Chapter Text
Now
Nikolai walked slowly through the school's quad. The voice in his ear bud from the school’s audio tour app described the majority of the buildings having been built in nineteen-sixty seven. And honestly…they looked it. The buildings around him were the main administration building to the front, which held the main offices, the library and a few sets of specialized classroom and lecture areas. Not lecture halls. Areas. The school was particular that way.
The Campus Activities Building, or CAB that housed the cafeteria, underground car park and numerous rooms for clubs and other…well, activities, stood to the right just past the odd Frank Lloyd Wright-eque clock tower.
To the left was what the tour app explained was the ‘Long House’. It was built by the local indigenous people in conjunction with the school with local woods and in a traditional style. With added modern conveniences such as air conditioning and fiber internet, of course. The building was an open meeting place and was used for lectures, small concerts or just general gatherings since it was built in ninety-five.
It was all so…ugly, really, apart from the long house. The main buildings, including the main dorm buildings he had just come from, were unattractive bare, squat concrete structures. They looked like they were designed to withstand a siege. Which, apparently, they were. Being built in the late sixties, at the height of the Cold War, the school was apparently a fall back point for the State capitol. In fact, a rumor he had heard NOT on the tour app was that there were supposedly underground tunnels from the State capitol building to the main school building.
Yeah…for such a liberal school, Deciduous State University looked different than one would expect. Though, oddly, for Nikolai, the military-eque nature of the school’s main layout gave him a little piece of mind. At 24 and fresh out of the military himself, he was having a little bit of an issue relaxing back into civilian life. Though, to be fair, it had been just over a week since his discharge.
And now, here he was. A vet in a school known for its extreme liberalism. Why? Because he made a promise. Even if he was six years late and alone, he was finally able to keep his word.
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Then
“You're…leaving?” Helena’s voice quivered only a little as she looked out over the lake with him. They sat on a thick blanket as the stars twinkled off the lake. The picnic dinner they had finished and pushed to the side, and all but forgotten in this moment.
“For a while, yeah,” Nikolai nodded, not looking at his best friend. “I’ll probably come back when I’m done. And Hel, you know we will always be friends.”
“Heh,” Hel sniffed slightly and he noticed her black and gray tail was in her hands. The racoon only did that when she was nervous or upset. Like now. “You asking me to wait for you? I might want to run off to college and find some highbrow premed boyfriend.”
Nikolai was silent for a long moment before snorting a short laugh, “Pff, you? With a pre med student? You wear boy underoos. Set your bar a little lower. Maybe…an art major or something more like that?”
“WHAT?!” Hel threw her tail down and turned to face him and jabbed at him with a finger “Look, boys' underwear just happens to be the easiest to find, that's all cotton. Women’s all have some form of spandex in them! And I can land a premed student, easy! I’m a charming lady when I want to be and you well know it!” Then her finger dropped as a look of sadness rolled over her face. “I’ll do it, you know. I’d wait. Then we can go to college together, like we planned.”
Nikolai’s smile went tight as he turned to look out over that lake again. “Don’t be silly Hel. You’re really smart and got all those scholarships. I remember how excited you were when you found out you got in into Deciduous State. You’re going to be the first one in your family to got to college. You don’t put that on hold because your best friend has to find some other way to pay for school. Mom and Dad keep telling me they can take care of it, but with Sibohan, that’s five of us. If I can take even a little of the burden off them, then that’s what I’m going to do.”
“I know,” Hel blinked back tears as she looked back over the lake as well. “I…love you. You know that…don’t you?”
He was silent a long moment before his gaze dropped to the blanket in front of him. Then, he nodded slightly. “I know.”
“Then-”
“I know Hel, that’s why I’m leaving tomorrow. It’s why I didn’t tell you until now,” the words flooded out of him as he fought back tears. “I knew that if I said anything earlier you would talk me out of it. Or I’d find some other reason to stay. I…I love you, too Hel. I always have. But you’re better than me. You need to get out and make the world better, I’d only slow you down. And I…I need to find out where I belong.”
*Smack*
Hel slapped him. Hard. He couldn’t say he didn’t deserve it, but it still surprised him. “You son of a bitch! Don’t you tell me who I am or am not better than! I won’t hear you belittle yourself like that! You don’t get to make my choices! If I say I’m willing to wait it’s because I choose to. Fuck you for doing this to me!” She leaned in then, her lips catching his. She kissed him hard. She kissed him with the love built in years but never said. Then she was gone in the dark. She didn’t come to see him off. She never wrote. He never saw her again.
