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Coco is a smart girl.
She likes to think so, anyway. That's what Mister Qifrey tells her, and what her mama used to say too- as much as that makes her little peach heart wince to think about- so she thinks there has to be some ring of truth to it.
Maybe not as smart as Agott, with her honors classes and pretty curls and top marks, but then- really, who was?
No one in their grade, that's for sure. Maybe not even anyone in the grade above them, simply because she was so informed- because she always seemed to know the right answer. Or, at the very least, the right direction to move in.
Coco could help fill in the rest. She could try, and they could meet in the middle somewhere. That really seemed to be all she was capable of these days.. trying. Falling short.
And that's what made them such a good team! Especially recently, especially now, since Agott seemed to be having more fun with their plots and schemes. Since her sharp bristles had softened, and the severe slant of her eyes became more from drowsiness than disinterest.
Ah-! But.. but that wasn't the original point here!
The girl of green and gold shakes her head back and forth, attempting to will her straying thoughts back to the matter at hand.
No, her new friend- officially, now, and not assumed- was not where her mind needed to be right now. No siree. No.
Back on track.
Coco was a smart girl.
A resourceful girl, and one that was quite good at adapting- if she did say so herself. She adapted to a new school, new peers, a new par- er.. a new guardian [Mister Qifrey was her guardian, why was that getting so hard to remember-?], with only a few minor.. a few negligable stumbles.
So, being such a thing, she knew... that there was no way that that was Mister Olly-!
Coco had only met the man a handful of times in the beginning- when Mister Qifrey first so kindly took her in- but he'd been around a lot more often recently. He kind of had to be, with four little girls running around and their main caretaker...
The lump in her throat, one she'd nearly forgotten about, swells impossibly wide.
..in the hospital...
He- Mister Qifrey was fine, she knew. She knew- well, the doctor told her that there.. was a practically guaranteed chance that he'd be just fine. That he was lucky to squeak by with what was- essentially- just a really bad concussion and some scrapes.. but what if he wasn't? What if he hadn't been 'lucky'?
Again, she shakes her head- this time even harder.
Mister Qifrey would be fine, because he promised her- he promised them- that he would be. And she had no reason to believe he'd break that promise.
He hadn't broken one yet.
Besides... as hard as she [and Tetia, and Richeh, and Agott- though she denied it] took it... Mister Olly was undoubtedly handling it worse.
Every night, without fail, he'd tuck them into bed- nearly a whole half hour past their usual bedtime [something they only knew from watching their bedside clocks, obediently perched atop their covers]- with apologies spilling from his lips and his clothes in near complete disarray.
His hands, calloused and ink stained and littered with little scars cutting through the pads, would be shaking when he pulled the covers over their shoulders and ruffled their hair.
His eyes would be red-rimmed- either with tears or increased deprivation of sleep.
And then, only after telling them all- and whatever plushie was in their arms for good measure- 'good night', he would lock up the house. And he would drive away.
They all knew where he was going- though maybe only because he would wake them up in the morning still smelling vaguely of medicine.
In a word- Mister Olly looked.. bad, these days.. to say the very least. Really bad, gutted. Scruffy in a way that seemed less charming and more.. falling apart at the seams.
And that's why the man collecting them all from school, quite a few hours early mind you, could not possibly be him.
He was simply far too put together!
In fact, he was practically glowing- with clean hair that was, yes, maybe a similar color, and a poet shirt that didn't have a speck of grime or stain anywhere on it and matching socks. She could see the cool grey color of them peeking out his shoes.
Mister Olruggio never matched his socks!
It was a coin's toss if he even ever wore both at the same time!
Oh, oh, and this imposter's face!
Completely clean shaven! There wasn't even a hint of stubble on it, or- or that other thing it was called sometimes. A shadow? Coco couldn't.. she couldn't quite remember the name at the moment...
But it wasn't there! At all!
And neither were the seemingly permanent bruises beneath his eyes, or the speckles beneath his fringe and across his nose, or the exhausted stoop to his spine.. none of it was there!
So this simply couldn't be Mister Olly!
But.. then again, none of the other girls looked worried... Agott looked a little miffed to be out of school early, but she didn't look scared. Tetia was excitedly clambering into the front seat to talk about her only class, Richeh was settling in by the window.
No one was acting like anything was wrong.
Maybe.. maybe this was some other adult, then? One that hadn't been around yet?
Or maybe he was Mister Olly's.. uh... twin? Twin adjacent? Happier doppleganger?
Mmgh...
Coco takes her place in the middle of the backseat cautiously, if only at Agott's prodding and cajoling insistence behind her.
Despite it all, despite the oddness of being picked up early by a stranger [something that Mister Qifrey would usually never allow..], the girl of green and gold has to admit.. his good mood is a little contagious.
His night-sky eyes are alight with familiar stars, his hands steady on the wheel as he nods along to Tetia's rambles.
"Good news, girls," Not-Olruggio grins, polite to at least wait until the cotton candy haired girl had exhausted her stories.
And sure, maybe he sounds like Mister Olly too, but- "Qifrey's awake."
...what?
Her suspicious musings and speculations screech and sputter to halt, and the car falls silent.
One beat, then two.
Then-
"MISTER QIFREY's WHAT!?" cries four different voices.
It erupts under the shock of worry torn, middle school girls. Richeh and Agott's voices are a little quieter, predictably, but just as surprised. Just as ragged, from three long days of studying and worrying about their sedated caretaker.
So.. that must be where the real Mister Olruggio is, Coco settles on- with a fierce warmth blooming under her collar, he must be talking with Mister Qifrey!
