Aru Shah Short Stories and Oneshots

'Ever since you got kidnapped, actually'

Brynne was mad. She was mad at Aru for disappearing, she was mad that everyone thought they weren't good enough or capable, she was mad that Aru was being called a traitor. Everything in the Potatoes dynamic just felt...off after Aru had been abducted. Plus, she was worried about her. Who knows what Aru was going through with the Sleeper?

And so, Brynne did what she did best when she wanted to distract herself, and give herself a sense of security in an insecure world. She baked. But one batch of macarons later, she still didn't feel any better. 'Oh well. Maybe Aiden would want these', she thought. Aiden wasn't his usual self lately either. None of them really were. Maybe these would help cheer him up a little, even if Brynne didn't feel any better. He did enjoy her baking.

She arrived at the museum through Greg, the stone elephant, once again wondering when Aru would come back. If she would come back. She shook that thought. Aru would come back.

She would, right?

Once she was in Aiden's room, with the macarons already half over (what? She was hungry), she asked him. "So, how are you doing?". Stupid question. She knew none of them were really okay.  Aiden shrugged. "Fine, I guess." There wasn't much to talk about than what they'd already discussed. "I just miss her" Brynne admitted quietly. "Do not tell her I said that" she added. Aiden's mouth slightly curved up, but it was half hearted. "Yeah", was all he said. Brynne nudged him. "What's up with you? You've talked about everything other than Aru herself these past few days. What's going on?" She asked. "Nothing is going on." Aiden said, a little too quickly. "Wifey? You and I both know you can't lie to me" Brynne said suspiciously. Aiden rolled his eyes. "Look," he started. "I'm really scared about this war. I'm scared we're going to lose this time. And I'm scared we're going to lose Aru. But if I said it out loud...maybe it'll come true, and we'd lose hope. And no matter what, I don't want to ever lose hope, because we'd never try to fix anything if we did." Aiden said. Everything Aiden said made sense to Brynne- she was feeling the exact same way. Things would never be the same again if they didn't win and if Aru didn't make it. "I'm really scared for Aru" Brynne said, allowing herself to be vulnerable. "But it's Aru. She'll be back in no time, making her stupid movie references, forcing me to turn into some bizarre animal", she continued. "I hope so. With her missing, we've finally realized how much we needed her" Aiden said. "Is there something else you're not telling me, Aiden?" Brynne asked. She knew how Aiden felt. She just wanted to hear him say it. "Um, no?" Aiden said. Brynne raised her eyebrow. Aiden sighed. "I can't control these hormones. I don't know what's wrong with me, Bee. I've seen how this stuff affects people. I just want to ignore these stupid feelings because they're going to cause nothing but trouble. And I know she doesn't feel the same way, so there's no point" Aiden said. "Aiden. Not everything is destined to become disastrous. How will you ever know if you don't try?" Brynne told him, trying to knock some sense into him. She knew how much he'd struggled with his parents and how it had affected him, but she wanted him to know that while love could be scary, unstable and could cause a number of regretful emotions, it could also be that quiet sense of happiness. It could be hopeful and joyful.

But Aiden could be very stubborn if he wanted to, because even with Brynne's best efforts, he still pushed Aru and his feelings away when she finally came back. 

A/N- This was based off of the fact that Brynne seemed to know why Aiden was acting "off" ever since Aru got kidnapped. I hope you liked this one. Thank you for everyone who voted and commented on the last one! It made my day!