The Park, Monday Evening

[lockestheway]

Portals elsewhere might break, send you to the wrong planet, or leave you hanging; this one was forever faithful to its own schedule.

Sadly, for those denizens of the island who might have grown attached to their children, that meant it was time to say goodbye. The portal popped up blazing purple in the center of the park, calling to those it had taken here just a few days ago.

Time to go, time to go home, children.

[[ for your AU kidlet goodbyes! Sniff. ]]

Comments

[bitten_notshy]

Jack hadn't been ready to have four children, but he was even less ready to see them go.

That preference made little difference.

At the appointed hour, a trio of telepaths assembled their parents and began a brisk walk toward the park, bemused stepbrother in their wake. It's time, they all kept saying, and jack was not about to argue.

[icecoldfrost]

Emma glanced over at him, picking up the train of his thought and brushed her fingers over his wrist in support.

"I would tell you all to go right home," she said dryly, "but I think we all know that's not going to happen, since at least one young lady thinks she's going to scamper off to Aruba anyway..."

[unburnt-queen.livejournal.com]

She couldn't do this. Dany had lost her son once; it seemed entirely unfair to actively send him away from her. She was stalling, and she knew it -- she'd told Chuck she'd meet him and Ella to say goodbye once she'd sent Rhaego off, and she couldn't keep them waiting. That would keep her from just trying to flee into the portal with him, or run away.

She was quiet as they walked, just watching him. She tried to memorize the way he moved, the color of his skin. The scent of his oil-slicked braid.

It was too soon.

[mount-theworld.livejournal.com]

Rhaego was growing mildly concerned about his mother's silence. He recognized the glowing purple mass from before, when he had traveled through it to here. It had been at his insistence that they go to it again, today.

He did not wish to cause her unhappiness, this tiny version of his mother. But he could not stay here longer.

/"Why are you sad?"/

[lockestheway]

Peter had lost both of his girls to their respective co-parents, and he... missed them.

The part that startled him most about that was that he wasn't even so put off by it; he felt a little sad, and a little confused, and a lot proud.

He still had one of them, though. And so when the time came, he led Aindric back to the park, talking to him all the while about things that actually mattered to him, like political theory and the foolishness of world powers in times of war.

[glacial_queen]

Karla came forward slowly, unsure how to say goodbye to this child that she had barely seen and the father that she couldn't stand. She knew what she wanted to do, to say. She wanted to tell him that his mother loved him very much, had chosen to carry him and bear him and raise him up. Wanted to apologize for her distance and her reaction and anything else she might have done that had caused him pain.

But he was a Wiggin. If she said any of those, did any of those things, would he simply be amused by her over-emotional outbursts? Would he give her a long-suffering sigh and point out that he knew all that already? Be embarrassed by her?

And what of Peter? Would he take that moment of vulnerability and use it against her?

She didn't know. Couldn't tell. And so it was a very quiet and subdued Karla who separated herself and walked over to them both.

"Hi," she said quietly, giving them a wan smile.

[seaweed-demigod.livejournal.com]

Percy wouldn't be too sorry to see his kids go but he was...a little sad about it. Just a little. He'd get over it though. At least he'd avoided getting his shins kicked by Aritaseus. That kid was a menace.

"Time for you guys to go," Percy said, glancing at the portal.

[trickydemigod.livejournal.com]

Luke's shins were sore as hell and he still was a little sad about this. He didn't really understand the mechanics of all this so he was unsure if he'd ever see these two again. "Yeah, you're probably giving other versions of us heart attacks right now, disappearing like that."

[whenshewasnice]

Unsurprisingly, especially after this morning, Natalie and Sam had agreed to say their goodbyes to Ada together, but she was seeing Lilith off on her own. Seemed more right that way.

Walking to the park with the girl was harder than she'd expected. But then, this whole thing had been like that. They talked as they were walking, in mild tones and low voices, about things specific to their kind of view of the world.

Natalie supposed this was going to hurt.

[therewaslife]

Bod wanted to do this less this year than he had last year. Dorian was just...amazing and he hated that the little boy had to go even if he knew his parents missed him and wanted him back. Still, he was feeling selfish right now and wanted to keep the little boy for himself.

