#alright all the character tags are done I can yap now

[b-33-s]

Another poorly made home stuck comic

[koobiie]

bestowing my highest honor as an artist to ffxv (drawing the characters in fun outfits)

thoughts under the cut

RREAAAGHHHH SO EXCITED TO BE DONE WITH THIS!!!!! it took me forevarrrr but i soldiered through as an act of love. now excuse me. yap time

OKAY SO the concept behind this was originally specific fashion subcultures for everyone!l ike noct emo ignis dark academia etc. but then decided i didnt want to pigeonhole it all and just freestyled outfits i thought would look nice on everyone

noct - i do think noct would still be emo-ish but also opt for comfy baggy stuff a lot. something you could just fall asleep in on the spot. note the details of bass pro shop shirt (of course) XV necklace, little moon + stars accents, carbuncle + fish keychains. i also wanted his metal band logo shirt to spell LUCIS but i forgor some letters but its not very readable anyways

ignis - ignit ooohghh ignos ignaurs. sorry i made him serve so much cunt it will happen again. i drew him first cause that kind of inspired this whole thing i love him so bad if i didnt draw it id explode. not much detail to note except his collar pins are like his double blade thingies

luna - lunaaa the concept was “clean girl aesthetic” idk if that happened but im actually really happy with how it came out! might be my favorite of the bunch just because she looks so pretty and happy. your honor she should have been able to just be a normal girl and just. chill

prompto - prompotoooo i had trouble picking his vibe!!! my first thought was techwear?? because weeheeeehee he loves tech and well... you know... but then i realized i didnt really like the look of anything i saw + it was so bulky and dark and serious for him! ending up going with some more youthful and baggy. i was considering something more loud and colorful but ended up not going with it. i feel like in canon he'd be too nervous to have such a flashy fit and would want to just look "cool" to fit in with the boys lol. itty bitty details here - chocobo keychain, pompompurin and bi miku buttons, and his lanyard is kings knight themed! i also thought it was funny to write LUCIS on his shirt like you know those shirts that just say BROOKLYN or TOKYO or SAN FRANCISCO and thats it. thats what its like

gladio - okay i know this is going to sound like a lie but im not horny for gladio like at all, hes my least favorite, i think he's just alright. but also i KNOW in my heart of hearts that he would LOVE being a leather daddy and so i had to make it happen. main detail to note here is that his tank top has the motifs of a cup noodle! i didnt know what else to add cause you know.. hes the cup noodle guy.. but also i didnt want it to be so in your face about it with a big as logo so kept it subtle!

(side note the leather daddy gave me an idea for a post where its like noct and prom go to a gay bar all nervous but then they run into gladio and its like "p: GLADIO YOURE GAY?" "n: nevermind that PLEASE dont tell ignis we snuck out" and then ignis walks up and theyre all like WHAT THE FUCK!!!! caption would be "the gang finds out theyre all bisexual." probably wont draw it but i think its very funny lol)

iris - iris my sweetheart.... definitely leaned into the scene vibes here and also that one image of the blonde emo anime girl. details here - of course the moogle big ass backpack and keychain (can you tell i love keychains), but also her buttons are an iris (the flower) and also a crown with hearts (haha symbolism)

anyways oh god i didnt mean to write an essay down here. usually i keep this in the tags but this time i just had Too Much To Say. can you tell i put a lot of thought and love into this . anwyays. *walks off into the sunset and fuckig dies*

[trayoftrinkets]

I think it is about time I sell my soul to Brothers Without A Tomorrow because I really do not know how else to thank them for consistently putting out such amazing works— yes, I finally caught up with Dear Zero and am currently experiencing the worst existential crisis of the year so far.

Like I want to throw myself off a cliff so bad because how can something so perfect just exist? It should be kept in a temple and worshipped because oh. my. fucking. god.

The concept? Mindblowing.

The worldbuilding? Jawdropping.

The story so far? Impeccable.

The characters? My new obsession.

The art? Should be worshipped by all of humanity for all the years to come.

I'm happy that this precious piece of media is my introduction to guideverse, a genre that I've been meaning to explore for quite sometime now but did not know from where to begin. But now that I've gotten a taste of this hidden fruit, I think I will be digging through the darkest corners of the internet to find more. But before all that, let's go back to bwat because this is a bwat appreciation post and I need to yap about them.

To say that I'm obsessed with their writing and their art would be an understatement. I will forever be grateful to the stars that allowed me to be alive at the same time as this person and I'm not even being dramatic, I really do owe them my life.

I was first introduced to their works by my best friend, who had asked me to read Taming the Tiger. And when I tell you I felt my world shift.. l mean it in the way that I finally unlocked a door that would let me experience some of the strongest feelings I've ever felt while engaging with any form of media. Like, you know I absolutely love pretty art and amazing stories, right?

So when the two blended in such a seamless way that ticked every one of my boxes, how can you expect me to not vibrate at the frequency of light and erupt into flames? I MEAN LOOK AT THIS. LOOK AT THEM.

Not to mention how some of the illustrations reminded me so much of ranwan. You know it's serious when my brain connects something to ranwan. I really was fighting for my life out here. And those side stories? Oh, I was sobbing into my pillow, alright.

A few months later, after I was finally able to take in all of Taming the Tiger, I decided it was time to read Miscreants and Mayhem. It was a spur of the moment kind of decision, but oh boy did it spur me to jump off the nearest cliff because Juicy. Fucking. Citrus.

Pleek do mind the tags on this one if you haven't read it yet and/or are planning on reading.

It was a total surprise. In all sense of the word. If you've known me long enough, you know I am always on the hunt for stories with subversive tropes, morally grey black characters and, well, downright the most problematic shit you could imagine. And this manhwa managed to tick some of those boxes. I did have an issue with some stuff but in the grand scheme of things, it was all fine.

I started Smyrna and Capri quite recently (well, almost three months ago but I've been busy so I'm still stuck in the 40s). I was not expecting to like it but to my surprise, it quickly became a favourite.

Absolutely love the chibis in this one, and the little spirits. Oh, they bring me so much joy. I also like the humour and the awkwardness. Got me giggling, kicking my feet in the air. And I kinda dig the whole concept here even if I'm not that into mpreg stuff (buzzer goes wee woo wee woo, lights turn red, a voice speaks into the mic: that is incorr—), so yeah, I hope I can pick it back up and get back to reading soon!

Another work of theirs I've been eyeing to read is Blood Link. It looks tempting, I'll be starting it once I'm done with Smyrna and Capri.

Now, all that being said, some of the main reasons why I love Brothers Without A Tomorrow is not just because of the writing and the art, not just because of the multilayered stories and complex characters, but also because of how they break the established norm in BL Manhwas. Dark skinned characters and masculine bottoms? I will be at the scene of crime!

(pc: pinterest)

[doctorwhoconfessions]

the BLOG INTRO ☆

hello hello! welcome to my blog, you can just call me stitch, or mod twelve, either works really! i go by she/her, and my main account is @stitchthelilo

now, that’s all fine and dandy, but what about the blog itself?

simple! this is a confession blog for your whoniverse related confessions, new and old, anything’s ok! just make sure it’s about doctor who in some sort of way :)

there is only one rule you have to follow: don’t be rude to one another. let’s stay mature, alright? have civil debates, not full on fights! just be respectful

it is very likely i will respond to your confession. i yap a lot about doctor who

i will add onto this if i remember anything else, happy confessing! ^_^

the TAG LIST ☆

#yippee yahoo hoorah = things that make me happy

#whimsy is gone = things that make me want to deactivate. what have you done

#world’s biggest hater = you are either very angry or just a hater if your ask is under this tag

#what do you mean? what do you mean by that? = i am so confused by whatever you sent into the askbox

#oh…that’s gore…gore of my comfort character… = whoever sent the ask needs urgent medical help. therapy is mandatory for you

#sent to the grave = very funny ask

#love is in the air = the asker is are a simp

the ANON LIST ☆

to be added

[sloanerisette]

Ok I was tagged for this and it took a few days but i'm finally doing it!

How many works do you have on AO3? 46

What's your total AO3 word count? 508,068

What fandoms do you write for? Right now? Digimon, Persona, Fire Emblem, and Dungeon Meshi (technically only one fic for that but who's counting)

Top five fics by kudos:

Falling Through Life (Life is Strange)

At The End of The Day (Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury)

You Never Forget Your First Time (Life is Strange)

A Whole New World (Life is Strange)

A smut fic with a name I won't mention because even the name itself is NSFW lmao (Dungeon Meshi)

(For the record I find it very funny that three of these are for a fandom that, while I love the game, I haven't really kept up with the fandom in forever and the top one is an abandoned fic WOOPS. Pro-tip: writing about the hot new game about queer girls will really give you those kudos if you want them)

Do you respond to comments? I do my best to! If someone either doesn't have anything nice to say or doesn't, really, have anything substantial to say or they're just kind of Yapping then I avoid it, but otherwise I take the time to go through comments and thank people profusely for enjoying my stuff

What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Oh god this is tough??? I generally write either lighthearted fics or smut and my main dramatic fics just, either aren't anywhere near done to have an angsty ending or were abandoned? If I had to pick probably the Dungeon Meshi fic listed in my top 5 by kudos-- I almost went for a comedic ending but wanted to go for something angsty-ish and unnerving and I thought it hit pretty well! Otherwise the one Fire Emblem 3 Houses fic I have (also a smut fic) has a pretty oof ending

What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? Man this is TOUGH. I have a lot of happy/nice/sweet endings just by virtue of writing a lot of smut and heartwarming stuff for the fandoms I love. Uh, maybe At The End of The Day??? It takes a nice ending and makes it cute? Otherwise maybe Especially For You which is a smut in my Persona 5 AU that has a really sweet ending for the main ship of the AU???

Do you get hate on fics? Thankfully no! I did have one person laugh at one of the connections a character made even though the character had no reason to believe otherwise? Another time I saw someone bookmarked my fic and mentioned "this character isn't at their best" when frankly I put my whole bussy into writing them incredibly well SO I was salty about that and they have bad taste on that in my imo BUT WHATEVER I KNOW THE TRUTH

Do you write smut? Dawg you have NO idea. I have so many wips that have just not been finished and probably never will be, so many documents with vague outlines that I have no clue will be finished. A small handful I haven't posted yet. Plenty I've written for friends for their birthdays or otherwise. I'm a smut maven and I love it. And I'm apparently pretty good at it, I've been told.

Craziest crossover: The closest thing to a crossover I've done is a crossover AU I did for one of the Jyoumi month challenges that was Joe and Mimi in The World Ends With You? It was... alright. I wrote it all in one day like I did the rest of the onesehots for those challenges and I had some neat ideas but man, I just don't think I'm all too great at crossovers, nor do they entirely interest me? More power to those who CAN do crossovers and do them well, y'all are more powerful than I can imagine

Have you ever had a fic stolen? No, but I DID have a character bio stolen in roleplay before. I know this because I had to make very specific changes/specifications to their power set for that site. Someone used it exactly as is but changed some of the history and I called them out and they insisted it was theirs, despite me having proof and having others verify for me. They kept saying "Oh I've had this forever" and when I asked for proof they turned it around on me being like "Well people have stolen my stuff so I don't want you to steal it" so. It was a great fun mess. Fics? I pray not because if I have to get into something like THAT but for fics I think I'll actually throw hands for real for real.

Have you ever had a fic translated? I have not, I'm not esports enough for that treatment.

Have you ever co-written a fic before? I haven't! It's definitely something that would interest me/would drive me to work harder and more consistent but as of right now, nope.

All time favorite ship? This is not fair this is not right you cannot ask me to do this. I'm gonna do a small handful and y'all will have to put up with it

Joe Kido and Mimi Tachikawa (Digimon)

Kari Kamiya and Yolei Inoue (Digimon)

Davis Motomiya and Yolei Inoue (Digimon)

Kumiko Oumae and Reina Kousaka (Sound! Euphonium)

Suletta Mercury and Miorine Rembran (Gundam: The Witch From Mercury)

Joker and Ryuji Sakamoto (Persona 5)

Yu Narukami and Ai Ebihara (Persona 4)

Yu Narukami and Rise Kujikawa (Persona 4)

Nico Minoru and Karolina Dean (Runaways)

Jemma Simmons and Leo Fitz (Agents of SHIELD)

I have so many fucking ships these are just the first ones I thought of this isn't even counting the rp/tabletop ships with original characters or otherwise we'd be here all day.

What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? Probably my old main Life is Strange AU that I was writing as the game was coming out or an Agents of SHIELD AU I wrote when I got back into fic writing early into the pandemic. Neat stories I hold dear but I just don't have the time, energy, or motivation to work on them anymore.

What are your writing strengths? I think dialogue and conversations. I've also been told I'm pretty good at writing characters true to how they are in the source material which is great. I've also been told my writing is very snappy and sincere which makes me very very happy. I also like to think I'm alright at fight scenes!

What are your writing weaknesses? Probably good descriptions of places/people/things, especially in smut. I always feel like I can get better so I'm pretty hyper critical of my own stuff, so I think descriptions, as well as being too wordy sometimes. I use so many words to say a few things and it's frustrating.

Thoughts on dialogue in another language? Personally I'm iffy on it. I think it's something that needs to be worked on very well. I've recently seen stuff of people writing characters in English for like, fics in English or rp in English but they'll say stuff like "Naruhodo" and it just absolutely throws me off and I just think "You are not serious people" a la Logan Roy. When I write fics in Japan (besides Digimon because I generally go dub-focused but that's another matter) I'll do stuff like honorifics, but I generally won't try to use dialogue in another language. It trips up easier than it actually works well in my opinion, and I think I would need to be a lot better of a writer to do it-- there's a reason why so many Digidestined across the world speak in Japanese primarily in stuff like the sub of the World Tour after all, lmao

First fandom you wrote in? Tales of Symphonia! I love that game so much and I have to credit it with my love of fic writing. It was a horrible self-insert fic that I cringe whenever I think about it, but it's MY horrible self-insert fic that makes me cringe.

Favorite fic you’ve written? This is literally not fair lmao. I think Someone On Your Side for Persona 5 as part of my AU was a lot of fun, very affirming, but also took the issues of societal transphobia especially in the context of my AU seriously and with weight. Also, The Curse of The Beast was some fun unhinged smut I got to write and I adore it. But also something something all my fics are special except the ones that aren't.

Tagged by: @zuzsenpai Thank you for tagging me! Sorry for the wait but I hope you enjoy this haha. It was a lot of fun to do this!

Tagging: whoever wants to feel free I always feel weird about tagging this stuff so go for it

[dajaregambler]

HeliosR - Akira Otori Character story - part 3

Translation of the third part of Akira’s character story from ‘Helios Rising Heroes’. 

Juvenile boy: Excuse meee! Could you please throw that ball over here?

Gast: Ooh, gotcha. Make sure to catch it, alright?

Young boys: Thank you so much!

Gast: Haha, these lil’ guys ‘round here are pretty polite. Have the times changed?

Akira: Well, obviously they have given how I’m in charge of South now.

Gast: Yeah, yeah, though it hasn't been more than half a month since we got assigned. Always in high spirits, aren’tcha

Gast: Man, this basketball court s’pretty nostalgic. We’d often hang around, wasting our time there back in the day

Akira: Or these underground café’s in alleyways. But we started gathering in warehouses after some guy goofed up and police got their eyes on him

Gast: Aaah, right, right. That’s from ‘bout 4, 5 years ago now, eh…

Akira: Hmm, has it been that long. Don’t really remember much of it

Gast: Anything that’s inconvenient doesn’t stick for too long with you, don’t it, Akira. Does with me though, like back when you wanted to join me and all

Gast: You showed up out of nowhere, acting pretty cocky. Going all “I’ll bring ya down and become the best delinquent out there~”, somethin’ like that

Akira: W-what….? Ya sure you ain’t mistaking me for some other guy?

Gast: Guess I gotta leave it at that. Anyways, thanks for inviting me to hang out today, Akira

Gast: You’re gonna tag along to that darts bar after we’re done eating too, right? Really lookin’ forward to it

Akira: I kept saying how we should definitely come and hang around again in Red South after being admitted but, didn’t really have the chance due to how busy I was

Gast: Can’t say it's the same for me though. Well, you do look like you gotta bring South to number one on the sector ranking?

Akira: ….Don’t wanna hear any snark from the guy who’s sector is standing in first place

Gast: Haha, m’bad for that. How’s stuff goin’ lately anyway?

Gast: Brad’s your mentor, but it don’t feel like you two are hitting it off?

Akira: Oi. I’m enjoying my day off here, don’t rain on my parade by making me think of that guy’s face 

Gast: You sayin’ that means it’s the same as usual, eh…

Akira: Aaaugh~ just remembering it made me angry! I’ll definitely prove myself by become THE strongest hero!

Gast: He got fired up… Ain’tcha gon’ burn out by going on like that?

Akira: A genius doesn’t mess up like that

Akira: Though you say so but how’s stuff on your part, Gast. Didn't ya say how North’s got a lot of Northy things to it?

Akira: With Ren, well, I can imagine it already but… Don’t both of ya mentors come over as crazy guys

Gast: I’ll keep my mouth shut ‘cuz I ain’t wanna sound like I’m being grumpy but… It is pretty crazy, in a different sense than you think it is 

Akira: Really…. That Marion’s pretty self-important towards you too, ain’t he

Akira: Actually I’m sure I asked this before but, aren’t Marion and Will the same age? Don’t that make him a year younger than ya?

Akira: He’s younger and yet he acts superior, why don’t you say anything to him

Gast: Hey, hold on there, age’s got nothin’ to do with it. It’s damned clear who’s the mentor and who’s the rookie?

Gast: Besides, Marion acts like that towards everyone, he’s got what it takes

Akira: Would’ve ya taught him a lesson if he didn’t?

Gast: Man, you’re really…. Enough of that, it’s time for you to graduate from that behaviour

Akira: Just wanted to try and say it. Besides I’ve graduated long time ago, I’m no longer some kinda delinquent, but a hero

Akira: But…honestly, there is something that’s a liiiiiittle bit unclear to me though

Gast: What is it?

Akira: ‘Cuz you’re, like---

Delinquent A: All of you, get your sorry asses outta this court. This is our territory

Gast: Huh, what?

Juvenile boy: Eh, um… We always play basketball here though…

Delinquent B: Does it look like I care. It’s ours now from today on, guys that get in without permission will be… don’t think I gotta say anything else ‘bout that, aye?

Juvenile boy: Wah...a k-knife!?

Akira: Grr, what’re these guys doing….

Gast: Oi Akira, you ain’t gonna just suddenly barge in are y---

Akira: Bastards! What’cha all doing there!

Gast: Haah, he totally didn’t listen…

--

Akira: Ya shouldn’t be pointing something so dangerous at others, hurry up and drop it

Delinquent A: What the fuck’s up with y-.... Huh, it’s some guy from Helios. We ain’t scared of you or the police, so beat it

Akira: ...Fine. I was just giving a warning but, what’ll happen after this is lies on you guys for ignoring m-

Gast: What did I tell you about yapping like a delinquent, Akira

Akira: Ouwch!?

Akira: You fu-...Gast! How dare you bonk me on the head, I was killing it with my cool act!

Gast: Yeah, yeah. You’re the same as those guys who don’t listen, always storming off first and snapping at the others with no hesitation

Delinquent A: Oi…. Didn’t that guy just, say “Gast”?

Delinquent B: I heard it too… Actually, haven’t I seen that face somewhere before?

Gast: Hm?

Delinquent A: Um, excuse me, my good sir~.... If I’m not mistaken, are you perhaps Gast Adler….?

Gast: Yeah, what ‘bout it?

Delinquent A: Hweeeh…!? He’s THAT “Gast” for real!

Delinquent B: I heard that he had retired, so WHY is he here? I don’t want anything to do with this, we gotta run!

Akira: There they go… So they knew about you. Well, you were petty well-known back in your delinquent days

Gast: Guess my dark past is gonna keep on trailing behind me, how embarrasin’...

Akira: Heheh, I think it’s really awesome♪

Gast: What are you actin’ so proud for….

Akira: Aah. If only I could’ve shown this to that Marion

Akira: Showing off Gast scaring off delinquents with only his face and name, how his younger bros still idolize him till this day

Akira: Honestly, if ya were to tell me that you we’re a mentor, I wouldn’t think twice about it. That’s the kind of guy you are, a good senpai.

Gast: Akira, did you just call me your “senpai”?

Gast: Going back to the day we met, you’d always be calling after me with that cocky ‘tude of yours...

Akira: We’re buddies but, strictly speaking we are senpai and kouhai. Ain’t gonna say it again though, take it as a one time thing

Gast: Yeah, that’s fine. It’d be nice if you were to call me “Gast-san” while wagging your tail like these bros of mine once in a while

Akira: Haaah? I’m not gonna wag my tail for anyone, I’m a man who’ll become the strongest hero!

Gast: Haha, got it

Gast: ….Honestly, with how he’s doing now, I’m sure he’ll be saying how good of a mentor Brad was down the line

Akira: Hmm? What did ya just say, Gast?

Gast: Hm- … Aah, just how you’re in a good mood as you usually are, and how it makes you a loveable idiot

Akira: Bwughagh!? What the hell, you bastard!

Gast: C’mon, let’s get moving and grab a bite. Wanna play darts as soon as possible too

Akira: Wah, wait Gast! I ain’t an idiot….!

[ijustwant2write]

Just Next Door-Sam Wilson x Reader

(GIF credit to @marveladdicts​)

Tags: @amirahiddleston @bloodorangemoonlight

Summary: Sam moves to new apartment filled with the usual neighbours, always armed with brief conversations; including the girl next door (Y/N). He doesn't know much about her, until something triggers a panic attack, revealing that they have more in common than they thought.

Characters: Sam Wilson x Reader

Meanings: (Y/N)=Your name

Warnings: Panic attacks, mentions of war, fighting and death

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Sam hadn't been all too happy when he had to leave his home because of the aftermath of the whole 'civil war' situation. There wasn't really any plan put in place as to what they would do now, seeing as they were still under watch by the government. Steve had said to lay low, separate themselves to a certain distance, but not too much that they were out of reach. So here he was, having lived in a normal apartment building for three months, lying around, waiting for something to happen.