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Now
Aaaand…he was lost. Someplace between the main quad and the science buildings, ironically having been built in the eighties, didn't look like little fortresses, the battery in his phone died. But hey, how big could the campus be? Surely he’d be able to find his way back to the main quad. He didn’t need to ask directions. Not that there were many people to ask, being the spring break and all. The numbers of students he had seen all day could be counted on two hands.
He had come to a large athletics field, which about all he knew was on the ‘back left corner’ of the main campus. It was interesting considering the school didn’t have teams for the major sports one would expect from a college. Like, there wasn’t any football, or basketball teams, for example. There was, however, a women’s lacrosse team currently at war with itself on the field. Warring to the point Nikolai didn’t quite want to risk his life crossing open terrain to ask for directions.
But there was a rather pretty doe crossing his path right that moment. Her cream capri pants and light blue shirt set off her darker brown fur rather nicely. The bounce she gained from hitching up her black backpack wasn’t exactly painful on the eye either.
“Excuse me, miss?” Nikolai called out, a slight speeding of his step to intercept her where their two paths crossed. The doe, however, seemed to ignore him. Not that he would blame her. Random guy calling out to her in a near deserted school campus. Or…it could be the earbuds she was wearing. Adding in a small wave he tried again. “Miss? Could you help me?”
The doe glanced up at his movement and blinked for a moment, clearly surprised to see another person on the paths while on break. She stopped and pulled out one of her earbuds and looked at him inquisitively. “Yes?” she ventured, a little wary, almost like she expected him to try to sell her something.
“Sorry to bother you, but my phone died,” Nikolai held up the offending device with a small pained smile. “I was in the middle of the audio tour and now have no idea where I am or how to get back to the main quad.”
The doe’s stance relaxed some as she gave Nikolai a sympathetic smile. “Ouch, yeah, you are almost on the complete opposite side of the campus…"
“Figures,” Nikolai rolled his eyes and glanced around before pointing out the path he was about to take. “Don’t suppose that was the proper way back?”
A small musical giggle and the doe gave a small shake of her head. “Sorry, but I’m afraid not. Going that way would take you down toward the beach trail. Here, why don’t you go this way.” she pointed down the path she was already going. “This goes to the dorm buildings. From there I can point you the right direction.”
“Thank you miss, you’re a lifesaver,” Nikoli sighed with relief, deflating the tension he built up in his back slightly.
“Oh, you don't have to be so dramatic,” the doe giggled again, it was a pleasant musical little laugh. “My nake is Maralee, by the way,” she said, sticking out her hand.
“Nikolai,” he answered, giving her hand a short shake.
“Well, this way, Nikolai,” Maralee said with a small gesture, starting back on her path. She pulled the other earbud from her ear and put the pair into their case and slipped it into her pocket. Her large brown eye glanced at him as he stepped up beside her as they began winding their way back to civilization. “What brings a man such as yourself to this fair school during break?”
“Oh, I’m looking to start classes here in the spring quarter actually,” Nikolai grinned. “I was accepted for the next year but I ended up getting out of my previous job early, so I petitioned to start classes early.”
“Is that so?” Maralee kicked her feet a little as she walked and nodded. “What was it you were doing, if I may ask?”
“You certainly may,” Nikolai nodded sagely.
Maralee waited a few moments before letting out her musical giggle again. “Okay, Nikolai, what was your previous job?”
“Not gonna judge me for it?”
“Well, can’t promise that,” Maralee smirked. “What if you were a drug smuggler?”
Nikolai’s eyes went wide for a moment and he took a half step back. “How did you know?! Are you a fed?” he narrowed his eyes comically.
*pff* Maralee strangled back a laugh and slapped a hand over her muzzle. “Afraid so, Nikolai. You are under arrest!” The doe held up her fingers like a gun and waved them at him.
“Heh, but seriously, I was in the military,” Nikolai winced slightly as he spoke, giving her a sideways look. Hopefully his first experience on campus wouldn’t go the way he feared. The school had a bit of a reputation after all.
“Oh really?” Maralee just nodded, giving no signs of hostility. Maybe the stories were exaggerations or just the extreme cases. “My dad was in the marines. We moved around a lot. What did you do?”
