Chapter Text
One year later, Hector's friends arrived. Theo wasn’t there when they first landed, because Leo had a day off, so he went sightseeing to Goswing, with Hector, obviously. When they stopped to take a break from driving, stretch out a bit, and eat a few snacks, the Red Sparrow came whooshing over their heads, and landed right in front of them. Neither of them was expecting them, they hadn’t even sent a note beforehand. Out climbed Red, his hair all black now, waving cheerfully to them. Next came Snow, in a pretty white dress and a bow in her hair. And finally came Blue, stepping out onto the sun-baked sand, happily waving her hat, with Goldie and Crow flying around her head.
“Hi Hector!” She said, then ran up to him a gave him a hug, so suddenly that he almost fell over.
“Hi everyone! I didn’t know you were gonna be here, I’m so glad to see you!” Hector said, waving a bit to Red and Snow.
“It took forever to find you!” Said Red, grinning.
“How did you know I was in Goswing?” Hector asked.
“We didn’t!” Blue said.
“What?” Hector asked, looking confused.
“The amount of times that we were flying overhead and Blue would suddenly yell ‘That’s him! That’s Hector! Pull over!’ and Red would have to ‘pull over’ only to surprise and confuse some random dude with a purple vest on, is way too many.” Snow said.
“That last one looked a lot like him, okay?” Blue said defensively, then laughed.
“Anyway, I’m glad we found you. I have so much to tell you! Wait, who’s that blonde guy in the car?” Blue said, leaning over to get a better view of Leo.
Leo had stopped paying attention for a while, but he jumped up and said,
“Captain Leonhardt Tailor, but you can call me Leo.” He said, holding out his hand. Blue shook it.
“Why are you here?” Snow asked.
“Ah, well, I got a day off, so I decided to go sightseeing around Goswing, and since Hector was traveling with us for one of his stories, what better person to be a tour guide!” Leo said happily.
“That makes sense.” Blue said.
Hector visibly relaxed.
“Anyways, things have been crazy in the past year. I think that my favorite part was that one time when…” Blue said, starting off on a very interesting story, involving 200 chickens, extra-hot salsa, and ‘that one guy with the top hat’. Hector didn’t want to know how Blue managed to get herself into these things. He remembered one time when he left Blue for 2 minutes to try and get a quote from Jack Jingle, and when he came back she had been kidnapped and was in the middle of a battle against a bunch of Crow-2s, flying with Grimmaean nobility. Things like that just seemed to happen to Blue. Or maybe Blue happened to them.
Leo zoned out and munched on an apple while this was happening. He had heard a lot of things about Blue, and some things about Crow, Goldie, Red, and Snow. He fiddled with his side-view mirror and heard the slightly scuffed out of contexts from their conversation. Eventually, Blue said,
“Anyways, we’ve gotta go. We got tickets for an airplane museum for Red that we’ve gotta go to.” Said Blue.
“Alright. Are you gonna stick around now, or are you gonna leave for another year?” Hector asked.
“Probably stick around Grimmaea and Goswing for a bit longer, then we’ll see.” Blue said.
“Bye! Have fun!” Hector said, waving to the Red Sparrow that was coming to life, it’s engine sputtering, then roaring. As the door slammed shut, he heard his voice yell back,
“Bye! Have fun!”
Leo gave a distracted wave (he was cleaning off the side-view mirror now, and there was this one fleck of dirt that REFUSED--) to the Sparrow soaring about their heads and over the tall, sandy cliffs.
“You’ve got some good friends there.” Leo smiled, as Hector climbed back into the car.
“Honestly, Blue is more like my little sister, I’ve known her for so long. Along with the rest of the Bugle.” Hector said.
“But yeah, they’re good friends. A little chaotic, but fun to hang out with all the same.” Hector looked out at the cliffs, pausing for a second.
“Oh crud, we are so late for that lighthouse tour.” Hector suddenly blurted out, and Leo hurriedly started the car, laughing, as they drove out to the lighthouse, dust whirling behind them.
The next day, Theo was back to work. He had expected to be able to go back to school, but that wasn’t the case. His dad had lost his job, so his income from being in the army was the only thing supporting the family until his dad found a new job. That had been eight months ago. So here he was, organizing a community town clean-up. This town in Grimmaea had been hit pretty hard, and many things needed new paint jobs, many people needed jobs, and the whole town in general needed an all-over job. The main force had driven out to a stop to pick up a group of volunteers who would help, and that was where Theo was now. Thankfully, they were allowed to bring three extra cars to fit the volunteers. He had been sitting with Peter and Bradley for a full year now. He was ready to sit in a seat all by himself, which sounded childish, but you would feel the same way if you have been sitting three to a seat for a bit more than a year now.