"You be good when you go back, all right?" Bod said, glancing over at Dorian, who was in Kate's arms.

"I'm always good," Dorian said, nodding.

[vanillajello]

Kate would freely admit that this sucked beyond belief. She'd been thrilled with this weekend when it had started, because it had taken her mind off of things that had happened. But having to say goodbye again? That was as bad as it hd been last week. Worse, even. There were no guarantees she'd ever see Dorian again.

She was already trying not to cry, and it kept her from saying anything for a moment. She just held on tightly. "And just remember that –– all across the multiverse, your parents love you."

[knowsnokungfu.livejournal.com]

However early, and completely unlikely these kids were, it was still always a little wrench to see them go. It was really nice to see just how good the future was, in at least a few worlds.

He had Ella by the hand. All they needed now, was Dany.

"Which world are we sending you back to here?"

[weedragonherder.livejournal.com]

"Yours!" Ella told him contentedly, swinging their hands. "I have to go to school. We're learning about taking numbers away from other numbers."

[notagoose]

Goose was not looking forward to this part, he held Star's hand as they walked towards the portal. Max trailed slowly behind them.

[not-really-rahl.livejournal.com]

Mason was dragging his feet. "I could stay a little longer," he suggested. "It's not that strong a pull."

It was strong enough.

[wrongkindofsith]

"You could," Cara agreed. "If that's what you wanted."

[willbeinjuvie.livejournal.com]

Terry didn't so much say goodbye to anyone as much as he went straight to the portal before anyone (Bruce freaking Wayne) could track him down. As great as it was to get away from the cops and his crumbling home life, three days was more than enough time to spend away from his actual friends....

... even if some of the girls here were really cute.

[zetabetabrat.livejournal.com]

Pitt the cat did not seem to want to get into the portal.

"Oh, come on, seriously?" Rebecca complained after about twenty-five minutes of trying to coax him into it. "Fine. Come on, we need to get you some stuff, then."

[chief-cheerio.livejournal.com]

She'd had a kid with Bruce.

That was ... a little weird. And the kid? Kiiiiind of a pill, if Quinn was being honest. But, hey, they'd gotten through the weekend, and nothing too horrible or horribly annoying had happened, so Quinn was counting it as a win.

"So, uh," she said awkwardly. "Bye? Be good?"

Possibly Bruce would have something better to say?

[willbethenight.livejournal.com]

"If you get into any kind of serious trouble, we'll know. We're extremely clever people and will only become more so over time, so don't try to pull anything on us," Bruce said.

So... maybe if 'better' was defined in a very specific way. "It's been nice getting to know you, though." He even smiled when he said that part. Maybe it was even a real smile! Who could ever really be sure with Bruce?

[pyrechild.livejournal.com]

Dalia was calm as she went to the portal. Well, calm and a little somber: She felt like she wasn't leaving her father in a great place, and all she could do was hope he'd find peace. Or as close to it as Jono got, anyhow.

"Hey," she said, as they approached the portal, "are you going to be okay after all six million of us go?"

The number of Jono kids kept expanding exponentially, every time Dalia referred to it.

[furnaceface]

And after the weekend he'd had, trying to round the smaller and more energetic of them up, Jono was starting to feel as though six million wasn't completely inaccurate an estimate, either. Even so, he did his damnedest to work his way up to a smile. For the sake of Didi's daughter, for the sake of his daughter with Didi, it was the least he could do.

It fell a little short.

"Things will certainly be a fair bit quieter," he replied, though it didn't actually answer the question at all. His voice was a bit too soft, and his heart felt a bit too much like somebody was trying to twist it out of his chest for him to be completely convincing. "I honestly haven't decided if that's a good thing or if it's not."

He wasn't quite looking at the portal, yet. He was looking at Dalia, hell-bent on not taking his eyes off of her until she had left. He'd looked away, when Didi had gone. He'd closed his eyes, and when he'd opened them again, she had walked out of his life completely, and there was no looking back.

Not this time.

