Chapter Text
Borrowed Time
One Shot 1
Caught in the Snow
Lake looked at her feet accusingly. Like they had done nothing but insult her very existence. She had outgrown them and it was getting harder and harder to put them on. So much so that it was causing blisters along her heels and small toe. She had begun to put bandaids around them to at least cushion them.
Why wasn’t she telling her brand new brothers?
Fear…
Every time Lake’s previous foster parents found out she needed shoes, or clothing…even paper for school they all got incredibly angry and yelled at her, even hit her. It got to a point where she ended up asking the school for clothing. Perhaps…that was for the best here?
“Lake! Come on, we're going to miss the train!” Ingo called from the bottom floor. Lake walked out of her room and over to Ingo. Emmet picked up her jacket and offered it to her.
“It's still verrrry cold outside and snow is in the forecast. Maybe it’ll be a snow day and we’ll get to go outside and play in it.” Emmet’s smile was infectious. It made Lake forget about her problem for a little while.
Having a chance to just be a kid was something new to Lake.
Emmet put Lakes jacket around her shoulders, and Ingo put her hat onto her head. She swung her backpack over her shoulders and off they went.
For the first few weeks of going to her new school Ingo and Emmet dropped her off like clockwork at exactly 7:30 so she could eat breakfast and get acquainted with the other kids. An admirable attempt to make friends. She was a quiet child and mostly kept to herself. Although today she went to the office and asked them if they had any shoes in her size.
The counselor looked her over and looked down at her feet. She noticed that she was very gingerly walking.
“You’re that new foster kid…right?” She asked, sliding her glasses back up onto her nose and her shaky hand reached down for one of the many boxes that fit under the utility drawers. Each box had a shoe in it. Just one.
“What size were you?” Her shaky old voice asked. She couldn’t be more than 60, maybe 65 years old…maybe.
“I uh…3.” She told her. She looked over the shoes and looked back up at Lake.
“You have an incredibly small foot. I’m afraid we don’t have those sizes here. You’d be better off asking your foster family.” She sat back down and put the cane she had been using the get around onto the desk. “Hopefully they won’t hurt you if you ask. Most kids are that way…sitting in old clothing, and borrowed time.”
Lake felt her heart hit the floor. “Borrowed…time?” She asked. The counselor nodded as she sat back.
“Mhm.” She said as she took a sip of her tea. “Means you’ll be there for a few weeks, maybe a month, before they get tired of you and throw you to the next parent.” She was right, she had that happen many times.
“Okay…” Lake clutched her backpack to her chest and walked out of the room.
Most of the day she remained quiet, she didn’t even feel like eating the lunch that Emmet made for her. After school she sat on the swing looking down at her feet.
She didn’t even notice that she had missed the train all together. In her child mind she thought it was for the best. If they were just going to throw her away it would be better now then later. Right…before she got attached…?
She felt the rain, really she did. The cold began to hit her harder as the rain turned to snow. She stood up, perhaps she should at least attempt to get indoors. She realized just how late it was at that moment. Just how long had she been gently swinging? She looked around seeing the last of the sun's rays go behind the buildings. A gust of wind pushed her forward and the snow began to hit her harder. She chose to try to get to the train station. At least there the surveillance would spot her and Ingo and Emmet could see her….right?
She couldn’t even see the road, much less the bus stop on the other side. The snow was so thick. Oh she was really in for it now. She turned back around, barely able to see the school's front doors. At least there was a stoop. She could sit there…right? She’d be okay there right?
Sitting between the brick wall and the front door she pulled her jacket around her legs and buttoned it up. It was all she could do.
She wondered how long it would take before they realized she was missing? A day, a week, would they even notice at all? She was sitting on borrowed time, maybe they’d just take this opportunity and pretend she never existed.
Her ears had begun to ring, and her nose was running. Her fingers and toes were hurting so much. Even her vision was beginning to go fuzzy. Even with her glasses on. Perhaps if she curled into a little ball with her face against the wind. Would she be okay then?
