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Tweak says, "PLUS ULTRA!!!"

Bobby Drake (frostbyte) wrote in devolve,
@ 2011-01-29 14:02:00

Entry tags:

bobby_drake, guthriespawn, sam_guthrie

Who: Bobby & Sam (with Lewis and Annie)
What: Play in the snow. (Yeah, you read that right.)
Where: In the fields.
When: Saturday afternoon
Rating: PG (for now)
Status: Incomplete

It was almost like a custody arrangement. Sam showed up early in the morning at his door, Lewis and Annie fed and excited. They still weren't talking, the tense atmosphere between them just thick enough to make both uncomfortable as the twins threw themselves into Bobby's waiting arms, talking a mile a minute. He'd nodded and left.

Bobby'd had the twins for several hours; a luxury he hadn't indulged in for...far too long if the twins' constant reminders were anything to go by - and they were. They spent the morning inside, reading and watching movies, singing and playing games. Bobby put on an impromptu ice puppet show, which naturally prompted a trip outside to play in the icy field. He made sure they ate lunch first, then walked outside with them a little hand in each of his own.

An hour later Bobby was running across the snow - carefully slow so Lewis and Annie could keep up - an ice sword in his hand, and a scarf tied across his middle.

"Noooo!" he shouted dramatically, "Not my treeeeasure!"

He leapt over an ice polar bear and skidded, striking a pose. The twins giggled, leaning into the sculpture and catching their breath. Their eyes rounded when the ship started to rise from under him and scurried up the gangplank (complete with deep, well balanced steps) to join him on the deck.

"ARRRGH! Avast me maties!"

The ship rocked - for effect - as it balanced out.

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	frostbyte 2011-01-30 08:47 am UTC (link)
	Bobby smiled at her as she clamored unto her elder brother, though his blue eyes registered a brief flash of emotion, flitting from Sam's - who would be able to read him - and meeting Lew's as he caught him. "Double flip," he confirmed, before settling the child's weight. "Hold on tight," he told him, and they were off. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

_rocket_butt_
2011-01-30 08:56 am UTC (link)

"You're the best!" Lew caught Annie's eyes and grinned triumphantly, though he did manage to stifle the urge to stick his tongue out. After all, he'd probably wallop him later if he did. Annie, for her part, made a face back at him and wrapped her arms around the top of Sam's head, before dropping her chin on it as well.

"I still got t'do it first," she whispered to Sam, who squeezed her leg a bit in acknowledgment. He was too busy trying to decide just what he'd caught sight of for a fraction of a second in Bobby's eyes before he'd turned so quickly away to answer her.

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frostbyte
2011-01-30 09:00 am UTC (link)

Lew's double flip, with a twist, went off without a hitch and Bobby skated back to the pair of Guthries, making a half circle around them before setting Lew down and ruffling his hair. "You guys've probably been outside too long now," he said, looking from one twin to the other without actually managing to hold a glance. "Sorry Sam," he added, without looking at him at all. "We should probably go inside."

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_rocket_butt_
2011-01-30 05:56 pm UTC (link)

"No, pleeease?" Lew pleaded, attaching himself to Bobby's side like an over-large leech before Sam had a chance to speak.

"I ain't cold!" Annie chimed in from her perch atop Sam's shoulders.

Sam watched Bobby and noted his refusal to actually hold the twins' eyes, let alone to so much as look at him. The ache from earlier came back sharp and bright and he had to breathe slow against it. Might be best to call this afternoon done before Lew and Annie noticed anything different. He curled icy fingers into the loose fabric of Annie's coat and swung her down to stand next to Lew, where she immediately joined her twin in throwing herself at Bobby.

"Well you two might not be cold, but I am," he teased, tucking stiff fingers into his pockets. "How 'bout we head inside for cocoa."

"But we wanna make snow angels!" Annie insisted.

"An' a snow tiger!" from Lew. "An' go down the biggest ice slide ever!"

"An' play more ice pirates!"

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frostbyte
2011-01-30 06:41 pm UTC (link)

The more they clung to him, the more Bobby felt he needed to get out of there and soon. It wasn't so much an impulse to run as it was a need to remove himself from the depth of their lives. He may not be as important as family to them, but he understood how people - sometimes even complete strangers - could affect someone so deeply it resonated for the rest of their lives. He couldn't allow himself to be that for anyone. Least of all the Guthrie kids. They meant too much to him.