Looking at the positives, it was quite nice to go back to the normal part of life. This is what it would have been like if Captain America hadn't come along; except it would be back in his own home, not this small apartment. Still, after all the shit they had been through, why waste time looking on the negatives?

When there was a knock on the door, Sam was cautious, you never knew what was on the other side, or who could be coming after him. After stealthily checking the peephole, he relaxed when he saw it was his neighbour, (Y/N). A kind smile was on his face as he opened the door.

She was also grinning, one hand in her blazer pockets and the other holding onto the straps of her handbag."Hi, just letting you know that they're finally looking into the plumbing for the whole place. Saw some guys come in through the entrance."

"Thank god. I was only just getting used to having hot water for thirty seconds."

"Tell me about it."

"Busy day at the office?"

"Average, but no one pissed me off today, so that's good, I guess. What about you?"

"You know the drill. Staying in hiding till Cap needs me."

It was impossible not to know who Sam was. The news had covered as much as they could, the stories were practically selling themselves. However he was fortunate that most people living here didn't interact all that often. He had been wary of (Y/N) at the beginning, wondering if she was some sort of spy sent out to keep an eye on him; but he was able to figure her out, she was just your typical neighbour, a friendly greeting here and there, small conversations.

(Y/N) sighed."You've been here for so long though."

"Life of a hero isn't all that glamorous."

"No, suppose not. Well, I'm gonna grab dinner, I'll see you later."

"Uh (Y/N)," Sam held the door slightly open,"I've actually filled my time with cooking, and I definitely have enough for the both of us, if you want?"

"Oh, uh..."

"Not like, in a date way or anything, as friends."

Her voice was enthusiastic as she spoke."Yeah actually! I have a bottle of wine in the fridge, I'll go grab it."

They smiled at each other before she left, Sam closing the door but keeping it unlocked. He really didn't expect anything out of this. All he wanted was some company, just a friend to talk to, someone down to Earth. (Y/N) had only asked questions about his alter ego once, and then was when they first met. After that, she was the only one who looked at him like a normal person.

The meal together was full of laughter and some deep talks. Sam didn't let too much out, he still had to be careful. (Y/N) spoke of her childhood (as had he), what she had always dreamed of doing and fun anecdotes from work. However, Sam realised she had mission a portion of her life out, she had mentioned she had an 'old job' but never stated what it was (in fact, she had never even implied where she worked). Sam had tried to direct the conversation back that way, though (Y/N) was able to steer it right back, completely avoiding it. He decided it was unimportant at this stage of the friendship, he didn't want to pry. Though, she did tense up slightly when he mentioned his time in the military.

Sam felt refreshed the next day. Talking with (Y/N) had given him a break from the silence, or the yapping from the TV and radio. Well, he was at peace until he looked at his laundry basket. Another annoying thing about the apartment was that the washing had to be done in a communal laundry room. He had always found it strange how people came together in one room to do their laundry.

Effortlessly carrying the basket downstairs, he saw his neighbour also headed to the same place. (Y/N) had sensed someone behind her, relieved when it was Sam.

"Thank god it's you," she had sighed,"I wouldn't be able to deal with Jim at this time in the morning."

They walked down the rest of the stairs together, easing into conversation again. Sam noticed that her basket was just as big and full as his, yet she had no trouble with it; her office uniform hid her muscular arms, as if she had been lifting weights all her life. Still, Sam only saw snippets of (Y/N), perhaps she was a gym junky.

Their talking continued as they began loading their laundry into the machines. Sam had his back to (Y/N), until he heard a bang on the floor. His instincts caused him to whip around, calming when he saw that (Y/N) had knocked her basket over. She was knelt down, hair falling in front of her face as she scooped everything back in.

"Here, I'll help you." Sam offered, kneeling down opposite her.

It was only when he was level with (Y/N) that he saw the true state she was in. Her body was shaking, hunched over, breathing rapid. He recognised the signs of a panic attack, but what had brought it on? He noticed that she was clutching onto something in her hands; it was a military hat, green camouflage, the army. Whether it be hers or someone she knew, Sam had to do something to help her. The machines around him were creating loud, banging noises, so he quickly went round and turned them all off (hopefully no one walked in and made a complaint, now wasn't the time) before going back to (Y/N).

"(Y/N), it's OK, you're safe. You're safe with me, in the apartment building. We're in the laundry room, yeah?" Sam calmly said, kneeling in front of her. He repeated these words, slowly and gently reaching out for her.

Her hands were still gripping onto the hat, eyes in a trance like state until Sam finally started getting through to her. The shaking stopped, tears began to dry, and she practiced her breathing with Sam. Soon, she was back to a somewhat normal state.

"You OK?" Sam whispered after a few more minutes of breathing.

She nodded before she spoke."Yeah...sorry, I'm so sorry you had to witness that-"

"Hey, it's alright, these things happen." Sam reassured her as she began crying again."You were in the army."

"Mhm. Years ago."

"It's a tough world."

"You can say that again. I saw too many horrible things. Thought I could get through it, wanted to serve my country but... But it was just too much."

"It gets too much for everyone, it's normal."

Sam decided to reveal another part of his life, knowing that if he connected with her, she might feel more comfortable.

He sat down next to her both of them leaning against the machines."I lost a friend actually, a very close one. It was a tragic accident."

Surprisingly, she opened up straight away."So did I. I think too many of us did. I keep in touch with a few of my comrades, we try to talk about it, but it's hard."

"You know, I actually ran meetings before I met Cap, about PTSD, aftermath of coming out of the forces, anything really. So, if you need to talk, I'll be happy to listen. As a mentor or a friend. But there's no pressure, it's always in your own time."

"Thank you Sam." Megan looked down at her cap, holding it more caringly."I thought I had packed this away with my uniform somewhere, must have slipped in the basket somehow. Just... I wasn't expecting to see it."

"Of course not. Has this happened before?"

"I used to have nightmares sometimes. The worst thing was this slamming door downstairs, I always asked a neighbour to get it sorted, they never did. It just reminded me of the guns and bombs, especially when it came out of nowhere; they didn't have a particular schedule, so I couldn't even expect the noise. One day I went down to ask one last time before complaining to the manager of the place, but it slammed and I broke down in the hallway. I just can't seem to control it, someone always finds me crumpled up on the floor."

"I can give you techniques to help with that, if you want them."

"Please, that would actually help."

"Course. For now, shall we get on with our laundry?"

They both chuckled, the mood lightening. He helped her off the floor, going back around and turning the other machines on again, once (Y/N) had agreed. Small talk was made as they carried on like nothing happened, but (Y/N) hadn't let go of her hat. Sam saw, though made no comment, not right now.

"You sure you're gonna be alright?" Sam checked as they stood outside their doors.

"I think so. It's strange isn't it? How something like a piece of clothing can bring back so many memories."

"The human brain is complex. Everyone has has the same feeling, whether in the forces or not."

"Yeah, I guess so. Thank you Sam, I'll use those techniques you told me about." she started to unlock her door.

"If you ever need me, at anytime as well, just knock, yeah?"

"I will." before she closed the door, she caught his attention again."Sam?"

"Hm?"

"It's comforting to have someone who's been through the same thing. Thank you for helping me today."

“Well, you know I���m just next door. I'll always be right here."

[multishipperlove]

Chapters: 1/2 Fandom: Critical Role (Web Series) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Shaun Gilmore/Vax'ildan, Keyleth/Vax'ildan (Critical Role), Percival "Percy" Fredrickstein Von Musel Klossowski de Rolo III/Vex'ahlia Characters: Velora Vessar, Vax'ildan (Critical Role), Vex'ahlia (Critical Role), Percival "Percy" Fredrickstein Von Musel Klossowski de Rolo III, Shaun Gilmore, Keyleth (Critical Role) Additional Tags: Syldor Vessar's A+ Parenting, Family Issues, Polyamory, Polyamorous Character, Hiking, Dog Trinket (Critical Role) Summary:

The twins get to take care of their sister for a weekend, finally able to make good on some birthday promises. Not everything goes as planned, but they still have a great time together.

(Sequel to Dinner and Diatribes, should be able to stand on it's own)

Vax was used to being a light sleeper. It didn't take much to wake him, the quiet creaking of his door and the little bit of morning light poking through, in his otherwise darkened room, was definitely enough to rouse him again. Then he felt his mattress dip down slightly, and groaned as Vex laid a hand on his shoulder to shake him awake.

“I'm up,” he muttered, while also dragging his pillow over his head. “What do you want?”

He heard Vex sigh. “Well, brother. I, uh, was wondering if you'd like to go to the national park with me and Velora today?”

That was enough to at least make him sit up, just to give her a confused look. “What happened to Percy?”

After all the trouble they'd gone through to make sure that the day would go perfectly, he couldn't think of a good reason why Percy would suddenly decide not to come. Unless something had happened, of course, but if it was anything serious he was sure Vex would have said so by now.

And really, they'd spend weeks preparing for this weekend. After Vex and Percy had gifted Velora a coupon to visit the nearby national park with her for her last birthday, they'd still needed to convince their father to let it happen, and make sure everyone actually had some time to spare. In the end they'd even been able to get Syldor to let her spend the night, so they could have dinner with Keyleth and Shaun and maybe even take her shopping the next morning. Or at least to Gilmore's Glorious Goods, which the girl still had a coupon for as well.

All of this was the reason Vax had taken night shifts all week at the diner he worked at, so he could make sure he'd have this evening and the weekend off. And why, in turn, he was respectively tired now.

Vex bit her lip and heaved another sigh. “We got a call this morning, apparently Cassandra got super sick over night.” She saw the look on his face and was quick to reassure her brother. “Nothing life threatening, but she's hardly able to leave the bathroom. So there's no way she can get any official work done today, and Percy had to jump in for her.”

Vax was still not sure he completely understood. “But... Percy isn't even in Whitestone. Wasn't he sleeping over when I got home earlier?”

“He was,” Vex agreed. “He had someone pick him up thirty minutes ago and drive him to the Alabaster Lyceum, which is also where we need to pick up Velora in a bit.”

Vax hadn't missed his sister's use of the word 'we', but he also didn't argue. Even with less than three hours of sleep, he wouldn't miss out on spending a day with his little sister. “Alright, alright... I'll come,” he muttered, finally getting up. He stretched his arms over his head, letting out a huge yawn, and then started to search for fresh clothes. “Fucking rich people and their teleportation circles. Gimme twenty minutes.”

It took a bit longer than the promised twenty minutes, but eventually they both made it out of the door freshly showered and with their hiking gear packed up. And Trinket, of course, running behind them with way too much energy for Vax' taste.

“Keys,” Vex demanded, stopping in front of Vax' mini van. “You're way too tired to drive.”

“And too tired to argue with you,” he agreed, handing them over before getting settled in the passenger seat. His sister took another moment to get Trinket in the back. They'd long given up on laying out towels or blankets in the back, since it had never really helped with keeping the dog hair at bay. At this point they could just hope to never befriend anyone with a severe dog allergy.

Finally, Vex settled down in the driver's seat beside him, turned on the radio, and carefully backed out of the parking spot. Before they'd even left their neighbourhood, Vax was dozing off again.

Thankfully, his sister didn't wake him up again until they were parked right in front of the Travel and Communication Center of the Lyceum. But then he was roughly shaken awake and forced back out of the car. Trinket had to stay behind, with Vex promising him a quick return. That and a few treats made him lay back down without an issue.

On the way in Vax was still rubbing his eyes, so Vex took over the talking again. She could already tell from the look the receptionist was giving them that he knew they weren't the usual clientele. She had their paperwork ready though, and the years in Syngorn and around her father's friends helped her to keep up her smile and ignore the man's behaviour.

“Looks like everything works out,” the clerk eventually agreed, after giving her ID a much closer look than what either of them felt was necessary. Sending a minor through a teleportation circle on their own required some precautions though, even if she was the daughter of a high ranking diplomat. “Follow me, please.”

He got up, and after sharing a brief look and rolling their eyes, the twins followed. They were left in a small waiting room, with the reassurance that their charge would be brought to them as soon as she arrived. Luckily that didn't take long. Soon enough they could hear footsteps approaching, and as the door to their left opened they were faced with a very excited girl clutching on to her treasured owlbear plushie.

“Vax, Vex! You're here!” She immediately tore away from the guard who had apparently been assigned to her, and the man watched on with a smile as the twins got up and all three siblings smushed together for a group hug.

“Oh man, look at you,” Vax chuckled, once they'd all taken a step back again, and as he gave a playful tug on her hair. “I could have sworn you were smaller the last time we saw you.”

Velora grinned and leaned back against her sister instead, prompting Vex to wrap her arms around the small shoulders. “Mom says I'm growing like the weeds in our garden, too, but I haven't actually checked since my birthday.”

Vax was about to reply again, but the guard behind them cleared his throat. “I'll be off then,” he informed them with a smile. “Unless you need my help finding your way out?”

“No, no we'll be fine,” Vex assured the man. “Thank you so much.”

He replied with a brief nod and then left the three of them alone. Not wanting to waste any time, they headed out immediately. “So how was your trip?” Vex asked, just as they left the building. “Did you have to get up very early?”

“No, not really,” she told them, happily walking between her siblings. “But Dad was too busy to drop me off, he had a servant take me instead.”

“A servant? What about Devana, couldn't she have dropped you off instead?” Vax asked with a frown. He wasn't sure which teleportation circle she'd used in Syngorn, but if the location there was anything like the Lyceum it probably hadn't been the nicest experience to be there all by herself.

“She left earlier this morning to run errands, because he'd promised to take me,” Velora replied with a shrug. “She's probably going to be mad at him if he tells her.”

“Well, he deserves it,” Vex muttered. “But let's focus on you being here now, alright? Look, we got someone else who's very happy to meet you.” And with that she took the last few steps to the car and opened the trunk, finally releasing Trinket. The dog quickly jumped out, giving a few yaps of excitement as he circled them a few times, and did his best to wedge himself between them.

Velora grinned and kneeled down, seemingly delighted to let him slobber all over her face. So while those two were busy with greeting each other, Vex took the girl's backpack from her and put it in the back seat with their other gear.

“Alright, ready to go?” she asked finally, helping the girl to her feet again as she agreed. “We got a whole National Park waiting for us after all, so I hope you're ready.”

Velora looked between her two siblings, suddenly turning a bit confused. “Oh, okay. Is Percy waiting for us at the Park then? I thought he was coming with us?”

“Right, about that,” Vex sighed. “There was a bit of an emergency in Whitestone so he got called away, he wants you to know that he's really sorry though and he'll find a way to make it up to you. But hey, with a bit of luck, he'll be back by dinner.”

Velora deflated a bit, her happy mood from earlier not quite evaporating but definitely taking a hit. “Okay... that's fine though,” she said quickly. “He doesn't have to make it up to me, I know his work is super important.”

“But he made a commitment when he said he'd be here today, it's okay to be upset by that,” Vax told her softly. “Doing something else with you is the least he can do, even if it's not his fault that circumstances changed.” When she just shrugged at that and looked down he reached out again, ruffling her hair. “Either way, we'll still have a lot of fun today, I'm sure. Because guess what, I'm Percy's stand in.”

“You'll be coming with us, you're not just here to pick me up?” she asked, her smile growing once more. “That's pretty cool, I'll take that.”

“Hah, you hear that, Stubby? I'm cool.”

Vax did his best not to fall asleep again on their continued drive to the Park, instead engaging with the other two a bit more as they started talking in the car.

Velora told them about school, and how her friends had all been a little bit jealous that she got to leave on a weekend trip so close to their exams. In turn, the twins told her about some of the mischief they had gotten up to when still attending the same school, and that definitely helped with passing the time.

Before they knew it, the broad country roads had turned into narrow passages winding through dark woods. Sunlight filtered through the leaves above them, and it wasn't like Vex needed to turn on the car lights just yet, but the loss of light still gave their surroundings a bit of an eerie feeling. It was nice, in Vax' opinion, and he could see Velora looking out the window with a transfixed expression as well.

They passed the entrance a few minutes later, gladly accepting a map and some tourist information from the lady manning the booth at the moment. As Vex started to look for a parking lot that wouldn't cost them an arm and a leg, Vax took a closer look at the map.

“So, Stubby, did you have a route in mind already?” he asked, studying the various paths that lead through the park and their assigned challenge ratings. If it was just the two of them, they could have easily taken one of the longer routes, meant for more experienced hikers. But with Velora in tow, he was sure Vex had picked out something else.

“Yeah, I found one a while ago that should be really nice,” she replied, proving him right. “It allows dogs, as long as they're leashed, and has some nice observation points along the way.”

“Do you think we'll see any owlbears?” Velora asked immediately, as she leaned forward to wedge herself between the two front seats. Vax playfully pushed her back, grinning slightly when he was met with more resistance than he'd expected.

Vex was the one to actually give her an answer, while she finally found a parking spot she seemed to like. “You know I can't promise you that, but we'll just have to wait and see.”

If he was honest, Vax wasn't sure if he really wanted to run into one of these things. There was a reason most people were afraid of the beasts, and it had a lot to do with claws and sharp edged beaks. Not that there had actually been any owlbear attacks in the recent years, but it still sounded like an encounter he would prefer to avoid.

He kept that thought to himself though, and as they all finally got out of the car he turned to Velora with a cheery look. “Maybe we'll get lucky, who knows. But to see anything, we need to start moving. You got everything you need?”

The girl smiled back at him and nodded, taking her backpack as Vex held it out to her. “I got lots of water and food!”

“Great, I think we can cover the rest,” he chuckled, checking his own bag once more for the additional first aid kit, maps, his powerbank, and a heavy duty flashlight. Vex carried the same gear with her, just in case anything happened to one of their bags. She always had an old satellite phone with her as well though, which they'd never needed, but it was another one of those “just in case” things.

Vex also looked about ready to head into the forest, only waiting for the two of them to finally follow. But a last look up and down his little sister had Vax stop. “You got a jacket with you, right?”

She looked at him and frowned, then looked down at the cardigan she was wearing. “Yeah, this one,” she told him.

Vax resisted the urge to facepalm. “That's not really- you really don't have anything else with you?” he asked again. Syngorn rarely got really cold, not even in winter, but surely someone should have realized that sending her over in nothing but a cardigan would be a stupid idea. Well, apparently not.

“If we're in the shadows all day and sweating, there's no way that thing will keep you warm,” he finally explained, when he realized she still looked rather lost. “We need to get you a proper jacket first.”

He looked over to Vex, who had already started wandering a few feet away, no doubt 'hearing the call of the forest' or whatever she always did when they managed to get on one of these little outings. “Vex!” he called over, at least successfully getting her attention. “We need to hit the shop first. Velora needs a jacket.”

“What do you mean she-” She stopped in the middle of her sentence, and Vax shrugged as an answer. Sure, it sucked, especially because the shops in the park were all horribly overpriced, but they really didn't have much of a choice.

So they accepted the change in plans for what it was, and tried not to be too obviously annoyed about it. After all, it wasn't Velora's fault, and they could both see that she looked a bit uncomfortable now. Vex quickly laid an arm around her, tucking her closer again as they walked.

“Well, let's see it from the positive side, it just means we'll be hitting the souvenir stage early,” she joked, hoping to cheer her up a bit. “Let's have a look around, maybe you find something else you want to watch out for while we're out there.”

The shop was right next to the tourist information, and both buildings were- well, not exactly overrun, but definitely not empty, either. They pushed past a family with two little boys at the entrance, where Vex had to tie trinket down, and dodged some more people inside, just to make it to the clothes section.

There were a lot of t-shits and hoodies, all with big logos of the national park on the front, or simple nature prints. Cute, but not what they were looking for. Vax could already see Velora's eyes flitting from one thing to the next, catching on some things longer than others, and he tried to file all of it away for later. Finally, they found some jackets that actually looked to be functional.

“You wanna try some on?” Vex asked, trying to guess her sister's size as she held out a few. “Is your favorite color still green?”

“Yeah... are you- are you sure though?” Velora asked back. “I know they're expensive. You don't have to.”

“Nonsense, you need a jacket, so we'll get you one,” Vex assured her gently. “The last thing we want is for you to get sick today, or even just be cold all the time. Don't worry about it, okay?”

The girl didn't seem quite convinced yet, but at least she let Vex force her into a few of the jackets, until they found one that fit pretty well. She ended up picking the purple one over the green though, prompting Vax to make a joke about how she would need to raid Gilmore's wardrobe at some point.

They brought it up to the counter, and Vax distracted Velora by making fun of an incredibly tacky snowglobe while Vex paid. She swallowed a bit at the prize, but remembered that the nightshifts Vax had been pulling did not only mean he had the weekend off, but were paid a little bit better as well. Not much, but it made the extra charge more bearable.

Picking up Trinket again on the way out, they finally, finally,started walking towards the path Vex had picked out for them. White signs with blue dots marked the way along the trees, easy enough to follow, and the trail was still wide enough that they could easily ignore the few other people they met along the way.

It didn't take long before Vex started pointing things out to them, from small plants and mushrooms to all the different birds they came across. She even stopped a couple of times so they could get a closer look at something, and within the first two hours, Velora had already stuffed her pockets with all kinds of interesting looking rocks, small feathers, and other muck lying around.

Vax was sure that Syldor would be absolutely horrified if he saw her like that, and that made the whole thing even better. He grew a bit more quiet though, mostly letting the other two talk. His lack of sleep was catching up with him.

Eventually, they reached a small clearing with picnic tables set up, and a small river flowing near by. “Should we take our first break?” Vex asked, looking back to the two others. Receiving a shrug from Velora and a relieved, and maybe just the tiniest bit desperate, nod from her brother, she smiled slightly and claimed one of the tables for them.

Velora started to line up her little treasures on the wooden top, as Vex got out some of the lighter snack foods. She pushed one of the water bottles closer to her brother, who'd sat down and almost immediately rested his head on the table, looking like he was about to fall asleep again any moment.

“Velora, darling, do me a favor and clean your hands in the stream,” she told their little sister, hoping it would wash off the worst of the dirt. For everything else, they had hand sanitizer. While Velora did just that, Vex nudged her brother's shoulder. “Hey, you okay? Do we need to move a bit slower?”

“Hmmmnah. I'm good,” he muttered, giving her a weary smile. He sat up properly at least though, taking a few swigs from the bottle she'd offered him. “It's fun. And you know what, with you playing plant lexicon the whole way, I was thinking, next time we should take Keyleth.”