“Well, I can see moving around a lot. I was in for eight years and had my fair share of duty stations. As for my job, I was a helicopter pilot,” Nikolai smiled as Marlee gave him an impressed expression. “Actually, I was lucky. I managed to muster out literally a month before they changed the minimum service term for pilots from six to ten years.”
“Well, well, dodged a bullet, figuratively,” Maralee laughed quietly as they exited a small cluster of trees to stand before the tallest building in the school, the A Dorm Tower. “And here we are. Now, over there is Alphabet Soup, the apartment dorms, mostly for upperclassmen. If you follow this path between the dorm sets, it’ll take you right to the main quad. We call it Red Square, by the way, because on the ground are the red bricks.”
“Awesome, hey, thanks for the help and the conversation, it was nice to chat with somebody after the day of silent ghost school,” Nikolai held out his hand again and smiled.
“It was my pleasure, maybe I’ll see you around campus. And remember, I’ll be your upperclassmen, so you better show me the proper respect,” Maralee gave him a mock serious frown as she took his hand and squeezed it, acting tough. “Anyway, it really was nice talking to you.”
Releasing her hand, Nickoli turned and headed down the path the doe pointed him down and thought about what was.
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Then
“Are you sure you wanna do this, darlin’?” Nikolai’s mother placed a concerned hand on his arm as she hiked the little black and white panda cub in her other arm a little higher. She, like his other sisters and brother, were adorable. Okay, maybe not Jacob. He was a five year old little terror. But Meta, Fran and little Siobhan, eleven, ten and one, respectively were the best sisters a guy could have, standard sibling incidents aside. And Lisa-Mae was probably the best step-mother on the planet. She did more for him than his birth oven ever did. She did all the proper mother things even though she didn’t have to.
Nikolai was nine when his father remarried, bringing along two kids of her own. It was a bit of a shock, going from a small one bedroom apartment in the city with his dad, to a four bedroom two story house in the suburbs of a completely different city, in a completely different state. They had their bumps, but Lisa-Mae was amazingly patient with the sullen boy she had inherited and seeing his father, a big quiet man that worked his fingers to the bone in two different jobs to provide for the two of them, come alive whenever Lisa-Mae came into a room…that affected him greatly.
“I’m sure mom,” Nikoli smiled, patting her hand with his. “I get to go out, spend a few years serving the country and then I get the GI Bill to get me into college. And having a service record would look pretty good on college entrance applications. Besides, you’ll be able to give Siobhan her own room. She’s getting a bit big to keep her in the room with you and dad. It must make alone time difficult.”
“Nikolai!” his mom gasped leaning back and giving him a swat on the arm as a blush crept into her ears. After a moment of mock glaring she cleared her throat and sighed dramatically. “All right. If this is what ya really want, I give you my blessing. Gettin’ your daddy to agree, that’s gonna be a challenge.”
Blowing the air from his lungs in a big sigh, Nikolai dropped his head. “Yeah, I’ve been trying to figure out how to tell him.”
“Well, maybe you leave this to your mama, okay?” Lisa-Mae smiled, patting his hand. “I can get him warmed up before we drop it on him.”
“Warmed up, huh?”
“Nikolai!”
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Now
“And where do you plan to stay tonight?” Nikoli’s mother asked in an arched tone. “You get out a week early and instead of coming home and spending it with your poor grieving mother and the siblings that barely see you, you run off to the big city to have an illicit affair with your stepsisters, who were cast out because of their rowdy ways.”
Nikolai was quiet for a moment before speaking. “You done mom?”
“Yes, dear, thank you very much”, the panda said cheerfully. “I do so love my stories, I appreciate you letting this old woman play around.”
“Old woman,” Nikolai snorted. “You’re forty-two.”
*Gasp!* “Not content with defileing your stepsisters, you turn to your stepmother as well?!” His mother countered, dramatically.
“Okay mom, you need to stop watching your stories some, they’re rotting your brain,” Nikolai sighed now, giving serious thought to just ending the call.
“Alright, alright,” his mother laughed. “Don’t hang up, I’ll be good. But seriously, where do you plan to sleep? And why haven't you contacted the girls?”
“Honestly?” Nikolai chuckled as he leaned back on the red brick steps of the school’s so-called ‘Red Square’ “I didn’t think this through. I got off the week early and the drop off at the McWire air force was too convenient. Thought I’d come and check things out on my own to get an unbiased look at the place. I know the girls would put everything in the best light possible.”
