summary: Sylus hadn't seen you in years since that day you left out of the blue, when he does see you again, you have a child with you. A child that looks oddly similar to him.
content: sylus x reader, fluff, angst, unplanned pregnancy, sylus and reader being parents, kinda proofread, mentions of kidnapping
a/n: oh hey guys- long time no see... so sorry it took me so long to get this chapter out, had quite a bit of writer's block along with some personal stuff. the angst has officially begun, and i will be working to get the next chapter out much sooner than this one!
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The following week was somewhat uneventful; Sylus called in the evenings to talk to you and your daughter, telling you both about the nonstop meetings he seemed to constantly be dragged into and listening to your daughter tell him about her time at daycare. It was a nice routine the three of you fell into; your daughter sat at the table with your phone, chatting with her father while you cooked dinner.Â
You hadnât had time to sit down and plan another visit with Sylus, your work consuming the majority of your time the past few days, so when Sylus suggested letting your daughter come to the stables he owned for a horseback riding session, you were glad to agree. He took the liberty of planning the trip, offering to pick her up and bring her to the farm where a trainer would help her ride a few laps on one of their older ponies. Your daughter, of course, jumped at the opportunity, her eyes lighting up with joy at the idea.Â
So, Friday morning, Sylus pulled in front of your apartment complex. You kissed your daughter goodbye and helped her get situated, watching her and her father drive off before getting into your car and heading off yourself.Â
Throughout the day, you received pictures of your little girl grinning on the back of a pony, a helmet that was a tad too big for her falling down over her forehead, and almost covering her eyes. You smiled at the photos and showed them off to your coworkers, who cooed over her as usual. She was definitely a fan favorite among those who knew her, constantly asking how she was or fawning over her on the days you had no choice but to bring her along to work with you.Â
âI didnât know the daycare took the kids to a ranch! Is that a new activity theyâve begun doing?â One of your coworkers asked.
You hesitated, they knew you werenât married or dating anyone, and they knew that your daughterâs father wasnât in the picture. Well, not until recently. You could just lie to them and say that it was the daycare, or that a friend was watching her that day, but you knew youâd feel guilty lying to them when they were asking such an innocent question, âUm, no⌠actually, sheâs with her dad today.â
A couple more coworkers turned towards you at that comment, confused and shocked looks coating their faces, âHer dad? I thought you two werenât in contact?â
âWe ran into each other recently when she was with me, and weâve been talking ever since.â
âWell⌠thatâs quite the surprise.â Your coworker said, not in an entirely positive nor negative way.
âI donât know, he seems-â
âOh no no, dearie,â one of the older women cut you off, âYou best be careful with that, those men are always scheming in one way or another. Next thing you know, heâs taking you to court for custody and then poof! Youâre only seeing your girl once a week! Or god forbid, he just runs off with her.â
You shook your head, âNo, no, trust me, he would never do something like that.â
âYou never know, dear. Itâs always the ones that seem most innocent that are true devils on the inside,â she wagged her finger at you, giving those around you a knowing nod.
You chuckled awkwardly, âNo, he isnât a bad person. It isnât even his fault that he wasnât present earlier in her life, we just⌠grew apart.â You hadnât told your coworkers the whole truth, partly due to you being ashamed of your actions, partly because you didnât want anyone from Linkon to find out where you were staying. Why that was something that worried you, you werenât sure.Â
âYou still be careful, you hear? That girl is too precious to lose.â
You nodded and patted her shoulder, âI will be.â Turning back to your work as your other coworkers dispersed, you found the things she had said lingering in your mind. Surely there wasnât any reason for the courts to take your daughter away; you had a home, a fairly steady income. They had no reason for concern at all. Though you had heard horror stories about the child court system from those around you. Children being thrown about from home to home, never truly knowing peace, or being taken from a dangerous environment just to be put back a few months later. You shook the thought away and tried to focus on your task at hand. Besides, Sylus would never do something like that, right?
