2.16 That's Why He's the Mayor

The war was provoked into existence by someone who didn't care about its outcome, didn't expect there to be an outcome — because the world was supposed to end — and from the beginning it was an out of control thing, merely a ball set in motion. It didn't stop or notice the events in Setra. 

One day the press declares the whole thing is over, assures everyone the bad guys are being punished accordingly, and all there is left to do is rebuild. The military will help repair what cities it helped destroy. Vampires will never be allowed to live anywhere but Bridgeport again, as a precaution. Finley is one of the few to know the war was ultimately stopped by supernatural creatures on the government's leash, when the military was not enough.

Can Timmothy come home soon? she wonders.

Junpei spends many hours a day studying Alexandria's bracelet—sometimes right up until he falls asleep from the boring—hoping to discover a way for Finley to experience the highs and lows of her life without him having to be aware of them.

It's not so much a problem right now. Nothing is much of a problem right now. Everything is quiet and calm. The status of this household is going to change, though. Once this war thing is cleaned up Timmothy should be back, and if all goes well Finley plans to move to another house with Timmothy and their son. A house with more space.

Junpei will miss her, and Reve, but ultimately he wants her to have all of her hopes and dreams, and so... the bracelet. From the moment Chet slipped it off of Alexandria's wrist, exposing the dryad's presence to the world again, Junpei knew he needed to get a better look at the hex on it.

The first time Finley and Timmothy slept together... Junpei wishes he could take a cheese grater to his brain and get rid of that memory. Yes, he wants Finley to be happy, but even looking at Timmothy is going to be nauseating.

"You just have to tune it to the right frequency." Junpei has modified one of Finley's own bracelets to carry an enchantment similar but different from Alexandria's. She nods as he places it onto her wrist, though she wouldn't understand what he means if they weren't psychic. "We can't shut each other out completely, but you can choose to temporarily dampen our connection, and hide specific feelings via this subset hex. It will project false sensations, conflicting with the real ones and creating too much static for me to process. So when you want some privacy, all you have to do is—"

Finley grabs her brother into a crushing hug before he can finish his sentence. She feels like she's going to cry. "Thank you..."

"Uhhm. No big deal. I didn't just do it for you, you know..."

After a long squeeze, she lets him go. "I should have been helping you figure this out. I'm so useless."

"You're not useless.We're just different."

"Wait," Finley says suddenly. "What about you? You have one too, don't you?"

"Yep. It's not a bracelet."

"Okay. Good."

Finley waits impatiently for news from Timmothy. Until she hears from him again, she doesn't know what direction her life will go in. How will he react to his son? Will they be as attracted to each other as they were when he left? Will Reve's existence over-complicate their relationship? Will they start to argue and break up? 

How can she think she loves Timmothy when she doesn't even know how he'll react?

But she does. She does love him. She misses him.

The universe doesn't care about Finley's problems. Day after day, there's no letter or unexpected knock on the door.

Communication across sectors can be expensive, but surely the military would cover it?

"Wha's wrong?" Reve greets her when she lifts him from his crib.

"Nothing, sweetie." She tries to match his innocent smile. "Time to change your clothes, that's all."

Junpei is asked not to pose, but to stand still so his mother can study him as she paints his portrait. "You don't remember what I look like?" he asks, pretending to be offended.

"I'd like to get the shadows right, for once."

"Junpei!" Finley yells. "What is this thing in your closet!"

"Why are you looking in my closet!" Junpei's voice calls back from the kitchen.

"You said I could have that old jacket you never wear, but you never found it for me!" Finley answers.

"Don't be dramatic. It's an empty vortex. I was trying a portal spell..." but it grew critically unstable, and had to be sealed in the wardrobe. "Uh. Don't touch it okay?!"

He'd almost forgotten about the vortex. It's been in there since before Reve was born. Junpei intended to destroy it when he felt up to the task, but at the time he had so much else to concentrate on...

"Now I know why you haven't touched any of those clothes in so long," Finley says, as she slinks out of his room and back towards her own.

"You fixed the latch?" Junpei asks her. He doesn't want Reve to get in there by accident.

"Yes! I fixed the latch!"

The real fiasco begins another day. Mab paints while Reve plays with his toys.

The nessie from the claw machine is Reve's favorite.

