NOVEL NEXT Interlude – A talk
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<Japan / Shizuoka / Oxton House / 15:12>
"I'm home!" exclaimed Lena as she quickly walked in taking off her shoes and leaving her backpack against the wall.
"Welcome!" Winston's voice called to her from the kitchen. "Can you come in here for a moment?"
Lena raised an eyebrow at the strange tone in her father's voice but simply shrugged it off. Walking into the kitchen, she saw her father sitting at one end of the table with his eyes closed as if lost in thought.
"Um" Lena gulped as she sat across the table, that was the pose her father struck when he was going to talk about something serious. "I didn't do anything stupid did I?"
Winston shook his head as he opened his eyes and looked his daughter straight in the eye. "No, I just wanted to talk to you..."
While Winston spoke normally Lena could feel the pressure her father was expelling from his body. Like when you're about to be scolded for doing something wrong, that same pressure only multiply it by 5.
"So...where's David and Angela?" Lena asked nervously as she went over everything she had done in the last few days. "They're not in the basement are they?"
"They went out to see an acquaintance of David's in Kyoto, I decided to stay here since I needed to talk to you" Winston replied as he carefully adjusted his glasses.
That only made Lena sink back in her seat a little. "Oh, okay."
They both fell into an awkward silence before Winston abruptly broke it.
"I honestly don't know where to start...I feel like we haven't talked much since I left for I-Island and after the Tournament" Winston let out a tired sigh before looking back at me with a faraway look.
Lena blinked twice as she looked at her father with a raised eyebrow. "Aren't you going to punish me or something?"
"No dear. I just...wanted to talk to you, I feel like we hardly talk to each other anymore" Winston spoke with a hint of sadness in his voice but there was also a look of determination in his eyes. "I know you've been busy with school and your Hero activities, so I don't blame you...but I miss not having you home you know?"
"Um, now that you mention it that's true" Lena murmured as she scratched her head "Not since-"
"USJ" Winston interrupted her with a small shudder. "You know, that day was possibly one of the most stressful days for me. Knowing how my daughter almost died at the hands of a random stranger, seeing how the incident had affected you...it was painful, very painful..."
Lena averted her gaze as the memories of USJ came back to her mind. She remembered everything, from Kurogiri's teleportation, the confrontation with the villains along with Momo and Kyoka, her confrontation with Reaper... Karios....
Lena shifted uncomfortably in her chair as she fiddled nervously with her fingers under the table. "It was... a horrible day. I was terrified to be honest with you. I recently realized that you shouldn't confuse bravery with recklessness...and I...I think I was very reckless during USJ, I felt that after joining UA nothing could touch me...and I almost-"
"I know dear, I know" Winston interrupted with a pained expression, that was a memory he didn't want to relive. "You know...during that time I thought about withdrawing you from UA."
Lena looked at her father in surprise as the latter averted his gaze with a bitter smile.
"But I quickly realized I couldn't do that, it wasn't fair and it wasn't what you needed either. I couldn't take away something you've worked so hard on simply because it's dangerous. I'm a scientist myself, there are experiments that are dangerous and yet I still go through with them, I can't even count how many times I will have been hurt by a failure" Winston spoke with a nostalgic look as he stood up from the table and carefully picked up a photograph of Lena and himself watching a movie. "I...I don't think I can fully accept Heroism...it hurts me to see you so hurt, it's heartbreaking to see my daughter hospitalized...it's heartbreaking to see you having a panic attack while I'm powerless to do anything..."
Lena moved closer to Winston as she gave Winston's trembling body a hug.
"However, it's something I have to accept... I... don't... think I can do it right away, but I'll try to make the effort" Winston's voice began to tremble as he swallowed saliva. "You're growing up dear, and I'm scared to be honest with you... I miss that little girl with the bright smile that came to brighten my life... it's sad to see that she was a little girl has grown up, but I can't help but feel proud and happy to see what she has become."
"Dad..." Lena murmured as a strange mixture of feelings appeared in her chest. It was happy, yet sad, sweet yet bitter. "You know that you will always be my Hero don't you, that you were the one who inspired me to be who I am... I may not spend as much time with you anymore, but you will always be my dad... and that's all that matters..."
Both Oxtons simply held each other in hugs for a while before separating.
"Want to watch a movie?" Lena offered with a smile. "Like old times?"
Winston simply nodded as he wiped a tear from his eye. "Sure."
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A/N: Originally it was going to be a chapter, but it was too short for being a chapter and I couldn't fit it with a good enough continuity, so it's better an Interlude, possibly I'll make others about other characters.
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