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obsidianfr3sk · 3 years ago

Text

true colors

@renegadesnet event 10: pride

↪ [ “But everything was temporary. And pain was one of those things. Well, except love. Everything but love was temporary. Or that was what he liked to believe.” ]

Summary: Two years after the supernova, after Tamaya notified them the gearboxes that contained the lights had gotten soaked and that she needed the money to buy more before the next day (June 1st), Simon realized they were not enough for him anymore.

Simon wanted a bigger flag.

No. He wanted two. The biggest pride flags he could find.

AO3

Hello, friends!! I hope you’ve been having an excellent pride month and have been eating a lot rainbow cake and pissing off a lot of conservatives with the mere fact of your wonderful existence:’) As my contribution to this month and the event organized by @renegadesnet, I decided to write a fic focused on my favorite gay dads and their sons (bc I’m me, and you should have seen this coming.)

Before you read, I want to give a trigger warning: at the start of a fic I talk about a homophobic attack, which is not graphic or violent per se (it’s someone in the middle of the night taking away the flag they put outiside the house), and I do discuss about internalized homophobia during some parts of the story. If you read it and are sensitive to this kind of stuff, proceed with caution and take care of yourself <3

Also, this entry is a collaboration with my talented mother @healing-winston-pratt, who is going to be uploading some fanart of this in a near future, so keep an eye on that👀 she’s the best skjhkjds thank you for accepting to collaborate, I feel this is a great bonding activity and I hope we can do this more often✨

I need to update my tag list because a lot of the people who were included are not active as active as they were before/changed their URLs. But I’m going to tag @the-wee-woo-rita @lackadae @all-weather-is-bad @chiyuki-hiro bc you guys are the only ones who are still active users who I had on my previous tag list lol

With that said, I hope you enjoy this fic. I think that despite the angsty parts, it came out really fluffy and domestic, it was fun to write. And to all my queer silbings who are reading this: I am very proud of you.

But I see your true colors shining through.

I see your true colors, and that's why I love you.

So don't be afraid to let them show.

Your true colors,

true colors are beautiful like a rainbow

Simon couldn’t remember a time when he didn’t know he was gay.

There was a time when he didn’t know he was gay, of course. He was probably too young to even comprehend the meaning behind that word. And there was also a moment in his life when he felt embarrassed about it, and sad, and angry, and really, really scared, and probably thought that no matter how hard he tried, he was never going to be happy living the life he wanted to live.

That the pain was never going to end. That he was going to be miserable for the rest of his existence, and that maybe, there was no point in existing if he was going to stay like that until the day he died.

But everything was temporary. And pain was one of those things.

Well, except love. Everything but love was temporary. Or that was what he liked to believe.

That was the reason why, the first year after the Day of Triumph, he told Hugh they should get a rainbow flag for their house. They went to one of the first stores that opened at the mall (that had just been remodeled after twenty years of being abandoned) and bought one at a not so affordable price. Simon offered himself to install it on one of the fence pillars and had to spend thirty minutes listening to Hugh telling him that maybe he should let him do it, that the ladder Kasumi had lent them was ratty, and that Simon was going to fall.

Fortunately, Simon didn’t. He did almost fall, though, when he was about to pass out from stress because seeing Hugh getting all anxious, made Adrian cry and he started to basically beg him to come down, given that now he was convinced he was going to fall, and hearing his dad saying “Look what you’ve done to the kid, Simon” didn’t help at all to make Adrian (or Simon) feel better.

That night, there was a thunderstorm and Adrian used it as an excuse to sleep on their bed. As soon as he cried himself to sleep, two hours later, after their dads did everything in their power to calm him down, hugging him, giving him kisses, and assuring him his aunt Tamaya wasn’t going to let the storm hurt them, Simon raised his hand to high-five Hugh and tell him that they were amazing parents, just to realize he was already asleep. Simon silently judged him for sleeping so soundly while his son was having a crisis instead of sleeping.

When he woke up (at five in the morning) Adrian was looking out their window, with the Baby Indomitable blanket on his shoulders. The sky was still cloudy, but it wasn’t raining anymore.

“Darling, what are you doing?,” Simon told him. “Today’s Sunday. Let your daddy and I get some more sleep—”

“The storm took our flag,” Adrian blurred out.

Hugh was already awake too. “What?”

“You said the storm wasn’t going to hurt us,” Adrian said, turning around to see them, “but the storm took our flag.”

Simon got out of bed, looked through the window...

And, yes, the flag was completely gone.

But for some reason, Simon knew it hadn’t been the storm.

“Why would the storm do something like this?” Adrian asked.

Simon didn’t know how to answer that. Luckily, Hugh did.

“Because the storm is homophobic, son.”

Adrian laughed out loud and then asked his dads if they could have pancakes for breakfast. He had already forgotten about the storm and the flag.

They didn’t. Neither of them ever forgot about it.

While Simon and Adrian ate their pancakes, Hugh went to his office because, according to him, he needed to check something. When Adrian finished his breakfast and went back to his dads’ room to watch TV, Simon stayed in the kitchen, doing the dishes, and Hugh finally came downstairs. He was pretty quiet, and Simon thought that it probably was because he had told him to eat the burnt pancakes he didn’t dare to throw away, but after he finished them all, he said:

“I lied.”