“Well, they just want to look out for their Big Brother,” Lisa-mae chuckled. “You know how much they look up to you.”
“I do and that’s part of the problem,” Nikolai laughed. “Besides, they don’t have room for me in their dorm, I’m sure. I’ll just find a cheap hotel and hole up there. I’ll find them tomorrow and surprise them.”
“Oh, I’m not so sure they’ll like that. Your father…may have let it slip that you got there early and they may have been displeased…” His mother almost whistles in poorly disguised innocence.
“Dad did, huh?”
“Ah…yup.”
“My father.”
“That's him.”
“You aren't good at this, mother,” Nikoli said, trying to keep the smirk out of his voice.”
“Oh, no, don’t you ‘mother’ me!” the woman in question sniffed indignantly. “It’s mama, mom, or mommy. Never ‘mother’!”
“Yes, mama,” Nikolai laughed now. His mother had always been there for him. Always had his back, even when he was a dumb shit kid. Yes, she was easily the best mother a boy could ask for.
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Then
“WHO TOUCHED MY BABY BOY?!” The door to the school principle’s slammed open to reveal a monster written in black and white. Pandas were normally seen as a placid, calm people, this particular specimen gave lie to those words. At least when it came to her children. This particular panda was on the softer side, as pandas tend to be, and was dressed in orange board shorts, a black tank top under a white crop top that had what appeared to be a sleepy panda with the phrase ‘I’m barely awake!’, and for her feet, green flip flops, just to complete and bring the look together. And, not to forget, a look of absolute fury.
The office itself was not particularly large, but it did hold a fair sized wooden desk across from two decent rolling chairs. On either side of the door were a pair of plastic chairs of the same type used by students in the classrooms, one of which was now half smashed behind the heavy wood door to the office. Luckily, the young bobcat that sat on that side of the room had decided to put as much distance from himself and the human in the room. And judging by the size of his eyes, he was currently aware of it.
“Mrs Lautner. So good of you to join us,” the old bloodhound behind the desk with the nameplate of ‘Mr. Micheal Abernathy’, said, dryly. It was fairly obvious that this pair had gone to head before and that Mr Abernathy was not particularly looking forward to another go around. “If you would mind taking a seat we can discuss the incident.”
“Incident?!” the bobcat’s mother with what was colloquially known as a ‘Karen’ haircut screeched. “This…thing, attacked my son! I want him expelled immediately and I will be filing charges with the police and I’ll be suing you!” She spun round to glare hatefully at Lisa-Mae Lautner.
“Mrs Johnson! There will be no tolerating racism in my office, do you understand?” Mr Abernathy barked, a dark frown on his face.
“Hmph,” was all the response he received.
“Sue my ass,” Lisa-Mae grunted as she turned to look at her human son. “Boy, you are in for a world of hurt when your daddy gets home.”
“I expect your helion to be in prison!" Martha Johnson made to stand, only to freeze when the panda turned her gaze on her. “I-I mean, he assaulted my little Ned for no reason! He’s been stealing his allowance for months!”
“Not hardly,’ Nikoli muttered under his breath.
“Boy, you keep your mouth shut and let momma take care of this,” it was impressive how well Lisa-Mae could both sound soothing but also sound like an executioner at the same time.
“Yes, mom,” Nikolai hung his head, trying to hide his blush. His mother was normally a jolly soft woman with a slow southern drawl who loved to cook and garden. She was calm and cool headed in nearly every circumstance be it as mundane as a splinter of as dramatic as going into labor, Lisa-Mae was the one you relied on. Unless something happened to her children. Then she would become a blazing whirlwind of thought and physicality as seemingly unstoppable as an avalanche.
Reaching into her bag Lisa-Mae pulled out a small stack of papers and dropped them dramatically of Mr Abernathy’s desk. “What I have here is a log of, both written and audio, of our attempts to contact the school, as well as Mrs Johnson about her son, Ned’s behavior in this school. Specifically his verbal and physical harassment of my son, as well as other students. I have a list of property stolen and/or vandalized. I also have signed statements from the parents of other students whom have had similar issues both with this school as well as Mrs Johnson personally. Mrs Johnson is known for verbally and physically harassing parents and even students in efforts to make them drop charges and/or allegations toward both of her children in this school.” Lisa-Mae’s tone and voice changed to a passionate yet controlled tone of the seasoned lawyer she was. “And, lastly, I have the paperwork for a subpoena of the schools surveillance footage for the purposes of discovery of evidence of what I have described having transpired and possibly ignored by the teaching staff.”
