Yakuza 13 AU Epilogue 2: Ava and Ira
Summary: Approximately 16 years after Xehanort’s death, Zexion and Aqua’s children don’t always get along.
Word Count: 1945
Ava and Ira were the kind of siblings who got along by not getting along. They constantly squabbled, complained about each other regularly to their individual friends, frequently told each other they hated each other, and if they got wind of anyone talking smack about the other, they would hunt said person down and use certain skills their mom hadn’t approved of them learning from their aunts and uncles. After all, they had to live with each other. Based on that, they had earned the right to not get along. Anyone else who intruded on that needed to be taught a lesson.
Aqua sometimes worried about how often their kids fought, but in one of the few moments where Zexion actually mentioned his childhood, he said he too had found his sister insufferable. Some siblings just didn’t get along. Ira and Ava were like that.
But at times, the two kids, teenagers now, took things a bit far. Like the time when Ava brought an air horn to Ira’s orchestra concert. Or when Ira retaliated by getting his uncle Vanitas to teach him to make slime so he could cover Ava’s bed with it. Or any time their parents ended up getting involved. One of the few things Ava and Ira could agree on was that their parents were formidable. Particularly their mom. She didn’t get mad very often, but when she did, even their dad felt it best to lay low for a while. Plus her cooking was pretty deadly.
Still, their family was a happy one. Mostly.
Ira stabbed at his mashed potatoes. Ava was doing that thing again. That one where she reported his every single shortcoming to their parents. If he got an A- on a test rather than A+, Ava would be quick to tell on him. If he tripped and fell during PE, who would rush home to tell dad right away? Ava. And when cousin Invi let him try out her slingshot at school and he accidentally hit the principal’s sports car with a grape, tattling on him to their parents would be the highlight of Ava’s day. It certainly seemed to be the case now.
“Well I’m sure your brother didn’t mean to,” Aqua said.
“Maybe not, but since the window was open it ended up on the inside of the car. And it spattered all over!” Ava said. The infuriating part of this all, for Ira at least, was that he had no way to retaliate in kind. Ava was practically perfect. Polite to all teachers, perfect grades, graceful, never failed at anything she tried, never made mistakes; the only way Ira ever had anything to report on Ava was if he engineered it himself, and there was no way he wouldn’t get caught. He’d tried. Her only fault was her rotten personality, and even that was only towards him. Talk about unfair.
“Ira, are you going to eat your potatoes, or are you just planning to maim them?” Zexion asked. Grumpily, Ira took a bite of his potatoes.
“Plus, yesterday Ira forgot his music for orchestra. And he always talks about being a big-time musician someday.” Ava laughed.
“I had it all memorized, so it was fine,” Ira snapped back. And then it occurred to him. The one thing that would get her to shut up. “But anyway, Ava, when are you planning on introducing your boyfriend to mom and dad?”
If Ava had turned any paler, she would have become see-through. Got her.
The thudding sound was Ira’s first clue that maybe he had gone a little too far. The slapping sound of his mother face-palming was the next. After that, he didn’t need any clues, because he’d looked over at his dad and started to sweat because he had just done something terrible. Zexion’s eyes were ablaze and one hand still clenched the dinner knife he’d stabbed the table with. Ira knew without checking under the table that Zexion’s other hand was at its habitual place at his pocket, where back in the day he’d kept razor-edged wires that he used in fights.
“What’s this about a boyfriend?” Zexion asked, his voice deadly calm.
“Dad, I, uh-” Ava stammered.
“I-i-it was a joke. Just a j-joke. L-l-like Ava has a b-b-boyf-friend. Haha,” Ira squeaked, knowing that he was going to get hell for this unless he straightened things out.
“Was it?” Zexion asked, his attention turning on Ira, who qualmed.
“Uhhhhhh.”
“Dear, Ava’s already 15 years old. It’s normal for her to start thinking about dating,” Aqua said mildly.
“Thinking, yes. Not doing.”
“Zexion,” Aqua sighed.
“You didn’t start dating until you were 20.”
“So, what, you’re going to make us the basis for when our children can date? Does that mean Ira’s going to have to wait until he’s 35?”
“No, I just meant-”
“You’re being overprotective again. Stop it.” Aqua’s word was final.
While the conversation was over, Ira didn’t relax. He wasn’t out of the woods yet. Sure enough, his dad finished first and left the table, and his mom picked the topic back up again.
“So, you have a boyfriend, Ava?” Aqua asked. Ava instantly turned on her brother.
“Ira you little gremlin, you’re-”
“That would be a yes then. Is it who I think it is?” Aqua continued her line of questioning.
“Um, well, that is, uh-”
“Oh come on. It’s not like we didn’t all see this coming,” Ira interrupted in spite of himself. “The two of you have practically been conjoined since elementary school.”
“By that argument, you and Invi should be dating since the two of you are thick as thieves. Emphasis on the thieves, since you’re a couple of little troublemakers!” Ava snapped back.
