Drown Out the Sorrows

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The Star Man was gone, thankfully. Who the hell would have guessed that his biological uncle was the Star Man? At least this uncle was likely not to get himself arrested, unlike Isaac. What had the man even done for that to happen!? Reuben got the feeling that he seriously didn't want to find out what.

"Good, your life would be unpleasant if you had. Though it clearly doesn't count if you hadn't actually done anything," Reuben said flatly, staring at Andy. Well, the boy had mentioned in his drunken stupor about being terrified whenever Andy had gotten physical. "And putting too many bulky cannons and things on the Time Skimmer would mean it isn't as fast. It's not my fault you think I'm an easy target! I can usually fend off most people!"

Teenage rebellion, ahoy. At least it was likely that Andy would not attack him anymore and he actually would have some form of protection if Andy noticed anyone else trying to attack him. Nerys look pretty tired, so he watched her as she walked off.

"Uh... right. Sleep well, Nerys."

He stared at the huge amount of bread in his arms, and then awkwardly at Andy. Still not coming close to you. He should probably head out soon, before he was caught associating with Andromeda...

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<sub>Andromeda looked over to Nerys as she decided to leave him with... Reuben. Oh this was going to be awkward. He didn't say anything as she tossed him his coat and he just threw it over his shoulder as she closed the door.

"Rest well, Nerys. You'll need it." Of course then, Reuben addressed him. He looked over to the kid as he spoke about the Time Skimmer "I shouldn't be able to easily cut you off like that if your ship is fast enough." He explained. Of course, now things got awkward. He took a deep breath.

"Are you aware of what you said last night? because it got awkward for me, really fast." Now Andy was actually telling his own feelings on the subject. How surprising.</sub>

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Reuben nodded absentmindedly at Nerys as she went off into her room. Man, she had to leave him with Andromeda. If the man had still been trying to get into his pants, he hazarded a guess that she wouldn't have been doing that. He hoped.

"That was a fluke! I was heading to a town to fix a faulty part to that issue when you ambushed me!" He hissed back, not amused. Even if it was true that he had really just needed speed to escape Andy. He took a deep breath as well.

"...Not really. I just remember being really upset, someone talking to me, and then the next thing I know, I'm waking up on top of you, pops." Reuben said quietly, before blinking. "...Never using that word again."

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<sub>Andromeda folded his arms when the kid defended himself. Was that it? No amazing death defying flight maneuvers either? Dumb kid. He was going to have to teach him some methods before he dies a horrible and painful death. Of course it might just have been a fluke.

"Fluke or not, you'd better not end up dead the next time I see you with that ship." He rolled his head back. Seriously, there was that ache in his neck again.... he then blinked when Reuben spoke up. And then...

Pops.

"Use that word again, and I swear I will..." He gritted his teeth, before calming down and taking another deep breath. "I'm not trying to make up anything to you being your biological father nor do I have any sort of instinct to protect or care for you." Well those were blatant lies and the back of his mind punched his psyche for saying that. He leaned back again and closed his eyes. "... Whatever. You told me your parents died, you wanted to see Nerys, and you both sobbed all over me. not to mention you called yourself a failure.</sub>

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Reuben frowned at him as well, crossing his arms in an eerily similar manner. Geez, he knew how to do his death-defying flight maneuvers, though some awkward father-son bonding between the two of them would be... a rather interesting sight to see. Especially when both of them denied that they wanted father-son moments.

"I'm not going to get killed so easily!" Ah, the confidence and invincibility of youth. Too bad Shree has it so he has a bit of bounty and may or may not eventually get shot, though not killed, by someone wanting his head.

"I don't plan to. I have no idea where that word even came from." Reuben was genuinely puzzled at that, not knowing he'd made it up while drunk. Of course he then rolled his eyes as Andy swore that he wasn't trying to make up to him or had any instinct to protect him.

"I know, I know, and I don't have any obligations to be a good son to you, either." Whether Reuben was being serious or not, that was up to Andy to decide. He held up the bread a bit trollishly. "Which is part of why I'm taking this, thanks."

He took a deep breath. Geez, had he seriously spilled his guts and said all of that to Andy? Suddenly he was glad that he didn't remember any of it. It would have made his life extremely awkward, though now Andy had something to hold over his head! And the whole failure thing. He hoped he hadn't said a word to Andy about it.