She couldn’t even move to get into that position.
She felt something, she opened her eyes for a moment. She couldn’t see much except for black. But she felt something warm against her lips and something hot going down her throat. She couldn’t hear anything, but she knew that face. The contents of the cup were sweet to her tongue. She tried to touch the cup, but her arm felt too heavy to move. She heard for a moment Emmet as he ran back over.
Ingo pulled Lake into his jacket and ran to keep up with his brother.
“Lake…why did you stay on schedule?” He asked, she however didn’t seem to hear him, but her eyes were open. She was so cold. She needed to be heated up quickly.
The train ride back to their abode wasn’t normally a long one, but this felt like it took forever. Especially with a freezing child. The hospital would take an hour. So they called their local pediatrician and told her what happened before running back to the house to wait for her.
As soon as the front door opened Ingo looked at his brother and pointed to the bathroom.
“Run some lukewarm water.” Emmet knew what was going to happen, and he hated this part so much. He started the bath and watched his brother as he pulled off his own shoes and socks and then Lakes and stopped.
Emmet walked over wondering just what caused his brother to pause in his rush. His fingers ran over Lakes' feet.
“Ingo…?” Emmet noticed the red blotches, and bloody mess that left the socks looking like a tie dye experiment gone wrong. “Her feet are too big for her shoes.”
Ingo closed his eyes, gathering the girl's tiny feet into his large hands and sighed. They were so small to him.
“She is so…scared of everything. Someday, I hope she feels confident when she needs something. This…” He closed his eyes and stood up, throwing off his hat and jacket and climbed into the bath with Lake. Fully clothed.
Lake cried out at the sudden hot feeling of the lukewarm water. Having a very cold core temperature can cause this to happen. The heat would decrease as her body got used to the water.
“Lake calm down…calm…” Ingo didn’t expect the girl to turn and practically climb up his chest to try to get out of the water. Ingo wrapped his arms gently around her stroking her back and hair. “It's not hot, you’re just cold. Shhhhh.” He coaxed as best he could. She slowly stopped squirming and laid her head on his chest.
Emmet had to admit the gentle whimpers of the freezing girl were kind of cute.
“I’ll go make her some honey lemon tea.” Emmet said. Lake could hear his shoes clicking the floor as he left. Filling and placing the train shaped kettle onto the stove.
She felt Ingo pour water onto her back using the tiny cup that she used to wash her hair. It was a soft blue and white with small mouse and rabbit type pokemon on the side. It was the evolution. They told her what they were when they bought it, but she couldn’t remember.
Ingo poured more water over her back and ran his fingers over her cheek trying to get the now wet hair from her face. Her cheeks were still pink.
“Why didn’t you come home?” He asked her. “We were so worried.”
“Borrowed…time.” Lake’s soft voice echoed in the bronzed bath tub.
“Lake…I…” There was a gentle knock on the front door. Emmet walked into the bathroom with a few towels and clothing for them.
Emmet opened the door for the doctor. She looked rather young, but in her hands was a small black bag, and she wore a long lab coat.
“Now what was so urgent that you couldn’t take Lake to the infirmary yourselves?” She asked, knowing perfectly well the subway still ran in the cold.
“We found Lake outside the school an hour ago in the bitter cold. She passed out on the ground and we rushed her home to put her into a hot bath. It would have taken an hour by train to get there.” That was true. She had only just taken the train to get there.
“Where is she?” The doctor asked. Expecting her to be on the couch or at least in her room. Ingo walked out of the bathroom with Lake in her kitty feet pajamas they bought for her because it was much too cold to wear her ninja turtle shirt and cut off shorts in the winter.
“I uh…Ingo?” The doctor’s cheeks turned pink as she spotted Ingo fresh out of the bath.
“Doctor.” Ingo walked by the flustered doctor to lay Lake down on the already prepared heated blanket. Swaddling the little girl in it and handing her to Emmet so he could get some tea prepared since Emmet was distracted by the doctor's arrival. The doctor obviously had a crush on Ingo.
