There was constant traffic in and out of the house that day. Between people working, hockey, and who knew what else members of the family would come and go for pumpkin carving. Though one specific person did not arrive. Tina wasn’t surprised by the sudden absence of older Ezekiel. He had warned them that he would be gone by now, but part of her was still hoping he’d at least stick around for pumpkin carving.
There was no such luck though, and Tina tried to push it from her head. She had no idea what the Ezekiel she knew had woken up to, or how much his head was reeling right now. If he was aware of what was happening, she doubted showing up at his door to check on him would be welcomed. So she left him alone.
Yeong-Ja was still around though, and her daughter from a future that may or may not happen for her was currently at the kitchen table. Tina had temporarily abandoned her own pumpkin to grab some snacks, before heading over. She wanted to make sure Yeong-Ja was okay. She also wanted to be kind of nosy.
“Hey.” she said with a smile. Looking at her was heartbreaking in a way. There was never any doubt in Tina’s mind that she wanted to be a mom someday, but how she was going to get there was still unknown. This was only one possible future, and she didn’t think it was a likely one for her. Which sucked, because it was hard not to adore the teenager that had fallen into her life so quickly. “How’s the pumpkin coming along?”
Yeong-Ja looked up from her work, knife poised in a very Norman Bates-like manner as she turned to her mother. Her very young mother. Her very young mother who still looked occasionally shocked that she existed. Yeong-Ja didn’t take it personally. Vallo had thrown stuff at her her entire life; what was a little existential crisis here or there? But she was a little disappointed that her dad was a no-show. Zeke had explained that he was liable to de-age at any moment to a Zeke who didn’t know who she was… and while that sucked, that was life.
She turned her pumpkin so Tina could see its ghoulishly grinning face. “I’m going traditional,” she explained, flexing her pumpkin-guts covered fingers. “Trolling takes a backseat to the importance of spooky gourds.” Was a pumpkin a gourd? She thought so. Blowing her hair out of her face since she couldn’t touch it, she smiled half-assedly at her mother. “He’s not coming, is he?”
“Nice.” Going traditional never hurt, it often did better than anything overly artistic that was added. “You can never go wrong with traditional, it’s always a crowd pleaser.” which she had figured out when Thalia and Bucky would make the most ghoulish pumpkins that they could think of and often still win their in-house competition.
Tina’s smile faltered slightly at her question. She didn’t need any explanation to know who Yeong-Ja was talking about. How she was feeling about this whole situation was something Tina still couldn’t get a read on. She hoped the older version of her had a better handle on this. It had to suck, but how much did Yeong-Ja actually know about Ezekiel in his twenties?
“Probably not.” she said with a shake of her head. “We knew he’d be young again starting today. Zeke wasn’t planning on coming to begin with. If he woke up today and realized he lost a week, he’s either at home wondering if he should be checking the network, or at home and his brain is glitching from checking the network. Older Ezekiel had definitely gone through some, ah...personal growth?” Yeah. Personal growth. That was a good way to describe it.
Yeong-Ja made a face. Personal growth. Okay, fine, so she’d had her own version of that, and was probably still going through it, but it felt wrong to have her father going through it as well. Her father knew everything. He was smart, and quick-witted, and he’d bailed her out of trouble more than she really deserved, and above all, he was loyal.
Right?
She looked back to her mother, tilting her mouth sideways. “I get it, Mom. You guys, despite all evidence to the contrary, are people too. And people aren’t perfect.” She managed to inject a little more warmth into her expression; Yeong-Ja teased hard, but never wanted to hurt. “Are you okay? I mean… you’re kinda used to this right?” Did her Mom love Zeke at this point? She couldn’t tell, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to ask. Knowing the answer would be opening a Pandora’s box.
“Nonsense, I’m absolutely perfect. Older Ezekiel should consider himself lucky.” she said, trying to match Yeong-Ja’s warmth with her own joking. But in all seriousness, Tina didn’t want to say too much and risk hurting their future daughter. Whatever drama was going to unfold from this whole experience, she didn’t need to be worried about it. So Tina shrugged her shoulders casually, waving the whole thing off.
