Work Text:
Waking up, Avana knew it was going to be a bad day. She fell out of bed and hit her head on the floor. Groaning in pain, she got up to get ready for the day. She burned her tongue at breakfast and she couldn’t find her jacket. Her mind was already getting stressed and overwhelmed. On top of that, her body felt drained and sluggish, almost lagging.
The house was mostly empty by the time she was ready to leave for her classes. Chase and Jasper had already left for their morning classes while Shilou had gone to work early because of an emergency meeting. Ratio had early lectures and meetings. Meaning, Avana, Rivera, and Aventurine were the only ones at home.
Avana tied her jacket around her waist and grabbed her backpack. “I’m leaving!” she called back to whoever was listening. As she turned, she tripped over her ankle and fell to the floor with a thud followed by a crash associated with glass breaking. “Shoot,” Avana grumbled, groaning as she got up. Pain twinged in her ankle, but she figured it was nothing.
“What was that?” Aventurine’s panicked voice grew closer. Avana managed to get back up. “Are you okay?” Aventurine asked, coming around the corner before he stopped. His eyes widened and hurt flashed across his face. Confused, Avana opened her mouth to ask what was wrong before she saw it. The Sigonian plant Rivera had worked so hard to recreate for Aventurine was on the floor, its vase shattered and its stem mostly broken.
“I…” Avana’s mouth went dry and her heart sank. “I didn’t mean to,” she whispered quietly, blinking rapidly to keep tears at bay.
“Didn’t mean to what?” Rivera asked with concern, peeking her head around the corner. “I heard a cra—you didn’t,” she swallowed thickly, going toward the broken vase and plant. She grit her teeth and glared at Avana. “Do you realize how long it took me to get this one right?” she hissed, carefully picking up the plant and its roots, gently making sure not to damage it more than it already was.
“I—”
“I don’t want to hear an excuse,” Rivera scoffed angrily. “Aeons, why can’t you just stop being so damn clumsy! No matter what you do, you always seem to mess it up,” she huffed, picking up the broken glass. Aventurine still hadn’t said a word.
“Let me help,” Avana whispered, tears burning her eyes.
“No! Just go,” Rivera snapped, pushing Avana back. “You’ve done enough damage.” Avana stumbled back and the ache in her chest grew. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, mechanically opening the door. She glanced back at Rivera and Aventurine. Rivera’s last words felt like a punch to the gut.
“It’s no wonder why you got kidnapped.”
Avana choked on a sob as she walked down the sidewalk. Tears blurred her vision and she almost stumbled again. She curled her arms around her body, shoulders shaking. She roughly dried her eyes, still crying. She couldn’t cry right now. She had an exam and she needed to be focused for it. But the tears wouldn’t stop. Her chest hurt, and she could barely breathe.
Her phone was clutched tightly in her hands. She couldn’t call Shilou. He was busy with work, and Aventurine probably already told him what happened. He was probably mad at her, too. Chase and Jasper were in their classes doing exams, but when Jasper found out what she did, he’d be mad at her, too. Chase would be disappointed in her. Qlipoth, she couldn’t do anything right.
Classes went by slowly, and Avana could barely focus. Her tears had dried up, but the pit in her stomach didn’t. Anxiety ate at her until she couldn’t feel at peace at all. She tapped her pen on her book until someone snapped at her to stop. She meekly apologized and tried to focus on the material. During her lunch break, she sat alone, picking at her food. She had been avoiding Chase and Jasper, too afraid to talk to anyone in her family.
Eventually, she couldn’t avoid them any longer. All three of them shared Ratio’s class. Rivera didn’t show up, probably deep in her lab work to fix the plant Avana broke. She swallowed thickly. When had they learned this? She anxiously answered what questions she could on the test, but her mind was too jumbled to think properly. She chewed on her nails, guessing on the questions she had forgotten.
Her anxiety and shame only grew when she handed in her test. She shouldn’t have aced that test. It was an easy one, but she knew she had failed. Ratio raised an eyebrow when he took her test. “Are you ill?” he asked. “You look pale.”
Avana shook her head. “I’m fine,” she lied. “I’m just tired. Didn’t sleep well last night.”
Ratio didn’t press her any further and Avana didn’t offer anything else. She slipped away and went to her next class. Unfortunately, before she could leave the University, Ratio called her to his office. “Can you explain how you failed?” he asked, voice cold and stern. He placed her test in front of her. There was so much red ink. “You know the material. I expect better than this. I’m disappointed.”
