Wii Reclaimed You (WDY AU)

Gratitude

With his newfound energy running through his veins, Austin excitedly clocked in. As he walked down the office halls, he relished the fact that these people would finally see his true potential. Helping him to push his game out. Finally, Austin would be able to show them never to laugh at him again. That his ideas weren't to be deemed as insane.

Approaching the door to Todd's office, he came to a halt when he heard approaching footsteps. "Austin! A-Austin, wait a second!" He knew that voice. Turning around, and just as expected, there came Jonathan. He almost slammed into the wall with the sheer velocity he was coming at. Oddly enough, he didn't seem out of breath.
"Is something wrong? Don't tell me there's some sort of surprise project we have to work on?" With his clear display of frustration, Jonathan quickly let out his thoughts. "No, no it's not that! I just came to congratulate you on your game being picked up! You just don't know how happy I am for you." He gave Austin a huge smile, Austin couldn't resist giving one back. "Thanks, I guess. Wait...how did you know that Todd liked the concept? That was a private email!"

Jonathan began to tense up a bit, but took a deep breath, preparing himself for rapid-fire. "Listen Austin, I know you didn't want any of my help. But I couldn't just stand around and watch you drown in pity. I had to be, I don't know, your anchor? Ugh, that sounded so much better in my head. Look, what I did was I reached out to Todd and may have reminded him about the email you sent. And I know you love this project, but how come you never sent the email about it?"
"What are you on about? I totally did, I sent it right after I tried to give him the physical concept." Austin frantically said.
"No matter, I helped Todd get his hands on your digital concept. I don't really need to get into detail on how we got it, but hey it all worked out in the end right! Look at how happy you are. With your enthusiasm, there's no way this game can fail!" Jonathan outstretched his arms as a grand gesture. Austin just stood there, dumbfounded.

"W-wow. You did that all for me? But why? We literally don't even talk to each other, why did you go out of your way for me? Do you want something from me, Jonathan?"

Letting out a small chuckle, Jonathan shook his head. Austin flushed with embarrassment. "No, I just felt like I had to do it. After all, that's what family's for, right?-"

Austin rushed Jonathan with a huge hug. Jonathan was more than surprised. He has never seen such a positive reaction from Austin. He expected a passive-aggressive response, but this, this he never expected. He embraced Austin, closing his eyes to fully enjoy the moment.

Ahem

Austin's grasp loosened as he fixed himself to look more professional. Jonathan looked behind him to see Todd standing there, covering his smile.
"Should I give you two a moment?" Todd said with an undertone of laughter.

"No, no we were just finishing up, that's all!" Reading the room, Jonathan figured that it was time for him to go. He moved away from the door of Todd's office, clearing up the entrance. Todd walked in, but not before turning towards Austin and saying, "I need to get some stuff put together, and I can clearly see that you need to too. I'll be here whenever you're ready, Austin."

"Yes, thank you, sir."

Todd cracked a brief smile before shutting the door to his office. Austin let out another pent up sigh, grazing the door with his hand. Looking around him, he saw Jonathan halfway down the hall. "Hey Jonathan!"
Stopping dead in his tracks, shoulders spiking up, he turned around. "Y-yeah? Didn't you want me to leave?"
Austin tried to gather his thoughts. What could he possibly say right now to express how thankful he was? He stuttered briefly, putting it to an end with a soft,

"Thank you."

Jonathan stared at him blankly for a while, before smiling and saying "Well, what are you waiting for? Go get that game done!". He ran off before he could see Austin finally stepping in.

—--------------

And with that, a year long journey began. That day, Austin and Todd further discussed Reclamation's gameplay. Together, they began to assemble their team. Austin, still thankful for what Jonathan had done for him, invited him to help work on the game, which Jonathan gladly accepted. They labored endlessly, often working for days on end just to meet deadlines. But, that didn't matter. After all, with Austin's overflowing passion for the game, his energy easily spread to the rest of the team.
A few months before the game was supposed to be released, Todd had been overseeing two different teams. Seeing that Reclamation was already in its final stages, he opted to focus his attention on the second team. Leaving Austin in full control. Fully understanding Todd's decision, he managed to pull the game through its final months, and finally, the fruits of their labor was shown when they created the first batch of completed games.

Reclamation was finally ready.

—--------------