There was a long pause as both Mr Abernathy and Mrs Johnson stated at the stack of papers on the desk. Mr Abernthy, looking bemused, while Mrs Johnson looked as if she couldn’t decide if she should scream or cry.
“Boys,” Mr Abernathy said, his voice a little tight. “How about you step outside into the main office and have a seat. I expect this may take some time.”
“Yes sir.” “Yessir”
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Now
“Why isn’t he messaging,” Meta groaned as she stared at her phone on it’s little stand on her dorm room’s desk. It was a fancy new one that folded open in the middle into a small tablet. It was a bit thicker than most phones now and had an awkwardly small front screen when folded up in its phone form, but still, not having to have a separate tablet and phone was more than worth it.
Meta was a pretty panda girl. She was short and took more after her mother than her sister, Fran, did. She was short, maybe five foot-two, on a good day, and had her mother’s softer padding and generous bust. Her hair was long and so black it was almost blue to contrast with her sparkling blue eyes.
In contrast, her sister Fran stood taller at five foot-seven and had more athletic build. Fran was still on the softer side, but her curves hid a martial artist body. Long years of competitions and training had made her a little powerhouse. And even as an eighteen year old freshman, the karate team had been eager to get their hands on her. She wore her dark brown hair in a short pixie cut to keep out of her own crystal blue eyes during practices and competitions.
“Probably because you keep staring at your phone like that,” Fran snorted from her place atop her bed. She was laying in a long military tan t-shirt she had stolen from her brother years ago and it had quickly become her favorite sleep shirt. Her bed, like her sister’s, could be flipped so that it stood high, like a top bunk bed, leaving room underneath for their desks, mini fridge and various tools of their classes or clubs. “He can probably feel your creepy sister vibe through the airwaves.”
“Oh yes, ha ha,” Meta shot back. “It is to laugh. At least I still don't call him ‘Niki’ like a five year old.”
“Hey,” Fran peaked over the edge of her bed indignantly. “He likes when I call him that.”
“That’s probably why he isn’t messaging or calling us, you still act like you’re a kid,” Meta sighed again and leaned back in her chair, looking at her sister upside down.
“Ugh, why did I agree to room with you?” Fran dropped back onto her bed and stared at the ceiling in frustration. It wasn’t like she didn’t want her brother to contact them. In fact she was a little hurt that he got there early but didn’t tell either of them.
*Brring* *Ding*
Both girl’s phones chimed at the same time, sparking a double made scramble for their phones, Fran nearly dumping her’s off the bed where it surely would have shattered on the concrete floor. The thin carpeting bolstered by the many rugs the pair had gotten doubtlessly doing little to save the fragile device.
>Hey guys, it’s your second favorite older brother. I got here early, as mom seems to have already spilled. I was going to surprise you tomorrow, but if the cat’s out of the bag, I might as well just message you now.
>Besides, I realized I didn’t know how to find you guys randomly on an entire college campus like that.
“Well, there’s that,” Fran chuckled as she looked over her phone. “What does he mean second favorite? He’s the only one.”
“You know him,” Meta smiled with a rueful shake of her head. “He has dad’s sense of humor.”
“Okay, fair point,” Fran shrugged. “Lemme get back to him…”
F>What R U doin? DO U have a room or somethin? Come see us dipshit!
“Fran!” Meta looked up her phone and frowned at her sister.
M>Sorry about that Niki, I have not house trained her yet. But seriously. Come see us tonight and we can talk!
N>It’s late for me and I am exhausted. I got a hotel room for the night and about to crash out. I’ll message you girls first thing when I get up
F>Grr UR lucky I like U, but I;ll let it go this time
M>I’m sad, but i understand, I hope you sleep well
N>Thanks much! I’ll catch you two tomorrow, Love you guys!
M>Love you too, good night
F>Nighty Nite!
“Well, now we know what’s up,” Fran smirked as she leaned over her bed to look down at her older sister. “Should we order a pizza or something?”
“What is it with you and your obsession with pizza recently? It's all you’ve been eating for the last week it feels like,” Meta gave her younger sister an exasperated look.
“I dunno, isn’t it what college kids are supposed to eat? That or ramen. Maybe pancakes and apples for a month?” Fran gave a shrug. “Either way, you in?”
“Of course I’m in, don’t be silly.