The cars screeched to a stop, and Hector immediately started writing on his paper. He was currently writing a story for the town’s newspaper about the event, and he was taking it very seriously. The last car’s stopped in front of the volunteers, and five volunteers hopped into the cars, talking excitedly. One of them had brought two birds, but Theo honestly didn’t care by this time. Bradley was leading the volunteers by driving the first car. Next to him, sat a girl with a newsboy's hat on, a goldfinch and a crow, and a bunch of tools. Bradley was introducing everyone to the volunteers, and explaining how they were going to do this. In the car behind him, the-- were those the Bärburg twins?
Huh. Small world.
In the car behind them was an elderly couple who had agreed to help paint.
“So in the car in front of us, that’s Peter and Theo, and in front of them, that’s Zackary and Otis, and in front of them, that’s Patrick and Philip, and in front of them, that’s Leo and his boyfriend, Hector, and in front of--“ Bradley was saying, and Theo couldn’t shut him up this time, he was in a different car.
“Wait, HECTOR?!” The girl said.
She then leaned out of the car to get a better view of Leo and Hector’s car.
“Little slip-up there ma’am. What my friend Bradley here was trying to say was that Hector is a male friend of Leo, not a romantic partner--“ said Theo, trying to cover up Bradleys mistake, but the girl had already turned to her friends in the other car.
“Red! Snow! Do you remember that guy that Hector was with when we saw him yesterday?” The girl said excitedly. Snow looked up.
“Yeah, what about him Blue?” Snow asked.
“Apparently, he’s Hector’s BOYFRIEND!” Blue said, putting emphasis on the ‘boyfriend’.
“Ok.” Snow said, and went back to fiddling with her dress.
“Red, did you know this? Did he tell you? Did you know?” Blue turned to Red, who was driving the car.
“Huh? No, I just don’t think it’s that big of a deal.” Red said, and focused on driving once again, muttering to himself “These controls are so weird, the Sparrow’s better.”
“Not a big deal? I’m practically his sister! Why didn’t he tell me! He didn’t even send a note or a card-“ Blue continued.
“To be fair, neither did we, until a few days ago.” Red pointed out.
“Whatever. You guys just don’t get it.” Blue said, and turned back into her seat. Bradley looked confused, not knowing what he did.
Wait for it.
Wait for it…
Bradley’s face suddenly shone with realization, and far too late, he put a hand to his mouth. He took it away, then muttered, to no one in particular,
“Sorry.”
The volunteer work kept Blue away from Hector, and for once, Theo felt kinda bad for the guy. He knew what it was like to have a sibling, and he understood if Hector didn’t want Blue to find out. He knew that this would happen. Hector, still completely oblivious to what would go down once they got back to the cars, in addition to writing, helped out with the work, painting walls with the elderly couple, replacing doors and windows, and cleaning the streets of chunks of wood or stone. He made himself surprisingly useful, though Theo didn’t want to admit it. When they got back to the cars, Blue went up to Hector.
“Do you want to sit next to me until I get dropped off?” Blue asked innocently. Hector quickly glanced at Leo, then said,
“Sure.”
It must’ve run in the make-shift family, messing up where people sat in cars, because now, thanks to Blue, everyone had to move one up to make up for Hector’s absence. Theo ended up driving the car with Bradley as the passenger, and in the car behind them, Hector drove with Blue next to him. The last two cars remained unchanged.
As they started driving, Blue turned to Hector.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Blue said, slightly more calm that when she had first found out.
“Tell you about what? If it’s about the story, I only did one for that paper, I’ll always be loyal to the Bu-“ Hector said.
He knew what it was about, and was trying to avoid it desperately.
“No, no, not that, I don’t care about that.” Blue said.
She wasn’t giving up.
“Bradley told me that Leo is your boyfriend .” Blue said.
“O-oh, did he then?” Hector said nervously.
“Why didn’t you tell me? You know you can trust me right? If you want to keep it a secret, I can keep secrets, I promise! You kept my secret, I can keep yours!” Blue said.
Theo wondered what Blue’s secret had been, then quickly decided that it was none of his business.
“I didn’t know where you were, so I couldn’t send a letter, and then Leo just introduced himself, and you had such great stories that I… forgot to bring it up.” Hector said, trying to save himself.
“Is it a secret?” Blue asked.
“Well…” Hector said, looking at Bradley.
“Bradley knew, did you tell him?” Blue asked.
“Not… really…” said Hector.
Blue laughed a little bit.
“You guys must’ve been really bad at hiding it.” Blue said, smiling at Hector.
Hector blushed a little, but tried to keep a straight (I know, I know) face.
“Must’ve been.” Hector said.
“Well, do you want me to keep it a secret?” Blue asked, completely forgetting her anger from before.
