Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Chapter One: A Routine Checkup

It has been a week since the episode on the roof of the forsaken Hotel. The new Suzuki Family Unit (plus Aubrey technically, since she still hasn’t taken up the family name at Suzu’s request, she wants to save that for when she marries Sunny) is still living at the temporary home at Faraway, and is forecasted to be remaining there for at least two more months while legal crap concerning the place they planned on moving into in the city is underway. Suzu doesn’t mind it however, she plans on searching from scratch again anyways to find an even bigger place in the city, she now has a new member to consider living space for.

In the meantime though, the three of them have been making the temporary house work, Suzu has her bedroom, and Sunny and Aubrey have the one bedroom together, and to save on space, they sleep in separate bunk beds. To Suzu’s disappointment though, she has yet to hear any funny business happening in their bedroom. Sunny assures her though that they’re just taking their time.

Aubrey instantly loved the Mr. Plantegg that Sunny bought for her shortly before the twist of fate happened. Aubrey doesn’t dare carry it around with her outside of the home as she did when she was little, but she does tend to drag it around with her inside of the Suzuki Household, and she always sleeps tight with it in her bunk bed. Suzu has gotten much use out of the Sweetheart DVDs she got before the twist of fate as well, she forces the other members of her family unit to watch an episode or two with her each night to encourage moments that the whole family can spend together…but mostly she just really loves that show and always does a noblewoman’s laugh at the same time Sweetheart does it in the show.

The days of the week have come and gone quickly since the twist of fate with no new drama, for once the new family unit had the time to simply breathe and enjoy life. Something that all of them dearly deserved after all of the recent events.

Soon enough though, it was the day of Sunny’s routine checkup with the family doctor. Because of his daring rescue of Aubrey from the fire that consumed her house and her mother, his newly opened eye socket got a lot of dust and dirt in it. The doctor wanted him to wear a special eyepatch for a week to give the eye socket time to heal and recover, and the main purpose of this visit was to check its progress.

“There….that eye patch is all nicely secured!” Suzu said, helping her son make sure the special eye patch ‘sealed’ up correctly, “Now you’re all ready for your checkup with our doctor!”

“He has a name you know.” Aubrey chimed in from the couch, watching the TV along with Mr. Plantegg, “We’ve always just kept calling him ‘Doctor’, I kinda feel bad for the guy.”

“I don’t think Hank minds.” Suzu said, “Dr. Chillingworth always seemed like he wanted to keep a low profile anyways for some reason. I heard his 10th anniversary of working in the hospital just passed recently.”

“Well, I need to give him credit.” Aubrey said, “He took really good care of me when I was rushed to the hospital after the fire. I heard later from Hero and Kel that the other doctors at the hospital already claimed I was a goner from the severe smoke inhalation  suffered, but Dr. Chillingworth was adamant he’d do anything he could to make sure I had a complete recovery. It’s also thanks to him that I came out as well as I did.”

“You also have your boyfriend to thank as well!” Sunny chimed in, “If it wasn’t for me, you’d never have been able to get to the hospital in the first place!”

“Don’t worry, silly~” Aubrey walked over and gave Sunny a giant hug, “I know most of the thanks for me still being here has to go to you…I’m still shocked a boy like you who spent four years locked in his own room was able to do all that you were able to do.”

“Well, Hero said it best before,” Sunny started, “When faced with life-or-death situations, the human body can perform unbelievable feats that many others may deem impossible. I’m just glad I was able to save you…you mean everything to me, Aubrey.” Sunny returned Aubrey’s hug and they spent a good amount of time just enjoying each other’s warmth.

“..and if you ask me, you two have been getting into more life-or-death situations lately than you should be…” Suzu said, “You two should have a nice calm life together now, no more drama for you two…”

“Unfortunately, it seems the Suzuki family is cursed when it comes to that…” Sunny said, “Even during those four years…you were carrying around that Desert Eagle Custom, mother…what kind of situations were you in during then that required you to carry such a beast?”

“That….that’s just old news!” Suzu said, trying to deflect the subject, “I highly doubt anything I did back then will pop back up to cause us problems in the here and now anyways!”