“So I can watch you two making gooey eyes at each other the whole time? Not a chance.”

“As if you and Percy are any better,” he huffed, amused. “And yes, maybe, but also for another reason. You know how much she knows about all that stuff as well, I'm sure it would be fun.”

Vex shrugged, finally settling down beside him. “Sure, we can ask her next time. I didn't know she was into hiking?”

He grimaced a bit at that. “Actually, not sure if she is. It's always just kinda been our thing, you know? I never asked. But she sure likes plants, so... I don't know, we don't have to.”

“Hey, doofus, slow down,” she chuckled, nudging his side again. “I really don't mind. Let's bring Gilmore and Percy, too, if they want to. We'll just be really disgusting and make it some kind of weird double date.”

She got a soft laugh in return, and Vax nodded. “Sure, that sounds good. I- yeah, I think I'd like that. Let's ask them, some time.”

Velora came back at that point, settling down again with a smile and accepting Vex' hand sanitizer without any protest. She was the first one done with her food as well, and then seemed to be patiently waiting for the twins to finish up. Vex turned to her eventually, giving her a bit of an amused look. “You don't have to sit here and wait, you know. Look around a bit, see if you can find more interesting stuff.”

“Are you sure?” Velora asked, frowning again. “Shouldn't I stay close to you or something?”

“As long as you stay where we can see you, it's fine,” Vax assured her with a shrug, while cutting his apple into continuously smaller pieces. He wasn't too motivated to eat. “Just, you know, don't do anything stupid.”

“Like what?”

“Like falling into the stream, for example. Or climbing trees. I'm pretty sure that's not allowed here,” Vex chimed in again, stealing one of the fruit pieces from her brother.

Velora still seemed surprised that they let her roam around on her own at all, and apparently feared that they would change their mind again. She was out of her seat faster than they could blink.

When she was already halfway back to the little river she turned around again, calling back to her siblings again. “Can I take Trinket?”

“He's not allowed to leave the path, sorry!” Vex called back, and watched as her sister nodded and then went back to the spot where she'd washed her hands earlier. Whatever it was she'd found, it seemed to be interesting enough to keep her attention for a while, and they were both able to finish their own rations without boring the girl too much.

Once back on the path, she told them about the fish she'd seen, and proceeded to describe them in as much detail as possible, asking Vex once more to identify each and everyone of them. In the few cases where Vex was stumped, Vax made up new ones, with increasingly absurd names and abilities.

He was in the middle of telling his sisters about the 'Red Striped Bloodsucker Fish' (ignoring Velora's question if fish even had blood), when Vex grinned and shook her head at him. “Vampirism, huh? I know a plant that helps against that.”

“A plant? No way, vampires aren't even real,” Velora protested, changing her focus from one twin to the other again.

“Oh they used to be, it's just that no one's seen one in a few decades,” Vex insisted. “That doesn't mean they don't exist anymore.” Seeing that the girl still looked unimpressed, she shrugged. “Alright, to be fair, glissfoil also has a lot of other uses. It can cure infections, helps against minor illnesses, and you can make very tasty tea out of it.”

“Which also happens to help against hangovers,” Vax mumbled, chuckling softly when Vex, expectedly, slugged him in the shoulder for his comment.

“She doesn't need to know that part yet. But yes, it's all in all just very neat. Would you like to look for some?” The last part was directed at Velora again, and she agreed easily enough. Vex described the plant, small, green leaves with a yellow-ish tint towards the edge, and they all started to keep an eye out for it.

They were walking uphill now, the path becoming more steep ahead of them and forcing them to slow down quite a bit, but they still made good headway. Still no glissfoil though. That didn't keep Velora from picking up more of her other miscellaneous items though, and when she finally ran out of space in her own pockets, the twins quickly offered to take some for her instead. The new jacket as well as her jeans were both streaked with dirt by now, not that she seemed to mind.

Halfway up the hill they took another break, Vex promising them that it wouldn't be much further now. And indeed, a good forty-five minutes later, they made it to the top. It really wasn't much more than a hill, but still offered a nice overview of the valley that now stretched out in front of them. Again, there was a bit of a clearing, and benches and tables cluttered around the centre of it.

But before Vax could suggest they settle down to enjoy the view a bit, Vex had already taken Velora by the hand and dragged her off to the edge, apparently very intent to show her something. So he sighed and followed suit, taking another sip from his water bottle.

“Alright, do you see the caves down there?” Vex asked, pointing them out for Velora as best as she could. “Right there, in the small dip between the cliffsides?”

Velora searched for it for a moment, but then nodded. “Yeah, yeah I see it. Why, what's in there? Can we go there?”

“No no no, that's definitely off the paths,” she replied quickly. “And even if it was allowed, it would probably be a bad idea. You know what kind of animal supposedly lives in those caves?”

The girl shook her head this time, but the look she gave Vex was very hopeful, so she seemed to have a pretty good idea at least.

Vex grinned. “Owlbears. Right there. It's just a few animals, who apparently broke away from the main herd a while ago for some reason, but ever since they've been sighted here, the path's become a lot more popular.”

As Vex had been talking, Velora's smile had already grown impossible wide. She stepped as close to the edge as she could now, staring at the entrance of the cave intensely. “Can we stay for a bit?” she asked quietly, as if already afraid to spook the animals away.

“Half an hour or so, sure,” Vex agreed. To Vax' surprise, she took a blanket out of her backpack. Which wasn't part of their usual luggage, which meant she'd been planning this, and why was he even surprised about this. But she put it down on the ground, leaving enough space for the three of them to settle down right there.

While they were waiting for something to happen, Vax got his knife out again from earlier, and started to twirl it around his fingers in an attempt to stay alert. Velora noticed it, of course, and watched him for a few moments with great curiosity.

“Can you teach me how to do that?” she asked finally. “You promised you'd teach me how to use the dagger, remember? The one you got me for my birthday.”

“Of course I remember,” he chuckled. “And yeah, I guess I can teach you how to do this, too... not with a knife though.”

“Why not?”

“Because I don't want to be responsible for any lost fingers, honestly. We'll start with a pen and you get to work your way up from there.” She still grumbled about that answer, but seemed satisfied enough by it. For now.

They spend a few more minutes looking out over the caves, but with no luck. Not a single owlbear reared it's head, and sitting on the ground was slowly getting cold. Velora was leaning against Vax by now, all but in his lap, and the journey seemed to be catching up with her as well. She looked a lot more tired by now then when they'd started their trip.

Before either of her siblings could fall asleep on her, Vex pushed them to move again. “Alright, I think that's enough time spend here,” she sighed, getting up and offering Velora a hand to pull her up. “Sorry we didn't see anything, darling.”

“It's fine, it was still really cool to see where they live,” Velora assured her, smiling again as she got to her feet and leaned over the edge just one more time. “Maybe we can come back one day, and have more luck then.”

“Yeah, why not. That sounds like a good idea,” Vax agreed, stifling a yawn. “Hey Stubby, how long until we're back at the car? Do we walk back the way we came?”

Vex shook her head and took a moment to study the map they'd taken with them. “It's a circular path, and the way back is way shorter. Shouldn't take more than an hour. You two ready to leave?”

She got two nods, so turned back around to lead the way again. Their little group was a lot more quiet on their way back though, a weary silence hanging over them, but at least it didn't diminish their fun in any way. Velora still looked around with an attentive eye, pointing out birds and other small critters when she saw them.

A good twenty minutes passed before she caught something a lot more interesting though. Right next to the path was a beaten track that had clearly been caused by some kind of animal, something big. The surrounding bushes and branches were damaged, showing that something had moved through them with little care.

Velora was the first there to investigate, and probably would have disappeared right into the forest had Vex not held her back. “What do you think did this? Do you think it's still here? Can it see us, do you think it's dangerous?” All her question came in quick succession, leaving Vex little time to answer.

Gently pushing her sister back towards Vax she ventured a few steps forward herself, trying to see if there actually was any danger to them. But it seemed like whatever had crossed the path here, it had done so a while ago.

“No, it's probably long gone,” she called back to the other two, turning around again to make her way back. Which was when she noticed them, lying on the ground just a few feet away from the path. A big, brown-ish feather, with black stripes all the way down, along with some smaller ones. Most of them were damaged in some way, but somehow, the big feather had remained unscathed. And she knew exactly what animal it came from.

Carefully picking it off the ground and holding it behind her back, she finally walked back to Vax and Velora. “Guess what I found,” she told her sister, grinning in the knowing way that only older siblings could pull off sometimes.

“What?”

“No, you have to guess,” she insisted, only seeming more amused when Velora rolled her eyes.

But the girl took the challenge, squinting slightly as if she was trying to see right through her sister. “Hmm... oh, you finally found Glissfoil!” She grinned widely, absolutely sure of herself and that she'd bested her sister in this somehow.

But Vex just shook her head. “Nu-uh. That would have been cool, too, I'll grant you that. But I found something way better.” Not wanting to torture her any longer though, she presented the feather, giving her a pointed look. “You know what this is from?”

It immediately got her an excited gasp, and with a gentle nudge from Vax Velora reached out, taking it into her own hands. “Wooow, this is so cool,” she whispered. “Do you think it's from one of the owlbears living in the caves?”

Vex nodded, briefly looking back to the spot where she'd found the feather. “We're not too far away, it's plausible. I hope that makes up a bit for not seeing one live.”

Velora nodded eagerly, still studying the feather closely. Then she looked from her new favorite possession to Vax, and seemed to get an idea. “Can you put it in my hair?” she asked, holding the feather out to her brother this time. “You know, like you sometimes do for Vex?”

“Oh... yeah, sure. C'mere,” he told her, pulling her a bit closer and turning her around, facing her away from him. “Stubby, you got a hairband?”

Vex didn't, but had no issue with taking out the one she was currently wearing, and Vax made quick work of the task in front of him. He produced the same trademark side-braid that was usually reserved for Vex, sure that she wouldn't mind, and then secured the feather behind one ear. It was a bit big, but all in all still looked very nice.

Velora was definitely happy, still brimming with excitement all the way back to the car. And despite the fact that she swore up and down that she didn't need anything else, the twins insisted on hitting the gift shop again before actually leaving. Velora ended up choosing a mug with, to no one's surprise, more owlbears printed on the front, and spend a few additional minutes fawning over a very nice selection of pocket knifes with Vax.

But before they knew it they were all back in the car, all the new souvenirs packed away in Velora's bag, and on their way home. It didn't take long either for a very slight snoring to start up in the car, both from the backseat and the shotgun position. They weren't even officially out of the park. But Vex didn't mind much, not even when Trinket joined her sleeping siblings halfway through. At least that way, no one could complain about her choice in music.

[powertobehandsome]

Blind Date || Matt and Seth

In which Shiv and I decided to do a random little thing so I can try to better grasp the voice of Seth. And it goes from ridiculous to hilarious to heartbreaking in a matter of seconds. -- @violent-nobility

"Fuck," Carol groaned as she slowly sat up, holding a hand against her head. "Fuck, fuck, fuck... shit. You guys okay?"

"Other than being in the closet," Matt responded, his voice dry as ever. "I am, but Oliver's still out." He was sitting against the wall, the Arrow's head and shoulders in his lap, and he held onto him protectively.

"Closet?" Carol blinked, but as her vision cleared, she saw that he meant it literally. They were in some kind of cleaning supply closet -- explained the smell. She pushed herself up and brushed bits of grit and soot off of her supersuit, then slowly got to her feet. "What the hell happened?"

"Deadpool." Matt's voice was tight, angry, and quiet. "He saw the opportunity to steal something from Thanos, I don't know what it was, but he took it and.. when he did, something -- we just fell. Gravity felt like it -- turned off." He licked his lips and gave a small shake of his head. "But I'm guessing he's here, somewhere. We just have to find him."

"Okay." Carol nodded and reached down to lift Oliver up. As she did, he woke, although groggily. Blood streamed down the side of his head, dripping from the side of his mask. "Ollie?"

"Fine," he murmured, then nodded. "I'm fine."

"Okay... so... we just need to find Deadpool, steal back the gem, it'll be fine. How hard can it be to find a guy in a conspicuous red suit?" Carol helped Matt up, then went and opened the door -- into one of the loudest, most crowded places she'd seen in a long time...

Where at least ten Deadpools were cavorting together.

"Sweet costumes!" a Stormtrooper said as they passed by. Carol looked own at her own costume -- blue, red, gold. Blood. Soot. Oliver's dark green leather was badly scuffed, and he was covered in all sorts of wounds. Matt just looked like an insane ninja in his black blindfold and skintight black shirt -- god she loved that shirt on him though -- and cargo pants. He wasn't bleeding, but from the way he had his arm held against his chest, she was guessing he'd hurt it.

Right. Okay.

"This... is an actual nightmare I've had," Ollie muttered as the Deadpools started cartwheeling together, to shrieks and applause from the huge audience of con-goers.

"It'll be fine. We just need to find the right one."

Seth had a booth set up in the center of the great hall, directly catty-corner to both the marvel and the DC sets. He had the prime location, and it had cost a pretty penny. But his mother believed in him, believed in his new comic, and this gave Seth every opportunity to geek out as cosplayer after cosplayer stopped by, picked up a copy of ATOMIC COUNTY and let him take a picture along with their payment.

He'd used his phone to get a few pictures of the cartwheeling Deadpools, and just happened to look over to his right as a collection of the most obscure collection of cosplayers all but limped out of a janitorial closet between two of the concession stands. "Ryan... Ryan look at this. Do you think this is an orgy gone wrong? You see, I always knew Comic Con would be different if I stayed stationary, if I was in the mix of it and able to just watch people come and go. Speak of which, I think these... You know, this is something I haven't really seen since that first week you were in Newport. Do you remember that? The party that we went to after the fashion show. There was the fight on the beach. And I accidentally walked in on an orgy in the bathroom."

"Seth... Your point?"

"My point is, Ryan, that those three... there's something twisted going on there. They all walk out of a closet, dressed in costume, the guys are the ones who look more roughed up. Do you think..."

"Do I think they maybe just had a make out session? And she kicked their asses because they were leaving her out?"

Seth stood and gawked at his best friend, brows raised. "I was going to say do you think that is some of that corn syrup fake blood? Or the stuff that tastes like throw up. Because if I'm going to spread my wings, that means introducing myself to new people."

"You're not going to try to make out with one of them."

"One of them? No, Ryan, all three. This is Comic Con. Go big or go home. What happens in San Diego, stays in San Diego."

"That's Vegas."

"Or Tijuana."

"Seth..."

"Right. Shhh. They're coming this way. Who's winning right now, me or my hair."

"It's your hair, Seth. It's always your hair."

"Do you think they'll-- Hi. Hi guys. Can I interest you in one of my comics. Atomic County. Based off of real life experiences, I've discovered it makes the characters more real, makes them feel less far fetched when it comes to their powers, and the likes. What are you... the Arrow. Are you a Captain Marvel? Very nice. I like the whole layout you've got going with the colors. And who... I mean. I've seen weirder ninjas, I guess. Or are you one of the like... Image comic characters? But welcome. Is the Arrow alright? Is he drunk, or is he just a method actor with that head injury?"

By the time the kid was done talking at them, Oliver was staring at him like he was going to put an arrow through one of his eyes. The three of them had all stopped, surprised at being accosted, but when the kid was done yapping, Oliver just clenched his jaw a little and turned away. Everything hurt and he was lightheaded, but he'd had worse, and there really wasn't time to go get patched up, let alone time to listen to this kid.

"No," was all he said, his voice sharp, and he turned back to Carol. "Ca-- ptain Marvel, we have to go. I don't think any of those are him." Ollie nodded towards the Deadpools, who were now hugging people and signing autographs. "Daredevil?"

Matt, who was thoroughly miserable in the shrieking crowd, lifted his chin and told himself to focus, listening to the group of Deadpools. After a moment, he shook his head. "No. None of them. He's not here. We have to keep moving." He rotated his shoulders as much as he could while still holding his arm against himself.

Carol nodded and turned back to the kid. "Did you see another Deadpool leave this area recently? It's important that we find him now. So please. If you saw him, help us."

Seth watched them, nodding, looking back to Ryan and then lifting his brow as if this was his in, as if this was what he'd planned to happen all along. Because in San Diego? At Comic Con? This was his place, his people.

"Deadpools? Yes. I saw two. Though in this place it might be..."

"Seth..." This time, Ryan was actually helping. "Why don't you show them the way. They don't... seem to exactly know the best places to look. And you are the one who saw them. I'll watch the booth."

"Right. This was fellas... and lady..." Seth walked around the booth, gesturing for Ryan to not forget pictures, and then gestured for them to start heading down toward Hall C. He looked at the man in mostly black.

"So, you're Daredevil. Is it the tie around the eyes that's supposed to be the giveaway. I'm not at all trying to judge costume, that event happens tomorrow night, and I'm not a part of the panel, but are you just going for his early days? Not many people do that these days. I've gotta give you some mad props."

He started to lead them down a left hallway and at this point, he wasn't entirely sure where he was leading them, but he knew he had seen a Deadpool walk in this general direction. Though, it had been a few minutes, and by this point, he could be anywhere.

"So, I have to ask. Everybody else went marvel. Why did you go DC? Is it that you like the darker undertones of the universe? Or is there some other factor?"

"Me?" Oliver asked. This wasn't the first parallel world he had experienced, but even still, he hated this shit, and it came across in his voice. "I don't care about -- DC or Marvel." Whatever that is. "We're here to do a job." Instinctively, he reached out and pulled Matt closer, keeping Matt's injured side next to him.

"Marvel -- named after Captain Marvel?" Matt asked. This was all new for him, all very new, and he didn't like it at all. He didn't get entangled in the bigger stuff, he didn't jump from world to world, he didn't play around with people who had powers. Jesus. This was insane. This was completely, completely insane. "And who are you?"

"I'm Seth Cohen. I was running that booth because I created this comic called Atomic County based on the life I lead with my friend Ryan while we were in high school in Southern California. But I'm sorry. That's irrelevant. What do you mean you don't care about Marvel or DC? They're the two major food groups, they're the super powers of the comic world. They are who every writer and artist want to be involved with..."

Seth pointed to a man dressed in a full Deadpool costume -- a better one than Seth could remember seeing. "There are three there. That one... Hey, guys. That one doesn't have his blades tagged." Looking around, all others in cosplay had orange or green or bright blue bands around their blades, their guns, even their bows. "... Neither do any of you... Are you... Are you going to create some kind of mass killing? Oh god, i've gotten mixed up in the worse kind of crowd. I'm worse than Marissa with Volchuck. And that got her killed. Look. If any of you are going to go rogue, please let it be the Green Arrow. Marvel doesn't need any of the bad rap right now."

The group stopped. Oliver looked at Matt, who was focused entirely on the sound of that Deadpool's heartbeat. Matt looked like shit, Ollie thought, pale and sweating more than he usually did, but he still trusted the man's senses -- and when he saw the slight tightening of Matt's lips, he knew.

"Done," Ollie said to Seth. In an instant, he had nocked and aimed an arrow. "Sebastian Moran!" he snapped -- and only one Deadpool turned, the one with the untagged weapons. In the same instant, Oliver fired. The arrow slammed into Wade's thigh, the force of it enough to take him down -- and he was pinned to the floor. It wouldn't last long, though, and they all knew it. Ignoring the screams, Oliver fit another arrow, but Carol had already moved. She straddled Wade, pinning his arms to his sides.

"Heeeyyy, Carol! Is that you? Gosh, I didn't recognize you in this, um, marvelous place!"

"Give us the stone," she growled.

"How about I give you my fist in your face?" he asked, and jerked an arm free, but Oliver stepped on his wrist and held it down before he could do anything. "I don't have it anymore! Ow, Jesus, what the hell, man?"

In the background, someone whispered, "Oh my god, it's a live performance!" and the shrieks mostly began quieting.

Matt leaned against the wall, out of the picture.

"Where is it." Oliver pressed down harder, absolutely furious. "You stole it. You brought us here. What did you do with it?"

"I gave it to some shiny gold guy." Wade shrugged as best he could. "Adam something. Real crazy eyes. Actually, he looked a lot like Captain Space Lesbian's boy-toy slash mentor. Sort of like maybe Jim Starlin couldn't get over his Mar-Vell crush and just haaaaad to keep drawing him. Except spraypainted gold. I mean, wow, talk about jaundice."

"Who the hell is he talking about?" Oliver looked at Carol.

"I don't--" but she didn't get the chance to finish. Somehow, Wade managed to throw both of them off. He kicked her square in the chest, punched Oliver, flipped away, and was gone.

The room applauded.

The room applauded, but Seth had been pushed back against a wall when the Arrow had pulled his weapon, his untagged weapon. And "Sebastian Moran? Like the Sherlock Holmes character? What in the hell does he have to do with Comic Con? I mean, there's a Sherlock panel tomorrow, but there is no canon adaptation of Moran on that show..." But talking, now, seemed ill advised. He watched the performance slipping behind a few of the spectators.

Looking at the Daredevil who was hiding along the edge of the wall, Seth carefully moved to the doorway through which they'd entered. "Warlock?" If there's a Warlock that's involved in this... cosplay or whatever, Seth knew they needed to get out of here. He had to get Ryan.

Warlock? The concern in the word was enough to attack Matt's attention. He turned towards the young man who'd been helping them -- Seth -- but the kid was already too far away. Pressing his arm a little more firmly against his body, Matt touched the fingertips of his left hand to the wall and started moving along it, trying to follow the kid. Oliver and Carol had already taken off after Wade, and he had to believe they'd catch him -- but if this kid knew who Deadpool had given the infinity stone to, they couldn't afford to waste that information.. or so he'd been led to believe. He still wasn't entirely sure just what the hell it was.

"Wait... wait... Seth! Please." Matt froze when someone whipped around and almost whacked him in the face with their foam sword, but it missed him by a quarter of an inch. He swore silently, ducked under it, then left the wall and moved after the kid as quickly as he could. "Seth?"