Because he's awake!
"I suppose.. if I had to leave my classes for any reason.. this is a pretty good one," Agott mumbles beside her, quiet and flushed and relieved.
And Coco can't help but agree.
This new mood, floaty and anticipatory instead of heavy with the dread of returning to a shell of a house, carries them all into the hospital's waiting room- where this stranger had driven them.
She doesn't hear the entirety of the exchange with the receptionist- too excited to finally be talking with her guardian again- but she thinks she hears something about 'daughters' and whatnot.
And- well.. whatever gets them to Mister Qifrey's room, she must suppose. [something shy flutters where her little peach heart sits]
The walk through the winding halls seems both to last forever and yet take no time at all. Three endless days of quiet, three endless days of tension and hollow meals, all boiling down to a five minute walk.
It all sort of feels.. anticlimatic, really, when they finally push through the glass doors. When Mister Olly isn't already in there, like she'd expected.
Mister Qifrey is sitting up though, and turning away from the window to blink down at them all, and really that's enough. It's enough to forget about the Not-Mister-Olruggio-But-Close that picked them up early, it's enough to spur her feet forward, it's enough for her to throw her arms around his middle and tear up.
And she's not embarrassed at all because she's not the only one- because Richeh climbs up on his uninjured side to nestle in, because Tetia clutches his arm and Agott the blanket covering his leg. Because they're all- even this stranger- a little glassy eyed.
Because even if he's cold under her cheek, he's breathing. And there's no blood, no stutter, no wetness. He's okay.
Because he promised he would be.
"Mister Qifrey!"
"..oh..." his willow thin arms shift, gently pulling free of clinging fingers to wrap around shaking backs and pull them all a little closer, "Oh, I'm so sorry.. I must've given you all quite the fright."
He did.
Chilled, slightly shaking fingers card gently through her fringe- tucking it neatly behind her ears with a clumsiness unusual for such a precise soul.
And that.. that was worrying, but also so so far from her mind at the moment.
Not-Mister-Olruggio approaches, and Coco stiffens despite herself- even though he doesn't touch her at all. He's tall enough to reach over all their heads without needing to, and the rustling of metal and hair suggests it's for good reason.
"Sorry, I- thought I left them closer." his glasses, probably.
..but why he was here earlier?
Coco supposes he must've been with the real Mister Olly, since he'd known Mister Qifrey was awake. She had just assumed he'd been called.
But then where was Mister Olly?
The girl of green and gold finally makes to move back, even though she really doesn't want to. It's safe in the circle of Mister Qifrey's arms, and under his hand.
But now she had questions.
"Who-"
Questions that die when the sternum she's leaned up against jumps with a sudden sharp bark of laughter.
"What is.." that sound came out of Mister Qifrey-? "What is on your face, Olly?"
His thin fingers leave her hair to press against his own mouth, as he attempts to stifle his giddy laughter. It doesn't stop his shoulders from quaking though.
...wait-
"Or- or rather.. pff-" he practically folds over his lap, or would've- had Richeh not gently pushed him back against the pillows.
"Doctor said not to move.."
She gets a weak squeeze for that one, which she seems to appreciate enough to settle back down again.
Wait-
"You were about to ask what's not on my face, weren't you." Maybe-Mister-Olruggio deadpans, yet the familiar stars in his eyes just burn brighter, "Freakin' cornball."
But his smile.. the way he looks at Mister Qifrey... the way it sounded an awful lot like I love you.
Realization strikes the girl of green and gold like a lightning bolt.
"Mister Olly!?"
Her abrupt exclamation cuts through air like a knife- and with it, the giggles that Mister Qifrey had been just tamping down renew. They're twice as strong this time.
Though, heeding Richeh's warnings, he doesn't make to lean over his legs again. So.. little victories she supposes.
Coco wisely avoids looking back towards Agott, who she can feel burning judgement into the back of her head.
"She didn't recognize you..!" her guardian wheezes out.
Tetia looks at her burning cheeks with sympathy, in comparison, before reaching out with one hand to pat her shoulder, "I didn't recognize him the first time either.."
"You- I just shaved! I don't look that different, do I!?"
"Your- your eyebags are gone too! And your socks are matching!"
"I always match my socks! Your guardian is the heathen that doesn't!"
Was that true? She only ever really saw him in boots or barefoot..
Four pairs of eyes flick towards the end of the bed, though really all for naught. Mister Qifrey's feet are covered by the hospital blanket.
"Ah.." the last of his sniggers finally die out, but he confirms their silent questions all the same, "Guilty, I'm afraid. Though I must say.. Coco does have a point, my dear Olly... with how many times we only ever see you wearing just one."
"That's because you steal the other!"
Coco blinks.
Tetia blinks.
Agott blinks.
Richeh just looks incredibly self-satisfied, snug as Brushbuddy [their ferret] in the curve of Mister Qifrey's side.
"Knew it."
'My dear Olly...'
And Coco is... suddenly much less sure of the status of their relationship..
Especially when Mister Qifrey beckons the embarrassed man close, and cups his face over all their heads with his injured arm- watery blue eye curving with amusement and love.
When he uses his thumb to scrub away what looks like make-up from the bridge of his nose and crease of his eyes- revealing the little speckles that had been hidden away. It was so quick too, as if he'd memorized exactly where they'd been hiding long ago.
"There you are.." he breathes softly, letting his hand drop- if only for Mister Olruggio to catch it between his own and hold it in place for him.
Yes, Coco thinks faintly, in the special warmth that seems to exist solely in their little penguin piles of bodies, there they are.