[Backlog - Scene] So...can I date your daughter?

[balirgardios.livejournal.com]

Who: Asch, Balir, Meredy
Where: Balir's office in Oracle HQ
When: late 2017, after Asch turned 17
Warnings: Meredy has an interesting taste in men.



Balir sat at a table in one of the labs that the Oracle Knights held, this one belonged to his own division since he commonly ended up doing research related more to fontech along with his other duties.

He didn’t mind the extra work, when he was in Daath, it was a great chance for him to spend time with his daughter while working. She showed a great interest in fontech also and he had obtained permission for her to act as his assistant here as long as she wasn’t exposed to Order secrets.

So along with a few of his men who actually had the brains to do this work, he and his daughter were working on some new devices. Meredy was actually recording and analyzing the data he obtained from his last mission on one device so that he could make the proper adjustments.

Overall, he was quite relaxed and pleased, it appeared he was making good progress with many of the experimental devices. He’d gotten a good amount of data on his sword also, and Meredy was catching on fast about how to do the fon slot adjustments to make that work correctly. He was definitely proud of her and knew that even if she didn’t decide to join the Order, she’d be able to find work somewhere with what she’d learned here. It was amazing how fast she had grown up.

In fact, she was doing so well that he was considering allowing her to do all the adjustments this time rather than just assisting him. That would be a good thing for her to get the hang of, and he trusted her to do it as he had taught her.

“Meredy, would you like to do the adjustments this time?” He asked her.

She smiled and nodded quickly looking rather excited to be able to do what no one else in the division got to assist with. This was a more personal project, though it did assist the Order overall, if he could perfect it, he’d make them for his more trusted men.

When Asch entered the lab, he distracted those nearest to the door, but not in the usual way. Generally, most of the Oracle Knights steered clear of the red-headed God-General, because, more often than not, he was pissed off at someone or something, and you didn't want to be the one that he re-earned his nickname with.

Today, however, his demeanor was much different. And the fact that he spotted a certain purple-haired girl didn't help much, either. Asch shook his head, took a deep breath, and strode confidently across the hall to where the girl and her father were. "Good afternoon, Balir, Meredy," he greeted them.

Meredy smiled when she saw Asch come in and gave him a very exuberant hug. Balir couldn’t help but smile himself at his daughter’s happiness. He was definitely very glad he had let them become friends, it was obviously something they both had needed.

But what could Asch be doing here? True, he wasn’t aware of the redhead’s schedule as far as duties went, but then, they usually were so busy that free time was at a premium. “Good afternoon, Asch. Is there something you needed to speak with me about, or did you come to see Meredy?”

Asch returned the embrace, his face flushing slightly. "Actually... I wanted to speak to you... Sir..."

Balir stood up and turned to look at Asch. Strange, other than to see Meredy, it wasn’t common that the redhead needed to speak with him since he became head of Special Ops. He definitely noted Asch’s nervousness, rather odd for the redhead; he hadn’t been even in the least bit nervous when he first joined.

“That’s fine, I can take a short break,” he told the redhead. Though that did present a potential issue, Asch may have something that Meredy shouldn’t be around for to speak on, but then, Asch knew of that. “Shall we go to my office then? Meredy will have to join us, if you don’t mind.”

"T-that's fine," he said. Meredy was okay, it wasn't like she wouldn't know about it soon enough, but he didn't want everyone else to hear.

Balir led Asch and Meredy to his office which was just a small room attached the lab itself, but it afforded privacy as long as the door was shut and there was enough room for the three of them.

Of course, it was obvious to anyone who looked that Balir only really spent time in here to add to the large pile of papers sitting on the desk, and on his chair along with one of the others. He hated doing reports, and that was what all this was, and it was probably obvious to Asch he was rather behind. One of his men would get to it eventually. “Excuse the mess, the reports do pile up fast as I’m sure you know.”

He shoved some of the papers off to the side and leaned up against the edge of the desk. Asch was nervous enough, from the looks of things, he may as well not be overly formal and add to it. “Meredy, could you lock the door so no one can interrupt us? I’m sure whatever this is; Asch doesn’t want it being heard by anyone else. And Asch, please, do sit down.” Once Meredy locked the door he was able to get to whatever this was. “So, what brings you to speak with me?”