“I’m very used to him, I’ve known him for a while now, back when it was my job to yell at him when he caused too many explosions at Starfleet.” She could only assume that they would have shared some stories about that, since it was Starfleet. “Whatever his reaction is while he figures out his feelings, I can handle it.” This relied heavily on the fact that they had set boundaries, and Tina was doing her best to not cross them. Her own feelings would be dealt with away from his. “I’m more concerned about you. I don’t know what’s going to come out of his mouth when everything clicks.”
“You should be more concerned about him if he’s a jackass to either you or me,” Yeong-Ja answered back smartly with a beatific smile, selecting a smaller knife so she could add in some carving details. She preferred to keep her hands busy during a talk like this so she could have a fun little distraction. “Just saying.”
She had heard about Starfleet. She’d heard a lot about other adventures they’d had, worlds they had experienced. “You know,” she said, “this is all weird and everything, not gonna lie, but also… you’ve been to so many dimensions. It makes perfect sense that I, your adorable daughter, would land in one too, right?” The universe didn’t have it out for her as much as it did her parents, but still, some things were inherited right?
“I don’t think he’ll be a jackass.” Tina did not miss that this line was delivered just as she was reaching for a carving knife. Was she a little proud of that delivery? Maybe.
At least not to Yeong-Ja, she had no idea how the next actual conversation between the two of them would go once he was ready to talk again. If she had to guess, he would end whatever it was going on between them. He’d made it very clear from the start that there were no feelings involved in this. If anything that was what hurt the most. She didn’t see how there was ever a path for her that resulted in Yeong-Ja, even if she was right here in front of her. “Maybe just a dumbass. For being a genius he’s not always great with words.”
It was weird to think about all the different dimensions she’d seen. It didn’t always feel that way. It was just her life. Which was weird and had to restart more times than what was fair. But she did have a point. “Yes, my adorable daughter,” Tina said, reaching out to brush a stray hair behind Yeong-Ja’s ear (the whole movement and words felt super weird, but she kind of loved it). “It kind of does make sense, even if it’s weird as hell.” That was life anyway, weird as hell. “Though hopefully it’s not ever outside of Vallo. Because if you start travelling to alternate universes or dimensions without us you’re grounded indefinitely.”
“There’s definitely an alternate universe out there where I’m empress of everything. Just saying.” Yeong-Ja scrunched her nose at her hair being fooled with, but she also secretly loved it and didn’t move away, instead tilting her head slightly at her mother’s touch. “But I mean… “weird as hell” is kind of the title of our family autobiography right? It’s better than being boring.”
And she agreed with that wholeheartedly. Maybe some people yearned for normalcy but she had never been one of them, having embraced her odd lineage and history. “If Dad doesn’t show, or is weirded out by all of this, let’s just… bring him some food. Leave it at his door or something. He is my Dad, even if it’s not in every universe.” And Tina’s husband, although Yeong-Ja didn’t add that in, not now, not while her mom looked kind of… vulnerable. God, she hoped she hadn’t inadvertently screwed up the timeline just by being here. The thought was kind of a frightening one, but as she continued to exist, she guessed that the damage had already been done and wasn’t applicable to her. Maybe.
“If you’re the empress then that just makes me the empress dowager of everything. I’m fine with that. You do all the work and I profit.” That was how that worked, right? Once the strand of hair was tucked away, she pulled her hand back. The last thing she wanted was to make it weird even if she was trying to commit this face to memory. Her time with Yeong-Ja would be short, but Tina was going to be sure she didn’t forget. Pictures would be required once pumpkins were done. “Weird as hell pretty much sums it up, yep.” Which was saying something, because people often said she came from one of the most normal backgrounds among her adopted family. “Glad to hear that never calms down.” Though she did hope the violence that Vallo sometimes unleashed hadn’t touched Yeong-Ja.