“Alright let's see.” The doctor leaned down and started to look over Lake.
They had decided on a pediatrician for Lake, that way she could get to know this doctor over her lifetime and not have to feel afraid of them.
“I’m glad you both got her home so soon. Her core temperature is a bit high now, but that's because she’s starting to get a fever.” She pulled her stethoscope around and unzipped the top part of the pajamas and looked up at Emmet who turned away so he couldn’t see Lake's chest.
The doctor giggled as she looked up at them.
“Honestly…you both are perfect for her. She loves you both so much.” Her smile disappeared as she listened to her chest and sighed. “Looks like she might have a touch of Pneumonia. That's not good for someone who already has weak lungs.”
“So much for playing out in the snow.” Emmet sighed as he ran his fingers over Lakes' hair as the doctor zipped back up the pajamas.
“‘M sorry…” Lake's soft voice told him. “You can go…” Her voice was hoarse. The doctor giggled at Lakes' attempt to make Emmet feel better.
“Honestly you three are built for each other.” The woman giggled. Ingo walked over with some tea and placed the tray down on the coffee table.
“Come on Lake, let's get you to drink something warm.” Lake reached out to take the cup, but her hands were snaking so bad that she couldn’t even hold the cup. Ingo plucked it from her hands before her arms fell back and she sat back against Emmet.
Emmet looked almost scared about it. He looked up at the doctor who nodded.
“Her limbs are still exhausted. It’ll take a few days for them to feel better and even then it’ll feel like she’s had the best workout of her life. Very sore and really really heavy feeling. So just preparing a hot cloth or an electric blanket will help with sore muscles.” She ran her fingers over Lakes hand to make sure no bits were black.
“Here Lake.” Ingo held up the tiny cup and placed it against her lip so she could gently sip it. It had been cooled down a lot with an ice cube. It was still warm, just not hot.
The doctor watched as Emmet held Lake in his arms swaddled in the electric blanket. Ingo fed her the tea slowly, letting her take small sips.
“You both look like…” She sighed and stood up. “I’ll send a prescription to your usual pharmacist and you can pick up her medication from there. You can call for a follow up when you feel she can leave.” the doctor walked over to the door and excused herself.
Ingo looked down at Lake as she slowly began to fall asleep now that she was warm. Being in their arms felt nice.
“Lake?” Lake slowly looked up almost sleepily at Ingo. But Ingo didn’t look too happy. Her comfortable sleepiness came to a screeching halt. She felt the sudden desire to hide. He couldn’t even move so she voted to cover her face with the blanket. “Why didn’t you tell us your shoes didn’t fit?” It took a second for Lake to slowly peek out of the blankets and address Ingo.
“Because I get hit…when I ask for new things.” Emmets heart stopped and he dropped his cup. The mug hit the ground with a clatter. It caused Lake to flinch and curl even tighter. Emmet pulled her closer to his chest and rocked her back and forth.
“No no no no…Ingo we can’t just…” Ingo touched his brother's hand and sat down next to him so he could see him.
“Lake…we won’t hit you. This is a need, we are your parents. We won’t just hit you because you have a need.” Ingo tried to reassure her.
“But my school counselor said you’d probably get rid of me in a few months anyways after being tired of me.” Lake gasped hearing an audible growl from Emmet.
“Oh that old bat! I’m going to give her a piece of my mind. Been at that school since we were kids. She’s gone postal.” Emmet looked down at Lake and rocked her back and forth.
“She does that on purpose…” Ingo told her.
“Purpose?” Lake's tiny body shook as she hiccuped. Emmet chuckled, patting her back.
“Yes, I’m afraid she’s not exactly the best when it comes to her job. But they keep her there to say the spots are filled. Even though it's barely filled. Probably underpaid too.” Ingo pinched the bridge of his nose.
“M…sorry.” Lake hiccupped between words and it got Ingo to chuckle as he held out the cup of tea for her again.
“Don’t you worry about that looney woman.”
