Chapter Text
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Stars twinkle in the dark sky and Lukas sighs. He’s perched on the roof of his humble home and since it isn’t super close to the lights of Beacontown, the sky is full of stars, with a full and heavy moon to watch over them. He can hear the faint groan of monsters in the distance, but he isn’t troubled. He feels a great sense of calm as a soft breeze wafts over him and runs through his hair. The roof is definitely his favorite thinking spot.
‘I should write poetry about this night, it’s so pretty,’ he hums. ‘It’d probably be super cheesy though, I’ve never been good at that sort of thing.”
It had been a week since the day the New Order of the Stone had all gone their separate ways, since their tearful goodbye. Well, Axel’s tearful goodbye; everyone else seemed happy and hopeful that they would all meet again. Jesse had decided to stay in Beacontown and they were walking back to the Order Hall while Radar had gone on about all of the things that had to be done. Throughout his whole spiel, only one thing really got his attention.
“-You received a letter from someone named Aiden? Something about wanting to redeem himself. No idea what that means.-”
It felt like a ton of bricks had hit him. Aiden wanted redemption? What could that possibly mean? Lukas bristles at the thought of having to be nice to Aiden after everything he had put him and his friends through. But he knows that Jesse is probably going to want to do her best to make amends with Aiden anyway. That was just the type of person she was.
Lukas smiles fondly. He’s glad that Jesse was able to see beyond their rivalry and to accept him so readily into her group. He thinks back to the start of it all, back to when she had asked him to keep an eye out for Ivor, their first real conversation. He can remember how nervous he was when he saw her approaching; he had asked Petra earlier to put in a good word for him, but he wasn’t sure if Jesse would actually give him a chance.
‘I definitely owe Petra though; I wouldn’t have been brave enough to strike up a conversation with Jesse on my own. Especially since Aiden was such a jerk to her and Axel and Olivia all the time.’
A heavy sigh drags itself out of Lukas’ lungs.
‘It’s not like I was any better though, I let him say all those things didn’t I? I didn’t stop him when I should have. Aiden… why’d you have to go make a mess out of everything?’
Lukas stands from his spot and begins to make his way down to bed. It’s getting late and he wants to get up early tomorrow. Jesse had asked him to come over, so he could only assume that they were going to go over Aiden’s letter together. He takes a last look at the moon and hopes that whatever happens, it’ll all be okay somehow.
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Lukas walks into the Order Hall bright and early, ready for the day. He already sees Jesse and Radar talking amongst themselves, probably going over the to-do list of the day.
“Hey guys!”, Lukas says with a cheery wave.
The two turn to greet him.
“Hey Lukas!” “Good morning sir!”
Lukas smiles. “We’re friends Radar, you really don’t need to call me that.”
Radar smiles sheepishly. “I know, it's just kind of a habit at this point. Ahem, have you had breakfast yet? We have an assortment of fresh fruit, pies, cakes, cookies..”
“I already ate but I'll take a cookie, if it's not too much trouble.”
“Not at all!” Radar exclaims. He’s already turned to leave for the pantry. “What about you Jesse? Would you like anything?”
“No thanks Radar, I'm good,” Jesse says.
Radar hurries out and Lukas turns to Jesse, shaking his head fondly. “He knows he doesn't have to do all of that, right? He’s not an intern anymore.”
Jesse throws her hands up in slight exasperation. “That's what I keep telling him, but he insists! I mean I'm definitely not complaining, he’s been so helpful, but I wish he’d take it easy sometimes.”
“Yeah, me too. So what's on the agenda for today, Mayor Jesse?” he asks with a cheeky grin.
Jesse's demeanor became a bit more serious. “Well you know, we've apparently received a letter from Aiden, all the way from the ground underneath Sky City.”
Lukas’s grin shifts into a blank expression. “Did you read it yet?”
“No, but Radar had glanced over it and gotten a gist of it. I thought you’d like to read with me since...” Jesse trails off.
“...since he used to be my friend.” Lukas fills in the blank for her. “Its ok Jesse. And thank you for that, I appreciate it.”
Jesse only nods and she pulls an envelope out of her inventory. She walks over to Lukas as the letter unfolds.
Together they read.
Dear Jesse,
I know we've left things off on a… pretty bad note and I know that you've probably moved on or whatever and I'm the last person you want to hear from, so I'm just gonna cut to the chase. I want to redeem myself. I know I did you and Lukas and everyone else wrong and I want to make it up to you guys. I've served my time here for the people of Sky City, and I’m still under supervision, but I talked to Isa and Milo and they agreed that it would be okay for me to leave if you were to agree to it. To tell you the truth… I really miss home. The people here have been nice enough not to exile me and Maya and Gill, they offered us a place with them, but it’s not home . I’m rambling for too long, sorry. The point is I want to do everything I can to make it up to you, but I’d understand if you want nothing to do with me anymore. I’ll be waiting for your response.
Sincerely, Aiden.
