Who's Your Daddy?

[Deleted]

<sub>"Good, I'm glad you won't, cause I certainly won't." That was an insult to Reuben there, thought right now his breath was shaking when Nerys spoke up. He then whipped up and glared at her, finally speaking.

"What the hell kind of sick joke is that?! Now he was yelling at her. "You know, if you didn't want me to rape your boyfriend, I would have gladly let him go or let you do it." Yes he went there.

"Uh..." Nerys had no comment about what ANdy just said, but she then added. "Look at what you're doing right now. How can you think there AREN'T any spawns of yours running around?"

"... How would you know anyway?" He spoke up, quietly.

"Because I knew his parents when I moved next to them. I was ten when Reuben was born." She explained.</sub>

[Deleted]

"I swear to god, you will regret trying to do this with me...!" Reuben hissed back, wanting to deck the man so badly. This was a huge insult to him, and he would probably never be able to face his parents or sweet little Caden ever again without being absolutely mortified. Of course then Nerys spoke up, and he was completely mindblown.

"Are you crazy, woman?!" Sure, he would really not like to get raped, but at the same time, that was a completely sick and disgusting idea that she had just thrown out there to the winds.

'I was ten when Reuben was born'? 'Nerys'? He stared at the woman.

"Nerys... you're that Nerys?!"

Still, it wasn't completely out there. The hair was the exact same shade of brown, and the style wasn't that dissimilar, now that Reuben's hat had been knocked off in the struggle. And the shape of the eyes. Plus, there had always been the rumors that his mother had been 'disgraced' and that his father hadn't really been his father.

If it was true, though, the fact that he had been nearly violated by his own biological parent was enough to make him want to vomit.

[Deleted]

<sub>Don't worry, Reuben. Andromeda was just as mindblown even seeing a kid of his live this long into adulthood. Wouldn't he have to be... man that was barely after he split up with Sine...! Did it really stem that far back?! Reuben's mother must have been his first victim... Andromeda stumbled up and back, just staring at the kid and tryng to decide if he should be repulsed or not.

"...." He was silent for quite awhile, struggling to cope, and just freezing and locking in place. It would be way too easy to knock him over this time, and Andromeda, he could barely hear Nerys as she spoke up.

"Yeah, I'm that Nerys." She explained. "The rumors were true, but your parents loved you, even if your father isn't biological..." She then went silent. "I'm sorry you have to find out that way but I had to stop him somehow! Especially with me knowing something like that and now you two..."</sub>

[Deleted]

Yeah, that was barely after he split up with Sine and was so upset that he victimised the poor woman. Reuben's mother had known, though she had never told her son that she had actually been a victim. It probably would have been too much for the boy to bear at the time, when there was such a stigma associated with it...

When Andromeda finally got off of him, Reuben was incredibly relieved, though at the same time, he just stared back at the man. His hat and his sword were right there, but he wasn't quite in the presence of mind to get it. The fact that he was the son of one of the most infamous pirates and a serial rapist to boot was a bit too much for him.

"..." He remained sitting there, staring quietly up at Andy who seemed to be just as surprised as he was. Nerys was still speaking, so Reuben just nodded a bit absentmindedly, and he his eyes flickered back to Andy.

"You..." His voice trailed off with a bit of a waver, uncertain. He most certainly wouldn't start hugging Andy and calling him 'Dad'; that title was reserved for Michael, the man that had raised him, biological connections be damned.

[Deleted]

<sub>Andromeda snapped out of it finally, standing up straight and then looking over to Nerys as she spoke up again. For the first time in his life he wasn't even making any sort of emotion- the emotion that Benjamin wanted him to have instead of being a psycho lunatic. He then looked back at Reuben. No, he wasn't willing to make amends to a son he didn't know nor cared about.

"... Yeah, me." Suddenly a waft of cold endered him and he just smirked at the kid. Though it seemed forced and a but painful as old memories wafted over him. "Yeah, you came out of me victimizing your mother. I can see that now. You have similar features to me."

"...." Nerys looked away. of course Andromeda brushed past her and then went to where they came in. he turned around to speak to Nerys.

"I'll give you a few minutes to speak with your boyfriend." he then added in an almost exhausted tone of voice. "I'm done here..."

Nerys was silent as Andromeda stepped out to head to his ship.</sub>

[Deleted]

Reuben didn't expect Andromeda to make any amends with him, either. The man victimized a lot of people, including his mother and probably his father for being willing to deal with a rape victim and raise a child that wasn't his own (good god, what about Caden?!), harassed many more, and did it all because he enjoyed it.

"...I used to like this hair."

Dammit, he'd gotten it from Andy! He stood up, his eyes going cold as well at the smirk. No, he wouldn't be upset at all about this. He'd honestly have rather not known that he was related to... this thing. Still, he didn't move, instead silently watching the man - his biological father - step off of the ship.

Finally, he turned to Nerys. "You knew all along."

Still, he quietly noted, he had learned Andromeda's standards: the man would not, at the least, victimize his own offspring like that.

[Deleted]

<sub>Nerys watched as they both traced cold glances. She knew there would be no lost love between them, especially since Reuben lost a good biological father in this. She then ran over to sit next to him, reveling in the chance to talk to him possibly one last time. Forget about Andy's claims of this being her boyfriend... they were too far apart in age. Andromeda would slide off to report to the girls what they got and that Nerys would be in a moment. Not about Reuben's relation to him, not yet.