"Listen, Daredevil? Or whoever you are," Seth turned on a heel, hand lifted to his mouth, held just in front of it as he tried to come up with the right way to tell him that he couldn't get involved. "I don't know why you wanted me to get involved with this? I don't... I just want to get my friend out of here. Because while everybody else thinks that was a show, your friend in green actually smelled like blood, and you haven't stopped clutching your side until... well, until now. And I don't believe that was an act. I'm not saying I believe the characters of my favorite graphic novels are real, though how cool would that be. But if you are real? And if you're really getting Warlock involved. I just want to go home before all hell breaks loose."

Matt felt like the world was twisting out from under him for the second time that day, listening to this madness. The kid seemed to not only know who they were -- that had been disturbing from the first time he started speaking to the others -- but he thought they were fictional. Maybe Oliver and Carol knew how to handle that, but Matt didn't. This was never what he had signed up for, but it was too late now.

He pulled off his hood and shoved it in his pocket. Although he hated to do this, hated to let people see the way his eyes wandered and sometimes seemed to shiver, he knew that eye contact meant something to the sighted, even when they knew he couldn't see back.

"My name's Matt. Not Daredevil. Seth, look, please. I don't know -- what's going on. I'm not a superhero. I'm a vigilante in Hell's Kitchen. And this -- this is way above my pay grade. But what I do know is that we need help -- information. And maybe it was fate or chance or God, but something put you in our path, and maybe there was a reason for that. Thanos has all of these -- these infinity stone things, I don't -- I don't know what they are. But he wants to destroy the universe, and Carol seems to think he can, if he gets the last one.

"Which Deadpool took. This Warlock guy.. if you know something, please help us. Please. You don't have to get involved, you can turn and run and never look back, but please just -- tell me what you know."

"What I know? What I know is your name is Matt Murdock. Your father's name was Jonathan "Battling Jack" Murdock. He raised you alone, claiming that your mother had died. He wanted you to be more successful than you, like any parent would. He urged you to constantly study instead of playing sports or actively making friends. He hoped that you would become a doctor or a lawyer, which, for the record, is what you did with your best friend, Foggy Nelson. He always referred to himself as an 'uneducated pug' and didn't want you to be like him. But because he wouldn't let you make friends, you got bullied, trained in his gym... Do I need to go on?"

Matt's jaw dropped and he went paler than he had been. He took a step back and held his hand up as if he needed to ward Seth away. The words had come flying out of nowhere, powerful jabs, and he felt sicker than he had a minute ago.

"No," he said, voice suddenly a little hoarse. "No. You..." He wanted to leave. Christ, he wanted to leave, to get the hell out of here and away from this kid -- but Oliver and Carol might not catch Deadpool, and if they were right, bigger shit rested on this. His personal comfort couldn't matter. "Seth. Please. Who is Adam Warlock.. and how do I find him?"

"Oh god... where to start. For the longest time he was just referred to as Him. He...is known for enlisting the aid of the Avengers, and your Captain Marvel in order to stop Thanos. During this battle, his younger self shows up and takes the soul of the older one... He ended up in this Soul World gem? Anyway. After Thanos was resurrected, he collected all the gems and formed the gauntlet. When certain beings tried to resist him, he captured them and threw them into the soul gem with Warlock. Naturally, they all met, and they tried to convince Warlock that Thanos needed to be defeated again.

"But here's the catch. Warlock gets the gauntlet, and then becomes this new near supreme being of the universe. And Adam Warlock? He doesn't care about life. He wants a perfect existence. He wants the gauntlet for himself. So if he has the gems? If Deadpool gave him the last one? Well, in the comics, the Living Tribunal told him that he couldn't be trusted with it and made him divvy up the gems. When Warlock had the gauntlet, he ridded himself of good and evil. He just became this.... being of pure logic. Man, I don't know how to not overwhelm you with his history. I can already see that what I knew about you was too much. But from what I've read of Warlock? Him having the gauntlet is as bad or worse than Thanos..."

Seth shrugged, looking around, trying to let some of his anxiety wither away. "He's too logical. He's always right. But you can never trust him to do the right thing."

Matt shook his head. This was too much. This was too damn much. Still, too much or not, there was no choice but to deal with it. So, after a moment, he nodded. It was a small gesture, but for Matt, it was more than just the acknowledgement of the information; it was an agreement. He'd asked, he'd heard, and now he had to act. It felt,  to Matt, like he had just agreed to die -- but he reminded himself that was what he'd chosen. Time and again, he'd chosen death for himself if it meant life for someone else, and this was no different, terrifying a prospect as it was.

"Okay," he said, soft and calm now. "Thank you, Seth. You should... probably go. Get your friend. Hide. Wait it out. I'll try and -- if we can, we'll keep the fight out of the city. Away from -- people."

He should listen, of course he should. Seth wasn't the Ironist. Ryan wasn't the Fists of Fury. Regardless of what his own comics claimed.

"But you're in no condition to face Warlock. Hell, you're in no condition to face Deadpool. Just... Be safe, yeah? I'm a fan of what you do. And Elektra was never right for you."

Matt visibly flinched at the name and he took a step back, nodding. "Yeah. Yeah. Right. Okay. Um. Thank you. Be safe. As safe as you can. Just, uh -- be safe." He hesitated, feeling like this wasn't over somehow, but it had to be. The longer he talked to the kid, the longer it would be before the kid could run off and find somewhere safe.

"Good luck with your comic. I hope that your -- your characters never have to really suffer. Go hide." Matt turned and slipped away, back the way he had come -- exactly the way he had come, following the memory out rather than try to find his way anew, too lost in thought, too distracted by the foundations of his world being nothing more than ash and dust.

Seth watched him leave, pursing his lips, feeling like he should get involved.

He shouldn't get involved.

Ryan would get involved.

He'll understand.

Without calling out to the other man, Seth silently followed him through the crowd.

How much trouble could he get into, anyway?

Matt stopped when he got to the place that he had first touched the wall. Oliver and Carol were still gone -- probably for the best, he knew, but how the hell was he supposed to get any kind of message to them? They needed to know about Warlock, they needed to know how bad this really was --

But he might need to go to a hospital. Arm throbbing, his abdomen aching in a deeper, worse way than the broken bone, Matt leaned against the wall for a moment. The room was absolute din, but there was one softer place in the wall of sound -- a muted place. An open door. Not a door to the outside -- no fresh air -- but it went in the right direction, he thought. He would have to cross the room to get to it, which he wasn't looking forward to doing, not in the shape he was in. Just finding Deadpool had felt like it took whatever remaining strength he had, and now, all he wanted was to find somewhere cool and quiet to curl up and stay.

But that wasn't an option. The kid had given him valuable information, and since they couldn't go back to him to get more -- they couldn't risk putting a target on his back -- he had to stay alive to use that information.

Matt put his mask back on, awkwardly with just one hand. He couldn't go into the crowd with his eyes exposed. People would see. They could get in, but he couldn't stop them, not if his eyes were uncovered. The weight of the hood was subtle but familiar, and he gave a small sigh of relief. He'd get out there, find a way out of the building, find Oliver and Carol and...

It would be fine.

Matt headed into the crowd. It took longer to cross than he had hoped - unless it just felt like it took an age - and then finally he was in an almost quiet hallway. He followed the hints of fresh air until he found an exterior door, pushed it open, and then stepped out into the wonderful warmth of a beautiful day.

Queasy, he tried not to stumble or limp, tried to look as normal as possible as he headed towards the sidewalk but he didn't make it far. Finding a planter, he stopped and leaned against it, hunching over. "No," Matt growled to himself. "Don't do this."

People were starting to stare, and some of the security guards had heard about the show, the one that had not been on the itinerary. Seth had slipped through the people, almost reaching out more than once as Matt had moved along.

Outside, when Matt leaned against the planter, Seth reached to take him by the elbow and take him into a corner created by an inward jut of the wall. "I was never a lifeguard, or anything. But I did take a first aid class once. Where are you hurting?" His fingers moved carefully over ribs, counting, feeling for cracks. "I can drive you to a hospital. I'll call Ryan and have him look for your friends, if you want."

Matt had tensed at the unfamiliar touch, but he relaxed just as quickly. He wasn't too proud to accept help when he needed it -- at least once he admitted to himself that he needed it. Still, he couldn't monopolize this kid's time.. and the kid was supposed to be hiding.

"Aren't you supposed to be.. not here?" he asked, reaching out to put his good hand on Seth's shoulder, steadying himself. "It's in my side," Matt answered and cleared his throat. "Lower, lo-- mm. There." He took as deep a breath as he could and when he let it out, he could hear it shaking. The place he'd stopped Seth's hand wasn't on the last rib, but a few inches below it, where Matt's muscles had bunched up hard as rocks. "I fell on it during the fight. That and my arm -- but that's just a broken bone. This is... Not." He swallowed against the pain. "You shouldn't be getting involved," he said, forcing the words out as calmly as he could, hand clenching just a little too tightly around the kid's shoulder.

Shit.

Matt let go. "Sorry."

That would bruise, likely, but Seth had grit his teeth as his shoulder was clutched.

He held the spot, where Matt was hurting, and Seth tried not to get overly excited that he was essentially in the middle of a comic. He thought about all the people who would walk away from this, and that he, too, should likely be one of those people. But Ryan would be ashamed of him. Sure he'd never directly say it. But Seth needed to get involved. Always. That's what made life exciting, wasn't it? That's what made the difference between being the nerd everybody ignored, and the hero of your own comics.

"That's likely true; there are many times where I look back on my history and I think that I shouldn't have gotten involved, or that Ryan shouldn't get involved but those never make the good stories." Who knew, maybe Seth could sell a pitch for a cross over some day. Or maybe, if nothing else, he could draw it up for himself.

"Now, will you let me take you to the hospital? Or are you going to be one of the stubborn super hero types and insist that you're completely fine. Because, and this is just a personal opinion, but I think your rib is maybe not supposed to be doing that."

"It's not my rib," Matt said quietly. "It's..." Internal bleeding. It's bad. "...soft tissue damage. It's deep. I should be okay, but.. The ribs hurt, but this is... I.." He couldn't get the kid involved -- but he needed help. Matt hesitated a moment longer, then nodded. "Please. Take me to the hospital."

And please forgive me. I'm so sorry.

"It would be convenient, now, if I were Ryan. Because I'd just pick you up and carry you to the car." He laughed awkwardly, took Matt by the hand, and then offered as much strength as he could.

"You said you should be okay, but considering you can barely walk and..." he stopped to give Matt time to breathe, lifting the edge of his shirt just enough to the black bruise that was already spreading across his abdomen. "Yeah. That's kinda what I figured. Let's go."

Seth didn't know San Diego. He plugged in his phone and typed in the hospital, looking for the closest one. Then went around to open the back door. "Lay across the seat. I think that's what's going to be better for you, rather than sitting up the whole way."

With Matt situated, Seth sent a quick text to Ryan and then took off. "Hey... So, I know this is maybe asking a bit too much of the universe, but I kind of need you to not die."

"Okay," Matt agreed, with a soft laugh. It was a strange sound -- cynical and happy at once, an honest promise and a bitter admission of what reality really was. "I won't die in the back of your car. That'd be a pretty crappy way to repay someone for trying to save me, after all.."

Still, now that he was laying down, it was hard to want to stay awake. There was no way that any of this could be real. The entire day was insane -- the premise of the day was insane. It was a bad dream. All of this. There was no Californian supernerd convention where people spoke like prophets. There was no Adam Warlock, no Thanos, no infinity gauntlet. There was no kind, strange young person named Seth who seemed torn between the hyperactivity of youth and the blossoming calm and kindness of an adult. None of this was happening. Matt wasn't dying in the backseat of a car because he couldn't be dying in the backseat of a car -- it was just all too nuts.

-

Several hours passed before anyone came back out to the waiting room. The person who did was a young, suntanned doctor with dyed red hair and green contacts. She looked around and when a nurse pointed Seth out to her, she walked over him to.

"You're the one who bought the John Doe in? Guy with the broken arm, the injury on his side?"

Seth stood, thinking about how much this woman reminded him of Julie Cooper, but that was no reason to not trust her, certainly.

Or so he told himself.

"I am. Is he... I mean, will he be okay?"

"Would you like to come back and see him? He asked to se-- to talk to you. If you're still here. I can tell him you left, you know -- you don't need to get involved in... whatever this is."

"Do I look that innocent? You know, when I was in high school..." But he couldn't even finish the thought. Seth stood and nodded. "Yes, of course I want to go back to see him. Thanks for your concern, or whatever. But yeah. Please. Take me back there."

The doctor gestured for him to walk in front of her, her unnaturally colored eyes gleaming under the fluorescent lights.

"He should live," she said as they walked back through a maze of corridors. "There was some internal bleeding, but you got him here quick enough. Everything's closed up and cleaned up; your friend just needs to mend. But tell me." Her voice sounded just a shade too innocent, too casual, as she asked, "How did you two meet?"

His brow pinched together and he glanced at the woman, rolling his shoulders. He didn't understand the impulse to lie, but at least he wasn't Ryan. That kid sucked at lying.

"He's been working in the booth next to me through all of Comic Con. Some idiot kids came in and started... I don't know. It was like a riot? Man. Comic nerds can get carried away. But he's a nice guy. His name is Matt. But that's all I know about him."

"He must be a stunt guy or something." She smiled and took him into an elevator. When the doors shut, she stared at Seth before reaching over and hitting the button for the next floor up. "Lots of scars. What's your name?"

"Seth Cohen," he replied, suddenly feeling quite untalkative. "Wait. Wasn't he blind?" It was better to treat him like a normal guy. "I mean. Not that he can't be a stunt guy and blind. California is the place of dreams, right?"

"You ever hear of a blind stunt guy? I guess weirder things have happened. How old are you, Seth?"

"I'm 26. Im sorry, but why is this important?"

"Oh, I'm just curious." She smiled at him again, like he needed to be reassured, then led him down one more hall and into Matt's room.

Matt looked terrible. He looked worse. Significantly worse. There were fresh bruises all over his face and his knuckles. His broken arm hadn't been set and looked like it was swelling badly, and as if the bones weren't quite straight. He was hooked to a few IVs, his eyebrow and lip were split, and he was restrained -- both wrists, ankles, and a strap around his waist, his chest, and his neck.

The doctor put her hand on Seth's shoulder. "You really should tell me the truth," she purred. "He's a very, very dangerous person. Security had a tough time with him... And you don't want to get involved in something like this. Trust me. Now tell me the truth."

Seth squirmed from under the touched and moved closer to Matt, a hand over his mouth, trying to understand what had happened.

"What? I told you the truth. His name is Matt. He worked in the booth next to me. What did you do to him? I'm calling the police."

"Don't worry... We've already called the appropriate authorities." She shut the door and it locked automatically. Smiling, the doctor leaned against it and took a syringe out of her pocket. "Have a seat, Seth.”

"No. What? No. What are you?" He pulled his phone out to call Ryan. Because somehow he would help. "No. I'm reporting you all. What have you done to him?" Seth moved to the far side of the bed, reaching to touch him gently. "I'm sorry, man. I thought I was helping you."

Matt's lips twitched, and then the fingers of his good hand twitched, but he didn't wake.

"You're not going to get a signal in here. All you need to do is sit down and relax. It'll all be over soon.." Her smile widened. "Hail Hydra."

"Hail... What?" Seth's eyes went wide. There's no way this was real. The group, sure. But this...

"What do you want from me?"

"I told you, darling. All I want is the truth about this man. But if you won't give it to me..." She smiled, the very picture of beauty and malicious insincerity. "You won't be any use to me, will you?"

Seth's chin lifted, and the frown on his face showed how close he was to being sick. "Well, since you have trouble believing this face, which I must say is really strange, because I've always been honest, and I'm not sure what you're expecting to get from me? I was born in Newport. I went to high school at harbor. My parents adopted my brother when we were both 16. He dated the girl next door on and off for a few years. Then she died in a car accident. He was there with her when she did. He and I thought about becoming a thing. But with us spending so much time as brothers. We just couldn't get past it. So I don't know why you think I'm lying about this guy I don't know..."

"Oh, you poor, poor dear." There wasn't an ounce of sympathy in her, and she took the cap off the needle, then rested her thumb on the plunger. "Is a stranger really worth your life? He's a bad man, Seth Cohen... with the adopted brother, the tragic backstory, and a family that will surely miss you when you're gone... A vulnerable family, no doubt." She was enjoying this, and her voice went a bit sultry. "Such a darling young man you are.."

"I don't think he's the danger, lady. I think you are." He reached for whatever he could get his hands on -- a rod to hold up bags of medication -- and held it over Matt's body. "I also don't think you're pretty, so you can knock it off with the fake charm."

"Okay." She smiled and lunged at Seth, seeking to grab the rod with one hand so she could inject the obstinate little shit with the other. Stupid brat!

Seth swung as much as he could. He wasn't a fighter. Never had been. But he could swing the rod, and with the strength of a nerd, struck her over the head with it. He jabbed and ended up entirely wound in tubes and the likes, but by the time he was done, she'd nicked his arm with the needle, but he'd managed to make her unconscious. Running to unlock the door, and then take the brakes off the bed, Seth did his best to get them out of that damn hospital.

By the time he was pushing the bed out of the door, Matt started to come to. Sort of. He tried to sit up and winced when he couldn't. For a moment, he looked both truly frightened and truly angry, but then he recognized the smell that was with him, recognized the heartbeat he'd had so much time to listen to in the car.

"Seth. What's.. happening?"

"Apparently hydra knew you were here. Though why they were interested in you, I don't know. Doesn't much matter. We're getting out of here."

"What's hydra?" Matt tried to move again, but bit back a cry of pain when he tugged on his broken arm. "F... can you let me out? I'll move.. faster.. with you... Walking." A plus communication skills there, Murdock.

"The avengers? Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes? Never mind. They're evil." He pulled more tubes free and then stopped the bed, offering a hand, stopping to seemingly catch his balance, eyes closing for a moment. "Weird. Okay. Man. Let's get you out of here. I thought I was helping, but I've only hurnmk..." Seth cleared his throat. "Hurt you more."

Hydra. Right. Hydra. Matt's head felt like he was still halfway asleep, barely able to function, but he did his best to focus. When the restraints around his body were unclipped and the heavy, padded straps taken away, Matt carefully sat up -- but he froze when the kid's throat seemed to tighten.  He tried to focus on listening to his heart and his blood, but he couldn't, he couldn't.

Fuck.

"You.. didn't hurt me. What's wrong? Who... hurt you? We've got to, um.." Matt got to his feet, nearly fell, but caught himself with his good arm against the wall. "Go. Are you okay?"

Over exaggerating his nod, Seth tried to wave off the concern, tried to catch Matt when he almost fell, but had to grip the bed rail as that almost pulled him to the ground.

"I'm. 'M fine. I should have helped you. I came to help you. I dnnn rememner the walls being red..."

Fuck. Something was really wrong with the kid. (Kid. When Matt finds out he's only two years older than Seth, he'll feel like an idiot).

He forced his body to obey him as he moved to support Seth. "Time to go." If Hydra owned this hospital, they couldn't stay, but where the hell could they go?

Whatever. They'd figure it out on the go. Matt wrapped his broken arm around Seth and started moving down the hall. "You don't. Dont sound so good."

Seth shook his head, trying to clear it. "Right. We gotta get you out."

He wrapped an arm around Matt in return, trying to help him walk, trying to figure out why this color red made him want to puke. Why red, tho. It was such a stressful color. Reminded him of combat and...

"Matt? It's been hourssss. Where are your frnnns?"

Matt shook his head. He didn't know where they were. He was in agony, but Seth needed help and that meant -- what, another hospital? The kid could die on the way, and Matt would exhaust himself even more than he already was. He'd never be able to fight off... hospitals never had red walls, did they?

Strange. Matt took him back down to the ER. "Help. My friend's sick. Something... is wrong. Help him."

The nurse gave Matt a confused look. She remembered his black clothes, but hadnt he been admitted? So why was he still in them? Still, she focused on the other man.

"Can you tell me what's going on?" She asked, and it sounded like she actually gave a damn.

"My frnnn has a broken arm. Bleeding. Lady upseerrrmsss. In room. Tried to kill him. N me. Caught me with drrttyyy needeemlll." Seth looked at the woman, his stomach rolled.

"Why red walls? Help him."

From there, things happened quickly. Seth was admitted. Matt was admitted. The police were called and security was stepped up.

Hours passed. When Matt woke, he sensed at once that he was safe. He wasn't in a hospital, which surprised him, but he was safe. His body ached all over and moving at all sounded like the worst idea he'd ever had, so he just lay still and listened.

Seth was next to him in the hotel bed, asleep, clean, stable enough.

Oliver and Carol were in the other room, talking grimly about Hydra having followed them here. Oliver sounded tired but better, and Carol sounded just like she had since Matt met her: intimidating, calm, and strong.

They hadn't caught Deadpool.

Oliver's blood pressure was low.

Matt blinked a few times, his useless eyes feeling dry and tired, and then he closed them. Thank God, he thought. Thank God they'd all gotten out alive. Although it hurt to do, he carefully slid his unbroken arm over and slid his hand around the kid's

You saved me, kid, Matt thought. I promise to do whatever it takes to protect you.

He stayed quiet and still after that. He wanted to get up and get something to drink, he wanted to pee, he wanted to go put his hand on Oliver's shoulder and tell him to get rest, but he couldn't quite convince himself to move yet. He'd wait until Seth woke, he told himself; then, Matt wouldn't have to feel guilty for waking the kid up.

Seth didn't remember a lot of what happened after they'd had to sedate him, ironic as that seemed. He'd fought, when they'd taken Matt away. Argued, yelled, threatened to throw punches he really didn't know how to throw. He'd slurred his way through trying to explain that Matt hadn't looked like that when he'd brought him here, but how much of his ravings they could actually understand through his dosage of cobra venom was undetermined.

Next there was sleep, peace, and no more red walls.

Seth woke with a tiny jerk, but his hand rested under Matt's. Knowing what he did of the Daredevil comics, he knew there would be no sense in pretending to sleep. His breathing and heart rate were bound to change.

Looking around the room, he smiled lightly, then pulled his hand free, moving to sit up at the edge of the bed. "You look better. I'm glad. I would hate to have to tell people that I caused Matt Murdock to fall into the hands of Hydra, just because I insisted on a hospital in San Diego." He laughed awkwardly, shrugging. "Ryan would be jealous -- all the adventure I had today. And the fight with the woman. I'll have to ham that story up a bit, I suppose. Just so it's especially difficult for him to believe..."