P.S. Thanks for taking me with you off the island. Reginald was right; it was a lot more than I deserved.
Jesse looked to Lukas. “What do you think?” she asked softly.
“He sounds...different.” Lukas said carefully. Truthfully, he didn’t know what to make of it. ‘Whatever I was expecting from Aiden, it certainly wasn’t this. He actually sounds...sorry.’
“Yeah he-” “I’ve got your cookie, Lukas!”
Jesse is interrupted by Radar who came bounding in the hall, proudly holding chocolate chip cookies in his hands. He immediately reads the room and bashfully quiets down.
“I’m sorry! I interrupted something important, didn’t I?”, he says apologetically.
“It’s ok Radar, we were just reading over some of the mail we got.” Jesse says easily.
“Well, in that case, eat up!” Radar hands one to the both of them.
“My favorite! Thanks!” exclaims Lukas.
“Radar, you didn’t have to bring one for me, I’m not even that hungry!” Jesse protests.
“Not that hungry? So you’re at least a little hungry, right?” he raises a knowing eyebrow.
Jesse sighs and takes a bite out of the cookie in defeat. “Thanks, Radar.”
He beams. “My pleasure! So which letter did you guys go over?”
“The one sent by Aiden.” Lukas replies.
“Oh that one! That certainly was an odd one! He sure seemed sorry over whatever it is he did to you guys. If you don’t mind me asking, what exactly did he do?” Radar asks curiously.
“Do you remember the story of Sky City?” Jesse replies.
“Do I ever!”
“This is the same Aiden who attempted to steal the Eversource, destroyed the island and nearly killed everyone on it. Especially me.”
“Oh...wow.” Radar says. “I guess he really does have a lot to make up for then, huh?”
“Yep,” she says, popping the last syllable.
“So… what are you going to do about it?” he asks.
Jesse huffs. “Well, I guess we can start by writing a letter back.” She turns to Lukas and smiles softly. “Do you wanna help out? You’ve always been better at the written word than I have.”
Lukas feels his heart do a small flutter before replying. “Sure.”
The trio head into a nearby office and sit themselves down around a desk. Radar takes out a quill and some paper and is about to write the standard salutations when Jesse stops him.
“Actually Radar, this is a more personal matter, so I’d rather write the letter myself.”
“Oh of course! It’s just -heh habits I guess,” he says sheepishly as he hands over the quill and paper to Jesse. “I’ll just leave the both of you to it then. Yell if you need anything!” Radar excuses himself out the room.
Jesse looks to Lukas. ”So do you want him to come over?”
“I’m not sure, to tell you the truth. I want to give him a second chance, but I’m still...” Lukas' hands curl into fists.
‘I’m still angry . Why would he do that to us? To me? We were friends!’’
Jesse doesn’t miss the way he grits his teeth and she winces. “I know it’s hard, I can’t imagine how this must feel to you. But... I feel like this might be good for you. For all of us. Maybe we can finally get some closure on this whole thing.”
Lukas relaxes and he nods. “You’re right. He’s making an effort at least, I gotta give him that,” he sighs.
“Exactly.” She begins to write.
Lukas watches as she scratches words onto the paper. She always looks so soft whenever she’s focusing on something; she looked the same way when she was solving a puzzle on one of their many shared adventures. But in the soft glow of the redstone lanterns, she looks impossibly warm. Her silky brown hair frames her wonderfully tan face and deep brown eyes flit over the paper rereading her own words. Lukas feels his heart to begin pound and he wonders if she can hear it.
Jesse looks up and Lukas hurriedly tears his gaze away, hoping she’d ignore the heat that’s surely painted across his face. Thankfully, she doesn’t seem to notice as she pushes her letter over to him. “What do you think? Do you wanna add anything?”
Dear Aiden,
Your letter really surprised us, it was… unexpected, to say the least. But it was appreciated all the same. Lukas and I talked and we would be glad to give you a second chance. As of now, the rest of the New Order are in their own towns or out on an adventure (Petra), so you’d just be left with the two of us if you were to stay over. When should we come to pick you up at the portal? Will Maya and Gill be coming too?
Sincerely, Jesse
P.S. I know we’ve had our differences, but I’m glad that we can finally put that behind us, so thank you for being brave enough to reach out to us :)
Lukas reads over it and scoffs. “A smiley face?”
Jesse chuckles. “I’m a smiley person, how else was I supposed to show it? Besides this is supposed to be a friendly letter! Nothing better for non-hostility than a nice smile.” She flashes a wide grin at him and it does nothing to calm the warm flutters in Lukas’s chest.
“Well I guess you’re not wrong. I think this letter is good to go.” Lukas concedes as he hands the letter back to her.
Jesse folds the letter and stuffs it into a prepared envelope as she rises out of her seat. “Coolio. Let’s go put this in the outgoing mailbox.”
Lukas follows her out of the office.
‘Jesse seems really hopeful about this. I just hope Aiden doesn’t mess it up this time.’
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