Work Text:
Day 98
All the members of the Pony Express crew were gathered at 7 p.m. for dinner. It was the only time the whole crew got together. Sometimes it was fun, other times it was tense, but mostly it was regular, quiet, and peaceful. Well, peaceful if Daisuke didn't have his Game Boy taken away. Because Swansea usually took Daisuke's Game Boy away at dinner time because 'it was time to socialize,' and Daisuke always spent his time talking nonstop like a parrot or a broken phone. Today was no exception. Everyone silently ate the mashed potatoes made with water and powdered mashed potatoes made by the same Pony Express brand (which tasted unpleasant), some fish sticks that cooked the whole box in 3 minutes in the microwave, and some defrosted green beans, all with a pittance of condiments that made it taste more like jail food than work food. But the best was the iced tea. That was like finding a rainbow after a storm.
Daisuke was talking to Swansea, who was sitting next to him, about everything: how when they got to Earth all the girls would throw themselves at him, how he would invite his parents to dinner with his first paycheck, games from his Gameboy, magazines he'd read, how he missed his dog a lot, how this food was garbage compared to his mom's, blah, blah, blah. He would have continued talking until he noticed Anya eating her food, stressed and depressed, and not even iced tea cheered her up, jikes! So, like the good coworker he is, he wanted to talk to her, but what was he talking about? Work? Boring, nursing? No, Jimmy told him the other day that he'd never been able to get into nursing school until now, but then he remembered he was talking about family with Swansea, of course! It's a good topic if you want to know more about your coworkers.
"Soo"
He said as he turned to look at Anya, a slight smile on his face, stopping playing with his remaining fish sticks.
"What's your family like, Anya?"
At the sudden question, Anya stopped looking at her food to look at Daisuke, thinking for a few seconds.
"Ah—my family is fine. My parents are very loving."
Anya said as she looked back at her food.
"Really? And what are their names?"
Daisuke asked, still smiling and still looking at her.
"Well, my father's name is Misha."
Anya said, getting a little nervous.
"And your mother?"
Diauke asked as she played with the fish sticks again, breaking them into pieces.
"Ahm, I don't have a mom, Daisuke,"
Anya said, still looking at her plate, and only moving the mashed potatoes around with her fork.
When Anya said that, she gained some attention from the other crew members, and some surprise from Daisuke, which turned into a bit of guilt, thinking her mom was dead.
"Ooh, sorry, your dad's single then?"
He asked with the faintest smile.
"It's not like that, Daisuke,"
Anya said as she looked away from her side to look at Daisuke, and then scratched the back of her neck.
"It's just—I have two dads."
Anya said to him, somewhat nervously.
When Anya said that, she gained more attention from the crew, and even more surprise from Daisuke. Before Daisuke could say anything, Jimmy, who was standing next to Anya, spoke up.
"You have two dads? How weird," Jimmy said, continuing to sip his iced tea. Jimmy found it odd. Daisuke thought it was genius. Two dads? How amazing! Two people who teach you sports, two people who watch baseball games with you, two people who haven't gone through menopause,two people that helped you shave.
"Thats amazing, Anya! What are their names?"
Daisuke asked with a wide smile, until a doubt came to mind: if she had two dads, how they will... Make a baby?
Anya was relieved that Daisuke took it well.
"Oh, their names are Misha and Ludwig, and they adopted me because I'm from the Philippines. My dad, Misha, is from Russia, and my dad,Ludwig, is from Germany."
When Anya said that, Swansea turned his attention to her, raising an eyebrow at her.
"Germany and Russia? It must be a battleground when they talk about politics."
Swansea laughed
"And how did you meet?"
"Oh, they met at work. They were like mercenaries and were fighting against a base called 'BLU' for a piece of land, but years later it dissolved, and then they adopted me."
Anya said, then smiled warmly.
"Actually, that's why I want to be a nurse, because my dad was a medic. He taught me a lot."
Anya said, smiling wider, until Jimmy said, "Well, for all the times you've tried and failed at nursing school, it doesn't seem like it."
When Jimmy said that, the dinner party became tense. Anya rolled her eyes as she looked at her plate.
"At least I'm not giving up, and I want to fulfill my dreams," Anya said, then looked at Jimmy with a mocking smile.
"Don't you think so, Jimmy?"
Anya asked. Jimmy was giving her the gun-slinging look, and the dinner looked visibly tense until Daisuke spoke up, trying to calm the atmosphere.
"Umm, why don't you show me a picture of Anya? Of course, if you have one," Daisuke said with a small, nervous laugh.
Anya stopped looking at Jimmy, remembering that in her wallet, which she brought as a personal item, she had a family photo with them.
"Sure, Daisuke, I'll be back in a minute."
Anya said, then got out of her chair and walked to her quarter. It took her a few minutes. Then she came back with a Polaroid in hand and sat back down at the table.
"Here you go,"
Anya said to Daisuke, passing him the Polaroid because she was sitting across from him at the table.
Daisuke grabbed the photo, and Swansea also surreptitiously looked at it.
In the photo, there were two men in their mid-fifties. Both were smiling warmly and wearing warm clothes, as it looked like a Christmas photo. One had black hair, tinged with gray, small, round glasses, and a white dove on his shoulder. The other was a more robust, strong man. He was bald, but he had a noticeable freshly shaved beard. However, he was warmer than the black-haired man and was also a bit taller, about half a head taller. In the middle of the photo, there was a 9-year-old Anya sitting on a chair between the two, grinning from ear to ear. She came very warmly dressed, with a mushroom haircut, and a Christmas bow that Heavy had put on her before taking the photo. It was a very nostalgic and pretty photo, since neither Daisuke nor Swansea had ever seen Anya smile like that, or well, very often they had seen her so happy, so Daisuke smiled, and Swansea too.
"Wow, at the end of the day it's better to have two dads, because I have to wait half an hour for my wife to be ready for a family photo."
With that comment, the table was filled with laughter, mild or normal, but it clearly helped lighten the mood, and the rest of the dinner was peaceful, with some laughter, but better, not perfect, but better