“I probably will, that’s a good idea.” Tina said with a nod. “Even just make sure he’s eating something other than pizza and coffee that he ordered to the Library.” Maybe he’d see it as some sort of...peace offering. Or it would break whatever tension he was probably feeling now. God only knew what was going through his head. Part of her still thought that just maybe she should leave him alone until he was ready to talk. That wasn’t a decision she had to make now. “If he doesn’t show, just promise you won’t take it personally. The Zeke of your time, or even the one who was here, would have been here if he could.” That she knew for sure, she’d seen how much the older Ezekiel cared. “The Zeke now probably hasn’t even realized what’s happening yet.”
“I won’t take it personally.” Yeong-Ja said it with a little push on the words, adding weight to them so Tina wouldn’t worry. “Promise.” She wouldn’t take it personally, not really. Yeong-Ja loved her dad, but she’d had a few days with him here in the age that she remembered. That would be more than what some people got. And whatever was going through her mother’s head, Yeong-Ja didn’t want to add to her worries. She was tough, she understand the craziness of Vallo’s circumstances. As much as Tina wanted to protect her, well, Yeong-Ja wanted to protect Tina just as much.
Turning her pumpkin to face her mother, Yeong-Ja made an expression similar to its joyful leering. “It’s great, right? Did you finish one? Or have you been running around making sure everyone’s taken care of?”
“Almost done. My pumpkin was somewhat inspired by Kailani. Sort of. Even though she’s not evil. Still a few more details to work on, but the majority of it is done.” She’d get to that later, but she wanted to take a break and focus on something else for a bit. “And yes, that’s definitely great.” she confirmed, pulling out her phone and opening up the camera app. “Can I get a picture with you and your art? Is that allowed?”
She didn’t quite understand if there were actually any rules to time travel. Having photos couldn’t do much harm at this point, right? “Then maybe we can go harass Bucky and Thalia, and get some snacks too.”
If there were rules, well Yeong-Ja had been breaking them her entire life. What was a pumpkin selfie next to breaking and entering a few times? ...she didn’t tell her mother that, though.
She posed next to her pumpkin and tried to look both spooky and cute, which was easier said than done, and at the last moment flashed a peace sign at the camera. “Okay,” she said, and flipped her hair over her shoulder, “now get over here and we’ll take a picture together, okay?”
Because a picture of her alone with a pumpkin was one thing, but something in her chest flipped over to think that in this world, her mom might not ever have a picture of them together. Yeong-Ja may have had Zeke’s temperament and mischief, but she had Tina’s honesty, adaptability, and face shape. “Just a quick one, and then we’ll go bug Uncle B and Aunt T.”
She nestled into Tina’s shoulder and posed, grinning. It was a very bright, determined grin that spoke of no soft, bittersweet parts. Like her mother, Yeong-Ja was a great actress when she needed to be.
She didn’t need to tell Tina twice. Flipping the camera on her screen, Tina slid in beside Yeong-Ja for a photo. She took a second to fix her own hair. If this was the first (maybe only) photo series together, it had to be perfect. She’d take a few rapidly and probably print off the best ones later. She’d choose the one where they both looked the happiest, and Tina, despite the weight on her chest that she felt from knowing this may be her only opportunity, would hold onto that.
Leaning in close, she took a couple of seconds to make sure she found that just right angle and light from where they were standing. She snapped a few photos, and then brought her phone down so they could both quickly look at the screen to pick out which one they liked the best. “This one, I think.” She said, flipping back two photos to the second one she took, “I’m going to get this one framed.” Then at least she would always have a reminder of what was the most memorable pumpkin carving to date. “Come on, let's go scope the competition.”
Yeong-Ja nodded her assent, having determined that both of them met a certain cute quotient in their photo. “We’re adorable,” she said, and scooted out from under the table. “And our pumpkins are too. Too adorable not to win this. It’s destiny. But…” she shrugged, “let’s let them think they stand a chance.”