Asch sat down in the chair, nodding at the paperwork. Luckily, being Special Ops, that meant a distinct lack of paperwork, since half of what he did couldn't have records, but... "Well, Sir, I was thinking about things the other day... It's been almost 6 years since we met."

Balir really wondered where Asch was going with this, but he could humor the boy. “Yes, something like that, and I definitely do appreciate that you and Meredy get along so well, she needed friends her age.”

He tried to consider what Asch could be leading to, but really, they didn’t talk about personal matters much, so he really couldn’t even make a guess.

Though one thing he would say if Meredy was here, Asch still was quite insufferable, but for some reason, she didn’t mind that one bit.

"Well, Sir, I really must thank you for introducing Meredy and I, and allowing us to be friends. Encouraging it, even."

He still had no idea where this was leading. Honestly, it wasn’t anything to encourage a friendship, he’d do anything to make his daughter happy, and well most of the recruits thought she got special treatment for being a God-General’s daughter and disliked her outright. “I want her to be happy here, that’s all. You probably understand better than I do how those who are somehow related to someone in power get treated.”

Asch looked down. He did. Everyone knew he was Van's 'pet', whether he liked it or not. "Well, Sir..." Asch took a deep breath. "I would like your blessing to take my relationship with Meredy to the next step."

Next step? Ah, Asch was asking if he could court Meredy. He knew that someday some man would ask, and honestly, Asch wasn’t that bad of a choice for her. His only concern was that Asch was a God-General like he was, and really, both of them could easily not come back from one of their missions.

That and he knew Shizel wouldn’t be too pleased. She didn’t care much for Asch, though they didn’t know the details of his background, it wasn’t easy to hide the fact that he obviously used to be nobility, and Kimlascan at that. Anyone who was remotely educated on politics could see that. And then there was Meredy’s feelings on it. If she wanted Asch, could he really deny them the chance to see if the love that he had with his wife existed? It was obvious Meredy cared about him, and he knew that even if Shizel were to die tomorrow, he wouldn’t regret having married her.

No, he couldn’t refuse, not if it was what Meredy wanted. As much as he didn’t want her to eventually leave, he did want her happiness, and what they both used to be truly didn’t matter anymore. Both of them left that behind, though Balir would prefer that Meredy be with someone worthy of her.

“Meredy, is this something you want?” He asked her.

Meredy didn’t even appear to think about it like her father had. “Yes, Meredy would like to be with Asch!”

He looked over at Asch, he knew he would have to give his blessing, because Meredy’s happiness was the most important thing. That didn’t mean he was pleased about the prospect of having to give his daughter to a man, but then he had only been maybe a year older when he met Shizel. “Well, it does seem I would be a horrible father if I refused what my daughter wants. However, you had better not do anything to dishonor her or hurt her deliberately. I don’t want to find I made a mistake in granting her wishes.”

"Of course not, Sir..." By this point, Asch's face was just about the same shade as his hair.

Balir really couldn’t help but feel sorry for Asch. It definitely brought back memories of when he had asked Shizel’s father for permission to court her. He’d been just as nervous that day, and Shizel’s father had merely been a noble like himself and concerned that she would make a good match, and a Gardios was a good match, even if he wasn’t the heir anymore.

Of course, explaining this to Shizel was going to be interesting. They really hadn’t discussed it, but then no one had shown interest yet. Well, if she did have objections, he would again have to grant a blessing for them to wed, Shizel could have her say then, since it was mother and daughter who planned the wedding.

But that was getting ahead of things. “Good, I doubt it will be an issue, but it has to be said. I think my wife’s father said something rather similar actually.”

"Of course, Sir. I would never allow anyone to hurt your daughter."

“Then if you two wish to spend some time together, go right ahead. As much as I hate to lose my best assistant, I can make do without her for now,” Balir told them.

Asch bowed his head to Balir in thanks, then looked to Meredy. "Shall we go?"

Meredy smiled. “You bet!”

Asch stood, and held his arm out to the girl.

Meredy happily took his arm and held onto it tightly.