It was only around noon when your boss called you into his office. He was sitting at his desk, tapping his foot furiously against the carpet as he ordered someone around on the phone. He slammed it back onto the receiver and let out a deep sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose. You cleared your throat, prompting him to look up.Â
âAh, at least someone around here listens to me. Take a seat.â You did so, situating yourself in the armchair across from his desk. He rummaged through his drawers for a moment before placing a set of papers in front of you. âIâll be honest with you; the work weâve been seeing from you the past few weeks has beenâŚâ he flipped through the pages as if searching for the right word, â...mediocre at best, and personally, I donât settle for mediocre.âÂ
You nodded, trying your best not to stumble over your words, âOf course, sir. Iâm terribly sorry, I just-â
He cut you off, putting a hand up to silence you, âI donât need excuses. I need better. I mean, just look at these reports, honestly, a child could do better. Whatever it is that has been distracting you these past weeks, cut it out. I expect better from my employees.â
You stared at the carpet, secretly hoping you could burn a hole into it and light this entire office aflame, âYes, sir.â
Your boss took the papers back and sighed once more, âYou may see yourself out.âÂ
You left that office fuming. Regrettably, you also felt like you might cry. Who was he to act superior to you? All he did, all day, every day, was sit in that stupid office of his and make useless phone calls that only disrupted more of the work everyone was scrambling to get done. He had no idea how your life had been majorly uprooted over the past few weeks, and all you were trying to do was keep face and remain somewhat stable for your daughter. True, work hadnât exactly been the main thing on your mind, but you were still getting as much done as you could. Besides, he had countless employees who would be more than happy to lick his shoes; couldnât he just get off your back for a couple of days?Â
Your anger must have been showing on your face, because when you passed by a group of coworkers, they shot you a concerned look. You just shook your head and kept walking until you got to the break room. Grabbing a new coffee pod and shoving it into the machine, you grumbled to yourself as you threw open the cupboards to find a clean mug.Â
You startled and whipped your head around, only now realizing that you werenât alone. A young intern sat at the table, a half-eaten muffin in front of her. You sighed and turned back to the cupboard, closing it gently as you spoke, âSorry, I thought I was alone. Iâm fine, just⌠pissed off.âÂ
The girl fiddled with the muffin wrapper, âDoâŚyou want to talk about it?âÂ
You shrugged, grabbing a mug from the sink and the sponge, âItâs nothing major, just my boss being an asshole.â You scrubbed someoneâs morning coffee out of the porcelain, frowning, âIf he could learn to do a few things himself for once, maybe fewer people would want to punch him in the face.â
âIs it that bad here?âÂ
You sighed again as you finally slid the mug into the coffee brewer, âNo, itâs a good job, just-â you waved your hand in front of you in some poor attempt at conjuring a fitting sentence, âNot the best individuals, I guess. You planning on working here?â
The girl shrugged, âI donât know, my dad got me this internship out of the blue.â
You chuckled, âSounds about right. Hiding out here?â
âThey keep asking me to get them some complex coffee order, and then no one tells me where to find this shop, nor gives me the money to do so.â
âThe cafeâs on the first floor, near the back entrance. And they expect you to pay out of pocket, since theyâre being so generous as to allow you in their presence.â You gave her a sarcastic smile.Â
She laughed and shook her head, âI think Iâll just stay here.â
âGood idea.â You took your coffee, popped in a couple of sweeteners, and turned to the vending machine. The girl behind you returned to taking small bites out of her muffin as you flattened out a dollar bill and shoved it into the machine. You punched in the code for a granola bar and, of course, because you hadnât gone through enough today, it got stuck on the coil. You gave the machine a few shakes before punching it with an irate shout.Â
You sighed and resigned to the chair across from the girl, who was looking at you with an even more concerned expression than before. You shook your head and took a long sip of coffee. The intern rustled through her bag and slid over a rough-looking banana, âItâs a little squished, but,â she shrugged, âbetter than nothing.â
You smiled and pushed it back towards her, âItâs okay, my shift is almost over anyway, Iâll grab something on my way home.âÂ
She hesitated before taking the fruit back, unsure if she should insist or not. It was sweet that this stranger truly seemed to care for you to the point of offering her own food. You didnât find many people like that these days.Â
Twenty minutes of casual chatter, a dash of venting, and a full cup of coffee later, you surprisingly felt a bit better. Maybe it was something about how understanding the girl seemed to be; just nodding along as you spoke, but not in that dismissive, âYeah-huh, Iâm definitely paying attentionâ way. She was focused on what you were telling her, brows furrowed as she listened. It was the first time in a while that you felt like someone was genuinely sympathizing with you. It wasnât as if a three-year-old was the best conversationalist, not that you were complaining, you loved talking to your daughter about her cartoons and fairytales. Still, it was nice to talk to someone who could fully pronounce their letters for a change.Â
Eventually, you shook the intern's hand, wishing her the best of luck, and gathered your things from your desk to head out. A few colleagues waved goodbye or gave you a nod as you made your way to your car. Sitting down in the driver's seat, you rubbed your hands over your face, taking a deep breath. Your bossâ words were still echoing in your head, still present no matter how distant they sounded now. You shook your head in a feeble attempt to shove the moment to the depths of your mind, zipping it up to unpack later.Â
There was still a faint smell of fast food in your car, your daughterâs toys littering the backseat, and the AC blowing cool air into your face gave you the slight relief you had been craving the entire day. Everything was fine; you would figure this all out later. For now, you just needed to focus on picking up your daughter. You plugged in your phone, popped on your favorite playlist, and switched the car into drive.
A little while later, you were pulling down the gravel road that led to the Sylusâ stables. You spotted the familiar figure standing towards the entrance, signature smirk planted on his face as he watched you park and walk over to him. You smiled as best as you could, smoothing your now wrinkled shirt as you greeted him.
âHaving a good day, sweetie?â Sylus asked.
