Roleplay with 0luv0love0

Chapter 24: Forgiveness ... Again

L:   Wehrmacht was torn. He didn't know how he should comfort Iremacht. His son had been bearing the weight for so long and Wehrmacht hadn't even known. He should've been there to guide Iremacht through militant responsibilities and help with a job that Iremacht had forced himself into.

"No son of mine is a looney," he said. "And you most definitely are my son. MY proud fucking teenager. There's nothing wrong with wanting independence, Machty. Ireland and I still love you. If you ever decide you need help - and I'm not saying you do - just know that we're here."

"How much help can you give?" Iremacht said skeptically. "You heard Mandara. We're both in a mess that I dragged us into."

"Then we'll get out of this mess together. We'll go back inside together and we'll straighten things out together with the Mandarians. If you get kicked out, I'll leave with you. Germany can handle himself."

"And Poldara? What if he goes blind?"

"We'll deal with that together too." Wehrmacht beckoned with his hand and a smile on his face. "Come on."

They both went into the house.

M:   Poldara was telling everyone what happened, mostly sticking to what happened before he got hit in the face. The kid still had his eyes closed because he didn't like how fuzzy everything looked, but he wasn't scared about that because Poland reassured him that the doctor he called said that it should clear up tomorrow.

"I did hit him a few times, but I think he won," Poldara said, "I was able to fly up to three stories though."

"Really, that's great bud," Mandara said, "does that mean you finally got over your fear of heights?"

"I think so, it was scary for a little bit but it wasn't too bad after a while," Poldara responded.

Mandara smiled, he was so proud of his son's accomplishment that he almost forgot about the Germans outside. But he was reminded of them when he saw them walk towards the living room, he still blamed Iremacht for the accident so he softly growled in his throat and shielded his son with his wing.

Poldara noticed the hostility coming off his dad and guessed why, "dad, please don't be mad at him, it was my fault, I flew into the paintball, it was an accident."

L:   Iremacht breathed out a sigh when Poldara defended him. Even though he knew that the apology and assurance had to come out of his own mouth, it still felt good to have someone take the lead and explain what really happened.

"Polds, I'm ... sorry about your eyes," Iremacht said, noticing that Poldara's eyes were still closed. Sincerity was a difficult emotion for Iremacht so he was lost for words for a moment. Then he got straight to the point and said stiffly, "I'll leave."

Germany whipped his head up in surprise and looked at Wehrmacht for an explanation. But Wehrmacht respected whatever decision his son was going to make.

"I'll depart with Machty," Wehrmacht said. "France, if you could accompany Germany back after the celebration is over, I would greatly appreciate it."

M:   "What, no no no please don't go," Poldara begged, he opened his eyes to look at Iremacht, though he was squinting a little and his eyes were still red. "I'm fine, Papa called a doctor and they said I will be fine by tomorrow, please don't go."

"Blue-Jay, if Iremacht wants to leave he has every right to," Mandara said.

"No, it's not fair," Poldara cried, "he didn't do anything, he shouldn't have to leave. Punish me if you have to, dad, just don't make him go."

The kid then pried himself away from his dads and tackled Iremacht, hugging with arms and wings. "Please don't go, you're my best friend and I don't want to be lonely again, please, please don't go, please."

Mandara's heart ripped in two as he watched his son plead with Iremacht, he wanted Iremacht to leave so Poldara would be safe, but the kid would be so unhappy if he did, why did parenting have to be so hard.

L:   Iremacht was physically pinned to where he stood. He wanted to tell Poldara that he would never leave him all alone ... but that would mean staying, which was clearly the problem. He was the problem.

"Polds - ow - Poldara, let go," Iremacht breathed. "Don't make me feel any worse than I already do, okay kid?"

"If Mandara would allow it," Germany said slowly, "perhaps Iremacht can stay for the night? I believe when we have all had a good sleep to calm ourselves and think things through, we will make more informed decisions in the morning."

Wehrmacht nodded in agreement. After some hesitation and a glance at Poldara, Iremacht nodded too. But it was all conditioned on Mandara's decision.

M:   Mandara's eyes flicked between the Germans and Poldara, he was extremely conflicted on what to do.

"I think we should let them stay," MA said, which surprised everyone but he continued, "it is getting late so leaving now would be a hassle, plus, like Germany said, it gives us time to think things over before making drastic decisions."

Mandara bit his lip, now two members of his family wanted Iremacht to stay, who he very much considered a danger at this point. As he watched Poldara continue to hug Iremacht in a death grip, he once again couldn't find it in his heart to break his son's.

"Well," Mandara started, "as a father, I want what's best for my son, and that is his happiness and safety. Sometimes I have to pick between them and decide which is most important."

Mandara paused, Poldara held his breath and hugged Iremacht tighter, fearing that his dad was going to make the German leave, but he opened his eyes in surprise at what Mandara said next,

"This is not one of those times. I know I blamed Iremacht for intentionally shooting Poldara in the face, but I know that he would never do that, and I trust that he would want to protect my son from that happening again."

Mandara stood up and walked to Iremacht and Poldara, "I want to apologize for misjudging you Iremacht, I am just an old fool who wants to protect his family, and for that, I have made the mistake of blaming an innocent man for an accident he never meant to be a part of. I don't expect you to forgive me, but if it's alright with you, my family and I would like you to stay, to hopefully put this misunderstanding behind us and start anew tomorrow."

Poldara couldn't believe his ears, he looked up to Iremacht for his answer.

L:   "I'm far from an innocent man," Iremacht said. He tried to shrug even with Poldara hugging him. "You have nothing to apologize for. I've faced many less forgiving countries than you for accidents that I WAS to blame."

France folded her arms at this and raised her eyebrow. Iremacht noticed and remembered he still had to sort out the missing trucks with her. He would do that later. For now, he had to nudge Poldara to loosen his hug or else stay suffocated.

"You heard your old man," Iremacht joked. "I'll be staying for a little longer. Don't rob my oxygen while I'm at it."

M:   Poldara squeaked with happiness and hugged even tighter, only stopping when Mandara pried him off the German.

"Come on Blue-Jay, you're still covered in paint, let's get you cleaned up before dinner, ok," Mandara said.

Poldara nodded, he waved to Iremacht and let his dad lead him away to clean off the rest of the paint on his wing and clothes.

When the two were out of sight, Poland stood up from the couch, "well, dinner is ready in the kitchen if we all want to wait for them in the dining room, though I don't suppose if Iremacht wants to go change as well?"