“And even if it does, she still has that beast to use.” Aubrey chuckled.

“....right…it’s…it’s almost time for your checkup anyways!” Suzu said, “You should get going now before Hank thinks something bad happened to you yet again!”

“...one of these days you’re going to have to tell us the truth, Mom.” Sunny said, “I mean, I finally told the truth of my own trauma…”

“Only Four Years after the fact.” Suzu countered.

“....okay, you win this time.” Sunny said, “But we’re not giving up….and you’re also right. I better hurry up and get this over with.”

“Indeed.” Suzu nodded, “Hurry up with Hank and then get back here. We have an amusement park day to plan!”

Sunny nodded back and then kissed Aubrey on the cheek before heading off and toward the direction of the hospital so that he can get his checkup with Hank done. When he did make it to the hospital, the staff at the front desk told him to go to the same room he has been using for awhile now…first after the fight with Basil, and then after the fire. Sunny guessed it has become an inside joke among the hospital staff that that room is now “The Sunny Room”, but it could also just be the normal room that Hank operates out of.

While sitting in the room, he noticed a few things in the room that seemed to have been personal items belonging to Hank, a brown coat that was a mix between a normal coat and a trench coat, a faded out picture of a girl that Sunny couldn’t quite make out, and also a calendar. On that calendar there was a date that was circled in red; however, the marker stains on that day looked old, as if it was already marked well in advance as soon as Hank got the calendar. While Sunny was waiting, he walked over to the calendar to see what the date was and if anything special was written there. He noticed the date right away….it was the day that Sunny had that episode in that forsaken Hotel. Written on that day in the calendar were simply the words “10th Anniversary”.

“Well, despite only having one eye, I see you’re still more than capable of snooping in on other people’s belongings.” The Doctor said as he entered the room, noting how Sunny was looking at the calendar.

“..sorry about that.” Sunny said, “I just figured I’d kill some time while waiting for you to come.”

“It’s no problem.” the Doctor said, “I see the calendar caught your interest.”

“Yes, that one date in particular is highlighted a lot…”

“That day has a lot of special meaning to me.” the Doctor said, “You could say…it was the day I was finally able to move past my own darkened past.”

“Really? I just figured it was just your 10th anniversary of working here…”

“Ah, right…of course.” The Doctor smiled, “That happened that day as well…10 years ago. Back then I was able to finally move on after hearing words from a dear friend. He believed that as long as a person wanted to accept what they did and move on from it, the door to recovery would accept them just the same.”

“Wait…why does that sound…”

“Enough about the past.” The doctor moved the subject, “Let’s focus now on the future that we both now can shape together….starting with the recovery of your eye socket. Have you been wearing that special eye patch all throughout the past week for me?”

“Yes sir, I have!” Sunny said.

“Good boy.” The Doctor said, “I’ll just quickly take it off now to check on how the recovery is coming along.” The Doctor then removed the eyepatch and looked into the open eye socket with his instruments.

“How does it look, doc?” Sunny asked.

“It looks like it’s healing up pretty well.” The Doctor smiled, “Just to be on the safe side however, I think it will be wise for you to keep wearing this special eye patch for another week. Then after that, we’ll look into getting you a replacement eye to close the eye socket for good.”

“Replacement Eye as in I’ll be able to see out of it again?”

“No, more like a glass eye.” the Doctor replied, “It’s mostly just there so that the eye socket itself will be safe from infections, and also to help you fit in better with others. The special eye patch is quite noticeable, and I would hate it if others treated you differently because of…”

“I don’t really care about that.” Sunny said, “I’m…not a normal kid anyways. I killed my own beloved sister. If anything, I deserve public outcry for that…I deserve for them to view me differently and..”

“SUNNY SUZUKI.” The Doctor suddenly and sternly said, “You, young man, are not evil or different. You just made a mistake. I know from personal experience now you loved your sister more than anything in the world, and she loved you right back. She would instantly forgive you and want you to live your life to the fullest. Never think for an instant that you deserve bad things happening to you.”

“...thanks Doc.” Sunny said, “Mother said before, you were the one who checked Mari’s body when….it…happened?”