"I'd be dead if you hadn't insisted. You saved my life twice today. Thank you." Matt put his good hand on his side, feeling the site of what seemed to have been a surgery of some sort. Thick bandages covered the area that had hurt the worst, and he could feel new wound edges in it.

"You.." Matt had to clear his overly dry throat. "You deserve much more than to have almost died yourself. I'm sorry. You... I'm sorry."

There was a soft sound at the door and then Oliver opened it. He looked like an almost normal human being now, in jeans and a t-shirt, barefoot and bruised and bandaged.

"You were injected with cobra venom," Oliver explained, not sure how much the kid remembered. "How are you doing? Do you need anything?"

Though he'd been on the verge of making some kind of sarcastic comment in reply to Matt's gratitude, because Seth truly didn't know how to accept it without putting on a faux show of arrogance, his thoughts were cut off when the Arrow made his appearance as Oliver Queen.

"Yeah, man. My own cape and eye mask. Is that something that like, comes with the first super deed, or am I going to have to learn to sew? I could probably manage it, I can certainly design it, but what fabric have you found that works best with the sweating and the stretching and all that."

He smirked. "Also, can we talk super chicks? Because I can't lie, a girl that could kick my ass for the good of man kind is worth getting to know, at least over breakfast."

Looking back at Matt, Seth's expression sobered a little. "Any more whispers about Warlock?"

"Warlock?" Oliver asked. He came in, shut the door, and sat down on the edge of the bed by Matt, needing to know that he was alright.

Matt took a moment to explain everything Seth had told him. Although his voice shook a little from sheer exhaustion, he spoke with a quiet conviction, as if he truly believed that everything Seth had told him had relevance. Oliver watched Seth as Matt spoke. When Matt was done, Ollie nodded and started petting his hair, but his eyes were still on Seth. He was willing to accept the man was a necessary addition, but he wasn't as trusting or accepting as Matt was, as a general rule.

Still, the fabric thing was an easy enough topic. "Most of my gear is leather," Oliver answered, "some wool."

"I wear... I think the brand is called UnderArmour?" Matt said. "For the shirt. Then just.. regular cargo pants. Cotton." This was the weirdest conversation.

Oliver pulled the blanket down to look at Matt's bandages and make sure they were still in place, then he tucked him back in and looked at Seth again. "Going to take up a life of suffering and scars?"

Fighting crime would be awesome. But Seth was in no way qualified. This was what he did when around figures who intimidated. He talked about himself, without letting the conversation actually delve too deep into him.

"That was the whole point to me making the graphic. Story of a boy, living in Newport, looking to fight the white collar criminals with Cosmo Girl and Little Miss Vixen. So clearly I have a 10 year head start. Started those stories when I was 16... and I've read enough of your stories to know all the tactical information any kid could need."

Growing quiet, Seth again shrugged off concern. "I'm gonna use the bathroom."

"He's twenty-six?" Matt asked in surprise once Seth left the room.

"...how old did you think he was?"

"Maybe... nineteen?"

Oliver smiled and shook his head, then leaned down and kissed Matt softly on the lips, his heart aching with all of the love they'd agreed not to feel anymore -- an agreement both were failing at, more often than not. "Are you okay?"

"I won't be fighting anytime soon, will I?" Matt licked his lips. He could still taste Ollie's kiss, but he could also taste Oliver's blood on the air, even tucked away under bandages as it was. "I should have been protecting him, Ollie. He fought someone for me. He didn't have to... I wish..."

They both knew what he wished, and both knew how futile the words were to say aloud. After a moment of quiet, Oliver carefully helped Matt get up. Mostly supporting him, he helped him out to use the bathroom once Seth was done.

As for Carol, she was on the bed out there, also in jeans and a t-shirt, drinking a glass of water and watching the news with the sound off and captions on. When Seth came out from the bathroom, she nodded to him.

"Thank you for saving Matt."

Seth stepped back into the room just as, it appeared, a moment seemed to dissolve between Oliver and Matt.

"Interesting crossover," he muttered to himself. "The fan fiction writers would lose their minds if they happened upon this."

His ramblings were cut off by Carol's voice. Seth would never say it out loud, but he didn't know much about her story. The original Captain Marvel, sure, but other fandoms had originated Seth had lost track of that particular story line.

"Honestly, it's not in my nature to be modest. Quite the opposite, actually, I'm known to be self-absorbed and fairly insufferable. So believe me when I say I did nothing but deliver him into the hands of Hydra. He more saved himself in trying to save me. I, admittedly, don't have the hair to be a damsel in distress, it's true, but I think we worked well together."

"Matt doesn't have hero hair, so you're a good match," Oliver pointed out, giving a tired grin as he helped Matt lay down on the bed Carol was on. "Okay. So. Breakdown. Carol, have you ever seen those things we were fighting, before the breach opened?"

Carol glared at Oliver and shook her head. She was too tired for this team recap shit, but decided to suck it up and be grateful that Oliver was willing to take the leadership role here. She might be the group dad, but Ollie was definitely mom (much as Matt might have wanted the role).

"Okay. Matt?"

"Have I seen them?" Matt asked.

Oliver flipped him off and sat down on one of the room's few chairs. He looked over at Seth, so the kid would know he was invited to stay, then looked at Matt, who was wearily giving him the bird right back. "You know what I mean."

"Yeah. But no. I haven't. They smelled similar to some of the Chitauri forces that attacked New York, but obviously these were much smaller. Well. Mostly smaller."

"You seemed pretty confident about fighting them."

Matt shook his head. "Holding back was never really my style. Besides. We had to try..."

Silence fell, then Oliver sighed and rubbed at his forehead. A few minutes later, the conversation resumed, Ollie keeping the other two focused on recalling what had worked and what hadn't -- and all of them avoided talking about Deadpool for now. Eventually, he looked back at Seth again. "Hydra isn't *usually* a real life problem here, is it?"

"Hydra? Considering it's just a facet of Nazi Germany, my quick answer would be no, they dissipated after they lost the war. There aren't really beings like any of you in this world. No super charged runners or billionaires who fight crime at night. Nor are there, technically, super villains. Though. To counter myself, if you consider the current president elect of the United States, something can be said for a resurgence of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi elites."

He shrugged, having been looking down at his hands while they had all regrouped, listening, making mental notes for when he woke from this bizarro dream.

"So what are your plans? Technically, in this city, this week, you won't look so out of place while dressed for fighting crime. But the police are also on high alert because people tend to let their imaginations get the better of them. And, as you realized with your friend, you can't trust the costumes people wear."

"Wade is never exactly... subtle," Carol said, trying to at least be somewhat kind with the word choice. "We're going to split up. Ollie will look for him, I'll handle this Warlock guy if I can find him."

"And I'll--"

"Rest," Oliver interrupted Matt. "You were picked up and smashed down against a car by a giant tentacle monster -- thing. Just stay put."

Matt muttered something unflattering but accepted it. He knew he was in over his head here, especially with the injuries.

"Which brings us to you, Seth." Oliver met the kid's eyes again. "You found out the hard way that life is safer when you're not with us. I suggest, strongly suggest, you get away from us and never look back -- but if you want to stay involved, we won't stop you. We just can't promise your safety."

"You think life is easy? Dealing with privileged and over funded people like... well, everyone in Newport," including himself, but who really needed to know that? "Anyway. Life is full of these little decisions, Oliver. Can I call you Oliver? Or do you prefer Arrow? Anyway. I learned in high school when I met Ryan that safety is overrated and sometimes life is worth risking.

"Besides, when I wake up from this awesome dream, and go to jot down ideas for my next issue, how bummed am I going to be if I just said 'you're right, I'll sit this one out.'"

Oliver couldn't stop himself from smiling, although even his smile had a hard edge to it, something dangerous in the eyes.

"Okay. You're sticking with us. You'll either come with me or guard Matt. Carol's hard to keep up with. And if you're going to stick around, call me Ollie."

"Look, I'm adventurous, but I'm not delusional. Well, not about this, anyway. But I don't have any abilities to offer you out there. If it's cool, I'll stick around and help make sure your friend has to move from his healing place as little as necessary."

Seth looked back and offered a crooked smile to Matt, then shrugged. "At least until you find a way to drug me or knock me out to make your escape."

"I'm not going to drug you or escape," Matt answered, a little indignant.

Oliver scratched Matt behind the ear.

Matt growled. "Seth, please tell him I'm not a cat."

"Yeah. You are." Ollie started scratching under Matt's chin, then pet his insane hair for a minute before straightening up. "Okay. I'm going after Wade." He tossed a wallet to Carol, who set it down on the table next to Matt.

"You two... aren't sleeping?" Matt asked, feeling guilty and useless. He started to get up, but when his face went white he swore and relaxed again.

"We did. A little. Earlier." Oliver started for the door, then looked at Seth. "You sure you can handle him? He gets grouchy."

With a short spurt of laughter, Seth waved Ollie's concern away. "Believe me. There's nothing quite as grouchy as the kid from Chino who's denied his bagel and coffee on a morning when his girlfriend is claiming she's boycotting the next fundraiser..."

Seth looked at all three, noticing the vacancy in regards to his reference, and then again waved Ollie toward the door. "What I'm saying is we'll be fine. I've dealt with worse."

Oliver considered this, smirked a little, and nodded. Considering how fussy he and Tommy had been when they were younger, he believed that Seth could handle it.

"Be nice to him, Matt. He's only nineteen."

"Bite me," Matt muttered.

Oliver and Carol left.

"Nine..." Seth's brows furrowed and he looked back at Matt. "I know I've got the ever handsome face of a young man, but I'm closer to 30 than 20..."

Shrugging, Seth moved to turn on the coffee pot. Because this was exactly what he needed while cooped up in a hotel with the daredevil: Caffeine.

"I know you've somehow spun a story where people think I'm a hero, but I want to apologize for handing you over to Hydra."

"I realized that later. About your age I mean. When you said... Ollie was just making fun of me, since I assumed you were a kid. I.. really don't know what you look like, but I.. sometimes underestimate ages.. uh.. by a lot. And.." he pushed himself somewhat more upright, although it wasn't as if he could watch Seth. Matt just hoped that his eyes were behaving; he kept his lids about half closed to be sure.

"You got me to the hospital to begin with. I needed it. Hydra aside, you got me where I needed to be. Surgery, setting and splinting my arm... I might not have made it if you hadn't gotten me there to begin with. I might've just... found some alley to curl up in and hide." And by might, Matt meant probably. "You didn't know they were there. Your intentions were good. That's what really matters."

The coffee smelled sharp and unpleasant, too old and too strong to ever be drinkable, but Matt suspected that to Seth, it probably smelled just fine. Enticing, even. He waited til the kid -- til the not kid was settled, then started talking again.

"So... you think you should call Ryan maybe? Let him know you're okay?"

"Ryan? I called him when I took you to the hospital. I think he figures that was probably somehow code for me hooking up with one of you, and so he doesn't really expect me to come home any time soon."

The coffee did, in fact, smell a little off, a little too old, too stale, to Seth too. But what he drank at home was ground fresh almost daily. It never lasted long enough to go stale. Still, it was something to do with his hands, something to drink.

With a styrofoam cup, he moved back to the bed where Matt was, considering finding somewhere else to sit but decided it didn't matter. "Do you want to sleep? Or I can see if there's some kind of movie on to listen to as background noise? Not that the entire hotel isn't likely background noise for you. I just don't know what to do with absolute silence?"

Matt shook his head. "Do whatever makes you comfortable. I'll probably drift in and out... but.. I'd really like to know more about you, if you don't mind talking for a while...?"

"I feel like this is a trick question. Talking about myself for hours on end is what I do best."

He laughed once, then winced. No more laughing.

"Well... maybe at least tell me how 'going to the hospital' could be code for a hookup?"

There was something oddly comforting about not having to guard his expressions or the looks of concern or disapproval.

"Well, when you're a teen, there are few stories you won't make up in order to get away from your parents for an hour or two. And Ryan? Well, he knows claiming to have to take someone to the hospital isn't out of my wheelhouse. Besides, I didn't tell him the truth about who you all are. He wouldn't believe me anyway. I just gave him a warning to be on the lookout for a Warlock looking guy -- then had to explain to him what that meant -- and told him I'd meet up with him later."

Matt had to bite his lip to keep from laughing again, not wanting the pain, but his smile made it abundantly clear that he was amused.

"You sound like you were trouble as a kid. Maybe still are."

"Actually, I was a loser as a kid. I didn't have friends to get me into trouble until Ryan came along."

His tone was pretty matter of fact, and lacked any real self pity.

"I get by without too much trouble, I think."

"No kid's a loser," Matt objected, quietly and a little sadly. "Friends or not... at least, that's one old man's opinion." Because at twenty-eight, he was clearly much, much older than Seth.

"No, it's alright, being self-absorbed has allotted me plenty of time to become self-aware as well." Seth didn't comment on the age thing, figuring if Murdock was in his early to mid thirties, and if he had, for some reason, thought Seth sounded like a 19-year-old, then there was likely a reasoning behind it.

"He is the only real friend I've ever had. Which, to be fair, we almost ruined more than once by dating, and he's technically my brother? By adoption. I apparently have no separation of church and state..."

This time Matt laughed, then groaned and swore and forced himself to lay flat again. "Fuck. Fucking. Fuck." Moving was intensely painful, but once he was completely flat again he started trying to relax once more.

"Sorry." Stop swearing, Matthew, he told himself.

"For what? I grew up in Orange County with a bunch of water polo playing morons who had no sense of a higher vocabulary." He shrugged. "Besides, there is a scientific study that claims that the use of expletives like 'fuck' is actually helpful when dealing with large amounts of pain."

Matt's eyebrows went up and he opened his mouth, about to say something, but realized that if he did, he'd just start laughing again, which would require more swearing, which would probably make him laugh more, which would probably kill him.

He cleared his throat and made himself focus instead. "Were your parents comfortable with the relationship? It sounds like something that might have been... difficult for many to swallow?"

"My dad was fine with it. My mom... we hid it from her for a while. But there are a limited number of reasons why she might have walked in on us naked in bed together, and on that day, I could think of none of them."

"That.... definitely seems like a difficult one to explain." Matt moved his broken arm around, trying to find a more comfortable position for it, then finally just rested it up alongside his head.

"How are you feeling, by the way? Are you really okay..?"

"I don't remember anything after hitting the woman with the IV rod. Not at all sure how we made it out of that room or what happened next. I just assume you're the hero. Makes for a more believable story anyway."

Seth settled down onto his side, one hand tucked under the pillow. "But I wasn't injured. So you've nothing to worry about."

"You don't consider cobra venom an injury?" Matt asked, speaking a little more quietly now. "And I didn't wake up until you had me in the hall. You wheeled me out in the bed.. I was strapped down.. you were already feeling the venom I think, and you got me free of the restraints and helped me up before you started to go down.. you were in and out of consciousness, we got back down to the ER... you were.. really out of it -- hallucinating red walls.. but you still tried to make them help me first. You fought to keep us from being separated, you didn't even seem afraid of what was happening to you.

"You were pretty brave, Seth. No matter how much you want to downplay it."

A crooked smile slanted across Seth's lips at the last comment. The rest of it? Felt like Matt was talking about someone else. "What nerdy -kid- doesn't want to find a way to save a super hero's life?"

"Well since I'm not a superhero, you'll have to wait til Ollie or Carol gets in trouble," he said, half in earnest and half teasing.

Seth pulled out his phone from his pocket, typing away for a breath of a moment, and then smirking.

"Daredevil is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Daredevil was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Bill Everett, with an unspecified amount of input from Jack Kirby. The character first appeared in Daredevil #1 in April 1964."

He looked over up at Matt, his own brows raised. "The Marvel universe agrees with me, Matt. Deal with it."

"1964 though? I'm only twenty-eight. So I've got a few more years of being a confused, aggressive vigilante before anyone starts making action figures. I hope."

The last two words sounded lighthearted, like all he hoped for was more time before star status, but the truth was that he hoped he had a few more years at all.

"What got you so into comics?"

"Told you. I was a bit of a lo-- loner as a kid. So people like you and Ollie and Barry Allen. You were my friends. Besides, I was pretty sheltered. There is little that is ever dark in Newport. So living vicariously through you all. That's how I spent my nights. That's how I got adventure."

The words made Matt feel strange. He knew that it wasn't real, that the comics really had nothing to do with him, no matter closely aligned the details seemed to be. None of it was real. He wasn't the one who kept a lonely kid company and helped inspire his creativity. *He* didn't inspire people. All he did was frighten them. Still. The notion of ever being able to really help someone's happiness, not just to protect their body, it gave him a sad yearning.

"Maybe I can live up to your Daredevil some day," he murmured.

"Honestly, you've surpassed it. But then, I never expected to receive friendly words from, or to be saved by you. But this fourth wall breaking is more Wade Wilson's style and we don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."

Seth let his eyes drift close, but he wasn't close to sleeping. "What about you? I'd like to hear things I don't know. Like the whole crossover that I happened upon."

"The... what?" Matt was lost.

"You and Oliver Queen? Or even, you and Carol and Oliver. He's..." Seth let out a sigh, trying to make this simple. "You and Carol are from one of the major comic distributors. One of the major universes. Oliver is from another. Are you telling me there's a world where you all just run around Willy nilly?"

Matt had to process this for a few minutes before he could really understand what he was being asked.

"We... live in the same world, yes. We met when he was arrested in New York. He saved a group of children from a shooting situation, but one of the other gunmen claimed Oliver had been working with them from the beginning. Well. The... only surviving gunman. Oliver killed the rest of them that day. He was struggling to come back... and was assaulted in the prison. I got him released, with a tracker, and... he just needed so badly to have someone understand him and let him set boundaries, let him... be broken. Without treating him like he was. I don't know if that's... what you were looking to hear..?"

It was more than he'd asked for, or so he thought. But Seth didn't mind the over share. It a strange way, it made sense that they... well, maybe they weren't together? Maybe they were. It didn't really matter. All that Seth really wanted to know was that one of them hadn't gone looking for Earth Two or something, and therefore found the other. But together, whatever universe they were from, it was the same one.

"Okay, but locker room talk? Because I've never gotten to do it before. Which of your... kind? I don't know what to call you. Advanced humans, heroes, vigilantes, whatever. Which of you is the biggest tool. Because I always figured it would be Stark."

Matt's expression probably said it all: at Stark's name, his smiles vanished entirely.

"Probably," he agreed. "I've never met him, though. Just met his teammates after he tears them up. I'm sure he... is a hero. It's just hard to admire someone who doesn't respect the people that risk their lives along with him."

"Sorry. I didn't mean to hit a nerve. Did you... want to know anything else? Would you like me to let you sleep?"

"No, it's fine. I'm sorry. I've just... Steve and Carol are good people. And Tony.. l. He's the toxic friend that just.. robs them of happiness every time. We can talk about other things though, if you want. I get... protective. Of them."

"It's good. I mean, it's good to be protective of friends. Sometimes that's all that keeps them alive." Seth rolled onto his back, staring up at the ceiling, blinking slowly.

"It's not 1992 where you are, is it? Like. Cell phones and watches you can send text messages from aren't foreign concepts to you, are they?"

Matt turned his face towards Seth. "Did someone..." but he stopped the question before it could finish leaving his lips.

"No, it's 2017. Smart phones are great. Clinton won the presidency."

"Oh, fuck you."

"What did I do???"

"Trump is the president here. What are the odds that I can talk you all into taking me back with you?

"Though, my father will want to come, because he's convinced the world is ending."

"He... but... how.... I mean.. yeah. Come with us and you run the risk of getting murdered by aliens with... apparently more frequency than you do here, but... how the hell did Trump win?"

"The Russians, man. They own this planet." Maybe that wasn't an appropriate joke for someone who doesn't actually know how this planet worked, but they'd work it out. "Anyway. What's a little alien danger compared to a man like that."

"True," he said, maybe a little too emphatically. "Or maybe this is Adam's plan -- give your world something other than itself to fear, to teach it tolerance."

"You call him Adam like he's nothing special." Seth laughed, stretching his arms above his head.

"Okay, serious question. Do you have spare time that you like... practice chess or whittle or whatever? Do super heroes have hobbies?"  

"Others, maybe.. I uh.. I work about sixty hours a week, a lot of it unpaid.. when we can pay our bills, and if I don't feel like I.. have to go out that night.. I work out. Train... or sleep. I don't really, uh, have much of a life.." a wry smile touched his lips. "So who's the loser here now?

"What about you though? When you're not doing art, what do you enjoy?"

"Um... skateboarding, I guess. Hanging out at the pier. Reading. Playing the play station. That kinda thing. I don't do much by way of physical activity, I guess. Mostly I write and draw."

He shrugged. "I asked you about hobbies. You said work and exercise. But are there things you enjoy? Infinity pools? Autumn? The sound of the city?"

Matt was quiet for a long time. If he was going to answer this, he was going to do it honestly, but he knew most people didn't really want honesty. They wanted easy answers. Still, Seth seemed to know more about Matt's own history than anyone else in his life did, other than maybe Elektra, and he was still here, willing to talk... maybe he wouldn't mind the truth.

"I like... the quiet. It's hard to find quiet places, but when I do... it's nice. I like touching smooth things, like glass or metal or a cat. Things that don't snag at all. I like the smell of rain on a hot summer afternoon. And I have this... fantasy, that one day I'll go to Arizona and hike out into the desert and just.. be there. Away from all the city noises, the roads, and it'll be... quiet. Hot. Clean -- cleaner than the city."

In an instant, realizing how much he really had said, Matt looked embarrassed. "I mean I like getting a drink with Foggy and Karen too, of course." Lame. Lame recovery, Murdock.

"Would it be weird if I asked to take you back to my place? It's late now, sure. But I think... I'm not hitting on you. I just want to show you something."

It would be just under a two hour drive back to Newport. And he couldn't offer the rain. But hopefully there would be something he could give.

The thought that Seth would have hit on him at all hadn't occurred to Matt, who assumed he was taken, and the assurance surprised him. Still, he nodded.

"Sure.. can you leave a note though? In case one of them comes back? My uh, handwriting is... pretty atrocious."

He wanted to ask what was there, and part of him just really wanted to stay here, but Seth had gone through so much for them already. The least he could do was humor this one request.