"I have my... reasons for that." Except he wasn't elaborating anytime soon.

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<sub>Andy rolled his eyes at Reuben. Really now? Kids these days think they're so strong. He then leaned against the wall and looked over at the kid as he defended himself. If he ever got hurt by anybody... Man, they would be so raped physically and figuratively.

"Don't do anything stupid, sonny." He stopped himself. Seriously? That was starting to become a verbal tic to him now. He shook his head and then spoke up again.

"Forget I said that." He then stared at the kid when he laid claim to his own bread. Seriously? "... Next time, I'm only giving you hard tack, kid." And then... reasons? He then glared at the kid.

"There is no reason to think your a failure, drunk or not. Besides, when you get drunk you start expressing repressed emotions, so I know for a fact you have some kind of issue right now. I don't like to pry into people's business, but you are my biological son and there is no way in goddamn hell you're becoming more like me. So tell me..." He leaned forward, giving the kid a stern gaze. "What are your reasons?"</sub>

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Reuben knew that people would probably end up... incredibly wounded once Andy got through with them, though he didn't know that it would be a consequence of harming him in any sort of way. Besides, he would be fine! He'd been find so far, through skill and a little luck. Granted, he still has the incredible Megaman luck even in this form, but...

"I don't do anything stupid-" Reuben stared at Andy as he said. Good god, he'd called him 'pops', and the other had called him 'sonny'.

"Never use it again and not only will I conveniently forget, I won't use that word again." 'Pops'... he didn't dare say it out loud yet again. Who knew how the other would react to it? He kept that trollish grin up as Andy commented on the bread.

"Right, right, whatever you say." And then just to be a troll, he munched a bit more on the bread before swallowing. Of course Andy seemed to be extremely curious about what his issue was, and Reuben frowned a little.

"So maybe I was expressing repressed emotions. Besides, why would you want to know anyways? I mean, you don't care about me, like you said earlier, correct?" The teenager pointed out. This was actually somewhat fun, pushing Andy's buttons and knowing the other wouldn't do anything too horrible to him. Andy leaned forward, and Reuben took a step back at that.

"But if you're not lying, then you already know some of those reasons." Namely his parents and Caden and the rumors and all. Plus needing help at times.

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<sub>Andromeda's expression went stoic as the kid ate the bread in front of him. All those words. Man, this kid was overconfident. Just like him. Psh, Reuben didn't suddenly age fifty years in one week, in fact the man himself wanted to be at that age. Carefree, insane... Now this... voice in the back of his head stops him from doing anything.

"... Even if I call you 'sonny.' I shouldn't be such a hypocrite, but I am." He murmured. "... You can keep the bread anyway. You look like you could use some of the energy."

God, Andromeda sounded so... mellow. He looked down before he raised his eyes, bringing his hand up to run through his brunette hair as he tried to mull over all of this.

"I don't know everything about you, Reuben. If you had to live with those rumors about your parents, and being treated like glass..." Seriously, he must have gotten his mother's weakness. That, or Reuben actually doesn't eat well. "... Something in the back of my head tells me I gotta fix at least some of the shit I've done. It won't stop my piracy, but rest assured I at the least won't bother you again."

His lips then widened into a dangerous smile as a thought remained in his mind. "In fact if there's anyone bothering you..."</sub>

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Overconfident enough to eat the bread in front of you, at least. Now that Reuben knew that Andy wouldn't violate him, he had become a little bolder. Like father, like son, as much as neither of them wanted to admit it. The kid stretched a bit, and looked back up at him as he talked about being a hypocrite, and made a bit of a face. He couldn't call him 'pops', but he could call him 'sonny'? How fair was that!

"I still don't feel good, though much better than I was this morning." At least he hadn't ended up starving. He munched a bit more on the bread, though it wasn't in the trollish manner that he had been earlier.

"...And they're gone, too, which my only chance of reconnecting with my family being locating Caden. I feel like... I feel like I should have been there for him, so that he would have actually had somewhere to go." Massive guilt for the little brother that he had doted on? Definitely. His mother had been a fairly fragile woman herself, and all in all, he had acquired a lot of traits through her. Anything Andy didn't recognize? Likely through her.