“Indeed…” a faint tear then crept down the doctor’s face, “...I was the one. I was always your family’s faithful doctor, so they trusted me with the deed.”

“...I know my mom was able to hide things under the rug due to her police department connections, but why…why didn’t you go to the police with the truth?”

“I…wanted to follow Suzu’s conviction.” the Doctor said, “That…and I wanted to give you time to recover and understand what you did was simply a mistake, you didn’t mean to kill her. You did not kill her in cold blood. Also…most of all…”

“...yes?”

“...” The doctor looked away from Sunny and out of the window to hide the tears coming down his face, “I know for sure now that’s what a special person who meant everything to me would do. To give you a chance to recover and improve, and not to condemn you to a life in prison.”

“...are you okay…Doctor?” Sunny asked.

“...don’t worry, it’s just old wounds at this point.” the Doctor said, quickly wiping away the tears, “The important thing out of this is that you now have a bright future ahead of you. What exactly do you plan to do with this new future that was handed to you? You’re not going to waste it by wallowing in the past, right?”

“No sir.” Sunny replied, “I…have a girlfriend now. A person that means more to me than anything, and I’d do anything for them and do anything I needed to do to protect them. I need to keep my head on the present and future now. If not for my sake, then at least for her’s and my mother’s. We’re all a family now, and we need to be there for one another.”

“That’s a good answer.” The Doctor smiled, “I’d say you’re well on your way for recovery.”

“You mean my eye socket?”

“Sure, that included.” the Doctor continued to smile, “Continue wearing that eye patch for another week and then come back for another routine checkup.”

“Sounds good, thanks Doctor.” Sunny got up, “I wonder what we’re going to do for our family doctor once we move away to the city.”

“Well…about that…” The Doctor smirked, “...I was thinking of getting relocated to the city as well.”

Chapter Text

Chapter Two: Making Plans

Once Sunny was discharged by the Doctor, he headed back home. To make up for leaving Sunny home alone with no power while she was in the city, Suzu had promised to take Sunny to an amusement park. Now that he was able to make it official with Aubrey and they’re an official couple now, Suzu revised the amusement park trip into a whole big family affair for all of them to enjoy.

“Sunny, you’re home~” Aubrey said as Sunny entered the front door and gave him a hug.

“Thanks Aubrey!” Sunny then returned the hug.

“So, what did Hank have to say?” Suzu asked.

“He said he likes the progress of the healing.” Sunny said, “But just to be safe, he also still wants me to keep this eyepatch on for another week and then have another checkup.”

“That makes sense.” Suzu nodded, “Pretty soon you’ll be ready for a replacement eye for that eye socket.”

“When that happens I want to help you pick something out!” Aubrey said, “maybe we’ll get you a glass eye with a pink iris so that you’d look cute with two different eye colors~”

“Really, Pink?” Sunny asked, “I’d thought you’d want me to have turquoise or something to go along with your own contacts.”

“Nah, that’s a me thing.” Aubrey said, “And since you can’t really dye your own hair pink to match mine, maybe the eye color of one of your eyes will be good enough to go along with me~”

“Well, I’ve seen guys go around with pink hair before.” Suzu commented, “I think Sunny could maybe rock it successfully.”

“No no…I’m fine with my own natural hair color, thank you very much.” Sunny complained, “But…maybe picking up a pink iris would be cool. I’ll think about it throughout the week, Aubrey.”

“Well, we should be talking about other matters right now.” Suzu said, “For example…we need to plan our visit to….SWEETHEART LAND!”

“...there’s no such thing as Sweetheart Land, mother.” Sunny snarkily said.

“...well, there should be a Sweetheart Land.” Suzu complained, “poor Sweetheart…her show and legacy deserve more respect. Maybe one of these days they can make a sequel series to her show…or just a reboot would be fine…”

“Well, you always run the risk of a sequel or reboot going horrible and ruining Sweetheart.” Aubrey commented.

“I’d be fine with that.” Suzu said, “Even if a sequel or reboot sucked, I’d always have the original to fall back on and it’d still bring Sweetheart back to the minds of current viewers and people and she’d be relevant again. Even if a story is bad or sadistic, if it gets people talking and gets stuck in people’s minds, it has done its job!”

