okay. That was all she needed to be happy.
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With the kids staying way out of Rhyme and Levi's way, each of them had to find something to do. And seeing as it just wasn't China without fireworks, Abel decided to go out and buy some! Too bad that the others were too busy with their packing to join him.
The fireworks did not disappoint, exploding in the sky with gusto.
"Awesome!" Abel cheered. The daredevil that he was, this was the most exciting part of the trip!
He was so busy lighting another one that he didn't hear Kira quietly approach him. She was carefully practicing what she was going to say, but just seeing him scrambled her well prepared speech.
Abel noticed her just as the next firework shot into the air.
"Hey Kira!" he shouted over the noise. The rocket burst into red and gold light in the sky, drowning out most of his words.
Kira smiled weakly - he did say that he couldn't stay mad at her long, didn't he?
"You know, it's weird." Abel said absently once the noise died down. "I've always liked the colors red and gold. It's always symbolized bravery and courage to me. So whenever I saw them, I'd always think 'Those are my favorite colors!'"
"But lately, I'd think 'That's the color of Kira's hair!'. Isn't it weird how things shift when we meet people?" he said with a laugh.
He knew that this might make her mad again, make her run off back to Reese. But she needed to know that he wasn't going to hide his feelings no matter what.
As it turns out, he needn't have worried.
Kira sighed, touching the side of his face. She should've given her speech before she kissed him - now he had this stupid, contagious grin on his face.
"Listen Abel. I'm messed up. Even without Reese, I'm pathetic and selfish. Dirty and broken. I'm not the kind of girl anyone should be proud of. But that's not someone I want to be...so I left Reese."
"I'm not perfect. Hell, I'm not even good." Kira continued. "But if you're willing to look past all that and be with someone like me..."
Abel leaned forward and kissed her.
"That's the sort of girl I fell in love with, so that suits me just fine." he said with a smile.
Kira smiled hesitantly back. She really liked him, feeling dangerously on the edge of falling hopelessly in love with him. She wanted to believe that he could love her no matter what. She wanted to trust him.
When the time comes for me to tell you everything, please don't hate me.
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It's just not an Ink chapter without an ominous ending. 8D
But this chapter things went pretty well, huh? We got Amélie back, the wedding was had, six of the seven concerts are done, and Abel got the girl! Fancy that. Next chapter's lining up to be eventful too, with our Riverview concert and the quads settling into their adult lives.
Speaking of Amélie, lets' get her trait sheet here:
Yes, the poor girl's traits are a bit of a mess. I'm sure you can imagine why.
And why did she get a panda?
Because my legacy sims always have their childhood bears in their inventory, ha ha! Looking at it now, I should have matched hers to the quads' pattern, but it kind of establishes her as separate.
Anyway, as we had last chapter, we have autographs to hand out! Thank you to the excellent Sunset Valley VIPs!
Autographs!
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Bianca
Adria/Adrienne
Kate
Bia
Sofiel
Zahara
That's everyone! See you for the final concert in Riverview~!
Please comment!