gratitude

[the_very_best]

Bella flies away. She visits her parents, hits up the guild for matches and wins enough to pay her guild dues, and tools around random wilderness beating up on the wildlife.

She doesn't really expect to hear from Sherlock and Tony again.

Comments

[the_very_best]

Bella does have baby pictures! Baby Branch apparently spent most of his time looking exquisitely confused about everything. A couple shots were taken by someone else and have Bella in the picture; Baby Branch looks at her like she holds all the wisdom in the universe.

[toblameforit]

"He is so cuuuuuuuuuute."

[the_very_best]

"He was. Now he's sorta doofy-looking when he's not striking regal poses by complete accident," laughs Bella.

[toblameforit]

Tony giggles.

[the_very_best]

Bella also has baby pictures of Zag the Zigzagoon, and Fireflower the Ponyta, and Juu the Mienfoo. She didn't get Rachis as a Pidgey, but she has Awkward Teenager pictures of her as a Pidgeotto.

[toblameforit]

Tony oohs and awws over all of them.

[the_very_best]

"Have you got pictures of you and yours from way back when?" asks Bella, closing her photo album when she's exhausted the interesting parts.

[toblameforit]

"Sure," says Tony, and he brings up a video projected on the wall: tiny Tony meeting a tiny Charmander, and immediately receiving tiny cuddles.

[the_very_best]

"Awww," says Bella. "Awww! Where's Sherlock?"

[bitofafiction]

"I did mention I spent most of my childhood in the library. You will note that this is not the library."

[the_very_best]

"You weren't even there when Tony got his first Pokémon?" asks Bella quizzically.

[bitofafiction]

"Should I have been?"

[the_very_best]

"I dunno, I'm an only child, but I bet I would've been for my brother or sister if I weren't."

[bitofafiction]

He shrugs.

[the_very_best]

"Let's see some more pictures-slash-videos?" says Bella encouragingly, peering at the projection.

[toblameforit]

Tony has lots!

Sherlock is in none of them.

[the_very_best]

Bella peers quizzically at Sherlock between awwwing at the videos.

The angle on these things is not right for him to have been standing behind the camera.

"Did you guys not get along when you were ten?" she asks.

[bitofafiction]

"It's complicated."

[the_very_best]

"...Private family business?"

[bitofafiction]

He nods.

[the_very_best]

"...Okay."

[bitofafiction]

Sherlock smiles wryly.

[the_very_best]

"I think I'll go raid your library and wind down for the night," Bella says, getting up from the table. "Tomorrow morning we can figure out some way to make an air-race interesting - maybe there's a bit of the woods gappy enough for everyone's wingspan to provide obstacles if they fly low? - we'll figure something out."

[toblameforit]

"Ooh," says Tony, and he starts playing with maps on the computer.

[the_very_best]

Bella grins at him and heads up. She finds a book, reads the book, and then crashes in the same room she did last time.

In the morning she comes down the stairs, whistling.