a talk
day 13 of fictober
Juniper Ryder has a talk with her mom (warning: angst)
“Hey, mom.” Juniper’s mouth found glass. It felt cold beneath her lips. The steady hum of thousand cryo pods calmed her.
“How are you?” She sat on the ground and hugged her knees close to her chest. No one would dare to disturb her. No one even asked any more. Her weekly absences from the Tempest became a regularity. First, there had been questions, friendly concern from Liam and Peebee, a hug from Cora, a pat on the shoulder from Drack and some imported chocolate from Vetra. Not to mention a two hour star gazing session with Jaal, who talked about his own mothers and the importance of family.
“I know that you can’t hear me, but I like to pretend that you’re alright.” Juniper closed her eyes and remembered the voice of her mother. Throughout the years, fantasy and reality had merged.
“The asari are working on a cure, you know? Got help from the turians and salarians. It’s looking pretty good and you’ll be up in no time.”
Juniper licked her hips, regretting not having a drink before this. “It’ll be strange, I guess. You’re father’s last secret.” He’d never trusted his children enough. Kept his secrets to himself, seldom spoke of his wife. And Juniper hated him for that. Even his death didn’t make her whole again. She still carried a hole in her heart and a childish dream of his approval and love.
“Everything has changed so much. We’re not even in the same galaxy any more. Wait until you hear the story about the Archon and how I totally kicked his ass.” Juniper shook her head, remembering their last encounter. “I’m such a powerful biotic now. Finally able to control my powers and all. You’ve always scolded me for being irresponsible with them. We need to find other things to talk about now.” Would she believe her? It sounded strange. At least, there were vids of her heroics and the tales of her crew and allies.
“”And … I’m in love. For the first time.” Juniper chuckled. “Elon is a bit nervous, though, because Scott told him some stories about you.” Juniper would spare her the details of her twin punching him.
“Remember when I brought that cute asari home? She seemed so impressed with you that she never spoke about dating me again and sent you flowers for about a month?” Some things just weren’t meant to be.
“But he’s nice. A bit gruff on the outside, but he’s a good one.” And he’d stayed at her side through everything. An engineer turned teacher, then lover and best friend. Sometimes his scarred hands had been the only thing keeping her together.
“We’ll have some dinner, wine, and a talk about the future. You’ll fit in just fine. So many bright minds have gathered here and it’ll be fun to show you all of our settlements. Humans have come such a long way.” Juniper hung her head. Ignoring her own tears and the lump in her throat.
“I hope, you’ll be proud of me.”