"Honestly, I'd be surprised if you dropped your piracy for me," He stated in a bit of a flat voice. "But that's actually really good to know."

Of course then Andy let out that smile and Reuben just got an awkward look on his face at that expression. Oh geez. Yes, through the roll of the dice he'd ended up getting the protection of the most infamous and wanted pirate in the three kingdoms.

"Um... not that I know of... though I have a bounty. Not near as big as you, but small enough that most people don't recognize me. I haven't been bothered yet, but..."

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<sub>Andromeda looked over to Reuben. He seemed to look much healthier now, and those traits that he got that he didn't regognize... it started to come through in his memories now. What was that woman's name? ... He never got the Stevenson's names. Maybe he should visit her grave and put down a flower, at least. of course, the screaming from that woman came back to his head and he rubbed his temples.

Conscious, don't act on me now... He told himself. Worst part is that Reuben mentioned Caden again and he perked up a bit.

"As The Star Man said, he does do a lot of wandering, and so do I. If I find the kid, I can at least get Dani or Nerys to talk to him. Then again, I don't know Nerys' relationship with the kid." He didn't know how old Caden was. Definitely younger than Reuben so he had to have been just a toddler when Nerys left the family. Or at least based on assumption.

"I can't drop my piracy. I have to give Dula as much hell as possible. It's my life." He growled. If Reuben did put thought into it, Andromeda usually attacked ships or people affiliated with the country. It didn't stop him from becoming very infamous in the other countries due to random attacks and infamy from Dula alone, but still.

He paused when Reuben spoke about a bounty. He frowned and then glanced at the kid. "Tell me, who placed the bounty on you and how much?" He looked down at his fingers as he played with them. "It's actually well known that most people take out the ones with smaller bounties first before moving on to the big boys. I know the bounty in Dula for me is 2500 shillings. However bounty hunters generally shy away from taking me on, especially alone, because if they fail.... they don't leave with their dignity intact."</sub>

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Perhaps it was a good thing that Reuben didn't know exactly what Andy was thinking about; that would have gotten the man a punch to the face. Wisely, it seemed that Andy was staying quiet on the matter, though if he knew, it would at least prove the man had more of a conscience than he originally had intended.

"...Knowing those two, I'd be surprised if they didn't gush all over him. At least Nerys. She did it when he was a baby, sometimes I wondered if she was going to smother that child with attention. He probably wouldn't remember her, though, it was quite awhile ago. He's only about nine years old by now, almost ten, green eyes, light brown hair."

It wasn't much to go by, but it was better than nothing. Of course Reuben didn't know that Caden was smaller than his age and a stuttering but polite kid. He knew that Andy knew that if he hurt Caden in anyway and Reuben found out, the teenager was going to be completely pissed off.

"Fine with me, I never liked those rich snobs, anyways. I stick to Seria and Truesdale more than Dula." He'd gone there a couple times, mainly just to see what was up. Couple of bad experiences, but he wasn't going to go back anytime soon. He could end up having horrible things happen to him.

"Some... rich guy, though I don't think he was one of the leaders. He kept taxing some of the people that lived near him, and as far as I knew, there was no legitimate reason except for the fact he was in power there. I just happened to be there, since... well, I washed up on Dula after the first airship I was on was destroyed." No need to explain how that happened, they both probably knew.

"One family couldn't pay up, so he stole their youngest son for something. Long story short, I killed the guy, and gave them their son back. I was inexperienced, so I got noticed, and got a bounty put up, probably by the guys friends. I don't know who exactly, all I know was that I woke up one day and noticed that there were bounties on me. I knew that I had to get the heck out of there. I bribed on-board the first airship I could and hopped off in Truesdale."

He shrugged a bit; it did make sense that Andy disliked Dula, considering how shady the rich tended to be, but he seemed honestly a bit obsessed with it. Dulan origins? "So honestly, it's really only there that I'm wanted, and I think its only about 500 shillings? I normally stick to Seria and Truesdale, though if I absolutely need to go over to Dula, I make sure I'm not as noticeable. The hat helps." Speaking of his hat, it was probably on his ship. He hoped. He liked that hat.