Avana looked away, pushing back more tears. She was tired of crying already. “I’m sorry,” she apologized quietly.
“I’m not looking for apologies. I’m looking for you to do better,” Ratio sighed, shaking his head. It was unusual for Avana to fail any of his tests. He was disappointed in her. “Even those failing this class scored better than you did, Avana. I suggest you take this as a lesson to reevaluate how you prepare for exams.”
Avana quietly took the failed test and left his office feeling worse than when she started. The paper crumpled in her hands, tears soaking through the paper, making the red ink bleed through. Now, Ratio was disappointed. That was just as bad as being angry at her. Her ankle throbbed, but she ignored it. It was fine. Everything was fine. Everything was perfectly fine. Everything…was fine, right?
She began to limp because of the pain in her ankle. She held her phone to call a ride home. “Are you kidding me?” she cried, resisting the urge to just throw her dead phone. How did she forget to charge it?
“You always mess it up.”
“I’m disappointed.”
Avana cried harder. She eventually made it back home, but the atmosphere was cold and terrifying. Rivera avoided her. Aventurine didn’t greet her or even speak to her. Jasper was busy doing his coding, and Chase was taking a nap. The silence and hostility was too much. She couldn’t breathe. She needed air. She left her phone on the table. It was dead anyway.
Despite the growing pain in her ankle, Avana left for a walk to calm down. An empty numbness consumed her. Her tears stopped because she couldn’t produce anymore. She aimlessly wandered the campus before deviating to wander outside of campus. She found herself near a club that a lot of different Fools liked to hang around. Maybe Jester was there?
But before she went in, she paused. No, she’d visit another time. Right now, she’d just cause more problems and she didn’t want Jester mad at her, too. So, she walked away. Maybe the park would help. Her ankle was in absolute agony by the time she made it to the park. She sat down on one of the benches overlooking a small lake. She sighed heavily and closed her eyes.
“Aha, wakey wakey,” the sound of giggles and bells jingling caused her to open her eyes. Jester grinned, floating upside down, giggling and holding out a rose made out of the ace of hearts. His giggles stopped and he turned upright when Avana didn’t take the rose.
Avana didn’t have the energy to smile. “Hi, Jester…” she mumbled a greeting, looking down at her hands. “I’m sorry.” She hesitantly took the rose, touching it as if it was fragile glass, scared she’d do something that would ruin it. “I’m fine, I promise. I’m just tired.” The lies felt like ash on her tongue.
Jester’s frown deepened. “You’re a horrible liar and an even worse actor, little one.” He leaned closer. “Tell me what’s wrong.” He noticed the faint tear tracks on her cheeks and the way her brows were furrowed in pain. He didn’t like seeing her like this. It felt…wrong. Avana was usually so upbeat and happy, having the kind of energy to fistfight the aeons or just being a ray of sunshine.
“I…” The words caught in Avana’s throat and she felt more salty tears well up in her eyes. “I’m having a really bad day,” she whispered, a few tears falling.
Jester pursed his lips. “That’s no good,” he shook his head, bells jingling. “Come on. We’re getting you a milkshake and then we’re going to play some cards.” He pulled her to her feet, immediately regretting the action as Avana hissed in pain, her ankle throbbing. He looked down at it, jaw clenched. Her ankle was red and swollen. “And we’re getting that checked out.”
Avana sniffled, using her wet sleeve to roughly wipe away her tears. “Okay,” she whispered, leaning on Jester.
—
Shilou hadn’t been able to get a hold of Avana for hours and he was beyond worried. All of his texts were errored, and his calls went straight to voicemail. He left work early, much to some of his co-workers' chagrin. However, when he mentioned it was about his kids, said coworkers didn’t argue about him leaving early.
First, he started at the University. Sometimes she’d hang out in the library or with some of her other friends around campus. Nothing. He looked everywhere and she wasn’t there. Panic rose, but he tried to stay calm. Most lectures were over by the time he had looked everywhere, and Ratio had already locked up his office. “Shit, shit, shit, where is she?” he muttered, pacing the hallways.
“Um, are you looking for someone?” one of the University’s secretaries asked, tapping him on the shoulder. “Oh, Rose Quartz, I wasn’t expecting you here today. Is something wrong?”
“I’m looking for Avana. She’s not answering her phone,” Shilou admitted, trying to hide how worried he was. “Is she still here?”