It took a few more moments before Lake was sleeping against Emmet. Emmet turned and lay Lake down on the couch pulling the blankets tighter around her. He went and sat under the stairs. He sighed and opened the window just a little. He needed fresh air.
Ingo looked up at his brother, the forever smile that normally sat on his face no matter what faltered. Actually he looked rather pissed off. Ingo had better defuse his brother before the angry one showed itself.
Nope…there it was. The angry one. Ingo stood between him and Lake. The second personality that steps forward to protect Emmet when something happens that he couldn’t emotionally deal with. He stood up and got right in Ingos face. After everything that happened the year before. He finally popped up and glared at Ingo.
“You know what…this is a huge pile of…”
“Language, there is a child in the room. One to whom you are connected now. Please stifle that anger lest you want it to be served to her in her nightmares.” it was a long shot, he was hoping this would pull his Emmet back to the front.
“Look here you dumb fuck.” He grabbed Ingo’s collar and pulled him closer. The anger written all over his features. “After this long, after I’ve felt her within my own soul…there's one thing that this weakling Emmet and I agree on…it's her.” His anger faltered. “I…don’t want her to feel bad about something that isn’t her fault. Neither does he.” The anger turned to tears or both. Ingo couldn’t tell. The angry one growled and threw his arms in the air with a loud growl.
Lake jumped and looked up over the couch shaking. The angry one stopped in his tracks as if he could hide if he stood still. He ran his fingers down his face and he gritted his teeth trying his best not to be angry at her.
“Look…I uh…sorry. I woke you.” He backed away from her. “So um…you’re okay now…right?” He asked. Lake slowly nodded and looked up at Ingo who nodded too.
“He says…he doesn’t mind being with you. You don’t have to be afraid of him anymore.” Lake nodded and jumped practically out of her skin when she heard the door snap open. She turned to see Ava. Her work outfit over her shoulder.
“Geez its cold…so what did I miss?” Emmet snapped back in and he looked around at them.
“Oh geez…I broke again…” He turned and looked at Lake who just smiled at him.
“Your angry one is my friend now.” She lay back down. Emmet looked at Ingo who shrugged and nodded.
“You make some of the weirdest friends kiddo.”
It took Lake close to two weeks to finally get rid of the ick she had. It was a whole lot of fevers, coughing, and at one point she even threw up on Ingo’s lap. In tears she kept apologizing the whole day. She honestly thought that was it. She even packed her bags and waited by the door for Ingo to get out of the shower. The horrified look on Ingo’s face when he saw her quietly crying broke him in two.
Needless to say he held her for the rest of the night and refused to let her stay alone in her room. Making a bed on the floor and putting her clothing back into her drawers. Shockingly she didn’t take anything that wasn’t hers. The clothing she had came in and the pajamas from before. But in the side pocket were the pictures they took. Lake loved them so much. But trust was hard to come by.
Lake looked around the shopping mall. She was very closed off, there was a lot of unfamiliar space and she kept close to her brothers. Ava pointed to a cafe and smiled.
“That's where I work, Lake. I make cakes.” She loved to cook so much, but she had a passion for baking. “I’ll see you when I get off.” Lake giggled as she kissed Lakes cheeks, forehead, and chin. She was such a mother hen through all of it. Even threatened to haunt the woman that started it. She waved and went into the cafe calling out to the owner.
The brothers steered Lake into a shoe store. Lake blushed profusely and looked as if she were going to close up again.
“I don’t need…” She tried.
“Nonsense.” Ingo placed Lake down so she could walk around and look at her leisure. She had socks on and that was all. Ingo refused for her to put back on her shoes she had previously. “Your old shoes do not fit. You need new ones, love.” Ingo told her.
Lake looked around at the shoes and slowly padded through the shoe store.
“Hey Ingo…” Emmet whispered. “Imma be right back.” He turned and ran into the toy store across from them. Ingo just chuckled knowing perfectly well what his brother was doing. Lake didn’t have many toys. Even for her first Christmas with them all she really got was stuff for her room and new clothing. Things she would need as she grew. Her birthday was ruined and all the presents they had gotten her were burned up.