“That’s….one way to look at things…” Sunny said.

“...anyways, since the glorious Sweetheart Land is still just a pipe dream at this current day…” Suzu said, “We’ll be going to the nearby Faraway Land. There’s at least a Sweetheart ride there.”

“But more of the rides there are Captain Spaceboy themed.” Aubrey said, “He’s succeeded more in later years compared to Sweetheart.”

“That’s because his series never really ended.” Suzu said, “...and even when his show was done for the time being, he always had new video games and comic books coming out to pick up the slack…”

“Well, that’s what happens when you compare an anime to a franchise still being operated in this country.” Sunny said, “It’s really a miracle that she even still has a ride in that park.”

“Well, she WAS big and in style back in the day! Even here in the states!” Suzu defended herself, “Sweetheart will make a comeback one of these days, just you wait and see…”

“Anyways…” Sunny started, “I know Faraway Land has that massive Ferris Wheel. I’d love to ride that with you, Aubrey. We’d be able to view everything off into the horizon from far up.” Sunny smiled at his girlfriend.

“Yes…that does sound lovely. I’d enjoy being up there with you as well.” Aubrey smiled back.

“Oh right…Faraway Land even has an old Tunnel of Love!” Suzu said, “Sunny, you really need to take Aubrey on that ride as well~”

“We…we’ll see about that once we get there.” Sunny started to blush, and Aubrey shortly joined him in blushing.

“Oh geez…” Suzu said, “You two have made it official and yet you both just blush at the drop of a hat. You two really need to get over things like that soon if you want to keep moving this relationship along…”

“Mom, it’s only been a week!” Sunny complained, still blushing, “Can’t you let us not take things at lightning speed for once! It’s not our fault you want us to go fast!”

“Oh hush.” Suzu said, “I only want what’s best for you and Aubrey!”

“So…um….when do we go to Faraway Land?” Aubrey asked to try and change the subject.

“Oh um…sometime this week will be fine.” Suzu said, “I’ll go watch the news to catch the weather and then we’ll go from there. Faraway Land is close enough that we can just get there by bus ride, enjoy the day there, and then ride the bus back home in time for bed with no problems.”

“Think my eyepatch will cause problems there?” Sunny asked.

“Nonsense.” Aubrey said, “And if anyone does raise a fuss about it…I’ll just headbutt them out of the park.”

“Oh..I’ll do more than just a headbutt…” Suzu said.

“ NO MOM, YOU’RE NOT TAKING YOUR DESERT EAGLE CUSTOM WITH YOU TO THE AMUSEMENT PARK. ” Sunny stated.

“...oh boo, you’re no fun.” Suzu complained.

“I’d rather not get arrested while being there, Suzu.” Aubrey said, defending her boyfriend.

“All right, all right, I got you.” Suzu said, “Aubrey, Sunny, we need some things from Othermart, could you go together and pick them up for me? I left a list on the counter. I’ll go watch the news for the weather to plan for the day ahead.”

“Sure Mom, we’ll be happy to do that!” Sunny said, and took the list and left the house with Aubrey’s hand in his own hand.

“...I hope things do work out for both of them.” Suzu said while she was alone, “I know they don’t want me to bring my gun with me…but considering they were just attacked by forces even outside of the norm, I’d rather have extra protection on me just in case…”

Suzu then went over to the couch, moved Mr. Plantegg to the side gently, and then turned on the news.

“....Thank you for watching Faraway Channel 12 News.” the TV said, “We will have the weather shortly, but first, a breaking announcement. It appears that the infamous crime lord known as ‘Middy Biggs’ has somehow broken out of prison. You might remember that he was known for having connections in many of the big gangs not just here, but in Nearby City as well, and the lawyer that was successfully able to bring him to justice was Suzu Suz…”

Upon hearing this news, Suzu immediately turned off the television.

“No….not now….not at this moment…”

Chapter Text

Chapter Three: Chimes of the Past

Shortly after the news announcement, Suzu got a call on her cell phone.

