Reynold paced the kitchen floor, hands clenching and unclenching at his sides. “Okay. So go over it again. When the social worker shows up, you’re going to be-”
Enna rolled her eyes at him from where she was sitting on the kitchen counter. He hated when she did that. Mostly because, at fourteen, she was already taller than him by an inch, and he was not looking forward to her finishing puberty and probably being as tall as fucking Ivan. “Smoking a huge weed blunt?” she answered, pushing her ice-pop up in its plastic sheath and slurping it into her mouth. He narrowed his eyes at her. She only grinned, her sharp teeth stained artificial blue.
“You- first of all, it’s not called a weed blunt, if you’re going to be an asshole you at least better not sound like a cop when you’re doing it.” He ran his hands through his hair in frustration. “Second, I know you think this is funny-”
“Because it is,” Enna said through a mouthful of blue ice.
“It is not, and if you torpedo this on purpose I am going to seal you in the basement laundry room for a thousand years.”
“Joke’s on you, asshole, I’ve been recording this whole conversation and it’s going direct to CPS, threats and all!” She tossed her ice-pop’s wrapper towards the trash with the perfect arc of a javelin. Irritated, Reynold reached out with inhuman speed and snatched it out of the air, flinging it back at her. It bonked her in the forehead and she yelped. “What the hell! Fuck you!” She turned to glare at him, but she must have seen something in his face, because she relented. “Okay, fucking fine. When the social worker gets here, I’m going to be working on my homework.”
Reynold folded his arms. “And if they ask how living here has been?”
Enna rolled her eyes skyward like she was looking for notes on the dirty ceiling. “While living here has had its challenges, I have been doing much better emotionally because I am no longer dealing with daily abuse and neglect.” With dismay, Reynold recognized the notes that Cyrus had given them as suggestions for things to bring up during the social worker’s visit. Had Enna just memorized them by rote? “My older brother has been de facto taking care of me for most of my childhood and I am very grateful that he was able to emancipate us both.” She wrinkled her forehead like she was trying to remember her lines. “Something something looking forward to a bright future.”
He dragged his hand down his face. “We are so screwed.”
“It’s gonna be fine!” Enna hopped down off the countertop and dunked the wrapper into the trash can. “They know how shitty stuff was before, they know it’s way better now, and I’ll tell them that if they try to move me I’ll kick their asses.”
Reynold groaned. "Don't do that."
Author's Notes:
This one is basically the same template as the Reynald and Enna modern siblings au, but moved over into the Fantasy High universe. I never finished this fic because I was going to get some info from Em (working on their social work degree at the time) about the kind of stuff a sociall worker would ask about, and they got really busy with their degree so I never got the chance to. That's just how it goes sometimes! I still think it's cute so it gets to be preserved on here. As a bonus, here's the prospective timeline I was kicking around for the fic's backstory!
t-18 yrs: reynald born as a result of short relationship, father not in picture. reynald's mom begins dating mr johnson shortly after reynald is borm
t-16 yrs: reynald's mom marries mr johnson
t-14 yrs: enna born
t-10 yrs: reynald gets in habit of running away, meets Namé
t-5 yrs: reynald enters Aguefort Adventuring Academy, meets Cyrus and Ivan
t-1 yr: reynald completes his senior project, a quest to take down the Mad Conquistador and repatriate his plundered artifacts. he, cyrus, and ivan all receive a small portion of the conquistador's immense wealth. ivan and cyrus move to bastion city so cyrus can go to Unseen University. reynold begins renting apartment in elmville
t-6 months: reynald is contacted by an unknown source to begin stealing Ministry Of Adventure secrets
t-3 months: after months of staying at reynald's after school as long as possible, enna runs away for Good
t-2.5 months: the police are finally called to reynald's apartment to bring enna "home." enna bites a cop and kicks another one in the head. reynald and enna explain to them that she ran away to escape abuse and neglect.
t-2.4 months: a Warforged social worker named Gladys Socialworker is assigned to their case
t: gladys makes a home visit