Ingo slowly stopped as Lake pointed toward a very cheap pair of shoes that looked like her old ones. Exactly…like her old ones.
“Lake, don’t you want something new?” Ingo asked. He knew why she would do something like this. She didn’t want them to spend money on her. She was incredibly frugal, almost to the point where it was annoying. Even for her. Sometimes…very rarely he would catch her looking at other kids' clothing. It was how he chose the clothing in her closet.
“N…No…” She grabbed the bottom of her shirt. Ingo bent down and touched Lake's chin so she could look up at him. “Pick out whatever you want.” He told her. The pink on her cheeks made her silver eyes look brighter.
Lake’s slowly started to look around. They walked around four times before she very slowly pointed to a pair of purple and blue shoes. Ingo smiled at her.
“Good girl.” He picked up a size four and walked her toward the end of the aisle and sat her down. “Now let's try them on to make sure they fit. Even though this is a size up. Every manufacturer is different and can be sized differently.” Pulling her foot up so he could put her shoe on he could feel her shivering. She was scared, he needed to ease her out of it. He pulled them onto her and tied them around her foot. He helped her up and let her walk around, and hop, even had her run a lap before she stopped in front of him. She even let out a little giggle. At the very least he could feel her joy for once that day.
“Alright then.” He picked up the box and tucked it under his arm.
The woman behind the desk didn’t look too pleased with the little act that was pulled. She stood there with the most snarky look on her face.
“Are you two done? Letting your daughter run around the store is just bad parenting.” Lakes smile disappeared and she recoiled back into her previous state and she buried her face in Ingo’s shirt. “Acting like you have all the money in the world for her to buy whatever she wants.” Ingo could feel the sadness creeping into her once again.
“Killjoy.” Ingo threw the box onto the counter and looked down at Lake. “Need anything else?” He asked, picking up a pair of socks and putting them onto the counter as well.
“Mm, mm.” She shook her head. Ingo’s smile disappeared and he glared at the woman.
“You should be glad that my brother isn’t present or he’d probably have a few words to say.”
“What?” Ingo looked up at his brother. “Ah…would you look at that?” He tapped Lake's shoulder and motioned to Emmet. Lake walked over and took Emmets hand as instructed.
“Did Lake find a good pair?” He asked, holding up a white teddy bear with a purple ribbon.
“I see…” The woman looked at Ingo.
Ingo put the bag with the shoes and socks over his shoulder and walked toward the opening of the store.
“You see nothing.” Ingo snorted and left the store. Lake finally pulled her face away from Emmets jacket and spotted the bear. She didn’t jump for joy, or even launch herself at it. Actually she just looked down. Emmet looked at her and then at the bear.
“Do you not want it?” He asked, almost hurt. Lake gasped looking up at Emmet and then nodded. But it wasn’t a smile. Actually it was something more astonishing.
What was this? Why did he get her this? Did she do something right? Was she a good girl?
Emmet held out the teddy bear and Lake reached for it, slowly taking it from him. She almost looked like she was ready to run. It was a trap right? Emmet could feel the curious emotion trickling through their connection.
She should be used to this sort of thing by now. Them giving things to her, or buying things for her. But it was just too hard grained on her to be frugal. Spending money like it was raining wasn't something she was allowed to do.
“Now, how about we go eat some cake that Ava made?” Lake shook her head.
“I don’t want to die.” Lake said as they walked by the store.
“Hey! My cooking isn’t that bad!” Ava called out throwing a plastic cup at them. A customer looked at her cake, and then back up at Ava. “It was a joke, they’re my siblings. I’m sorry…” She blushed.
“You know Lake…you can be downright cruel sometimes…” Emmet said.
“Sorry, master…” Lake whispered as she hugged the teddy bear close.
“Don’t call me that.” Emmet grumbled. Lake stuck her tongue out at him.
“She’s getting brave.” Ingo smiled as they went into the food court. Food seemed to be on their minds.