“Hello, Suzu Suzuki here.” Suzu answered the phone.

“Hello there Suzuki, have you seen the news recently?” A familiar voice to Suzu asked her from the other end.

“Yes, Chief Jordan, I have.” Suzu said.

“That bastard Biggs is on the loose again after you put him away 2 years ago. We need you to help us get him…”

“With all due respect sir, I’m not part of the police department nor do I work under you. I’m just a normal lawyer now.” Suzu said, “I’m…not like what I was 2 years ago, with an active death wish.”

“We both know that’s bullshit.” Jordan responded back, “I’ve had a shitload of paperwork cross my desk all throughout these past 4 years that tell me you’re more than ‘just a normal lawyer’. Should I start with that illegally modified Desert Eagle you carry around?”

“Oh, come on now, Chief~” Suzu said, “That little baby of mine not only saved your butt once but probably every one of your officers at least once during their time at your station as well.”

“....okay, fair enough, low blow, I apologize.” Jordan answered back, “But back then, you were the only lawyer who would take him to court. All the other people in the DA feared to do so because of potential retaliation. You even went above and beyond in investigations for evidence to lock him away for good, and that’s when your…’little baby’...proved useful. Once again, the DA is chickenshit and won’t lift a finger against Biggs, I need you to help us on this again.”

“....” Suzu was silent for a bit, “...sir, the reason I invested myself so much into that case back then was because it was the only thing I had left at that point. As you know, my son of a bitch husband left me then, I lost my daughter, and basically lost my son as well.”

“...yes, I’m aware of the Suzuki Incident.” Jordan said, “It was because of your previous work for the DA that we agreed to sweep it under the rug for you.”

“Right, I was at the lowest point of my life then.” Suzu continued, “I didn’t care if his gang of thugs gunned me down or not for opposing him. I figured if I could at least get his ass in jail before being gunned down…I’d at least have done something good for the world after losing everything.”

“To be fair, you also gunned his gang of thugs down as well.” Jordan said, “...I still have the paperwork on my desk saying that you gunned down at least 40 of his men during our investigations.”

“Yeah…those were daring times…” Suzu started to think back to those times while still on the phone, “...back then I didn’t really care if I saw the next day or not. I basically lost my entire family at that point and threw everything I had into my work.”

“So…something has changed then?” Jordan asked.

“I got my son back.” Suzu said, “After four years, he finally came to terms with himself and what he has done. He’s now actually leaving the house again, and even got himself a very nice and cute girlfriend. Also, I’m now a legal guardian for someone else.”

“Legal Guardian? For who?”

“Well, you know that fire that happened recently? Aubrey lost everything in that fire, family included…so I decided to adopt her.”

“The Williams house? I still have paperwork from that on my desk as well. So, who is your son’s girlfriend?”

“Aubrey herself!”

“Wait…if you adopted her, wouldn’t that make that technically incest?”

“ NO IT’S NOT! I’M NOT HER ADOPTIVE MOTHER! I’M HER LEGAL GUARDIAN! SHE’S STILL AUBREY WILLIAMS! ”

“...I see. I apologize.” Jordan said.

“Anyways, I have a family again.” Suzu said, “We’re all…broken messes, but together, we can help mend one another and we can be complete as a family unit. I now have something I can lose again…I can’t afford to put them both in danger because of my work anymore.”

“...” Jordan was silent for a bit over the phone, “...you do know that you already crossed the line for that, right? You crossed that line 2 years ago. Now that Biggs is out, he’ll want revenge.”

“Well, if I lay low and don’t do anything, hopefully he’ll just ignore me like he does for the rest of the DA.”

“...I really didn’t want to do this to you.” Jordan sighed, “If you don’t help us with this, I’ll have to take in your son for the death of Mari Suzuki.”

“...what?”

“I mean it.” Jordan said, “You’re the only shot we have to take that bastard out for good. If I need to use every trick in the book to get you back in active duty like before, I will do so.”

“I never worked for the police department. I was a freelance lawyer and attorney. I did work for the DA for years before going freelance, yes, but it was never under you!”