So he's not happy when it vanishes.

"Help!" Reve begs.

Mab glances at him, sees nothing amiss, and returns to painting. "Mm?"

Annoyed, Reve flops down on his back and rolls around on the floor, whining and all-around having a tantrum.

Mab picks her grandson up. His diaper isn't soiled, and he ate lunch not too long ago. He doesn't seem too thrilled with being held right now, either. So why does he want her attention so badly?

"He's accidentally teleporting his toys back into the toybox," Junpei explains. As usual, Junpei has taken it upon himself to solve the mystery of the week. "Perhaps he will grow up to be a very orderly person."

Finley shakes her head. "Or he'll make himself disappear and I'll have a freak-out to rival any of yours."

"He's not making things disappear. They just go somewhere else. He's not strong enough to affect an object as big as himself. Just watch when he does it, I think you'll come to the same conclusion."

Timmothy's parents, Jessica and Liam O'Dourke, died within a day of each other. Saddened, Finley visits Timmothy's older brother and only sibling, Leslie, hoping to console him. Since she's not here on behalf of the newspaper, Leslie has trouble seeing Finley as anything but Reisa's best friend, and part of him still stings when he thinks about Reisa.

Leslie invites Finley into his modest home. He lives alone, and never felt the need to upgrade to anything fancy, even after inheriting all of his father's wealth. "It's sad they're gone, but they lived a long and... mostly happy life," he says. Jessica and Liam were so in love, it was sappy, and Leslie wonders why he can't have the same luck.

"It's nice to hear that," Finley murmurs. "Have you heard from your brother?"

"My problematic kid brother..." Leslie trails off.

"You have?" Finley's heart skips a beat, feeling the icy grip of fear.

Leslie is silent, guarded, for a moment. "Why do you ask?"

Finley takes a deep breath. "Leslie, this is Reve. He's your nephew."

Leslie's shock is evident on his face, as well as to the psychics' senses. He then gives them a pitying look. "Why didn't you ever tell us?"

"I wanted to tell Timmothy first. He left before I knew I was pregnant. It wasn't some random fling, Leslie, we were getting very close. If you know something, please tell me."

"They have him recovering in a psych hospital somewhere," Leslie confesses. "He was messed up bad. They told us he was lucky to be alive. Tim was the only o survivor from his unit. He was captured and repeatedly fed from. Once he was out of the vampires' hands the physical damage was a quick fix, but the rest is taking a little longer. They told me he'll be okay. I don't know why he hasn't contacted you."

"Maybe he feels ashamed, but he shouldn't." Finley sniffs, trying to hold in the tears. If she loses her composure, Reve is going to be frightened. "If you get to talk to him, tell him I love him."

Leslie's gaze drifts to the little boy in Finley's arms. "And...?"

"I'll tell him about Reve myself." She chews on her lower lip for a moment. "This is so sad. He really wanted to patch things up with his parents."

"They wanted the same thing," Leslie says, before breaking down into sobs he wasn't expecting.

Finley sets Reve down on the floor so she can hug Leslie.

Not wanting to part on such an awkward note, they kill some time reminiscing about high school.

Leslie also spends some time with his nephew. At first Reve fusses and tries to get away from the stranger, but with some patience, the toddler comes around.

"If you need any help with anything..." Leslie starts to say.

"I don't need any charity," Finley reassures him.

After a silence, he asks, "How is Reisa?"

"Reisa doesn't change. Don't tell me you still have a thing for her."

"Nah, she burned me pretty good. I've been searching for her polar opposite out there in the dating world."

"I hear Arethusa Woodard is looking to settle down with a nice man," Finley says.

"One of the triple-A triplets?" Leslie frowns. "The ones with the skin condition?"

"Yes. They're green. It doesn't bother them in the least, though."

Finley does her best to appear disapproving. She's part of the conspiracy, now. She's upholding the lie that the green skin phenomena is a medical condition that is both harmless and incredibly rude to talk about.

The lies are piling up.

Time passes. Junpei expands the garden.

One day, Finley double-takes. "What the hell have you done to those bananas, Junpei?!"

"Now they're growing on an apple tree," he says proudly.

"Why?"

Why indeed. Why.

