The War Far From Home... - WW2 AU sequel

Chapter 19: Sickle of Safety

Ruv lounged on the couch the next evening, he felt empty, and with no job he never knew what to do. Sarv had come home from work sometime earlier, and went to sit with him. "Ruv, how have you been recently?" Ruv sighed, "I've been fine, it's you I'm worried about..." Sarv very knowing of how she probably looked, tried to straighten her emotions. "No Ruv... I'm fine as I always am." She tried as she could, "Sarv, I may have one eye, but I can see your face..." Sarv accepted it Now, "Ok fine... I guess it is to do with work. There is people slowly starting to die, and I don't know if I have the strength to watch by it..." the answer he got was somewhat surprising, for what he thought was a woman who was hardened by war. "You never told me that... I just thought that- never mind..." he looked away, but Sarv brought his face to hers, "Look, I love you Ruv, but we have to work with each other... Let's just watch something to lighten the mood..." she turned on the TV and leaned onto him, but halfway through a show aloud coughing comes from upstairs, "What was that?" Ruv said out of nowhere, Sarv looked up, "I heard it too..." the intense coughing sounded again, and they rushed into Rasazy's room. Rasazy was studying again, her pencil writing down, bags under her eyes, and a horrible cough, "Rasazy? Are you alright?" Rasazy heard them talking at the door, "I'm fine mama..." the door opened up, annoying Rasazy with the sudden intrusion, "Let me feel your head!" Ruv sat behind her, and awaited some results. Rasazy looked her way and allowed her to feel, "Oh my you're burning up! Go on go on, get into bed!" The one thing that Rasazy had been trying to do less of was sleep, she had so much to do, and studying was necessary. She was almost hesitant at first, but knowing of just how much her mother worried, she laid down. "Mama, I would have been fine..." Sarv in her stubborn sense, decided to talk her some sense, "You are sleep deprived, stressed, and sick! You can't be under such circumstances!" Ruv from behind her continued on, "Look sweetie, leave the school stuff for sometime... you'll be excused for it..." Rasazy, annoyed, and wanting to work was beginning to get to her limit, she wanted to yell out, lash out, but out of respect for her mother. However she had reached her last straw, "Your father is right... you can make it to college. I believe in you..." thaf was the breaking point, Rasazy yelled out, "How do you know that!? How can you believe in me!? You guys haven't gone to college, and father hasn't even gone through school! What do you guys know about trying to get in!? You don't! So stop trying to comfort me like this!" Sarv and Ruv were more surprised at the sudden outbreak, they had nothing to say. Sarv nodded, and walked away, Ruv put his hand up about to say something, but took it back, leaving with Sarv. Now Ras lay alone, and with guilt. Rolling to her side she would try to sleep.

Sarv and Ruv now laid in their room, an equal amount of embarrassed, and disappointed. Sarv couldn't believe any of it, she never knew that was how Rasazy felt, and maybe that was for the better, but she now thought that maybe it was a good thing. How could she have known? She wanted to be apart of Ras's life, she really did, but in a way that made things harder, it wasn't what she wanted. "Ruv, do you think she'll be fine?" Ruv deep in his own thought took some time to answer, "I hope so... we can care for her." He was corrected, "No, I mean, in her academic life... I feel like we are weighing her down..." Ruv didn't think of it that way, and he didn't want his wife to be upset, "No we aren't. She is slowing herself down, and I feel like I know her stress, but the way she has dealt with it is harming her health..." Sarv looked away, "I guess so, but I want the best life for her. If she feels like we are ruining that, then I can't go through."  Ruv stared for a while, and remembered something, "I just remembered something, and I wanted to gift it to Rasazy..." he got up heading for their closet, Sarv, out of her curiosity, got up and stood behind him, looking at what was trying to find. After some digging Ruv pulled out a sickle, it was steel made, carefully crafted, and engraved with some Russian dialect, it seemed very old, older than Ruv even... "What is that?" Ruv turned around, and showed it to his wife, "My families sickle... an heirloom... it was made by my grandfather, and handed down to my mother. She gave it to me before she went missing... I never knew why." Sarv's eyes had widened, and she studied the sickle, "I've been wanting to give it to Rasazy... it is said to have some luck on it..." She was interested in it, she liked the way it looked, and nodded towards Ruv, "I think she would love it, and appreciate it!"

Rasazy on her bed, had laid there reading, she didn't want to be messed with, she was filled with guilt, and felt foolish for her actions. She felt she should have been scolded for that behavior... she reached the middle of a page, and then there was a knock on her door, "Not right now..." she turned the page, and the door opened, Sarv and Ruv walking in... "I said not right now..." she turned to them, and realized something, Ruv approached her first, "Rasazy, I know you are under a lot of stress, and most of which don't compare to mine, but we wanted to let you know that your mother and I are here to help you... you are such a wonderful daughter, and we know you can do great things. So we wanted to give you this..." he held out the sickle to her, and she knew right away just how old it was, "Father? What is this about?" He moved it closed, "I'd like you to have it, this is an heirloom from many years ago... keep it safe for me..." Rasazy didn't take it, "Father, I'm sor-" he stopped her, "No, it's ok... take it." She took it, and studied it carefully, "Are you sure about this?" Ruv smiled weakly, "I'm sure..." he stepped back, and nodded, Sarv stepped up, "Rasazy, look, I'm sorry for that, I didn't know how you felt about it, and I'm glad you told us..." Rasazy looked to her mother, "Mama, I should be the one that's sorry..." Sarv looked to her, moved some hair out of her face, and said, "Don't be... I'll be fine." She stepped back, and they both left the room leaving Ras to study the heirloom on her own.

Sarv had begun down the stairs when she had seen Selever come home from work, "How was work Sel?" He was tired when he answered, "The overtime sucked..." he went to the kitchen to grab some food, and went straight to his room to rest. "Oh uh... good night then Sel!" Before he entered his room he answered, "Good night mama..." he looked around his room, and wondered what more was there, he fell upon his bed, and went full asleep.