“...Suzu. This is your last warning.” Jordan said, “I also have a shitload of paperwork here on my desk that can put you behind bars as well. And I got word that you and your son trespassed on the Faraway Vista property a week ago, and you even used your gun there as well, I have the shell casing to prove it was your gun.”

“...and all of this will go away if I help you cap Biggs?”

“..the bastard cost me my wife. I’ll pull any dirty trick I can to make sure he suffers. I’m sorry Suzu, but I can’t afford to not have you on this.”

“...so much for past deeds.” Suzu sighed, “I’d have thought all the other favors I’ve done for you, the police department, and the DA would have been more than enough that you wouldn’t threaten me with shit like this again.”

“Do I need to send some of my men down there to detain you and your son?”

“No, you fucking hard ass, you don’t.” Suzu complained, “...fine. I’ll be there at the station soon to get my briefing. But after this, you owe me fucking big time. And if you ever dare to pull this shit on me again, don’t forget I still have much evidence myself that I can get you fired and possibly in jail as well with me.”

“...as sad as it is, my position of power and gender would be enough to avoid any fallout you could possibly do to me.” Jordan replied, “I’ll be waiting for you at the station to tell you the more classified stuff that I can’t say over the phone.”

Suzu then hung up her cell phone. “...fucking hard ass bastard.” Suzu simply took a moment to collect herself and then released a big sigh. “...I just got a very bad feeling about this one…and I’m sure Jordan does too, that’s why he’s so hellbent to get me involved on this…”

Suzu got up and busted out the sticky notes that she normally used a lot during the previous four years. “Hello again old friend…I was hoping not to have to use you again….” Suzu then wrote on the stick note “I’LL BE BACK LATER - WORK ISSUES.” and then placed it on the main counter for Sunny and Aubrey to see once they returned from Othermart. With that in place, Suzu then got her coat on, grabbed her purse, and headed off in the direction of the police station.

~~~~

Meanwhile, in a rundown district outside of the normal city limits of Faraway Town, lies an old Warehouse. This Warehouse however is not abandoned, and in fact, a headquarters of sorts for a nefarious gang. A black limo drove up to the main gate of the warehouse, and coming out of the limo was an older white gentleman wearing a white feathered coat, with a large scar going across just under his eyes. This was ‘Middy’ Biggs.

“It’s good to have you back, boss.” One of the armed guards stationed outside of the warehouse said to the crime boss.

“Yes…good to be back too…” Biggs said, “...luckily I was able to find a member of the jail staff that was…easily corrupted with money. Still, it cost me 2 years of my life.”

“Who was the sucker you were able to make a deal with?”

“Used to work for the police department, I think his name was Terry…”

“Do we need to rub him out to get rid of loose ends?”

“No need.” Biggs said, “That dumbass has nothing useful to give anyone. All he did was let me out.”

“So, what’s on the agenda now boss?”

“Well first, I need to be briefed.” Biggs said, “What happened to our operations after I was locked up?”

“Well…as you know, that bitch that tried you also killed around 50 of our men.” One of the gang members reported, “Our operations were critically hurt as a result of losing them and most of all from losing you. We still have some ground and operations in Nearby City active, but most of our influence outside of there has died completely.”

“So we need to start again then.” Biggs said, “To start things off, that bitch that tried me…needs to be dealt with.”

“Should we try to rub her out, sir?”

“She killed 50 of my men. If you could have simply killed her by now, you would have.” Biggs retorted, “No, sending you after her would be a fool’s errand, and I can’t afford to lose any more men after we were weakened like this. We’ll need to take care of her by other means.”

“What do you have in mind?”

“Well…I do know at least she has a son.”

“Really?” one of the members asked, “She never had a kid with her in the courtroom or mentioned one during her time against us or with the cops…”

“I’m…not sure why she didn’t acknowledge him during that time, but it was brought to my attention that yes, she does indeed have a son.” Biggs said. “Killing her would cost us too much resources, but if we capture her son…we can then perhaps bargain with her like respectable businessmen to tell her to get out of our affairs…or else he dies.”

“What’s the name of her kid?”

“Sunny Suzuki.” Biggs said, with a smirk.