"There's not enough room for the biggest ice slide ever," he reasoned, arms around them, head lowered so only they could see his face. "Besides, if you get sick, you may not like playing outside as much anymore. And there's no reason to go around being disagreeable with good snow days when you can help it."

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_rocket_butt_
2011-01-30 06:57 pm UTC (link)

What Bobby didn't seem to be willing or able to understand was that he already was that. For a lot of people. And all the drawing back and shutting himself off in the world wasn't likely to change it.

"But we won't get sick," Lew promised, not quite plaintive.

"We just wanna play with you more," Annie added, though her voice had dropped and she gave Bobby a somber look from under dark blonde lashes as she pressed her little brow to his. She, at least, had started to catch on to the futility of their pleading. "I thought you were having a good time too," she added, little arms going tighter around him. It wasn't the same as if Sam or Paige or Pete called a halt to the play. She knew they'd be there tonight. And tomorrow. And next week. Except when the nightmares came and it seemed like no one would be there. Bobby was a rare thing, they'd hardly seen him for so long and Annie was afraid if they let go now they'd hardly ever see him again.

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frostbyte
2011-01-30 07:19 pm UTC (link)

Bobby looked down at that, because Annie was a very perceptive child and he wasn't sure he could hold in how much that simple little statement had hurt him. Their feet in the snow together struck Bobby in that odd way certain moments sometimes did, and he knew he'd be able to see it for years, just as it was, even if he didn't want to. He rubbed her back, doing his best to pull himself up by the bootstraps, as he'd heard one or two of them say often enough. Upsetting the twins had never been in the plan. Or any of the kids. It was the very reason they were playing outside to begin with. Bobby couldn't do to them what he'd been working so hard on with everyone else. The kids needed it. Hope. Carefree moments. For their innocence to last as long as it possibly could.

Bobby had always loved kids. Most of his life he'd been deemed an eternal one, and he'd never been shy about it. Kids were something all together different from adults. A lot of times, they were the best way to go when you had options. They were honest and open, and told it like it was. They were perceptive in ways adults couldn't remember how to be, and closer to truths most people didn't want to remember. And they loved and trusted so easily, so completely, it was all together too simple and completely complicated at once, without being jarring to them.

He hugged them close, tightly for a moment. They knew what he did. That he went outside a few times a week. Outside where the nightmares lived, where they couldn't go, where they'd learned - damn you, Scott - some people didn't come back from. It was already there in their minds. Sam and Paige did it. Bobby did it. He wondered sometimes, how they'd gotten so strong, but remained so small. They shouldn't have to worry about things like people not coming home and the dead crawling through their windows. Their biggest concerns were supposed to involve Santa, the Toothfairy, the Easter Bunny and whether or not someone was going to still be your friend because you had to tell on them.

"All right," he conceded. "But we're playing inside. It's cold out today."

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_rocket_butt_
2011-01-31 05:19 am UTC (link)

Sam watched and waited, not stepping in yet as Bobby hugged the pair of them close. He knew Bobby would never intentionally hurt or even frighten them, but if he was starting to have trouble keeping it together it would be better to get them out of there sooner rather than later. For everyone's good.

He settled a hand atop Lew's tousled hair and the other on Annie's shoulder even as the twins held tighter to Bobby. The kind of tight squeeze the preceded parting, as they both started to resign themselves to their day of fun being over. When Bobby's answer finally came they both launched themselves forward, which took some effort given they were already clinging to him, with joyful squeals.

"Inside's okay!" Lew answered immediately, having apparently forgotten his pleading to continue playing in the snow just moments before.

"We can make an art project!" Annie suggested, just as pleased as she bounced slightly in place.

Sam sighed silently in relief, lips twitching into a smile again. "You need help keeping 'em in line or you good on your own?"

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	frostbyte 2011-01-31 06:15 am UTC (link)
	If Bobby had known, he wouldn't have caved. Straightening, he took them each by the hand and gave them firm squeezes. "No," he replied, still avoiding looking in Sam's direction, as he smiled at one twin and then the other. "We'll be fine." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	_rocket_butt_ 2011-01-31 06:31 am UTC (link)
	"Okay." Sam nodded and tousled Lew's hair as he snugged in close to Bobby. "You two be good then, an' I'll see you later." (Reply to this) (Parent)

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