The secretary shook her head. “I’m sorry, sir, but she left hours ago.” The woman tsked, shaking her head. “Pool girl had a limp. I think she hurt her ankle again.” Shilou’s heart fell. Avana was hurt. Maybe she was at home. She had to be at home. If not…If she got taken away again…
“Thank you,” he replied and left the University, going straight home. Shilou’s heart pounded when he got home. He saw Aventurine at the table helping Jasper with some probabilities for his coding assignment. Chase was sleeping on the couch, and Ratio was in his study. Rivera was carefully tending to the Sigonian plant. She had managed to save it and was carefully making sure it wouldn’t die.
“Hi, Rosie,” Aventurine smiled, waving at Shilou. “You’re home early.”
Shilou gave a tight lipped smile and went around the house, looking for Avana. She wasn’t there. Her room was empty, untouched since she had left. He noticed her phone on the table. It was out of charge. No wonder his texts and voice messages weren’t going through. Her backpack was thrown next to the couch. Her failed test had fallen under the coffee table. Shilou picked it up, noticing the paper that had dried.
Why was Avana crying over a test? Shilou didn’t understand. Was it because she failed? Why did she fail in the first place? Too many questions and not enough answers. All he knew was that Avana wasn’t home and her phone wasn’t with her. He took the test and tried to push down the rising anger. He was missing something.
“Veritas Ratio,” Shilou hissed, voice low and dangerous. Veritas froze, looking up from his work, eyes wide like a deer in headlights. His mind raced. Was something wrong? Did someone get hurt? Why was Shilou angry? “Where’s my daughter?” Shilou asked, holding Avana’s test.
Veritas furrowed his brows. “What do you mean, love?” Worry filled his mind. “Rivera’s here and Avana…” he froze. Where was Avana? He assumed she was in her room taking a nap or studying. “Avana’s…not here, is she?” He quickly stood up. “I should have noticed something was wrong,” he blamed himself.
“Tell me what you know,” Shilou sighed.
“She looked pale during the exam. She told me she was just tired, but I could tell she was hiding something,” Veritas stressed. “I should have pushed harder. Nous, I should have asked if she was okay instead of grilling her about failing that test. It’s clear whatever was bothering her impaired her ability to fully focus on the test.”
Shilou put the test on Veritas’ desk. “I’ll ask Vasha. We’ll find her.” He went back into the kitchen. “Kakavasha,” he snapped. Aventurine looked up with shocked eyes. “Do you know where Avana is?”
Aventurine’s jaw clenched. “I don’t know where she is. I assumed she was at the University or upstairs studying,” he answered tersely. Jasper shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “I only saw her during Dad’s class.”
Chase stirred, sitting up on the couch. “Avana’s gone? I saw her at home earlier, but then she left again. I was just taking a nap, but I woke up when she got back.” He frowned, adjusting his jacket. “She looked like shit, even worse than when I saw her in class. I wanted to ask why she was avoiding me all day.”
Shilou’s eyes darkened. “Was she sick?”
“I don’t think so,” Chase shook his head. “She looks horrible when she’s sick. This was something else. Maybe…” he trailed off. “Maybe she was having a bad day…” Guilt pooled in his stomach. He should have noticed something was off.
Rivera swallowed thickly. “It’s my fault. I yelled at her this morning because she fell and broke the vase with the plant in it. The stem broke and I…” she sniffled, shoulders shaking. “I told her to just leave…”
Aventurine sighed heavily. “I should have said something, but I didn’t say anything.” He rubbed his left wrist. “Damn it,” he whispered, clenching his fist.
Shilou narrowed his eyes. “Let me get this straight. Avana tripped and fell, accidentally broke a vase and a plant, and you let Rivera yell at her and you said nothing?” His anger rose. “Did either of you even bother to check if she was okay? I get that Rivera’s plant is important to you because it's a taste of home, but that’s just a plant. Avana’s your daughter !”
Aventurine flinched, guilt washing over him. “I know! I know. I just…Goddess we need to find her.”
“I checked the University. She’s not there,” Shilou sighed, shaking his head. “I was hoping she was going to be here. Apparently, she left the University hours ago with a limp.”
“What?” Veritas hissed. “A limp?”
“Did I stutter? Her phone’s here, so I can’t call her,” Shilou paced the kitchen. “She’s out there somewhere hurt, both physically and mentally. When we find you, I expect both of you to apologize,” he glared at Aventurine and Rivera.