You nodded. This wasnât something you wanted him to concern himself with. It was your own problem after all, and he was just making small talk. âHow about you?â
His smile widened as he turned towards the stables, gesturing for you to follow him, âVery good. Weâve got quite the talented kid here, she figured it out fairly quickly.â
You grinned at the floor, trying not to dwell on the fact that he said we. It was just the truth after all, she was half his, âThatâs great. She enjoyed herself then?â
âIâd say so, I could barely convince her it was time to go home,â he chuckled softly.Â
You laughed. That sounded about right. Once your daughter found something she was excited about, it was hard to persuade her to stop. That was something you had learned over the years, though it was difficult even for you. Honestly, it felt like debating with a lawyer sometimes.Â
As Sylus led you into the stables, a man in dirtied jeans with a bright smile greeted you, setting down the haybale he was holding.Â
âThis is James, heâs our top trainer and one of the best in the N109 Zone,â Sylus explained.
James held out his hand for you to shake. You accepted kindly, offering him a reciprocating smile, âItâs quite the honor to meet you. Your daughter is a truly gifted child.â
You grinned wider, pride blooming inside you, âThank you very much.âÂ
He nodded and motioned for you to follow him, âSheâs just over here giving Pumpkin a treat.â You silently came to the conclusion that James had to have been the one to name the horse; you couldnât imagine Sylus naming a horse âPumpkinâ. You followed him around a corner where a brown spotted horse stood in its stall, chewing contentedly on a carrot. You looked around, expecting to see two silver pigtails sticking out from some corner, but⌠nothing.Â
You turned back to James, âYou said you left her here?âÂ
The look on his face had faded to concern as he moved to look around the barn, âYeah, she was right here.â
You could feel your heart beating a little faster, but you told yourself to stay calm; she was surely around here somewhere. Sylus, ever the unfazed man, kept a straight face and joined the searchâthough you swore you could see a slight twitch in his lips as he turned past you.
âShe probably went back to grab another carrot,â James chuckled nervously, jogging back towards what you assumed was the feed room. That, however, was also empty. Your heart began to speed up, your palms started to sweat, and you felt your throat threatening to close up. Sylus laid a hand on your shoulder, trying to anchor you in some way.
âShe couldnât have gone far; she probably wandered off somewhere outside.â his voice was confident, but there was a look in his eyes that betrayed him. His irisâ shook ever so slightly; he was scared. That was never a good sign. You nodded, scrambling to the exit, followed by the two men. Sylus ordered Luke and Kieran to join the search, who both immediately went to work.Â
You ran around the barnâchecking behind every barrel and bail of hay you could findâhoping to find your daughter crouched behind one, giggling to herself. Luke and Kieran took to the woods surrounding the land, Mephisto weaving through the trees above them. You called her name until your throat was dry and your voice hoarse, âThis isnât funny, honey, come out!âÂ
You could feel the tears forming in your eyes, the growing anxiety clawing at your skin. You did your best to fight off the waterworks, not wanting to scare your daughter in case this was some silly prank she was attempting to pull on you. You glanced over to the others, hoping that Luke or Kieran would be trekking back over with a bundle of silver hair and blue bows in their arms. Instead, you noticed Sylus crouched at the gravel driveway that led away from the stables. You approached him slowly, taking note of how heavily he was breathing.Â
When he finally noticed you, his eyes widened slightly, âSweetieâŚâ
In his hand was one of your daughterâs bows, clipped onto a note of sorts. You didnât need to read it to know what it said. Someone had taken your daughter, snatched her right out of your grasp. Someone had figured out that the renowned leader of Onychinus had a child, and theyâd taken that as an opportunity to get an upper hand on him, using your sweet little girl as collateral damage for whatever they wanted from Sylus.Â
Everything felt like it came crashing down at once; your knees buckled, you couldnât breathe, the collar of your shirt felt too tight, tears fell involuntarily, you couldnât breathe, every noise was drowned out by the rush of blood in your ears, and you couldnât fucking breathe.Â
You didnât fully register falling over until you felt hands on your shoulders, trying to coax you into looking at those red eyesâthe ones he had passed down to your daughter, who was taken because of it. You shoved Sylusâ hands off, stumbling backwards on the gravel.Â
âSweetie, I-ââStay away from me! This is your fault!â You tugged at your own hair, your mind racing, âGod, I knew this was a bad idea. I never shouldâve let her come here. I never shouldâve-â Your words disintegrated into broken sobs as you scrambled to your feet and dashed for your car. You didnât know what to do or where to go, but you had to get away from all the piercing stares that surrounded you. You didnât notice how Sylus stayed on the ground, his breath hitched as he watched you get to the safety of your car. You didnât see how his identical ruby eyes were already filled with tearsâof rage or sadness, even he wasnât sure. And frankly, you didnât care. Your daughter was gone, and that would be the only thing on your mind until she was back in your arms.
a/n: i've been thinking of 'ruby' as a name for the daughter, what do you guys think?? also, might write some leon kennedy x reader cause re9 has me in a chokehold. thank you so much for reading!