The last plant Junpei tends to every morning is a stubborn grape vine he's isolated in a small planter. Just as he's finished adding in fertilizer today, something peculiar happens.

Things seem suddenly... dark?

OH NO

Kelley Vanderburg, the town's newly elected mayor, is the first person on the scene to help out. Anything for the fine citizens of Hidden Springs!

Junpei fights to save his home, using ice spells...



Kelley is too distracted with his horrible burns to notice, and the firefighters are painfully slow in arriving.

Mab has a traumatic flashback. "Be careful, Junpei!"

How many times is Junpei going to hear those words?

Arethusa shows up to gawk, but she's highly flammable, so runs away before anyone can react to her.

A couple of firemen arrive seconds after the last fire has been extinguished. One of them administers first aid to the mayor, while the second one congratulates the Archers for putting out the fire themselves, and reminds Mab not to start fires in her house.

"Does it look like I'm responsible for this in any way?" Mab growls through a fake smile.

"Are you okay, Kell?" Junpei is concerned for his former classmate.

Kelley gives him a hearty politician handshake. "Of course, Junpei! I knew what I was doing."

"WHAT THE HELL?" Finley shouts, as if it weren't perfectly obvious that a meteor just slammed into her front yard. She dropped what was happening at work as soon as she felt panic from her brother.

"My grapes and lettuces," Junpei whines.

"Good day, Finley!" Kelley greets her cheerfully.

"Good day? Good day?" Finley repeats, incredulous. She squats down next to the new crater in front of their patio. "You're right, I guess. No one died."

Since she has the mayor's attention, Finley gets some quotable quotes from him about his thoughts on the increased meteor activity lately. Mick's Master Karaoke was destroyed by a meteor like this not too long ago, and Junpei has found more and more space rocks lying around in the forest.

"I must consult with our fine scientists about this matter," Kelley tells her, "but I want to assure the public that we at city hall will take every possible step to ensure our town's safety. Expect a press conference announcement within a few days."
 
"Aliens are responsible!" Junpei shouts in the background, liking to keep up his reputation for being so strange no one wants to bother him.

It takes Junpei a long time to clean up this mess...

The call Finley has been waiting for arrives while she is doing laundry.

"Guess who!" he says, instead of hello.

A smile creeps across Finley's face. "I don't have to. I know your voice."

Finley rushes across town to meet Timmothy outside the diner.

The sunset over the river extra romance points were purely coincidental.

 Nicola Song, seen here holding Akantha, wonders how long that kiss is going to last.

"I'm so sorry about your parents," Finley says.

"I missed you so much," he sighs. He knows his parents died in his absence, but he's at a loss for words on the issue. Better to focus on what is still here, instead of what isn't.

"I missed you too," she replies, passionately.  "How've you been?" he asks, between more kisses.

"Fine," she answers. It's a lie she can at least keep track of. Accalia got to hear one version of events, Reisa and Finley's employers got another.

"Good..."

"And you?" She doesn't know if she should be afraid to ask. "What happened?"

"Stuff," he says, not meeting her eyes. "It's all done with now."

Sometime she'll have to tell him she knows at least the little bit Leslie told her, but not now. She doesn't even need to be psychic to see how badly Timmothy doesn't want to talk about it. "Alright. But why didn't you ever send mail or anything?" she complains.

"It was hectic out there. A mess. A big mess." Timmothy averts his eyes. "And I didn't want you to worry..."

"Not hearing anything had me worried, Timmothy."

They celebrate by eating greasy diner food. Timmothy has missed this restaurant so much.

"I have something to tell you," Finley begins.

"Yeah?" Timmothy smiles, he's usually smiling, and pretends to be focused on his food. Something in her tone is just screaming 'lifestyle change on the way'. He wonders if Finley has been promoted a billion times and wants to move to the city or something to pursue journalism in a more happenin' environment. Yuck, he's seen enough cities. He hopes he's wrong. But there are worse ways to be wrong. What if she found someone better than him, while he was away?

The smile fades to a blank expression when Timmothy is told he has a son, a little boy who is already starting to walk and talk. Could he have possibly heard that right?

With great effort, he lifts his gaze from the red and white checkered tablecloth the serving girl on roller skates spread over their table. He sees his girlfriend over there chewing on her lower lip, watching him, nervously awaiting some response.