“From the Bugle? Yes, I suppose so.”
“Will you ever tell them?”
Hector’s face clearly said “Not if I can help it.”
“When I’m ready, I’ll try.” He said.
He looked relieved when Blue said nothing after that, and they drove in (heavenly) silence for a bit. Then Blue broke it by saying, with a grin,
“Have you kissed him?”
Hector tensed.
“That’s enough questions, let’s talk about something else now, okay?”
“You totally have.”
“How was your trip to Pancha?”
“Stop avoiding the question, it just gives me an answer.”
“I heard it’s very pretty there in the fall.”
“Have you ever--“
“FAN-TASTIC fruit salads, I have always wanted to try some for myself but, duty calls.”
Four months later, the main forces had four days because their Major General’s wife was giving birth, and the head offices couldn’t find a replacement. Theo went back home, and had to spend four horrendous days with his three horrendous family members eating eleven horrendous meals (they had twelve meals, but Theo cooked one, and thanks to all his experience in the army, it was delicious). Peter went on a short vacation with his grandparents, and Bradley went home with his family too. Hector had invited Leo to dinner with his family at the Nautilene Bugle, but after that, Leo would go home to his family.
“Here we are. Are you ready?” Hector asked Leo, as they stood outside the blue doors of the Bugle building.
“Of course! Thank you so much for inviting me. Do they know I’m coming?” Leo asked.
“Yeah, I sent them a letter yesterday.” Hector said.
“Are you sure I won’t be a bother?” Leo asked, fidgeting around uncomfortably.
“The Bugle never turns anyone away, and their so nice and welcoming, I’m sure that you’ll fit right in.” Said Hector, looking at Leo fondly.
Leo smiled back at him, and Hector pulled the door open, holding it for Leo as he walked through.
They were greeting with a very loud noise, and a lot of talking, as little boys ran around carrying various dishes, ingredients, and foods.
“Thank you Lou- oh could you get me the garlic please dear? Don’t drop those potatoes, I’m watching you Mr. Butterfingers- WATCH THE STOVE TIMMY oh Hector it’s so nice to see you again, and there’s Leo, very nice to meet you, we’re so glad to have you here, dinner will be ready in a jiffy, TIMMY I SAID WATCH THE STOVE” Muffy said frantically, busy keeping a bunch of boys (and a girl) in order. Leo waved awkwardly.
“Thank you for having me. Is there anything I can do to help?” Leo asked her.
“Oh yes, could you take that stuffing to the table?” Muffy said, pointing to a table that was bowing slightly under the weight of all the food on it.
Leo dutifully grabbed the stuffing and, being careful not to bump into anyone or drop the plate, took it to the table.
For the rest of the time, Leo and Hector were so busy helping to prepare dinner that they didn’t run into Blue even once, until everyone collapsed into the chairs around the table piled high with delicious and steaming foods of all sorts. Then, Hector grabbed Leo’s hand and Leo jumped a little, but then saw that everyone at the table was holding hands. He reached out to the hand of the person next to him, saw it was Blue (I think I’ve seen her before) and took it anyway. The father started speaking, and everyone closed their eyes, so Leo did too.
“We give thanks for the food on our table… for we know that those recovering from the war still struggle without enough. Let us thank the brave soldiers, both Goswish and Grimmaean, who help our nations grow closer and stronger. Let us never forget how together, with peace in our hearts, we accomplish more and lose less, so that we may cherish our own small but wonderful patchwork family. We are thankful.” Said the father.
“We are thankful!” Everyone said, and everyone started reaching for dishes and eating the meal that they had so tirelessly worked on.
“I would like to thank everyone who helped make this meal today, you all were so helpful, and we are so grateful that we didn’t have to do it all by ourselves!” Muffy said.
“Yurf wehom mof” said the newsies, faces stuffed with food.
Blue swallowed, then started talking at once.
“So, a few months ago, when I got back, I volunteered to help clean up a town.” Blue said. Hector tensed a bit, and Leo glanced at him, confused.
“I realized how much damage was done to both countries without even meaning for that to happen. Why does that happen?” Blue asked, stuffing a whole baked potato into her mouth at once.
“One bite at a time, Blue. Those happen when the fighting occurs near places where there are civilians, or when soldiers are resting in a certain place and the opposite side wants to… target the soldiers. I believe that it occurs because those in charge of the battle are so… what’s the word… intent on destroying their enemies, that they don’t notice or care about the innocent people.” The father said carefully.
“Huh. I noticed that, in the radio call that Crow brought us into.” Blue said.
(Crow was currently perched on a windowsill with Goldie, pecking a bit of birdseed.)
“Thankfully, now that we have reached peace, there is not hatred between Grimmaeans and Goswishmen anymore. Now, even in Altalus, Grimmaeans can walk in the capital without being hurt, and Goswishmen can enter Grimmaea without it too.” Muffy said.
