Title: Disruptions
Fandom: Adventure World
Rating: G
Length: 1318
Summary: Jacinthe deals with an unexpected visit from her ex-husband.
Notes: I can write things longer than a drabble! I admit I started writing this for Interruptions, but I couldn't finish it because of irony. It still fits with this weeks theme though, so I polished it off and here you go :) I also believe this is my 25th fan_flashworks work, wooh!

Disruptions

Macen was playing quietly under Marys's supervision, giving Jacinthe an opportunity to focus on her needlework. The careful control needed to embroider her favoured delicate designs with the thin silk thread was relaxing. This was a robe for Macen to wear when he was a little older – some of her other friends with children had wisely advised her that it was best to start such things well in advance, as life had plenty of unexpected interruptions outside of the waxing and waning of interest in a particular project.

It was still early in the morning, and the accountant was supposed to drop by later to go over some of the recent bills. When the butler tapped lightly on the door frame, she thought for a moment she'd lost track of time. The hint of apologetic embarrassment on his features as he bowed, however, made her reappraise the situation as she set aside her work.

"Lord Callais to see you, my lady."

Jesseryn was not the type, in her experience, to simply drop by unannounced, and Heylyn's awkwardness suggested a different situation.

"Vedran?"

"Yes, my lady."

Marys looked up sharply at the name, but Macen seemed to be more interested in his toys and less inclined to slip into another hours-long screaming fit like the one he'd been in the middle of when Kier had brought him home from his father's. They had agreed that it was probably best to let his caretakers handle the transition days, and so she hadn't seen much of Vedran outside of formal social occasions since the divorce was finalized.

She briefly considered sending him away, but she knew he wouldn't have come if it weren't important. Setting aside her embroidery, she rose, and nodded. "I'll see him in... the library."

Heylyn bowed his leave and went to fetch her guest. Jacinthe bent down to place a kiss on her son's head, and he looked up at her with a wide-eyed curious look. "Mama will be right back, sweetheart."

"Up?" he reached out his little arms to her, still clinging to his toys, but she shook her head.

"You stay and play with Nurse. Be a good boy now."

A look of uncertainly crossed his features, but Marys called him over for a hug, giving her a chance to make her exit and head to the library.

She couldn’t have said initially why she'd picked it. The parlour was easily dismissed as too public, but there were other rooms that would have been suitable. But it had been more his room than hers when they'd both lived in the manor, and even now it was the one room where she couldn’t quite shake his presence. She sat at the desk and waited, trying to overlay her apprehension with practiced calm. The social engagements they had attended together demonstrated that they could still perform expected roles for an audience, but she was honestly not sure what would happen when they had to deal with each other alone.

She wasn't left to wonder long. Heylyn announced her ex-husband, closing them in together on his way out in response to her nod.

Vedran had the sort of tired harried look he got when he was working too hard and sleeping too little, and he was dressed, impeccably as ever, in traveling clothes. Jacinthe waited for him to speak.

"I apologize for coming by so unexpectedly, and so early," he began. It sounded prepared, and she battled briefly with the confusing instinct to interrupt him and force him to break his stride. Instead, she waited while he continued. "I'm being called out of town again – to Ahkas – and I don't know how long I'll be away. It should only be a few days, but it could be a lot longer."

She nodded. This was about Macen. Of course. Their son was the one bond that no one would ever be able to sever between them.

"I wanted to let you know, just in case I wasn't back in time for my next two weeks..."

They were supposed to get equal time with him. In theory, they were to trade every two weeks, but Vedran's adventuring meant the schedule would rarely be that regular. It was disruptive and she disliked it, but there had been no better compromise. When Vedran was away, Macen stayed with her, and when he returned he was allowed to make up any extra time away before the schedule resumed. It was too fair – she felt he should face more repercussions for his absenteeism.

It was clear that he was gearing himself up to say something more, but she broke her silence this time, leaning forward slightly on the desk as she considered the circles under his eyes. "What's happened?"

He did seem thrown off guard by the concern in her voice. It had surprised her too. She'd never cared to know about his travels, and still didn't. She'd had a vague sense that it had been changing for him somehow, becoming more serious, but they'd become so embroiled in their personal troubles that she hadn't been able to grasp at anything beyond. Why or whether it should matter to her at this distance was just one more unresolved question.

Vedran was quiet a moment before answering. Jacinthe could feel his pain, his anxiety, his exhaustion, despite how he tried to cover them. "You remember Roscoe. From the orphanage at least... He was killed, two nights ago, and we weren't able to save him, or bring him back." He paused at her quiet 'oh', but continued while she processed. "Now we've had word that some of our other allies are in danger, and we don't want to risk losing anyone else."

She nodded almost absently. There was more she could have asked, but the bones were all she needed or wanted. She'd fed him enough failure to know how virulent a poison it was, how little it mattered whether it was anything he had done, or could control. His friend had died, and he would stop it from happening again if he could, the way he'd worked to stop the city from exploding into violence after it had first exploded in to fire. The metaphor threatened to expand to cover their time together, but she quashed the thought, flashing a grim look.

"I'm sorry for your loss. I barely met Roscoe, but he was well spoken of by the matrons, and the children. You know I respect his project – I'll make sure it is not neglected." Respect was an understatement, but the ties she felt to the orphanage were too personal to allow Vedran to see them, and she closed herself up. "Macen will of course be fine here, with me. We can sort out your time with him when you return."

He nodded, and took a deep breath. "I'd like to see him before I go."

Jacinthe hesitated before assenting, because she couldn't decide which was crueller – to send him away, or have him carry the guilt of their parting for the whole of his trip. There would certainly be tears, likely on both sides. Sometimes, she knew, he had to be granted permission to let them out. "He's in the nursery with Marys."

"Thank you."

He gave her a polite bow before letting himself out, and she rose only slowly to follow. She could hear a happy squeal, and the quieter murmur of adult voices and she crept down the hall. By the time she peered in the doorway, Vedran had hoisted their son on his hip.

"I'm sorry, buddy," he was saying. "Daddy can't stay and play. Daddy has to go away for a while..."

Marys had the grace to leave the two relatively alone and join her in the hall. The elven nurse mostly looked uncomfortable when the crying started, but there was a small part of Jacinthe that mostly felt relieved.