There was a notebook and pen in the nightstand, and Seth left a note. He then made a quick run to the restroom and then moved to the side of the bed to offer Matt his arm.

With quiet instructions about obstacles, Seth led Matt out of the hotel and back to the car that... who the hell had driven it here? One hit of the button told him it was, in fact, his car. "Would you like the backseat again? So you don't have to sit up the whole way?"

"No, if it's okay," Matt said, although there was pain in his voice, "I'd like to sit with you." He appreciated that Seth just understood how his senses worked, and that when Matt was like this -- hurting, worn thin -- his body all but shut down, taking him back to a more 'normal' human state. He needed the guidance. Hell, he needed his cane, and hated not having it.

In the car, Seth kept the music low, and flipped to a classical station. It was either that or some Spanish station. His Death Cab CD had finally bit the dust.

"Are you comfortable? The ride is going to take a while." He looked over at the man in the passenger seat.

"I'm Catholic," Matt said, smiling. "A little suffering is good for the soul."

"So a catholic and a Jew are in a car down a deserted highway." Seth smirked. "Man, that's not even the beginning of a good joke."

Before they were able to make it out of town, however, Seth reached over to touch Matt's arm. "Are you hungry?"

"....well I wasn't before, but now that you had to go and mention it, yes. Dick." He raised his hand and brushed his fingers against Seth's wrist for just a moment, worried that calling him a dick was too much.

But Seth laughed, pulling his hand free a beat after he felt the finger tips on his wrist. "And here I thought I was being nice." He pulled down a side road on the northern outskirts of San Diego, weighing their options.

"Preferences? You're not a vegetarian, are you?"

"No." Matt shook his head. "I'm not. I'm a vegan. Nothing but plants that willingly sacrifice themselves and are farmed without pain."

"Oh, now who's being a dick. Sucks for you that this In and Out clearly sacrifices their first born cows to you like the Jews to god. And that's your only option." He chuckled and pulled up to the drive thru. "What would you like?"

"Something spicy and chickeny if they have it.. and water. If they have it. This is still California, I know it's scarce here.."

Ordering accordingly was fairly easy, including the water, which came in the same, rectangular Fiji bottle that his house was always stocked with.

Then it was time to hit the 405 and head north toward home. The car turned quiet while they ate, and after that, Seth didn't much feel his typical need to fill the silence.

The drive felt easier than he'd expected it to, and as they pulled into his driveway, he could see the sun just beginning to rise at the horizon.

Matt had eaten very slowly, more to continue distracting himself from the pain than to satisfy the hunger. When they had both finished and things went quiet, he closed his eyes and focused on keeping his breathing even, controlled. He let his mind go quiet next, and eventually even managed to drift off, not to wake until the car stopped.

When it did, he lifted his head. "Are we there...?" Matt sounded half awake at best.

"We are," Seth replied, climbing out of the car and going around to help Matt out. He guided him up the steps, through the front door and then to the left through the kitchen and out the back doors. His gaze lingered on the pool house where Ryan once stayed, back when they lived here with his parents. But that was years ago now. His parents lived in Berkeley. And they'd left this place to Seth, should he want it.

It was too much house. But it was also home.

"How opposed are you to getting these clothes wet?"

Matt had to stop and lean against a wall. He was puzzled by the question, and he reached down again to check his surgery dressing. Water resistant, he thought, running his fingers over it before putting his shirt back down.

"Alright." He felt a little lightheaded and sick, but he'd had far worse. Matt straightened up, ignoring the shaking limbs. "What is it?"

"I'm sorry. We're almost there." This time, Seth took Matt by the hands. It was hot and damn near suffocating, even this early in the morning. Southern California was unforgiving, though, but that was why damn near every house had a pool.

There were floating chairs he would offer in a bit, but for now he led Matt into the water, and then gently nudged for him to relax back.

"You won't get lucky enough for rainfall, I think. But if you float, and you let the water... it's the heat of the desert, and the silence that being submersed in water can offer. It's clean. And there is no threat to your safety. Just relax back. I've got you."

He'd tensed at first upon being walked to the edge of the pool, but he hadn't pulled his hands away. Having come this far, it seemed ridiculous to back out now. He nodded and followed his host in, moving very quietly into the water, reluctant to make splashes.

"I thought it.. was going to be something for you," Matt said, still upright. He never spent much time in water, and while he could swim, it always felt foreign. The public pools in New York always smelled like sewage to him, combined with overpowering chlorine. The latter was here, but not so strongly, not with the open air and the heat of the sun.

Eventually, he accepted the urging and lay back in the water. He was tense at first, struggling to convince himself to just relax and *be* here, but once he did, he was grateful.

The heat of the sun warmed his black-clad body through and through. The water amplified every sound in it, from the little ripples to the beating of Seth's heart. It pulsated and, because of the feeling of the sunlight, Matt instantly associated it with gold. He remembered gold... or at least he thought he did.

Matt swallowed hard against the angry despair that always came from those tiny little doubts, and he made himself relax again. Focus on floating, on his friend's heartbeat, on the ever-shifting surface of the water, the temperatures within...

It was nice. Very, very nice. He didn't quite know how to completely relax here, instinct constantly trying to tell him that he would fall, but what he could manage was good enough.

"Thank you..."

"It's not rain. And I know there is a comfort in familiar places -- which this certainly is not, but I hope you'll relax here for a while. And... I'm shutting up now."

Seth reached for one of the floating chairs and propped himself up in it, his own soaked clothes and all, and then just kept an eye on Matt, making sure his expression wasn't one of complete anguish at having to oblige the too nice 'kid' by doing something he hated.

After some time, he finally spoke again. "I also thought... well, a hotel in the center of a city in the middle of Comic Con? Getting out of there might help you clear your head. I'll take you back whenever you want, though."

"You don't have to... do all of this you know. I mean I appreciate it, I do, I just.."

Matt went and climbed out when he felt some of the water finally trickle under the bandage.  He pulled his shirt off, wrung it out, then lay it flat on the concrete next to himself. Every movement seemed to take far more energy than it should have, so he just sat still, arms wrapped around his legs, quietly folding in against the pain.

"I just don't want you going to any trouble for me..." but he knew that was always the kind of thing that led to uncomfortable protestations, so he was quick to ask: "what.. what does it look like? Everything here?"

Seth hadn't meant for it to be trouble. Or for it to seem like trouble. All this was for him was coming home. But, he was tired, and had no interest in trying to tell Matt that this should feel like home to him to. Because things didn't work that way. So he let the protestation go without comment.

"Keep in mind that..." what, that he was given the house? That would make him seem worse than if he'd worked for it. "This was my parents house. It's... over 6,000 square feet. Vaulted ceilings. That kind of thing. But the back yard. That's the best part. The pool is an infinity pool. So the far edge drops off straight into the horizon. The rising sun is orange and red. Pinks and purples fade further out toward the water."

He closed his eyes, starting to feel the fatigue of the past couple days. Not just with the super crew. But just being at Comic Con. He was exhausted. "Would you like to sleep? There are plenty of rooms to sleep by yourself. Or, since this place is foreign to you, I can stay nearby. I know I told you I'd take you back. But I have to sleep before we drive again."

Matt sighed with relief at hearing that Seth needed to sleep first; it was a reassurance that Seth wasn't giving too much up. He had never really learned how to emotionally accept kindness, however much he might need it, and it made it much, much easier when it served someone else's needs.

"Sleep would be great. If you don't mind just.. letting me close enough to hear your heartbeat? If that... isn't too invasive or. You know. Weird."

"Not weird. It makes sense." Seth felt like he'd known Matt his whole life. Which he knew was an unfair advantage for him. He felt comfortable with this man and his abilities.

"But, I don't know how close that is. In the room? We can just use the pool house. It's the fewest stairs. Which I think you need."

"In the room, unless the walls are thin... usually, just being in the same house is enough but I'm not.. not up to normal..  standards. Sorry. And -- thank you. For this. For the -- moment of peace."

"Yeah, man. I hope it was enough." Seth climbed from the pool and reached to offer Matt his hand. He helped him up, and then supported his weight the whole way to the pool house.

Inside, there was a bathroom in the back left corner. A set of wicker drawers on shelves. A small sort of kitchenette that wasn't stocked, and then a California king (of course) sized mattress on a boxed frame on the floor.

"Take the bed. I'm going to get out of these clothes. And then I'll crash on the floor."

"You don't have to sleep on the floor," Matt said, the guilt returning. "The bed's..." he put his fingertips on it and took a few steps. "Definitely big enough. And if you're worried that I'll... make a move on you, I won't." Matt found somewhere to hang his wet things up and did so, moving carefully. The last thing he wanted to do right now was trip and fall in the unfamiliar place, reopen his injuries, and be more of a burden on Seth.

Clothes drip-drying, Matt carefully put the splint back on his broken arm, chest tightening a little at the deep, throbbing pain. Once the splint was firmly velcroed back in place, he cautiously climbed into the bed. It felt amazing, too amazing, and he sighed quietly, happily, and took a moment to just enjoy it. He really shouldn't have gone swimming, not in the state he was in, but it was all so different, so nice, so distracting. The pool, the company that knew him so well and yet still bothered to be kind, the comfortable bed. He didn't feel like he deserved any of this, but Matt admitted to himself that he was too selfish to want to give any of this comfort up.

Seth only nodded, went to the bathroom to hang his clothes over the shower rod, and then returned with a towel wrapped around his waist. This was why he'd been offering to sleep on the floor. Not because of any notion he had that Matt would end up wanting him, but because he'd be in nothing but a towel. But if he stayed on his side of the bed, Matt didn't have to even know, he supposed.

He smiled as he saw Matt already comfortable in the bed, and he climbed into the other side. He scooted just a little closer, now basically laying in the middle of the bed. so he was sure Matt would hear his heartbeat.

The blinds were drawn on the doors, so at least some light was kept at bay, but Seth longed for the darkness nonetheless. "Anything else before we pass out?"

"Hope you aren't offended by me being naked," Matt said, lifting his face from the pillow he'd had it half pressed into. "Otherwise... this bed is amazing... and I'm never leaving." He rubbed his cheek on the pillow.

His eyes were already closed, and he'd wiggled out of the towel, tossing back onto the floor. "Naked is fine," he replied, rolling onto his side, and falling asleep within moments.

It took Matt longer to sleep. Once he found Seth's heartbeat, he settled into it and relaxed again, as best he could in a strange place, then finally slipped away

The longer he slept, the louder Seth's heart seemed to get. When Matt woke in the late afternoon, it was a drum, accompanied by the whooshing of air into his lungs and the rushing of blood moving through his veins. Matt lay still for a long time, just enjoying it, but finally had to get up.

He felt stronger than before. Not recovered completely, which would take weeks, just not like he was in danger of falling from just one step. Still, he moved carefully and quietly.

After using the bathroom, Matt got dressed, then went back outside. He found the edge of the pool and walked it, barefoot, until he came to where it dropped away. Then, Matt walked out on the submerged part of the wall. He stopped in the middle and just listened.

Sounds bounced off the smooth surface of the water behind him. Behind him, there was the massive house. A friend. The sun beat down on the stone, creating an oven. It was nice.

But in front of him? A sense of great space. Emptiness -- but not just the same as when he was on a rooftop. The ocean was out there. The ocean. Vastness itself. Daunting. Intimidating. Beautiful to look at, so many people said, but Matt didn't know. He'd never seen the Pacific. He never would. He would associate it with a friend's heart and with a hot morning of silence. He would think of the Pacific as a place where sadness and gratitude blended together. For him, the ocean would look like this moment, at least until he made a new memory of it -- but his companion's heartbeat would always be part of it.

Eventually, hurting too much and starting to shake, Matt carefully made his way back into the pool-house.

When Matt had gotten up, Seth had started to stir, but the quiet closing of the door as Matt left the pool house that he finally managed to open his eyes. He didn’t immediately stir from bed, figuring if Matt needed help, he would have said so. Or, if he at least needed a guide around the place. But when he took a while to come back, Seth finally grumbled, sat up — his curls in complete disarray — and went to the door. He watched as Matt stood at the edge and remembered doing that a time or to as a young kid. He never stood on the wall, but in the edge of the pool, looking out at forever.

“Did you sleep well?” Seth asked when Matt returned, pulling his phone out to see if he had any missed called from Ryan, Carol or Ollie. “Are you hungry? We have bagels.”

"No, thanks," Matt answered, his voice sounding worn again as he came and carefully stretched out on the bed once more. He was sweating lightly and just hoped that Seth would think it was from the sun, not from pain.

"And I slept okay. This is... it's a lot nicer than the hotel. Thank you. It's... tranquil here." Yeah, Murdock, get all poetic why don't you? Matt rested the broken arm on his chest. "What uh, what about you? Did you sleep okay?"

“Yeah, well enough.” Seth settled back onto the bed, suddenly wondering why he hadn’t thought to put clothes on while he had been up, checking on Matt through the door. Oh well. Again, it wasn’t as if Matt would _see_ him naked. What did it currently matter?

“I haven’t slept in the pool house in some time. Years, actually. It was never my room, but even though I still live here… it’s strange for this place to be inhabited again. Even if it’s for a night.”

"Is it weird to be in here? Are you okay?" Matt turned his face towards Seth. "And if you need to go eat, don't feel like you.. have to stay here, or wait with me or anything... I mean I'd honestly really like to hear more about you, but just... take care of yourself first.." saying it felt lame and awkward, and Matt already wished he hadn't. He was goddamn terrified of ending up as someone's charity case -- something he hoped wasn't in the comics. All too often, people made too many concessions for him because he was blind, gave up too much to make his life easier, and while he appreciated it, he just didn't know how to take it without guilt, without fear that he'd truly become a burden, the sort they'd never cut free because they'd be too ashamed to abandon him.

“Nah, I’m good. I’ll have coffee and bagel after bit. I’m jewish, I don’t go without the bagel and schmear.” He chuckled and looked down at his hands. Seth knew well enough that he wasn’t the most interesting person. He’d spent his life reading comics and sailing and… Well, all the things nobody else wanted to participate in. Which was why, in much of high school, before Ryan got there, he had been president and sole member of many of the schools extra-curricular activities. He tried to shrug the uncertainty off. But he’d never -truly- learned how to bite his tongue.

“I know… you would likely rather be helping the other two. And this place is kinda lame. Nothing exciting here. But I’m glad you let me bring you back here. No wonder you think I’m a kid. I can’t stop talking to you like a hero — like I’m star struck. But I am. Because I know what you do. I know who you are. And that’s… Well, you’re giving me the time of day, and that’s pretty great, if you ask me.”

Matt didn't understand how Seth could be so grateful for attention that he'd praise anything at all, but the thought hurt him. Seth was kind, and anyone kind deserved attention. He shook his head once, then flexed his hand carefully, moving his arm a little inside the splint.

"It feels... this is weird. Knowing that you know more about me than anyone, but you're still -- here. You even know about Ele... about her. Even Foggy doesn't know that. You.. I wish I could be the hero you know. Teach you some combat or... be able to walk next to you, rather than needing to lean on you.. but, and this is.. just pure selfishness... I'm also kind of glad. To know you, I mean. To have been hurt so that we ended up.. here. A stone's throw from the ocean. A world away from the city.

"It.." Matt was quiet for a moment, but found his resolve and went on. "It seems like you got overlooked a lot. Too much. But the people who chose not to see you, or choose not to... they're the losers. They... I know you're not a kid, now. That... wasn't because I thought you were immature. It's because I'm... jaded. And subconsciously equate the relative innocence of others with youth. If it.. if you're hurt, at all hurt, that I.. thought that... I never meant for it to hurt you."

"No. I'm not offended. Or hurt. I talk a lot, and often about very few relevant things other than myself." He smirked, but of course the expression went unnoticed.

"And yeah, I know about her. Knew a girl kinda like that once. Well, in her own way, I suppose. She's Little Miss Vixen now, in my comics. And, as if it's not enough that I appreciate the kind of man you are, and as if I'm not self absorbed enough, I'm going to relate with you and say I, too, had my run with my Elektra. But after she moved to Rhode Island to attend Brown, she never seemed to miss the sun enough to come back."

Seth couldn't blame her. She'd found herself in college. She'd grown. And he was genuinely happy for her.

"My past is not something to be sympathetic toward. Sure, I was lonely, and a bit of an outcast. But my parents loved me. And I eventually found the best friend who became my literal brother," and lover, for a stint of time, "but I managed."

It took effort to take a breath between thoughts, so it didn't feel like such a non-sequitur.

"You know, you can trust Foggy with your truth."

"About Elektra?" Matt shook his head. "He only just found out about.. everything else. I'll tell him... eventually I'll tell him, I'm just -- scared. Honestly. He was so angry and hurt last time, I'm scared of telling him... that while he and I were first becoming friends, someone almost stole my soul. I almost let her have it. He could.. probably use more time before i hurt him again... and... i'm just making excuses."

Thinking about her always left Matt feeling sick, made his skin crawl, and it showed. "I'm sorry you had an Elektra in your life. Love is nice while it lasts, but when it's... with someone who wants to destroy you, remake you in their image.. it's hard to get over... a lot of.. darker feelings."

After a long moment of silence, Matt asked, "So what's the deal with your parents now? Are they... not in the picture anymore?"

"They're in Berkeley. It was a home they lived in together before my mom started working for my grandpa's housing development business. But when he passed, and Ryan and I graduated, they didn't really feel the need to stay here."

Seth shrugged and relaxed back on the bed, his eyes closing, pulse slowing as he relaxed. He wouldn't sleep again, but he could find a nice meditative state, even while talking.

"I go see them at least once a month. They're good people, my parents. I always believed they were better than this town deserved."

"They must be good, to have raised such a good man. Or, two good men, I guess... tell me more about Ryan? The things you love most about him, what you think he loves about you, that kind of thing?"

As Seth relaxed, Matt felt himself relaxing in turn, his body setting itself into sync with the other.

"Ryan? He's from Chino. Which, is the rough neighborhood. He was one of my dad's clients when we first met. He had been arrested for stealing a car with his brother. And my dad was his public defender. But for some reason? Dad decided to bring him home. He couldn't be released without a guardian, and his mom was a flake and nowhere to be found.

"Anyway, he ran into Marissa, when she lived next door, and she invited him to some fashion show. That started their whirlwind romance. On again, off again teen drama. We all got so swept up in it. But she was a good person, a good soul. She just... her mother was a bit intolerable. And her dad was an investment broker, I think? I don't remember. It was a long time ago and it was before we were really friends, anyway, her dad stole millions of dollars from his clients, which happened to be the parents of her friends, and all hell broke lose.

"Back to Ryan. Right. On our first night, we went to the fashion show that -he- was invited to, not me, and then went to an after party, again, he was invited, and then we got into a fight with the water polo team. Mom walked into me passed out in the pool house hung over and with a black eye. And that was the start of our friendship."

Matt laughed softly at the picture Seth painted and he shook his head. "I'm glad you have each other. It sounds like something made to last."

Seth smiled. "He taught me how to stand up for myself. I... think I taught him how to let people in. He's my best friend. And always will be."

"I can see how you would have taught him that," Matt said sincerely, then fell quiet. He wasn't sure what else to ask anymore, and it was so easy to just enjoy Seth's heart.

Seth, too, was surprisingly quiet for a beat. "What about you. I mean, I know about Foggy. I know how you became friends. And I know about Karen, even. But think of the graphic novels as an episode of television. There are always holes. Behind the scenes, things. So tell me more about him?"

"He's... the kindest person I know. He tries to pretend not to be.. he acts tough, sometimes, but his heart is.. it's pure. Good. Foggy.. makes people feel loved and appreciated just by talking to them. It's like he can touch your hear without even trying. When he's happy, he makes the people around him happy, too. He's sweet. He's so...damn sweet.."

"He sounds better than he's written. Which, I suppose is the case with most humans. A written biography hardly ever does a person justice. Or it only highlights the good parts."

Rolling onto his side, Seth tucked a hand under his pillow and looked sleepily at Matt. "What do you hope the graphic novels got wrong about you?"

"I guess I hope.. that I'm less afraid in them. Braver, maybe."

"Being afraid dies not make you less brave. The opposite is true, in my opinion. It takes pushing through fear to qualify as an action being brace. Otherwise... there is no fear of my toothbrush, or my toothpaste. So the act of brushing my teeth does not require bravery." Seth shrugged, still watching Matt. "So you can only have one or the other. More bravery, or less fear.”

Matt was quiet, thinking of all the times Stick had told him to stop being afraid, all the times Elektra had mocked his fear of becoming evil. Fear wasn't okay, not for people like them, but some part of him still clung to the words Seth said, although he still felt like the kid -- no, like the other man was giving him too much credit.

"It's not... getting hurt that I'm afraid of.. my body's just -- a means to an end. It's... the fear of waking up one morning having gone deaf.. or the fear that.. I'm a burden to the people in my personal life... that... they'd really be better off without me, but I'm too -- cowardly to go. That's... what I hope the comics don't write about. I hope they let kids have a hero... not.. a jaded coward." There was too much bitterness behind his words and he knew he'd gone too far, offered too much truth. Nobody ever wanted that. So, with a small grimace, Matt quickly added, "Sorry."

"I have a question, Matt, and you don't have to answer, if it's too much, or however you want to think of it. But... are the civilians of Hell's Kitchen a burden?" He already thought he knew how Matt would answer it, but he wanted to give him the opportunity to respond however he wanted. Free of judgement.

Matt frowned. "No, of course not, they're just people."

"Why do you deserve less compassion?"

Matt understood, but he didn't know what to say. He was quiet for a long, long time, thinking about this -- about how Seth's sentiments echoed what was taught in the church, about how Matt would have said the same for anyone else. He thought about how irrational fears were and how necessary strength was -- strength like this, like Seth had.

Eventually, he curled up on his left side since it was relatively uninjured, facing Seth, and touched his forehead to the other's chest. That seemed to be all he wanted, for Matt simply went still and quiet after that -- seeking peace, seeking something quiet outside of him, some calmer than the storm always within. He wondered if Seth knew just how valuable his wisdom was -- and if he understood how profoundly fucked up most vigilantes were.

Seth hadn’t really expected the contact, but he didn’t shy away from it either. The silence, however, was something he -had- expected. Once Ryan’s residence within the Cohen home had become more of a permanent thing, Ryan had had to learn what it was like to live with loving parents who -wanted- to spoil their children. And he’d had to learn what it felt like to have people care that he succeeded, and wanted to give him every means to do so. Essentially, Seth had had to teach Ryan how to allow himself to be spoiled.