"Yes... I knew." She looked at him. "I'm sorry. I didn't want to let you know because... it's Andromeda! I know he spared my life though I know someone like you wouldn't bear to live knowing that man was your biological father, but... I just didn't want to see him..." She shook her head. Now she knew as well, that Andromeda wouldn't hurt his kids like that, whether he knew them or not.

"You should still be proud of who you are, no matter what you inherited." She gave him a small but reassuring smile.</sub>

[Deleted]

Yeah, no love lost at all. In fact, with Andromeda now gone, some of the pressure was off of him now. He had loved Michael, a lot, as well as Uncle Isaac - the man that had taught him about Clockworks wasn't even related to him anymore, was he? He dropped back down on the deck, idly brushing his clothes off to get the Andyness off of him, as Nerys sat down near him.

Definitely too far apart in age. Sure, he'd harbored a puppy crush on her when he was 5, but he'd quickly outgrown that. Sine was far hotter. /murdered

"...I ran away at 14 because of those rumors. Mother is a good person, and what had happened is not her fault. I was 16 when he attacked the airship I was serving on. Decimated it, though me and a few others survived. Met him again when I was 17, and got robbed blind. I tricked him though, and escaped before he could do anything. And now..."

Reuben fell silent as she said that. He was emotionally exhausted, and he honestly didn't know which was worse - being victimized like that, or being told that... he was the result of victimization.

"...Maybe." He didn't sound convinced at that as he picked up his hat and stared at it.

[Deleted]

<sub>Nerys took a deep breath when he spoke up. So that's how he met them. The girl hadn't joined until a few years ago and even then nobody but she and Andy himself only knew why they stuck together. Nerys held a sympathetic view of the world and the other girls didn't understand why she joined the crew.

To see the world. To take a new daring adventure. To be brave. And maybe just ti impress Andy himself. She never did understand him. After all he did like Sine better.

"... I'm sorry about them. But our secrets are safe." She then looked him in the eye. "About Andromeda, I think I know why he left like that, but... I can't tell you why. There are some secrets about him that are best left unsaid." She then hugged Reuben, whether he wanted the comfort or not.

"I'm sorry it has to be this way."</sub>

[Deleted]

Reuben didn't really understand how Nerys, of all people, had ended up with Andy, but then again, girls tended to do really odd things when they wanted something. Even if Nerys wasn't really that young anymore. She had to be in her late twenties, for crying out loud! How come she hadn't gotten married yet?

"Don't you think you've caused enough damage with those secrets?" His voice was a little cold when he said it, but there was still that waver. Had she even been the one to start the rumors, or had she only known there was some truth to the rumors? He would probably never know.

"Or at least told him when I couldn't overhear it?"

The first thing he was going to do when he went home... visit his parents and give both his mother and his real father a long hug. And then cuddle Caden. And then visit Uncle Isaac.

[Deleted]

<sub>Marriage is for suckers, Reuben Nerys didn't want to say anything else but she bit her lip hard when he accused her like that. Did he really think she started those rumors! She had kept secrets all her life. This was one that had to be spilled or... Her eyes burned at him.

"What, and let him, your own biological father, rape you?!" Her voice wavered as well. She then shook her head and finally stood up. She didn't want to leave him like this, but... Oh what was she to do? Nerys took a deep breath and then looked down at him.

"Listen, I have to go... It's best we don't ever see each other again, okay?" She spoke up. Knowing Andromeda he'd steer clear of Reuben's ship from now on unless they meet each other in a public place or if Andy wants to talk.</sub>

[Deleted]

Oh, he agreed. Why did you think he was still single, after all? Most women were annoying. Well, what could Reuben do? He had nearly been raped, found out that he was in fact a bastard child and a rape child no less, which was even worse than a bastard child! He glared right back at her, obviously emotionally compromised at the moment.

"I don't know! I can't decide if that's worse or not!"

He really didn't. For once, he was glad that Cardinal hadn't been there to help, though. Reuben didn't quite want his crew learning about that yet, especially Cardinal. The other had been there when Andy had decimated everything.

"I know that. I don't want to see him again."

As long as Nerys didn't tell Andromeda about all the nitty gritty secrets of his childhood, like him gifting her flowers when he was 5 and she was 15 because he "thought you were so pretty", then he would be just fine.

He finally stood up, staring after the ship. He'd lost more than his gold trinkets today...

[Deleted]

<sub>Nerys couldn't answer that. It was really up to Reuben to decide what was worse or not. Right now she felt she did way too much damage to Reuben's ego, so she had to get out of there while she still could. She took one long look at Reuben. Man, she used to think he was such a cute kid!

"... Bye..." She whispered. The one thing she wanted to say to him before he disappeared. She then turned her back to him and exited the ship, climbing back to Andy's ship and unhooking the grapple hook from his own ship.</sub>

[Deleted]

No, she couldn't, and it would probably be a very long time before Reuben truly decided what was actually worse. He wasn't going to hurt her, of course, he wasn't that much of an ass, though he wouldn't have hesitated to fight back if she had physically assaulted him in any sort of way. Even if she was a woman.

"...Bye."

Reuben looked over at her as she left and the grapple hook was undone. Oh right. He could actually steer his ship now without being grappled. He really didn't feel like going anywhere at the moment, and just curling up in his cabin, but... he had to stop at a small town anyways to get a few things fixed.

The smaller the better. He needed to come to terms before he went to Serian capital.