[dollpocalypse]

Genevieve and Maria had had to be taken to the portal separately, which -- Topher thought -- had been the best way to make sure that no one died of sass on the way back to their home dimensions. Gen had been fairly quiet on the way there, finishing up her ice cream and hopping off with a passing cryptic comment about "just a few more weeks, then" that Topher couldn't quite decipher; Maria had handed him some folded-up napkins with sketches of tech on them and insisted rather forcefully that he show them to Tony.

And then he'd gone back to the dorms and then set off to make his third trip to the park, this time with Billy and Antonia in tow. All the way there, he swung his arms awkwardly and didn't say much. This had been a... really, really weird week, and he just wanted to think about everything.

But he wasn't about to take that out on her by being distracted and processy while he was trying to send her off, because he sort of liked her best.

"You all set?" he mommed asked her, resisting the urge to fuss with his hands.

[borntofangirl.livejournal.com]

"Don't worry, this isn't my first time through a portal. I'll be fine," Antonia promised. "Is there anything you guys want me to tell, you know, you when I get back?"

[necroslacker]

After his little (big?) breakdown earlier, Sam had gone back to Natalie's room and he'd been fairly all right. He'd dodged questions from Natalie (not that she'd asked due to the kids) and he'd generally just focused on Ada and playing with her as much as he could. He tried not to think about the future the other him had left her with.

And now...now it was time to say goodbye. He wasn't sure if he was ready for this but he knew it had to be done. He was sure the other him missed little Ada.

[whenshewasnice]

Natalie had already said goodbye to Lilith, and it had hurt, and now she didn't even know what to feel. Apart from very, very tired. This whole thing had gotten... confusing.

She'd picked up Ada, though, and was nuzzling the girl's tiny cheek adn trying not to be idle and absent about it.

"Dun be sad," said Ada, to them both. Though perhaps a little more to her father.

[wannabelawyer.livejournal.com]

It was time for Lynn to go back to her other, slightly older and less cool, parents. Lindsey thought it might be a little easier this time, saying goodbye. Somehow saying goodbye to a teenager didn't seem quite as daunting as saying goodbye to a small child at Disneyland had been.

"You ready?" Lindsey asked. It wasn't clear if he was asking Lynn or Piper or both.

[teenwiccalawyer.livejournal.com]

"I'm ready," Lynn said, nodding. Her parents in the future were probably worried.

"I think so?" Piper added. This might be a little harder for her.

[knight-fatali.livejournal.com]

Seifer didn't want to be here, but her knew he wasn't really in the right place to be a dad, and Sylvie needed to go home before her parents came to get her.

He hugged her tight and slipped a letter in her pocket. "Make sure your dad gets that when you get home, okay. It's a reminder about the chocobo and the pony and why you're going to be nice to Tempest now. So he doesn't forget."

He wasn't going to cry or anything like that.

[angelo_wings]

Rinoa knelt down before her little girl. Sylvie. A precious blonde little angel (okay, spoiled, but that didn't make her less of an angel, shut up) and one she hadn't imagined she would see again. She was blessed to have met her twice.

And she was so unbelievably grateful Seifer had met her at all.

"Tell them how good you were," she said, and she was choking on it. Dammit. Dammit. "But they'll know you were good. Because you always are. Right, Sylvie?"

[fates_jaye]

Oh thank god. Three days and Jaye could finally send the kid on his way.

Don't get her wrong. As kids go, he wasn't horrible. Plus he was good for things like snarking on TV shows and changing the channel with the power of his mind. Maybe she could rent out a Jedi to do that stuff for her from now on.

She brought OJ to the portal and then... Were there supposed to be like, hugs or something now? She was generally a bad hugger. "So... bye?"

[slackerjedi.livejournal.com]

Oh please, like OJ hugged. He was a thirteen-year-old boy and that was his mom.

If Bo wanted a hug, though... Did he look around to check for her? Yes he did.

"Bye," he said with a shrug. "I'll see old you in like five minutes."

[new-it-girl.livejournal.com]

Hanna and Elphaba were there to send their little girl on her way. Hanna was surprised by how much she was going to miss her kid from an alternate universe.

"So, you got everything?" That was a parental thing to ask, right?

[wickedgoodshoes.livejournal.com]

I"m all set," Emily replied, giving her mom a reassuring smile. "It's gonna be okay."

