Work Text:
The life he leads is still quite surreal to him - in reality, he never expected to make it this far.
He never expected anything, to be quite honest. Maybe it was his attitude, his tendency to live in the moment, or the fact he was ready to give up any successful future he might've had if it meant securing one for Leina.
For a human like Judau, incapable of any real resentment or hatred… if given the chance to go back to his golden years, he'd do it the same, all over again.
Well, mostly everything.
The letters from the 'gang' are far scarcer now, it's understandable - to begin with, he's not a man that's easy to pinpoint ever since he parted ways with Roux and the Federation. Naturally, all of his friends have lives of their own.
And him? You could say he has a new… family.
Commitment never sat well with him, but just because of that it doesn't mean he can't have a family, right? Leina, even if far away from him, is still with him. Well and alive. And her family is, of course, part of his, too.
The pirate life, albeit on and off, does sit him well.
"Judau, are you eating well?"
This year's letter is so formal that it makes him cringe, for a second, yet… all it takes is a second to imagine his cute little sister nagging him, then… the delivery of the words changes.
"You're so far away… it wouldn't hurt you to come and visit some time, I'm sure the kids would be happy to see you, it'd make me very happy, too."
"That's playing dirty, Leina… you know I can't refuse you when you put it that way."
"We've managed to secure a house on Side 1, it took a lot of work and time, but, I think they saw we refused to relent. Money wasn't an issue, in fact… it was the opposite, they kept trying to push us towards 'nicer' areas."
"Sounds about right, people nowadays are vultures. Especially in this economy."
"Write back whenever you can, come back to Shangri-La. Then… let's go back to the junkyard where we met the Argama crew, for old time's sake.
I'll be looking forward to your reply.
Happy birthday,
with love,
- Leina Ashta."
Absence makes the heart grow fonder, the kind of memories that he would've rather forgotten of once upon a time… they're so far away, and he's so used to the conflict that… there's a sense of nostalgia clinging to his temples. A pressure, like that of head congestion due to a cold.
The Crossbone Vanguard doesn't really need him, even if Tobia might make a fuss with his sudden departure.
Inside the envelope, a disc is held inside safely. Its contents - another photography for his collection, Leina and their family; two kids and a smiling man.