Hotdogs forgotten, Timmothy gets up and takes Finley's hands. "No way... seriously? Oh, I wish I could'a been here. Can I see him?"

"Yes." Finley giggles, relieved. "Right now, if you want. He has your eyes."

"Sweet. Let's go."

Finley leads Timmothy back to the Archers' home, and up to Reve's nursery. They find Finley's brother tending to the child.

"Oh. Heeey, Junpei." Timmothy was always forgetting his ex-girlfriend Paulette's siblings' names, but Junpei was part of his graduating class, and also the only kid in school with a Japanese name.

Timmothy rambles on compulsively, "You're still living here too, huh? Man. This house really shot up, didn't it?" At some point Timmothy stopped talking to Junpei, really. His gaze is fixed on the toddler. "Like, vertically."

Junpei stares at him unreadably. "Uh huh." 

Same ol' Junpei! The weird, shy kid. Weird in a cool way or weird in a mental institution way, Timmothy has been to a mental institution and he still can't decide. Wordlessly, Junpei holds Reve out to him.

Gingerly, Timmothy takes his son in his arms. "Reve, huh? That's a cool name," he says, though he isn't sure what he thinks about the name. He isn't sure he thinks anything at all about the name. "Hi, Reve."

"Say hello," Junpei instructs the toddler. His voice is soft and kind, it's more of a request, really.

"Hello," Reve parrots. He doesn't take his eyes off Junpei, nervous to be held by a stranger, though somewhat trusting that no harm will come to him so long as his mother, uncle or grandmother are present.

"Wow," Timmothy comments. More of a reaction to Reve's existence, the weight of the small person in his arms, than the toddler's ability to speak on command like a little dog.

"He's beautiful, Finley... I. I'm surprised you kept him. Especially with me being gone."

"I couldn't give him up to state care," she says. Her eyes go wide at the thought of her psychic son left to fend for himself in an environment that wouldn't understand him. "I just couldn't do that to him. And we're fine. Financially, and otherwise. You're not... upset, are you?"

"No, no way. I'm really sorry I wasn't here." Timmothy pauses for a moment, then comes out and says what's on his mind, "Should we get married?"

"Let's... take things slow," Finley suggests.

"Oh. Right. Yeah. Of course. I'm sorry. I should have a ring first." Timmothy lapses into silence, wondering what kind of ring Finley would like.

Payments were kept up on Timmothy's place while he was away, so the couple is able to retreat there for some much-needed privacy.

"It is what I want," Finley tells him, once she's got him alone. "Marriage. You. I want us to be a family." She needs him to know that what she said wasn't a rejection, but she can tell his mind is elsewhere. "I just want us to be comfortable with each other again first. I'm so glad you like Reve." Timmothy is kissing her, touching her, running his hands down her curves and pressing her close so she can feel his excitement, and she forces herself to continue before she loses her train of thought. He wants her, bad, and it's contagious. "I don't want to rush you into anything. I feel like I just dropped this on you from nowhere."

"It wasn't exactly from nowhere," Timmothy says, smiling wryly. "We'll just be more careful this time."

"Okay," she whispers.

He is confused, watching her stop midway through their make out session to fiddle with her bracelets.

She keeps them on when they make love.

Junpei knows well enough what Finley and Timmothy ran off to do, but he doesn't have to know all the details today. He can play video games in peace.

Hoarding virtual rocks is even more fun than hoarding real ones.





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Etc.: I broke the rules when Finley ate hot dogs from picnic basket. Screw it. Special occasion. She'll still turn down drinks at bars and of course Junpei won't eat anything not from the garden, but c'mon. One hot dog.

I'd already taken the pictures and everything before I remembered I'm supposed to be keeping my sims under the homemade rule. I guess it's easy to forget when I'm focused on Finley, since I've made Junpei the whole reason behind their homemade lifestyle choice.

When the meteor fires broke out, Junpei automatically put most of them out with his ice spells. I had difficulty cancelling his actions. He just would not stay away from fighting the fires. I'm glad he didn't end up hurting himself. I thought he was going to die at first, since when I told him to run from the meteor he wasted a lot of time looking up at it and freaking out instead of running. So that was scary.

Carlen Nali has declared Arethusa Woodard his nemesis.