But with Matt… allowing yourself to believe that people who were offering kindness were not burdening themselves, was not the same thing as being spoiled. It was giving other people credit to be just a generous and warm hearted as Matt was himself. Seth knew that no matter the situation, Matt would give anything to Foggy or Karen, Ollie or Carol — anything in his power for the ones he cared for. So why was it so difficult to believe they would return the sentiment? Practicality, it seemed, was a difficult thing to come by.

Gently, his hand lifted so that he could run fingers through Matt’s hair, and he closed his eyes against the lowering California sun. If Matt allowed nobody else to show him a little compassion, Seth wanted to make sure he wasn’t left wandering what it truly felt like.

Matt fell asleep again as Seth stroked his hair. The compassion was overwhelming, especially as exhausted as he was, and all his body knew to do with it was sleep.

When he woke, the sun was long-since set and the night was cooler. Matt rolled onto his back with a soft sigh of pain, but he reveled in how relaxed he felt. Seth was a miracle worker, it seemed.

For a few minutes, he just laid still and thought about everything that had happened. He worried about the others, he tried to make himself accept that Seth wasn't angry about having to care for a stranger. His mind wandered. He could smell Seth's breakfast, which brought a small smile to his face.

Matt had just gotten up to go and find the not-kid when things changed. He wasn't sure exactly what it was but in an instant, he felt threatened. Matt moved swiftly to a wall and went still -- he didn't even know if there were lights on in here. He didn't hear any buzzing from overhead, but that didn't mean light wasn't streaming in from the windows...

What the hell was happening?

When he heard another heartbeat and a soft step, Matt quickly tied his blindfold on. He was dressed from earlier, but still barefoot. No matter. He pulled his sticks from their sheath on his thigh and focused intently on what was happening.

Seth. Kitchen. Another building. Safe so far.

A stealthy step, a steady heartbeat, the faint scent of rot, of oil, steel, gunpowder.

Deadpool.

Fuck.

Matt's lip curled but he held his position a moment longer, listening. Deadpool was creeping towards the main house, probably drawn by lights...

This was going to hurt, but fuck it.

Matt stepped out of the pool-house and into the open, sticks in both hands. He prayed Seth would have no idea what was happening out here, and that if he did? He'd have the sense to hide.

"What do you want?" He asked, his voice taking on its harder edge.

"Oh, you know. A really cute bikini body. A massage from Natey-poo -- and by massage I mean with his dick.

That kid's head on a pike.." the playfulness was there in Wade's voice, but something in it sounded empty. Different than the man they'd fought earlier.

Matt's skin crawled. "Leave."

"Can't."

"Something's wrong with you. What has he done to you, Wade?" Matt moved as he spoke, picking a place that, if Wade fired, hopefully no bullets would ricochet and hurt Seth. /Please hide, Seth. God, please keep him safe./ Matt's mouth felt dry.

"He who? He haw? Did you just make a donkey pun? No. You made me make a donkey pun! Ooooh, Daredevil, you little minx!" He reached for his pistols, but something in him pushed the thought away. Guns would kill the devil, and he didn't want him dead. Not really. /Then why do I feel like I've been brainwashed into a murder machine by Thanos and Adam? Huh. Weird/. Without another word, Wade drew both katanas and somersaulted over to the Devil. "Nothing personal! Just gotta kill you!"

After that, even if Seth hadn't heard them talking, there'd be no way he missed the sounds of the fight.

Seth had left the doors open to the main house, hoping it would be enough that he would at least be able to hear when Matt stirred once more. But he had grown hungry, and something about sleeping all day had given him a craving for a decent breakfast meal.

He had been in the middle of pulling bacon off the skillet when he heard voices.

Wait. Voices?

With a piece of bacon hanging out of his mouth, he moved toward the door, stopping short when he saw Deadpool. How in the -fuck?-

The most recent film adaptation had emphasized the heart behind the man. But Seth knew the level of crazy Wade Wilson possessed. And, it seemed, he was squaring up against Matt. Fuck.

Fuck fuck.

He moved back inside, ducking down and trying to essentially crawl toward the stairs leading up to his room. When he'd made it halfway up them, he pulled his phone out, did a quick internet search, and then dialed the number for the hotel, asking for Carol and Oliver's room, if they were even still there. They couldn't get here quickly, he figured. But maybe Matt could hold them off.

The phone in their room rang and rang and rang, but no one answered.

Outside, Matt knew he was going to lose, but it didn't matter. If Wade had instructions to kill whoever helped them, whoever was a threat to this master plan, so be it. He'd buy Seth as much time to escape as he could. Seth had a car and a brain, he'd be okay. He had to be. Protecting him was the only way Matt could ever repay him -- even though, he thought cynically, it was his fault Seth was in danger.

Accepting his death was liberating. Matt let go of his own pain and fear and embraced the fight. Wade might be virtually indestructible, but he'd never come up against Daredevil before. Not alone. Last time, he'd had an alien force to help fight the three, and now? Matt was determined to make him see that he'd bitten off more than he could chew.

As for Wade? He was used to being the baddest guy in a  fight. He wasn't used to the silent rage that filled this sexy little nutbag. If he didn't have a job to do, he might just get on his knees and offer to suck him off -- but he had a job to do. Roight. Crikeyfuck.

Wade didn't see the next blow coming. He should have, since he could /see/, but it came too quickly. The hard little goddamn sticks smashed into his hands, breaking both.

"Mother fuckstick!!!" His swords dropped with a clatter and he yowled, then knocked Matt into the pool and dragged him down, down, down to the bottom.

I'll be fine. But you. Cocksucker. Fuck. You.

Soon enough, everything went quiet.

Long minutes later, longer than it should have been, Matt drifted to the surface. He made it to the ladder, made it out of the pool, then collapsed to his knees, unable to take another step yet, listening for Seth.

Please be gone... please be gone...

When the phone had proved useless, and Seth had left a singular message with the receptionist -- Wade -- he thought about what to do next. Wade Wilson was, save for a nuclear blast (and even that might not kill him) indestructible. But he was also not a bad guy. Not a bad person. He had his enemies, but when had they become a part of the Marvel heroes instead of Francis and his fuckwads?

It didn't matter. As dumb as he knew this reasoning was, he couldn't leave Matt alone. Besides, where would he go. He had listened to them fight, watched as they'd gone underwater, and his stomach twisted when Matt didn't soon resurface. Seth sat in his kitchen floor, the door still open, the stove and waffle maker still hot.

How did he tell Carol and Ollie that he'd gotten their friend killed by taking Matt so far away from any hope of help?

It took a few minutes for the pounding in Matt's head to calm. When it did, when he heard Seth's heartbeat back in the kitchen, he whispered a very quiet swear. This little shit. Little fucking brave shit.

There really was no time to be angry, though. Wade would wake again soon enough, and this whole thing would start over.

"Seth.." Fuck. His voice was too hoarse. He cleared his throat and tried again, managing to be a little louder this time. "Seth.. do you have rope? Or.. a lot of... tape?" Matt somehow managed to push himself to his feet, although he wasn't convinced he'd stay there long.

Crawling toward the double doors on his hands and knees, he peeked around the corner and let out a breath of relief when he saw Matt standing there.

"I mean, yeah. The rope I usually use on my boat is in a drawer in the pool house. There are also a set of handcuffs in here somewhere. Though I imagine those won't do much."

"Let's... use both," Matt said, hesitating when he thought to wonder just why Seth had handcuffs. "Can you... get them? And a sheet. And... bricks or rocks or free weights... I'll..." pass out. No. No, I won't pass out. "Be here... for when he gets out.."

The first thing Seth grabbed was a chair from the patio. They'd probably need it anyway, right? In the meantime, he was certain Matt needed it now. Then he ran around his house, stumbling over and ottoman all but falling to his face when he ran back out to the pool house. But finally he had everything. Rocks, large, from the edge of the driveway. The handcuffs, the rope, and a sheet AND a tarp.

"Tell me what to do?"

Matt would have collapsed on the ground if Seth hadn't brought the chair out. It seemed like such a strange thing to do, but Matt was grateful.

"Lay the sheet out flat? Then.. We just.. wait for him to come back up.. then... I'll try to subdue him.  Cuffs first, we'll put him in the sheet, put the rocks in, tie and tape him, and.. hope it's enough. That it gets us... enough time. I'm -- I'm sorry. I know this is.. going to feel like murder. If it's too much, you don't need to -- you've done enough, you know?"

"Whoa. I can't out maneuver him, and I can't fight him off. But I've read tons of Deadpool graphic novels. I know he's impossible to kill. And this... I mean I'm not sure I'll be much more than something new and pretty for him to look at, but I'm willing to help you find a way to hold him off until we figure out a way to fix him."

"If we can keep him in the pool long enough... hopefully Carol will get here... it'll... we'll figure something out. He's better than this... thank you for.. recognizing that." He curled over his arm then, just quietly waiting -- and then it happened.

Deadpool floated to the surface, took a few breaths, and looked around.

"Deadpool.." Matt stood up, then gestured him over. "Come here."

Still dazed, Wade obeyed. He grabbed the hand that was offered and let Matt pull him out of the water -- and then things went more smoothly than expected. In another minute, Wade was unconscious and stripped of all his weapons and tools. They got him bound, then rolled him into the deep end.

Matt sank to his knees and let his head hang low. "You okay?" He asked, voice rough and hollow.

Seth watched with a hand gently placed over his mouth. It wasn’t horror, really, so much as an intense… excitement at being able to watch all this life. When Wade was at the bottom of his pool, Seth looked again at Matt and nodded. Gathering his thoughts, he moved to go stand next to Daredevil, sitting at the edge of the pool, his feet (and pajama pants) resting just beyond the surface, and he placed a gentle hand on Matt’s shoulder. “Tell me how I can help you. You were getting better. And then this happened. But if all we can do is wait for the others… there has to be something I can do.”

Matt shook his head, then turned and rested his forehead against Seth's shoulder for a few minutes, trying to lose himself in his heartbeat.

Finally, he straightened up. "I should probably shower... and wash the blood off everywhere he reopened... if you that's okay?"

Seth stood at the suggestion, the bent to offer more than just his hands, but his arms and what little strength he actually had, into helping Matt up. “Come on. You can use the shower in my room. Then, if you need to, you can crash on the bed. I have some of Ryan’s clothes in the guest room that… Or I can wash the ones your wearing, if you think there’s that much time.”

Matt shook his head. He didn't know how much time they had, having never fought Wade like this before. "If he wouldn't mind, I'd love to borrow something for now..." He had to lean on Seth again as they went inside and to his room, but this time, Matt managed to be a little less ashamed of it and to relax more, which made the process much easier for both of them.

"Thank you. You.. really kept your head there.. thank you for everything."

Standing in his own doorway, as if hesitant to cross the threshold, Seth nodded in a way that would hint his own nervousness about the situation. He’d thought about nothing but for what the comics had prepared him. He’d given up on the whole ‘this can’t be real’ schtick a while back. And now he was just rolling with it. Finally, deciding there were too many levers in that damn shower for one man to be able to maneuver them on his own first try, particularly if he couldn’t see anything, Seth finally moved into his room, and then to the bathroom, and started the shower with hot water that was just shy of biting. “Take all the time you need,” he offered, though they both knew time was a luxury that even Seth couldn’t afford at the moment. “I’ll go get his clothes. And I’ll throw yours in the wash if you’ll leave them somewhere for me. There’s no sense in not doing that.”

Matt listened intently to what Seth did in the shower, then nodded. Before the other could slip out past him, though, he put his hand on his shoulder to stop him.

"It'll be okay. We're not going to let him hurt you. Why don't you just... stay here, or -- near, sorry, I didn't mean to sound inappropriate. While I shower. And we'll do the laundry and clothes together after, so you're never -- vulnerable."

“You’re not being inappropriate,” Seth replied too quickly, talking over Matt as he finished his sentence. He cleared his throat and shifted. Ultimately, however, he nodded. He didn’t know what else to do until Matt moved for the shower. But he knew he wouldn’t be able to just sit on the edge of the bed and pick up a book. He would end pacing the floor between the desk in front of the window and the door. This room, unlike the room he’d grown up in, was large enough that maybe he could count this as like… a mock workout. Or at least something to distract himself while Matt showered.

Seth seemed to tense up more than before and Matt couldn't help but feel guilty. This had to be terrifying for him.

Matt showered as quickly as he could. Afterwards, he came out without any bandages on -- even the water resistant one had been a lost cause after the fight with Deadpool -- and a towel around his waist. If his body had looked at all battered before, it was far worse now. There were significantly more bruises now, much deeper and darker, all of them looking swollen and awful against the muscle.

With the shower off, everything seemed almost too quiet now, save for their hearts and the hum of electronics. It almost felt wrong to break the silence, but Matt had to.

"You okay?"

Seth stopped mid stride when Matt appeared, and his eyes shamelessly wandered over bruises and other injuries. “I have…” He cleared his throat again, wishing it would stop giving out on him as if he were a teenager all over again. “I have bandages. They may not be as… durable as the last ones. But Ryan was known for getting in fights… Anyway. He’s grown up a lot, obviously, over the last ten years, but I learned to be prepared with him living in the house. Bandages. Ice. Handcuffs. Whatever.” He shrugged and he could feel some sort of secondary pain just from looking at what Matt was walking around with.

Suddenly remembering himself, and not wanting to burn a whole through Matt by staring, he picked up the clothes he’d gathered of Ryan’s and carried them over to Matt. “I hope these work.”

"Thanks.. and just something to, to cover this would be.. probably all I really need." He gestured to the incision on his side. Although the surgeon had sutured it well, the sutures themselves were inclined to snag on everything, he was learning.

"I'll just uh..." he cleared his throat, took the clothes, and slipped back into the bathroom. He hoped that Seth wouldn't mind him using his deodorant, and as he got dressed, it occurred to him that as strange as it was to smell like someone else, it wasn't awful.

When he came out, he was moving very quietly and carefully, wary of upsetting Seth again. His host already seemed so tense, and Matt didn't want to show gratitude by making him miserable.

"What colors are these?" He asked softly, even though it didn't really matter. It shouldn't matter. Matt ran a hand a little self-consciously over his chest, smoothing the shirt.

While Matt changed, Seth had slipped into the guest bathroom to grab a first aid kit and came out with dressing for the wound. “Would you like for me to.” Seth moved to the bed, patting the comforter, not even thinking about how Matt couldn’t -see- him make the gesture to join him. But all the same, he figured he would hear it. “Ironically? The shirt has the flash symbol on it. It was the only hero I could really get Ryan into. And considering the clothes I have here of his, your options are that shirt,” which was the softest kind of jersey knit t-shirt, “a wife beater, or a button down dress shirt. But if you’ll come and sit, I’ll bandage you up.”

He’d managed to get his own mind to quiet enough, now that Matt was fully dressed, that he figured he could tend to the man’s wounds without it being a big deal. The catch, that Seth was still yet to remember, was precisely how well Matt could hear. In the comics, it was difficult to forget the man’s talents. But in real life, it was too easy to mistake him for a normal man and figure yourself to be safe of any exposure.

When he lifted the shirt, Seth grit his teeth and rolled his eyes at himself. The man was injured, maybe he could be a little more adult about helping him. And for a brief moment, the mental criticism worked. But while he placed the strip of gauze over the stitches, holding them still while he tore tape with his teeth, Seth had to concentrate to keep from letting his fingers lightly brush over the other man’s skin. When he was finished, he closed his eyes and couldn’t help but let his touch linger for a beat too long before pulling away and standing up. “Right. Okay. So… What now? He’s still… drowning. It seems. How do we get ahold of your friends?”

If not for the lingering touch at the end, Matt wouldn't have thought anything of this. Seth had every reason to be scared, and he'd assumed that was the reason for the accelerated heartbeat until now.

Matt hesitated a moment, licked his lips, then put his shirt back properly in place. "They'll find us... or call you. You left that... note, right? Unless he... even if he destroyed it, Carol will find us. She's got, kind of a sixth sense... I guess it's like the Force? You. You probably know more about it than I do."

The really stupid thing about human attraction was how it could just not be an issue at all until someone else was into it. Now that Matt suspected Seth found him appealing in some way, although God only knew why, he realized he felt the same. With him, the attraction was due entirely to the personality, though. Seth was good. Brave. Kind. Affectionate. Matt was probably being an idiot for even thinking about this at all, especially when he wasn't sure if he himself was even really attracted to men, and.... and he should stop thinking it.

"I guess we... just need to find a way to pass the time.." Matt's jaw dropped at what he just said, he felt himself blush, and he said, "I didn't mean -- if that sounded dirty, I wasn't trying to imply that -- I mean not that you aren't -- your hand is nice -- but I wasn't -- um. We. Just. Need to... kill the time."

Jesus, Murdock.

Matt facepalmed with his good hand.

Seth watched, confused, as Matt talked circles around himself. The comment about his hand had Seth lifting it up to look at it. “My… hand?” In all their time together, Seth hadn’t witnessed Matt this unsure about anything he said, and Seth couldn’t help but wonder if he’d done something to make Matt uncomfortable.

Of course you did, idiot, remember what he can hear and how he senses other people?

Shit.

“No, yeah. I… I understand. Passing the time. There are plenty of ways to do that.” None of which, Seth could think of at this moment.

"Right. Yeah. Of course. Plenty of ways that aren't... um... that aren't... okay there's.. really no way of asking this without sounding even.. even more awkward at this point, but.. is it okay if I get in your bed..? I mean to rest. I'm aching and... it... would probably be a relief, but if it's -- wow, I'm sorry, everything I say just sounds like a bad romance scene doesn't it? I'll. Uh. Stop. Stop talking."

Romance scene?

Had Seth missed signs? Or had he... fuck, he didn't even know. "Yeah. No, yeah, please feel free to lie down. I can turn on some music if it'll help..." Help what, Seth? set the mood??

"I mean if it'll help you relax any."

Should he slip into something more comfortable while he's at it?

"Fuck." Fuck. He hadn't meant to whisper that.

"Where do you want me?"

Sweet Moses.

"I mean. Would you prefer if I left you alone to rest?"

"No! I mean. Stay. You should stay. If you want to. Uh. If you -- if it's not uncomfortable to be in bed with... with me in your bed. If that's -- are you okay? I'm not trying to -- I don't  want to do anything you're not okay with."

Like what, use the wrong pillow? Matt had been able to converse with people once upon a time, he remembered.

He lay back carefully.

Seth hesitated, looking around, moving in choppy, robotic angles, constantly awkward, unsure what to do.

He was over thinking this, Seth decided, and finally went to crawl into his own bed. It was as large as the last one had been, but this one was actively slept in, it smelled of him -- his shampoo and soaps. This was no different, he told himself.

"This is fine," he said, crawling under the covers, tho why he did that he wasn't sure. He wasn't cold. And it wasn't like Matt had asked to be able to sleep. Just to rest. Because he was injured.

Seth slunk down and covered his head with a pillow. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, just... tired. Sore. And look, I'm sorry for -- getting so weird just now. I... think I might be... I guess bisexual, and... that's... I'm really attracted to kindness. And I'm sorry for... if I made... things weird. You've been great, the last thing you need is for some.. weird vigilante to fail at hitting on you. I mean because it's inappropriate for me to do that at all... right?"

Seth's head popped up from under the pillow and he looked at Matt with a narrowed gaze.

"But I thought you were getting weird because I was making you uncomfortable -- with the way I touched you or... god, I know technically you couldn't see me staring. But that doesn't mean I wasn't a complete creep and did it anyway."

Seth took a deep breath and rolled to his side. "I think you and I will hit painfully awkward way before we ever hit inappropriate." What kind of response is that, Seth?

"I mean. You're not weird."

Not better.

"I mean I don't think it would be weird. Or inappropriate."

"Oh," Matt said, and fell quiet for several long minutes. Finally, blushing again, his voice sounding a little darker as well now, he said: "It was nice. When you didn't take your hand away right away. I wasn't... you didn't... that wasn't weird. Nice. Not bad."

"Oh," Seth mimicked. He smiled, though, and again buried his face in the pillow, though just for a couple breaths. Just long enough to control the tone in his voice.

"Do you... I mean, if the touches felt nice?" This was ridiculous. Matt had laid with his head against Seth's chest earlier while Seth ran fingers through his hair. "I mean, they lingered because I liked... touch...ing...you."

"You... yes," Matt answered. "Yes. If you want..." but something made him tense again and although it hurt, he sat up. After a moment, Matt relaxed again.

"Carol just landed by the pool."

Though he had been slowly stretching his arm across the expanse of his bed in search of Matt, Seth pulled his arm back and tucked it in against his chest.

"I suppose she needs help? Or you want to talk to her?"

"Or you two could just stay in bed," Carol said, walking in. "Jesus, Matt, what happened to you?"

"Wade." Matt closed his eyes, not comfortable with letting her see them. "He's in the pool."

"He's... is that what that is? I got the gem back from Adam and Oliver's on his way here with him. Warlock's going to open a portal, send us home. Get up. Get ready."

Matt hadn't expected the news to feel like this, to feel so sudden, so wrong. He sat up slowly. "Oh.. I... oh."

"I'll go get Wade." Carol walked out.

Seth had sat up when she'd entered, and he smiled a thin, forced smile when she'd delivered the news that everything was going back to normal.

He felt the sharp contrast from when she'd suggested they just stay in bed, to when she was telling Matt to get moving.

He nodded once, but for once could think of nothing to say. Tomorrow he'd go back to Comic Con, work the rest of the weekend, and pretend like... what? That these past two days had never happened?

"Right. Well, I don't really know how to say thank you enough, for being my friend these couple days. And that I'm... I'm glad I met you. I'm glad to have known you. I..." he looked away as his chest tightened. "Be safe."

"We didn't have enough time," Matt said quietly.

"No," replied Seth. But it wasn't as if they could conjure more. He couldn't just, go with them. He wasn't a hero. Not really. Even in his own comics he was a poor excuse for a hero. And Matt couldn't stay here.

"Can I... would it be weird, or too much, to ask for a hug? I mean, if you're not a hugger, it's fine. Honestly. I just feel like a half-hearted wave and a reminder that it's okay to let people show you compassion just... isn't enough."

