Chapter Text
1911- Joaquin, Sylvia, and Manolo played with marbles, sad and anxious while Maria packed to leave. Everyone devastated when she was finally ready. Well… everyone except Sylvia. She was Maria’s friend and she was sad to hear she was leaving but she wasn’t big on her. She was just the girl Joaquin liked to her. That and being the girl who was always doing something rebellious or stupid. She didn’t care for her too much, but was still sad to watch her go.
It rained hard that night, but it didn’t reflect Sylvia’s emotions. It was a good day for her, she loved the rain, she loved nighttime, she loved everything about this moment. She watched them exchange gifts, she watched her get on the train, and she watched the boys chase after the train, she watched them give up. She wiped her face, hiding the small smile playing on her lips and playing it off as tears. She was grateful for the rain so it could hide she wasn’t really crying.
After they went home, or after Manolo and General Posada went home, Sylvia and Joaquin walked back to the orphanage. It was a somewhat big building, long-ish, two stories, made of hard clay, bricks and wood. They were both quiet. They silently got in their bunkbed in the long bedroom of the orphanage where the kids slept. It wasn’t too full; San Angel wasn’t a big town and thankfully there weren't many orphans. There Sylvia smiled freely, bottom bunk and in the darkness of night, no way Joaquin was going to see it. Though she did feel slightly guilty after hearing Joaquin sob barely. She held her breath, turning on her side and simply closing her eyes.
1915- Joaquin spent somewhat a mixture of more and less time with Sylvia, training, leaving, and when he was with her, playing pranks or goofing off, and when he wasn’t doing any of that he was with Manolo spending the little time they had with each other. Sylvia was somewhat grateful that Joaquin had some time for her, but was immensely worried about him when he left for the first time.
A week he was gone, a mission about some bandits? He had a poorly growing mustache and was still pretty twinky, but he was still stronger than most of the grown soldiers. It was like he was almost developing faster? Something the town doctor couldn’t even explain, labeling him as a miracle. She wanted to trust him, honestly, but the thought of something happening to him scared her; he was just fifteen!
When he came back. He came back spotless, spotless, Sylvia worried for six whole days for him to come back with nothing? Like sure, be confusingly strong and a miracle but was he… invincible? She wasn’t sure, but she didn’t want him to go testing that theory.
The next time he was going to leave was around five months later, Sylvia sat on the bottom bunk, watching him pack essentials.
“Sylvia, I’m telling you, this is gonna be one of the best things that will happen to me! I’m gonna kick some ass again and everyone is going to see me as a hero and… oh, everyone is just going to adore me!” He exclaimed while packing his bag, since he had the medal, things changed. He was prouder than usual, more self confident, prideful, he seemed more determined about things. And though that was good, he could’ve done something that’d hurt him. At least mentally.
“Right, like they don’t do that already” she smirked, feigning casualness despite being terrified at the thought of him getting hurt.
“Yeah, but they’ll have more reasons! Did you know I’m starting to get medals for some of the stuff I’m doing? Crazy!” He clasped his hands together and brought them to his chest, looking at the ceiling with a dreamy smile.
“That’s pretty cool…! Hopefully they don’t all look like that ugly green one you always wear” She laid down, rolling over on her stomach while still looking at him, “why do you wear that one?”
“Uh…! Oh, it’s uh… a good luck charm!” He smiled awkwardly, “I like to have it on me…!”
“Oh, okay?” She shrugged, silence awkward and uncomfortable, “where are you going this time”
“Don’t really know, just a small town that happens to get raided a lot.”
“Huh. Okay.” There was some more silence, “you’re going to be careful, right?”
“Me? Sylvie, c’mon, I don’t need to be careful!” He smirked, dusting his shirt off playfully, like she was just teasing him.
“No, like, you aren’t gonna try to play hero, be reckless or just doing more than you have to right?”
“Sylvia-” he inhaled sharply, “-I’ll be fine. You keep acting like something is going to go terribly wrong.”
“Cause something will go wrong if you aren’t careful!”
Joaquin stared at her confused and like she was crazy, no one had told him that yet, not even Manolo and he was visibly worried about him fighting sometimes.
“I’ve trained for this Sylvia. I’ll be fine.”
“I can’t help but be worried… I just don’t think-”
“You don’t think I can do it.”
Sylvia looked at him confused, sitting up. “What? No Joaquin I just don’t think-”
“You do! You don’t think I can handle it!”
“Joaquin, that's crazy! You probably can!-”
“‘Probably! Probably can! I knew it, I knew it! You think I’m weak!” He pointed at her chest accusingly.
“Joaquin no, just let me finish!”
“There’s nothing to finish, Sylvia! I’m going to prove to you and everyone else in this damn town that doubts me I can do it! I’m going to be the best soldier in town, in the country, and hell, maybe even in the world!”
“Joaquin, don't be stupid! You and your ego are going to get injured and that’s going to be your fault!”
“I won’t get hurt!”
“How do you know that!?”
Joaquin held his breath, he couldn’t tell her about the medal, but he couldn’t lose this argument. He cleared his throat. “I just… do.” He shut his bag, pulling it closer to him. “And I’m going to leave. And I am going to be the best soldier this town has ever seen.”
Sylvia tensed, scared more than ever he’d get hurt, “Joaquin please… It wasn’t like that…”
“Except it was.” He turned around, taking a deep breath away from her, “whatever, bye Sylvia.”
Sylvia watched him leave and shut the door. She cursed under her breath, “I just don’t think I could handle you getting hurt.” She muttered, and then screamed into her pillow.
Joaquin stared at the ground, clutching his bag. He exhaled, leaving. He wasn’t going to be careful, he still didn’t have to be.
When he came back, a few weeks later, he was determined to show off at Sylvia. But Sylvia’s bunk was empty, the bottom bed made nicely and her drawer under their bed where they kept some things and clothes also cleaned.
“What the…” he muttered, confused and almost scared.
“Hey! Joaquin!” Another orphan, Thomas, called out to Joaquin from his bunk, holding a book. They were familiar but… Joaquin does not like him. “How was the… uh… mission!”
“Where’s Sylvia…?”
Thomas clicked his tongue then hissed through his teeth, looking away from him. “Uh… she kind of… left?”
His eyes widened slowly. “What do you mean?” His voice was low.
“She got sent off to France, finally thought this was around the age she got taught how to be a ‘proper lady’ I think? I thought she told you, or at least wrote.”
“No… she didn’t.” He looked at the ground, the fight seeming real stupid in his head. It was his fault. He should’ve just told about the medal, or let her finish, or just tell her he’d be careful. He’s just raising suspicion by being perfect. He’s just… sorry.
He climbed up to the top of his bunk, laying down and staring at the ceiling. He wanted to write, write about how sorry he was. But he couldn’t, he didn’t have the guts nor address, and she wasn’t going to write back. He didn’t even know if she was coming back. He could just hope.
He sobbed more than when Maria left, Thomas uncomfortably kept reading his book.