“Oh yeah! I have been seeing that a lot more! In the volunteer thing, both Goswish and Grimmaeans were helping! Or how Hector has been journaling in Grimmaea-“ said Blue.
Hector looked up when he heard his name, saw that no one was looking at him, and continued eating.
“…or when I was eating at a restaurant the other day, the people who worked there were from all over, even Pancha and Taltell, or how Hector brought his boyfriend to--“ Blue suddenly stopped, then dramatically put one hand over her mouth then the other.
Everyone went quiet, and all conversation stopped at the table. Hector looked up at Blue, and Blue briefly uncovered her mouth to whisper “Sorry”.
“BOYFRIEND?!” Everyone said, in varied tones.
Some of the younger ones looked disbelieving, while the older ones smirked, Muffy looked absolutely delighted, and Mayor Nancy was still in shock.
“I was planning to tell you…” Hector said quietly. He currently wanted to sink into the ground and die, and never be seen again, but since that couldn’t be done, he would just have to suffer.
“Ooooooooooooooh! Hector has a boyfriend, Hector has a boyfriend!” The younger ones started chanting, but were quickly stopped by a look from Muffy.
“Welcome to the family, Leo!” Muffy said, smiling brilliantly.
“Thank you, ma’am.” Leo said uncomfortably.
Suddenly a loud ringing went throughout the house.
“Oh! The apple pie is done!” Muffy cried, and the matter of Hector’s boyfriend was very quickly forgotten.
The apple pie was the best that Leo had ever tasted, and the awkwardness he had had to suffer before was worth it for the apple pie. The crust was cut from animal cookie cutters (he assumed that was how the children had helped) and the filling was rich, and not too sweet. It was baked to perfection, with only one small fingerprint on the edge of the dough, which no one mentioned, but one of the boys was sweating uncomfortably when the pie was set on the table.
He helped clean up with no complaints, and helped wash the dishes with Muffy when everyone else was playing games in the living room. As he scrubbed plates, Muffy said,
“You know, you are an incredibly polite and well-mannered young man.”
“Thank you ma’am, I do my best to help wherever I can.” Leo said, hoping that this conversation wasn’t going where he thought it was going.
“I really appreciate how much you help out with everything around here.” Muffy continued.
“You are a good fit for Hector. He can be a bit disorganized at times. He always has such good ideas, but he has so many that he can never finish the one he started!” Muffy laughed.
Oh yeah. This was going exactly where he had thought it was going.
“Did I tell you about the time that Hector brought Blue home?”
“No ma’am.”
“We were all gathering for dinner, and Hector, he was about thirteen or fourteen then, came in with raggedy Blue, and a bird's nest in his arm. He said ‘Sorry to interrupt! I found someone who would love to live here at the Bugle! His name is Blue!’ And Aric said ‘We’ll take him in, but what’s with that bird nest?’ And Hector said..”
Muffy continued until the dishes were done. When Leo walked out into the hallway, the Mayor stopped him.
“Now, I know that Hector really likes you, but you had better not hurt him, you hear me?” He said darkly.
“No sir, I would never dream of-“ Leo started.
“I don’t want you pulling him into the army, okay? His dream is to be a journalist, and if you are using him just to gain troops, then think again.”
“I’m not-“
“He’s very passionate about what he cares about, I don’t want you to discourage any of that, do you understand?”
“Yes sir.”
“Have you ever hit him?”
“What? No, never-“
“Good. If I hear of one thing against you…”
“You won’t, sir.”
“And one more thing. Make sure that you and Hector and having safe se--“
He was interrupted by Blue yelling,
“Mayor Nancy! You need to roll, we’ve been waiting for you!”
Mayor Nancy gave Leo one final death glare, then smiled and went over to the game everyone was playing.
“Can Leo be on my team? I’m no good at strategy, and he’s in the army and all, right?” Timmy said.
“Alright, alright. But he’s only there for consulting, you still have to move.” One of the older boys said (he had red hair).
“Okay! Come on over Leo, you’re on my team!” Timmy said, waving Leo over.
“I am? Lucky me!” Leo said, and sat down next to him.
“We’re playing against Blue, Max, and Mayor Nancy. Now here’s how you play…”
Hector was in the room next to them, reading a book, Muffy was finishing up a few things in the kitchen. A second group was playing one of the most aggressive games of UNO Leo had ever seen, the cards being placed down in a blur. He was giving strategy advice to Timmy, playing a very fun but very complicated game that he couldn’t remember the name of. He was incredibly happy, and he hoped that he would be able to visit again, under less awkward circumstances.
It had been two crazy years since he had first met Hector, but they had been the best of his life.