Matt couldn't say anything. He got up and went around to Seth's side, and once Seth was standing as well, he wrapped both arms around him and pressed his face against Seth's shoulder.

What could he say? His throat felt too tight to speak now and his chest had decided to ache. Seth was too good, he had given Matt too much kindness and faith, and he didn't want to leave now. Not yet. So he held tight and tried to pretend this wasn't the most final sort of goodbye there could be.

Seth hated how familiar this felt. Summer leaving off for college. He and Ryan deciding that they were better off as “brothers” instead of lovers. But even them, he’d see again. He had seen again. But Matt? Seth would only read about him and his adventures. Hopefully he’d watch as Matt decided to trust Foggy. As he conquered the threats to Hell’s Kitchen. He would get to see him again. But he wouldn’t… Nothing like this would ever be an option. Nothing real. And he had known that going into it.

He couldn’t even offer for Matt to take Seth’s graphic novels with him. So they could at least share that kind of closeness.

Instead he tightened his grip, but tried not to be too tight, knowing how much Matt was hurting. “Thank you,” he whispered.

Matt nodded once, but stayed where he was. This was stupid. He shouldn't have gotten so attached to Seth so quickly. This wasn't the time or the place to form a friendship -- but then Adam and Oliver had arrived as well, and Matt knew it was time. He knew, but he didn't want to believe it. He didn't want to ask what all he and Seth had missed. He didn't want to know any of it, he just didn't want to go.

When he finally stepped back, he opened his mouth to say something, but no words would come. After an awkward silence, Matt stepped close again and kissed Seth on the lips, gentle and sad at once.

Dark brows cinched together as he felt Matt's lips on his. A first kiss should never have to be a last kiss -- learning someone new only to have to watch them walk away for good seemed like a fate too cruel to be real.

But this was real, Seth had decided. All of it. Every crazy bit of it. And he wanted more. More adventure. More friendship. More of this.

One hand slid gently to Matt's side, while the other cupped his face, and he deepened the kiss just enough to tell Matt that he'd be missed.

And that was the only way Seth knew how to say goodbye.

For once, Matt wasn't embarrassed to cry. The tears had escaped while they kissed, and when he stepped back, they glistened on his cheeks and darkened his lashes.

He shook his head, wishing it wasn't like this, and then he turned and walked out.

-

The Daredevil comics changed after that. Matt seemed to be both softer and sadder; he slowly started to let people in, but never close enough. There was an unexplained scar on his side that drove fans crazy -- and several years later, when he died, Foggy went to clean his apartment out and found a mysterious letter unfinished on his computer.

Dear Seth --

I think about you often. You changed my life. You changed me. I know you've always been with me. You care. Even when I'm broken in some dark alley, I know you care. Your memory makes it easier to fight and to live.

"We didn't have enough time. I wish I could have heard your voice again. But I have to go do this one last thing and I don't expect to survive it. I'll be stronger though because of you.

Foggy's calling.

And that was it. Some fans were intrigued by the panel. Some hated it. None understood.

Seth had spent years following the Daredevil comics after whole event happened, but he’d never told anybody the details of his time with Matt and the rest of the super crew.

When he read the final panel, read the letter meant for him, he nearly cancelled his appointment to be on the Marvel discussion panel at Comic Con. He was just a guest speaker anyway. More of a host than actually a presenter. Nobody would ask him questions. Nobody would see him -- even if his comics had started to grow in popularity.

This was Marvel. This was the big time.

And so bailing on it seemed like something he couldn’t follow through with. He introduced all the artists, the writers, and of course Stan Lee. He listened as they discussed the decision to finally kill Matt Murdock. And suddenly, a young man, one who reminded Seth of himself at that age, approached the microphone with a note in his hand.

“We have time for one more question,” Seth announced, nodding to the boy.

“Um. This one is actually for you, Mr. Cohen. As a creator of your own comics, are you ever affected, or are you characters ever affected by the deaths of heroes from other universes?”

Seth smiled, though his brows pinched together. His eyes brimmed with tears and he had to look down at his podium for a moment. “Uh...” He hesitated. “I... felt the death of Matt Murdock. I think the loss of someone so vital, someone so good and important -- there’s not a way for it to not be felt in all universes. Maybe it’s fourth wall breaking -- Deadpool would be proud -- but as much as any one of the Marvel characters, the DC characters, or even my characters, I will mourn the death of the Daredevil. Matt was my long time friend. I felt like I knew him. And I have struggled to write anything new for my characters, because we are all grieving. But you can bet, in the next issue, there will be a nod to Matt Murdock’s life.”

[beeapocalypse]

whats up lads this is long as hell and its abt if lucky (dumbass ncr courier not really courier) was a fo:nv companion under the cut bc i dont want 2 clutter dashes :^)

Affiliation: NCR (May not agree w all of their ideal but hes been treated well enough with them that hes got a loyalty)

Role: NCR sergeant, companion

Location: Around and about the Mojave outpost, typically near knight

Base SPECIAL: S- 5 P- 8 E- 6 C- 7 I- 5 A- 8 L- 2

Tagged skills: Guns, repair, and lockpick

Perks: Confirmed Bachelor (ghhhjsjhdh), Friendly Disposition, (OPTIONAL) Buckeye Brilliance, (OPTIONAL) Hollister History

Lucky can be met at the Mojave outpost in three different locations (the bar sitting near Lucy, patrolling outside near the car scrap, or in the headquarters leaning on Knight’s desk). Where he is encountered will impact the initial dialogue you have with him. 

When in the bar, he’ll remark that he’s got nothing else to do and asks if the courier would be interested in a game of caravan. If refused, he’ll politely wave them off and go back to his drink. This renders it impossible to get him as a companion until he either changes places or a full 24 hours passes. It doesn’t matter if the courier wins or loses the caravan game, it will bring him into the universal dialogue for recruiting him. 

When patrolling, Lucky will cheerfully greet the courier and ask for their help in getting a bit of an engine torn out of a broken up car. This requires passing a repair check of 25, and afterwards he will explain that he’s working on a motorcycle prototype after the last one suffered a ‘tragic accident’ (one of his responses to a further question when asking about himself, Lucky will explain that he accidentally crashed the last prototype into a small Legion patrol, earning him a promotion). If the repair check is failed, it will be rendered impossible to get him as a companion until he either changes places or a full 24 hours passes. If the check is passed, it will bring him into the universal dialogue for recruiting him.

When hanging out with Major Knight, the courier must first speak with Knight (only if they haven’t at all before, if initial dialogue with him is completed Lucky will be available for conversation). Afterwards, Lucky will greet the courier and ask for a favor. Giving them 80 caps and a weathered service rifle, he claims that he accidentally dropped a hunk of metal on it and Knight’s banned him from repairs after he almost blew himself up with a jury rigged engine. If the courier refuses to do the favor, Lucky will claim that he’ll get the ‘pissed looking redhead at the bar’ to do it for him, rendering it impossible to get him as a companion until he either changes places or a full 24 hours passes. If the favor is done,  it will bring him into the universal dialogue for recruiting him.

After any of the three things above are completed, Lucky will be able to be initiated with the dialogue for recruiting him. The courier has a chance to ask him about the slow conditions at the Outpost and his boredom around the place, eventually recommending getting out and about the place. Lucky mentions how he’s been wracking up days off since he’s always at work, and that a word with Ranger Jackson might be able to get a word in for him. Lucky expresses that he would be fine with travelling around with the courier since they seem like the adventuresome sort and has already helped him out. If a speech check of 35 is passed or a barter check of 25 and 100 caps are paid to Ranger Jackson, Lucky will be allowed to leave and accompany the courier.

Companion Perk: Friendly Disposition- Lucky has a smile and a ‘howdy’ for anyone, willing to listen or not. While Lucky is a companion, the player receives a bonus to speech and barter checks.

Companion Perk after Personal Quest (if made sure of violence being a solution): Sergeant Shoot First, Ask Never- Lucky’s seen the value in violence, even if it doesn’t calm the doubt in his heart. Lucky gains a higher damage threshold and deals 20% more damage.

Companion Perk after Personal Quest (if made to see that questioning his faction is fine): Hollister History- Lucky has some tricks of the past that he’s putting to use again, qualms be damned. While Lucky is a companion, the player receives a bonus in V.A.T.S accuracy and limb crippling.

Companion Comments:

Use Melee: “I might have some meat on my bones from workin’, but I don’t think that’s gonna do any good.” “You sure ‘bout that? I’m a mighty good shot, would hate to waste it.”

Use Ranged: “Time to put ol’ Betsy to work then!” “Right, was hopin’ for some target practice.”

Open inventory: “Just keep your hands off of my caravan deck and we’re all good, partner.” [if male courier] “{teasing} Sure hope you ain’t ‘bout to ask me to hold your hand.”

Stay close: “Getting awfully cozy, partner.” [if male courier] “You trying to tell me something here partner? Not that I mind, ‘course.”

Keep distance: “Aw, don’t wanna hear me yap anymore?” “If you wanted me to shut my trap you could’ve just asked.” 

Be Passive: “Hope you know this never lasts long in the Mojave, partner.” “Sure then, gives me time to clean up ol’ Betsy.”

Be Aggressive: “Won’t find me complainin’ ‘bout this!” “I’ve got your back if you’re lookin’ to start trouble.”

Wait here: “Righty-o, I’ll hold this place down tight.” [if male courier] “As long as you make sure to watch your own back, sweetheart.”

Follow me: “I was just about to finish working out some problem in my head and now you come calling?”

Sneaking: “Clever thought. Look where you’re stepping.”

“Let’s travel together”: “Its been getting dull ‘round here, I was missing the life you brought!” [if male courier] “Aw, we headed out for a date? Next you’ll be bringing me broc flowers.”

“Let’s travel together” (already have a companion): “Partner, as much as I love running ‘round with you, its getting a little crowded.”

Leaving companion at the Lucky 38: “You’re going to leave me here? Creepy robot lair with a grudge against the NCR?” 

“I wanted to ask you some questions”: “Alright, I’ve been itching for some chatter.” “Oh, we playing 20 questions?” “Ask away, nothing better than a little conversation to kill the time.”

“Tell me about yourself”: “Who, me? Sergeant Lucky Hollister, spent most of my real life dicking ‘round with broke down car parts at the Outpost. I don’t got any interesting stories, was a caravan kid and wasted time ‘til i enlisted in the NCR.”

“Tell me about yourself” post buckeye brilliance: “I just about spilled all of my guts to you already, partner. A dumb caravan kid who got caught up in some bad shit and enlisted as a last ditch effort for a future. Same old Mojave sob story as any other private.” 

“What do you think of the NCR?”: “Me? The NCR sergeant? Hell, I think they’re great, and that ain’t just the propaganda gettin’ to me. They took me in as a kid and gave me a purpose. Though I suppose they’re wrong on some standings...”

“What do you think of the Legion?”: “I didn’t just enlist to get a new life, I’ll tell you that much. Buncha reeking pigs thinkin’ that they know best, since they’ve got some baldy with a few burnt up books on their side. You know what we’ve got? Actual civilization. None of that football gear and crucifixion horseshit.”

“What do you think of the Legion?” post buckeye brilliance: “I’ve seen how they work, you know that. That shit ain’t pretty, the cult they’ve got for that Caesar. Strips away any humanity that might’ve been in those legionaries at some point. The shit they do to the kids... I’ll be the first to spit on that Caesar fuck’s grave, I’ll tell you that.”

“What do you think of Mister House?”: “A monument of the past that thinks he’s got kickin’ power in the present. The man’s got to learn that this ain’t the pre-war world that he loved and cherished if he wants to help out the Mojave in any way.”

.“What do you know about Benny?”: “Impractical as hell and just as cocky, from what I’ve heard. I’d watch my caps ‘round him if I were you.”

“What do you know about the platinum chip?”: “Pretty as hell, I’ll give it that. I don’t know a damn about what you’re supposed to do with it though. Not play poker?”

Death: “Not... Yet...” “Oh hell, is that... Blood..?”

Trivia and additional information:

Refers to a male courier with terms of endearment such as ‘sweetheart’ and ‘buttercup’ whether or not they’ve got the confirmed bachelor perk. Can be flirted with using confirmed bachelor, making Lucky suddenly bashful at the reciprocation. 

Can have either confirmed bachelor or cherchez la femme used to console him w solidarity when prodded deeper to see what his misgivings w the NCR are (beyond the political corruption, he’ll talk abt how its not all that accepting and him+one of his buddies at the mojave outpost (knight, although he wont out the major) dont agree w it)

Will comment on Boone’s presence if near him as a companion or not (”Well damn! Its a fine pleasure seeing a 1st Recon out here!” “Thank you kindly for all you’ve done, sir. Always got an eye in the sky on our boys because of you.”)

Comments on too high of a reputation with the legion w concern, warning the courier to not get too pulled into things and that its like quicksand (hinting at his buckeye brilliance quest, afterwards he will express more outwards disapproval). 

Will make comments when entering NCR areas such as McCarran or Forlorn hope specific to those areas.

Will warn the courier if he sees them killing NCR soldiers that he won’t stand for it. If the courier continues or gets a low enough reputation with the NCR, Lucky will become hostile.

Wears NCR mantle armor and a rawhide cowboy hat for armor (can wear armor besides his NCR uniform, but not other faction uniforms).

Wields a service rifle and combat knife as his weapons.

Unmarked Quest: Lonely Mojave Knights

This unmarked quest starts when a courier uses Confirmed Bachelor on any character besides Major Knight while Lucky is a companion, or Cherchez La Femme. When dialogue is initiated with him, he makes a joke of them sharing at least one thing besides cooking under the sun in common and then sobers up to mention how he wishes the NCR was as accepting as the rest of the wasteland. When he says that him and one of his friends at the Outpost feel the same, the courier can guess who it is (narrowing it down to Knight with a comment of ‘We always flock together’, if they had seen Lucky with Knight before recruited without the need for any other guessing), until they have to pass a speech check of 20 to tell he is lying when he says it isn’t Knight. 

Lucky mentions how Knight deserves something for his hard work at the Outpost, leaving the courier to offer the suggestion of seeing if they could get him stationed at Vegas for a little bit. If this is taken, the courier must speak with Ranger Jackson and pass a speech check of 25 to get him to agree to Knight’s stationing before they got to speak to him. Knight, surprised by this, thanks the courier and Lucky and will be stationed at Vegas (often standing around with Billy Knight or in the Tops) for a full seven days. As thanks, Lucky will grant the courier the permanent Desert Solidarity perk, increasing the nerve and damage (10% more) of companions of the same gender.

Personal Quest- Buckeye Brilliance

Quest Triggers: Similar to Boone’s own personal quest, there’s actions that can be taken to earn points with Lucky that will go towards triggering his personal quest. Three of these need to be amassed. 

Convince Corporal Betsy to seek the help she needs. +1 point, Lucky will initiate dialogue where he praises the courier’s caring nature and willingness to help out someone they didn’t know much about.

Complete the quest ‘No, Not Much’. +2 points, Lucky will initiate dialogue where he compliments the courier on their willingness to help the camp despite the bad history that has gone down there.

Complete ‘I Forgot to Remember to Forget’, Lucky does not need to be an active companion. +2 points, the next time Lucky is chosen to be an active companion he will initiate dialogue thanking the courier for their actions and that, despite not knowing Boone real well himself, he’s glad they did that for the sniper. +3 points if the courier convinces Boone to make amends with his past. 

Complete any Mojave Outpost quest. +1 point, Lucky will initiate dialogue thanking the courier for looking out for where he was stationed.

After these three points are earned, Lucky will wait a full 24 hours before initiating dialogue with the courier (neutral or good karma is required as well, he will not initiate the dialogue with an evil courier and instead remain silent until a higher karma is achieved). He compliments them on their caring nature that he’s seen while travelling with them, as well as their willingness to look past the bad to see the good in people. 

Quest Description: Lucky requests that the courier comes with him to an outpost in the middle of nowhere, not specifying who’s there or for what reason besides that he wants to talk to them about his past there. The courier can refuse to do so on the grounds of being busy, causing Lucky to not mention it until another full 24 hours later. If the quest is put off three times, Lucky will comment on how it seems the courier doesn’t have time for much of anything and drop the subject. This will result in the quest being failed. 

If the courier agrees to listen to Lucky, he will mark the outpost, titled ‘Lucky’s Lookout’, on their map and admit that isn’t the real name of the outpost. The quest maker itself leads to a hill a small distance away from Lucky’s Lookout, not the outpost itself, and the courier must go there to further the quest.

Built in a defensive position covered by the nearby hills (sort of like the gully where there’s a bunch of radscorpions, cannot remember the name of it), it is impossible to clearly distinguish what type of outpost it is until the courier crests the hill that the quest marker is on. Lucky allows the courier a few moments of looking upon the legion camp, complete with a few crucifixes and a bonfire (he gives them binoculars wordlessly, adding them to the courier’s inventory), before starting to speak without initiating dialogue. 

Lucky: “Not the place you were expectin’, is it? It ain’t pretty. Brings up a whole lot of bad memories, I’ll tell you that.”

(Here, he will initiate dialogue with the courier)

Lucky: “I told you I enlisted with the NCR to get a new start, didn’t I? The wording might not be right, but the statement is. You’re looking at the old start right now.”

The courier is given options to question what Lucky means, leading to him revealing that, as a teenager, he ran from his family because of his shitty father and ended up stumbling directly into a legion patrol. Because of his attitude and determination (pointing the pistol he had managed to smuggle with him at one of the patrol without backing down when threatened), he was taken in. Lucky tells of how this all happened near where he was born, Buckeye, Arizona, and that he would’ve stayed there most likely if the conflict between the NCR and the Legion hadn’t started. 

He was trained how to be a legionnaire and sent off to the outpost he had led the courier to with a few conflicts already under his belt. Despite his older than typical age those stationed there saw a chance to use him as they would a child (like the child used against Ranger Andy). Lucky was sent, dressed in scavenger clothing, to where it was known there was a small patrol of NCR soldiers and tasked with leading them into an ambush through deceit and lying. Instead, he spilled out the truth to the first soldier he came across, one Captain Wallace (who can be found at the NCR checkpoint near Nelson and will comment on the presence of Lucky if he is a companion), and was taken in for questioning. 

Because of Captain Wallace standing up for him, Lucky was let off of an execution after telling all he could about the Legion. It was Wallace who extended the offer of enlistment and a new future to Lucky (while not mentioned by Lucky, speaking with Wallace shows that he acted much like a father figure to the young man as he settled into the NCR and his comments to Lucky when encountered show that).

After telling his story, Lucky will remain silent for a moment before saying that he’s been wanting to tell someone that for a while now and that he appreciates the courier’s listening. More questions can be asked to clarify parts of the story (such as his age, what he had done before being sent away from Buckeye, what it was like as a caravan kid), before the end of dialogue is met with a choice. Lucky will state that he feels as if he isn’t truly worthy of his rank or position in the NCR since he was Legion for a little whiles. While he wants to believe in the NCR, there are things that he disagrees with and that makes him think that the Legion had a bigger impact on him than he thought. 

Outcomes: The courier can either suggest that, since they’re already there, that the two of them might as well get some good old fashioned revenge. They brush off his concerns with stating that all he really needs is to kill off the bad of his past. Or, they can instead console him on his past and tell him that the NCR and the Legion isn’t a black and white issue, and that he’s just seeing the grey of what he’s aligned himself with. 

If the choice to lead to the slaughter of the outpost is made, Lucky will afterwards thank the courier for listening to him and his story. Although, he will comment that the blood and death didn’t make him feel that much better. The courier can either assure him that enough of it will, or brush it off. Either choice will lead to the same end of him becoming resolute in violence being the solution to complicated troubles and will earn the Sergeant Shoot First, Ask Never perk for himself.

If the choice to console him is made, Lucky will agree with the courier and say that he’s got a lot of thinking to do. This makes him more introspective of his past and his current alignments, earning him the Hollister History perk.

Endings

Convincing Lucky to be critical of the NCR [Eureka!]: As his fellow soldiers celebrated and tossed their covers in the air over the defeat of the Legion, lone sergeant Hollister harbored doubt in his heart and a burning in his gut. As the Republic established a firmer grip in the Mojave, Lucky slipped off from his post unnoticed and unremembered, disappearing into the heart of the desert.

Convincing Lucky that violence is a solution [Eureka!]: The NCR celebrated, and Lucky celebrated right alongside them. He redoubled his efforts to bring something special and new to the Republic that had taken him under his wing, seen by the men of his Outpost with a cheerful smile as he headed out for scrap that wasn’t so readily available. The sergeant was not seen again.

Convincing Lucky to be critical of the NCR [No Gods, No Masters]: The withdrawal of the NCR was a bitter thing to celebrate, but celebrate the ex-sergeant did. He never reported back to his commanding officer after the Battle of Hoover Dam, instead finding an unexpected joy in Freeside as a repairman. His days of soldiering and battle were put behind him.

Convincing Lucky that violence is a solution [No Gods, No Master OR All or Nothing]: Where others were celebrating, sergeant Lucky Hollister was polishing up his gun with a bitter burning. When he had pledged his allegiance to the courier, it was without thought. As the NCR began to trickle away, a new mercenary joined the streets of Freeside. 

Convincing Lucky to be critical of the NCR [Vendi, Vidi, Vici]: More a talker and tinkerer than an actual soldier, Lucky was left without much choice in the ruling state of the Legion than to call upon his past roots within. He remembered the codes of conduct and complexities of Buckeye, using his knowledge to get with a Legion caravan as a guard despite the dislike he carried still.

Convincing Lucky that violence is a solution [Vendi, Vidi, Vici]: While Lucky had reached the rank of sergeant through flukes and luck, he still had the knowledge of how to shoot and maintain a gun. Still wearing the NCR armor that had been his pride and joy, the man took up a short lived yet deadly campaign against the Legion. Striking from shadows with jury rigged silencers and living off of the lands, he eventually pawned off all but one of his bullets to afford as much whiskey as he could, and did the only thing that he thought could free him.

Lucky dies: No number of good natured smiles and polite greetings could keep the Mojave from chewing up and spitting out Lucky. He was quickly forgotten, not even a footnote in the history of the NCR despite the dreams he had carried for it.