"..." Well, no need to elaborate on that statement, Andy.

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<sub>Well, Andy knew his girls. They liked cute and cuddly things so it should really be no problem if they wound up doing anything. He could just dump Caden in Nerys and Godwine's lap and they could gush all over him and spoil him. They had enough money to afford food for more people anyway. They were after all, one big family.

"Girls. You know them. They like cute things, kids included. Even Godwine is good with them." He paused. "Yes, I know you're listening in, young lady."

"... Darnit!" A voice could be heard. She then whines and then could be heard shuffling off. He then ruffled his hair and grinned. Man, he was good at this now. of course he went quiet when Reuben spoke up about the insanity that is known as Dula. Hm, well... it's Dula. He liked to kick around those snobs anyway. He looked over to the kid.

"So you washed up on Dula and found that guy? Hm... I remember some of the Dulans did like to tax on the poorer people down there. Especially if they weren't related to Swire Incorporated." He scratched his head, venom dripping down from his voice. Clearly he hated that company. Andromeda's eyes narrowed when Reuben spoke up. So that bastard stole the youngest son, huh?

"... I can say one thing. That bastard deserved to be killed." He spoke up, a dangerous hint in his voice. He then calmed down and looked at his feet. Well... he knew what to do. He'd track down the guy who put up that bounty. or put a bounty in that man. Nerys should be able to do that.

"Good. You at least know one thing about bounties. Just be careful, please?" He asked the kid, readjusting his position as he spoke up, moving to toss his coat into his bedroom, and walking over to the kid.</sub>

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Well, he knew a few of them at the least from what he had seen. If any of them were like Nerys, Caden was in for a lot of smothering by overaffectionate females if they ever got their hands on him. Darn females and their penchant for cute and cuddly things like small children. He shrugged as Andy commented on women.

"Makes sense, sounds like a lot of girls that I've heard of. As if Nerys doting on me when I was younger and Caden wasn't enough. I think I'm secretly glad I'm not a small kid anymore, I wouldn't escape them."

He snorted as Godwine was caught. Well, that was her problem for eavesdropping on them, though was the conversation between the two of them really that interesting. Good god, it was just a normal father-son heart-to-heart chat between the two! Andy was actually a good conservationist when he wasn't going to hurt you.

"Yeah, had the misfortune of landing there. It was worth it since I saved that poor kid. I would have flipped if someone did that to Caden, why not help another kid?" Yes, there was a lot of hatred in Andy's voice for Swire Incorporated, and Reuben didn't blame him. That company was bloody corrupted, and most Dulans that weren't in the top few of the company or even working for it willingly had something against it.

"Hey, I'm not completely daft," he protested, though he gave a faint smile. Warning him to be careful now, eh? One would almost guess that the man really cared. He did tense up a bit as Andy walked over, but at least he didn't step back. "I'll try."

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<sub>Andromeda snorted when he mentioned the girls. Nothing else could be said on that though. Godwine was snuffed out and left, so he didn't have to worry about her now. Crazy woman. Either way, he knew kids were attractive to girls because... maybe something about how they act or innocence or something.

"I know what you mean. I live with four of them." He spoke up. Well, Reuben now knew how dangerous Dula was so he was glad the kid would avoid it for now. Speaking of avoiding, he would walk over to the top deck now, expecting Reuben to follow him.

"You've probably spent long enough away form your crew. You should probably see to them and your ship." He explained.</sub>

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Well, there were no girls spying on them anymore. He thought. Nerys was sleeping and Godwine had been found out - that just left Daniela and Selene. Who knew what the two of them were up to considering the situation that was at hand? It was true though, that girls loved young kids and wanted to squish them and cuddle them.

"I could almost swear that Nerys lived with me." Don't worry, avoiding Dula except in dire emergencies was at the top of his list. The teen followed Andy to the deck, wincing a bit as the bright light, now that it was unfiltered by walls, struck him. Oh yeah, he should probably get some more water once he got back to his ship.

"Yeah... they're likely wondering why I didn't come back." He was going to have to find a darn good excuse, especially to convince Cardinal. He headed over to where the ladder was, studying below for people. Probably wouldn't be good for his reputation if he was caught with Andy around him. The Star Man was a different story, Andy though...