[not_in_the_book]

Ronan looked around at the youth gathered around him. Five kids this time -- and what kids they were. Not a single one seemed even remotely likely -- some even less so than others -- but every single one had a place in his heart.

"So I guess this is goodbye," he said, smiling a little sadly, as he leaned down to hug each child in turn.

[nolan-kidlets.livejournal.com]

"I'll be back," Peach promised, hugging back pretty fiercely. "Don't think you're getting rid of me that easy."

Caled poked Peach in the shoulder until he let go. "D'you think we will?" he asked Ronan, as he took his own hug. "Come back, I mean. We can't all happen, right?"

[harleyquids.livejournal.com]

It was a little strange for Elle Penny Starsmore. She'd seen her parents in ways she'd never expected, had the chance to try and change things for the better.

And now she was going away. To a future that might never happen from here.

She milled about for a moment, trying to spot her father.

[furnaceface]

Jonothon hated goodbyes. Somewhere around here, there were a few more of his children, about to walk out of his life.

He hated goodbyes, and weekends like this in the first place. Goddamn teases that they were. Still, when he spotted Elle's face, he managed to put on a ghost of a smile as he walked up to her.

"Time to go back to an older, wiser father, is it?"

[basketbrat.livejournal.com]

"But I don't want to go home!" Kyle insisted. "Here is so much cooler. It's so retro!"

Troy sighed. "It's not retro, it's vintage," he pointed out. "Although it's not even that, not yet, anyway."

My Little Hipster just pouted at his tiny!father. "I'm telling Dad when I get home."

[oncourtandstage.livejournal.com]

Troy rolled his eyes. "Look, Kyle, you might want to think about this a little more, okay? You can come back and visit again, if the portal comes back for you, but otherwise you need to live in your own time."

"But that's boring."

"This time is, too, if you live here."

[tatooine-doofus.livejournal.com]

To say that this had been an eventful few days back on the island was to understate things to an almost ridiculous degree. After Leia and Anakin, Luke hadn't felt all that equipped to corral a ten-year-old, which hadn't seemed to strike Ben as overly strange.

That broke Luke's heart a little bit. He'd hoped to be a more active father.

He glanced down at the redhead next to him and tousled his hair. "You go straight back to the other me and your mom, okay? I bet they've been worried."

[skycrawlers.livejournal.com]

"Or they thought I was with Jacen," Ben said with a philosophical shrug. "It's okay, Dad. I can take care of myself."

[trigons_child]

Raven hated this part. Even though she knew these girls had parents who were probably very worried about them and anxious to have them back, it was still hard to let go.

"I hope to see you both again," she said to Elizabeth and Eirene. Apparently she had a thing for E names. "But try to tell your parents where you are going first next time? They will be very worried about you."

She glanced around, trying to see if she could spot their fathers. Including the one she still hadn't met.

[furnaceface]

Jonothon was... a little choked up, but doing an admirable job of not showing it. Apparently this weekend had been specially designed to put him through an emotional wringer. Still, he'd be damned if he didn't see Elizabeth off.

And so he was working on wearing a smile (and trying to keep his emotions as neutral as possible) as he approached the girls.

"Just in time to say goodbye, am I?"

Goodbye was a terrible word.

[angelo_wings]

One down, two to go. It was hard last year, sending away Sylvie; it had been just as hard, this year. And now she had to send away two more little girls.

Okay, one of them wasn't little girl-shaped but she was still a little girl. Rinoa believed, anyway. Warren's son had said so.

... It was occurring to Rinoa that she still didn't know Warren's son's name but now wasn't the time to ask, exactly, so she'd save that for another time.

Right now, she had Pluma cradled in her arms, and she was shushing her with her fingertips.

"Who has the prettiest feathers ever?" she murmured softly. "You do. Youuuuu do."

The noises she got back seemed especially happy. Apparently that was a good compliment to be using?

[wwiii]

"I think she likes that," Warren offered, smiling maybe a little awkwardly as he stepped up to Rinoa and Pluma. "And they are. Um. Pretty feathers, I mean."

Considering how many of them she'd probably filched from his own wings over the weekend, that statement was probably equal parts compliment and vanity.