“Did you check her dorm?” Jasper spoke up. “We rarely use our dorms, but if we want space, we usually hang out there for a little while.” He closed his laptop and anxiously shifted in his seat.
“I, no, we’ll go look there,” Shilou snapped, shooting Veritas and Aventurine a hard stare. Neither of them argued with the angry Stoneheart.
—
“I said you’re cheating!” Avana scoffed, throwing a card at Jester who laughed. “How else do you keep winning this game?” She pulled the blanket around her tighter and playfully glared at Jester. Her ankle was bandaged and put in a brace. Milkshake cups were scattered across the floor.
“You’re bad at bluffing,” Jester shrugged, floating upside down. “You losing sounds like a you problem, little one.” He stuck out his tongue.
Avana rolled her eyes and laughed. “If I wasn’t injured I’d throw you.” Jester retarted the game, and Avana paused, smile faltering when she heard knocking on the door of her dorm. “Who is it?” she called. The door opened and Shilou rushed to her, pulling her into a tight hug. “Ack! Dad? What are you—” she paused, looking at Aventurine and Ratio. “Oh.”
Jester narrowed his eyes. “Hey! It’s still my time with her. You can have her back at the end of the day.” He looked at the clock. “So that means I still have a few hours with her.”
“I am…impressed you managed to cheer her up so quickly,” Ratio murmured, looking apologetic.
Jester scoffed, frowning. “She's happy because she's with me . Now please leave. I'll bring her back safe and sound later, please leave. ” He pointed at the door.
“Avana, duckling, I apologize for earlier. I didn’t know, and I should have known you weren’t okay. Do you forgive me?” Ratio knelt down in front of her. He hesitantly reached out to squeeze her shoulder.
Avana was quiet, and Aventurine stepped forward. “Avana,” he sighed. “I am so sorry. I’m not mad about the plant anymore. It’s just a plant. You’re my child. You are my first priority, and I’m sorry I failed you.” Tears welled in his neon eyes. “You’re in pain, and I didn’t help you. I’m so, so sorry, duckling. Can you forgive me?”
“I forgive you. Both of you,” Avana whispered, lip trembling as she tried to squirm out of Shilou’s tight hug. “Dad, let go,” she huffed. “I’m okay.” She managed to wriggle free and hug Aventurine and Ratio. “I’m sorry.”
“No, don’t apologize. You did nothing wrong,” Ratio soothed, rubbing her back.
Jester cleared his throat. “Great, okay, y’all got it figured out. Leave.” He pointed to the door once more. “I still have a game to win.” Shilou glared at Jester who matched his glare.
“I’ll be fine,” Avana shrugged. “I did promise him the rest of the day.” She went back to her spot on the floor with her blankets and her duck plushie. Her parents reluctantly left, and Jester smiled.
“Finally. I thought they’d never leave,” he shuddered, making Avana laugh. “Come on, Ava. I have more games to beat you in.”
“Jerk!” Avana threw an empty cup at him.
Jester was true to his word. He brought Avana home safe and sound at the end of the day. He frowned and pushed the doorbell again and again. And again. Until Ratio opened it, death glaring at the Fool. “It’s the end of the day. As promised, I brought her back.” Avana waved at her dad.
“It is one minute to midnight!” Ratio snapped.
“And that makes it the end of the day,” Jester proudly smirked. Ratio threw his chalk at the Fool. “Boo! Next time I’ll keep her longer.” Avana hugged Jester and limped inside. Jester waved and disappeared.
“You had Shilou worried sick,” Ratio chastised, picking Avana up because he didn’t want her ankle to get agitated even more. “At least leave a note next time. It’s late, and you need sleep.” Avana yawned. “I’m going to allow you to retake that test. But don’t expect this to happen again.”
“Thanks, Dad,” Avana yawned, eyes drooping.
“Avana?” Rivera swallowed thickly. Avana looked at Rivera, smile faltering. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, tears already falling. “I shouldn’t have said those things.”
“It’s okay,” Avana promised. “I forgive you.”
Ratio smiled softly. Sometimes he wondered how his kids could be so kindhearted. “Come on you two. You need rest.” In Avana’s room, Chase and Jasper demanded a cuddle pile. Naturally, Avana was on the bottom with Rivera, Chase, and Jasper surrounding her. Shilou dragged Aventurine in and pulled Ratio down into the pile as well.
Avana smiled softly. Finally, it was a good day.