“Invi likes girls, and you know it! Pardon me if I haven’t succumbed to any raging hormones yet!”
“Both of you, please stop before your father comes back in here to complain about the noise. You know he hates it when people start shouting,” Aqua said. She was completely unphased. “Ira, in the future I would advise you to think a bit more before speaking, as your father is quite excitable. Ava, I’ve told you before that your brother doesn’t need you to tell us his every move.”
“But mo-om-” Ava whined.
“No buts. If he really did something wrong or was in trouble he can tell us himself. Furthermore, if you have a boyfriend, you really ought to tell us. Better for us to find out right at the beginning than for it to be revealed suddenly in a way that is rather inconvenient for you. I mean, imagine if your Uncle Demyx saw you with your boyfriend and called everyone over to spectate. Or- or something like that. Point is, be careful what secrets you choose to keep, okay?” Aqua blushed a little as she gave her suspiciously detailed example.
“Yes, mom,” Ava grumbled.
“As for your father, I’ll talk to him. So go ahead and invite your boyfriend to dinner on Friday.”
“But mom, Dad will kill him before he even gets through the front door!” Ira protested. If anything happened to his sister’s boyfriend, Ava would take it out on him in spades.
“No he won’t. Like I said, I’ll talk to him. Now, try not to fight too much as you finish your dinners,” Aqua said as she stood up and cleared her place at the table. She paused to sigh over the new scar in the table from the dinner knife, but then she was gone, leaving just an irate Ava and an apologetic Ira.
“Look, Ava, sorry, I-”
“Save it,” Ava snapped. She shoveled the rest of her food down, still managing to look as dainty as always, and then she too was gone, leaving Ira to wonder if maybe he could get one of his uncles to help him move to Antarctica. Or maybe another planet, just to be safe.
Friday night came and an air of unease fell over the house. Ira wouldn’t come out of his room, he was that scared. Ava was by the door, pacing and trying to keep a lookout for her boyfriend while also trying to keep an eye on her dad. Zexion might have appeared to be reading, except that he was scowling at the book in his hand as if trying to urge it to combust, and had not turned a page since he’d picked the book up almost half an hour previously. The only person who seemed unaffected by it all was Aqua, who hadn’t had work and had spent the day cleaning the house and humming along to the music playing through her earbuds.
And then the doorbell rang.
Ava sprang for the door. Zexion slammed the book shut, a behavior he never tolerated, and got to his feet with a glint in his eye that spelled trouble. He’d spent the previous evening talking to Eraqus about speeches one gave to one’s daughter’s boyfriend, and was well-prepared. Back in his room, Ira cowered underneath a blanket.
“Gula! Hey!” Ava greeted slightly breathlessly.
Zexion froze, uncertain.
“Oh, is he here already?” Aqua asked. “Come on in, Gula. I was really glad to hear you two are finally dating. I was worried the you and Ava were going to be like your parents. I don’t think any of us ever understood why it took Sora and Kairi so long to get together.”
“Mom! Stop that! It’s embarrassing!” Ava cried.
Zexion was still frozen.
“Well according to my dad, he kept getting interrupted whenever he tried to ask her out, but according to my mom, he was just super dense about it and then he chickened out too easily so she had to ask him,” Gula responded, shrugging.
“Both sound pretty likely,” Aqua laughed.
“Uh, mom,” Ava whispered, and jerked her head at Zexion, who still was in a state of suspended animation.
“Dear, did I forget to mention that Ava’s boyfriend is Gula?” Aqua asked a little too innocently. Zexion finally moved, narrowing his eyes in suspicion.
“You think this is funny, don’t you?” he asked sourly.
“Uh-huh,” Aqua said.
“Hmph.”
“Don’t be like that,”Aqua chided. “Here, I’ll help you make dinner to apologize.”
“Why don’t you get Ira to come out of his room and help me instead,” Zexion sighed. “We want the results to be edible, right?”
As both parents left the room, Gula swallowed nervously.
“Uh, what just happened?” he asked.
“My mom has a twisted sense of humor sometimes,” Ava replied.
“Oh, okay,” Gula said, accepting that he wasn’t going to get any more explanation than that. But really, didn’t he deserve to know why his life had flashed before his eyes when he’d entered the room?
But it wasn’t like Ava really could explain what had just happened. She didn’t quite understand that, as Sora’s son, Gula held a special place in the hearts of the Yakuza 13, and as such, was one of the few people who would ever be able to actually be considered an acceptable match for Ava in her father’s eyes. She also was still trying to process the way her mom had just gotten away with trolling her dad so supremely. She knew they were in love, but to think it was to that extent was unbelievable to the girl, and to pretty much everyone, really.
All Ava knew for sure was that she supposed she would forgive Ira for this one. Mostly, anyway. She was still going to sprinkle a little salt on his toothbrush later, just for good measure. After all, she couldn’t let the pranks uncle Vanitas had taught her go to waste, now could she?