Simon threw a glance at him. “When did you lie?”

“When I said the storm was homophobic,” Hugh answered.

“Well, of course, you lied, love. Storms don’t have strong political opinions about gay people.”

Hugh didn’t laugh. “What I mean is— that it wasn’t the storm.”

Every joke Simon’s brain could come up with disappeared at that moment. So he continued doing the dishes, and Hugh, thinking he hadn’t made himself clear, continued talking.

“It was someone else. It was a person. I saw them on—”

“I know,” Simon interrupted him. “I know. I’ve always known.”

But even if Simon knew, he still told Hugh to show him the footage because four eyes were better than two (especially considering that the owner of those first two eyes needed to wear glasses). It was all useless, though; the storm made the image all blurry, and the only thing they could see was someone taking it and running away in the middle of the night.

Simon wanted to think that it was just some dumb teen whose friends had challenged him to do it. But when it came to things like those one never really knew.

On Monday, they had promised Adrian to take him to the park that was a few blocks away so they could teach him how to fly a kite, but the thought of going out made him feel as if something bad was going to happen to them if they did, so Simon told Adrian that he and Hugh were feeling sick and that they would stay in their room to get some rest. Adrian asked them if they minded that he stayed there too because he was in the middle of watching a movie he had never seen before.

“Only if we can watch it with you,” Simon answered.

It was a weird day to be alive. They really just stayed there, watching silly cartoons with their kid and listening to him ranting about the weird proportions those characters had.

During the afternoon, Adrian told them he was hungry, so Simon went downstairs to look for something they could eat. He was thinking that maybe they should order something from that Chinese restaurant Tamaya had taken him the other day, when Hugh entered the kitchen and told him Adrian had asked him if he could bring him water.

Simon felt his hands were trembling while he looked inside his wallet for the paper where he had written the restaurant’s phone number.

“Do you want to get another flag?” Hugh asked him.

And something hurt.

Something hurt inside of him. Something started to cry, and to scream, and to flicker, trying to make him invisible to the world.

And it told him, the same way Adrian had told him he was hungry, that someone had taken him by surprise and made a deep cut on his chest.

But Simon didn’t allow it to come out.

He just said: “No.”

And Hugh answered him: “Me neither.”

He called the Chinese restaurant to order some food, while Simon went to their room with Adrian again and cuddled with him, trying to tend to the wounds of that something that was bleeding out inside of him.

Little Simon was crying, and screaming, and flickering, and needed adult Simon to take care of him.

The next day, they talked about the incident with the rest of the Council during their lunch break. It was one of those few occasions the six of them were together in the same room during their work hours. Tamaya was furious about the flag situation. She ranted for a good five minutes without anyone interrupting her about how fucking horrible people were and that she was going to find that little piece of shit and cut his hands off. Kasumi nodded in approval while drinking some horchata she had bought for herself, probably thinking about how to ask Tamaya to let her join her revolution (something she didn’t need to do, since Tamaya always included Kasumi in everything she did). Evander, on the other hand, was very quiet, something that made him feel a little bit relieved because he was not a sensitive person and Simon didn’t want him to... Evander the situation.

He didn’t say anything insensitive that day, though.

In fact, he said something… helpful, even.

“What about a flag made of light?”

Hugh rubbed his eyes and Simon knew what he was going to say before he opened his mouth.

Because he said that phrase constantly.

“Shut the fuck up, Evander.”

But Evander didn’t shut up. “Dude, think about it. No one would be able to take down a flag made of light.”

And everyone realized that, now, it was not only one of those strange occasions when the six of them got together to have lunch during their work hours; it was also one of those strange occasions when Evander had an idea that was actually good.

So after spending another hour discussing how they were going to make it work, they decided they were going to lit up the building in rainbow-colored lights.

Tamaya and Hugh were the ones in charge of almost all the operation because Evander said he had already given them the idea, so he didn’t need to do anything else (and then got mad at Hugh when he told the media he was the one who came up with it). Kasumi helped them, but was especially insistent about putting a trans pride flag somewhere in the building, and after they agreed with her, she personally hung it on the main entrance of Headquarters.

They started turning the lights on each night of June since that yeat.

Hugh and Simon still didn’t get a flag. Three nights after they told their friends about what had happened during the thunderstorm, Simon was woken up by the sound of someone crashing against the trash cans and almost jumped out of the window with his dagger on hand to slay whoever was trying to break into their house, but when he peeked out to see what was going on, he realized the “robber” was Kasumi, who had put a bunch of small pride flags on some pots they kept on their porch and started crying as soon as she realized Simon was watching her, not because she was upset the surprise she had for them had been ruined, but because now she was covered in trash.

(That week was like a sign Georgie was sending them from the afterlife to tell them they needed to install a better security system.)

Those were the only flags they kept around the house. They were small and discreet, and, most importantly, no one had taken them away. Why? Well— because they listened to Georgie’s sign and installed a better security system. Not because there weren’t any more homophobes out there who were willing to do it.

Until that moment, those flags (the little ones Kasumi had given them in a rather unconventional way and the one made of light that Evander had come up with) had been more than enough for them. But, two years after the supernova, after Tamaya notified them the gearboxes that contained the lights had gotten soaked and that she needed the money to buy more before the next day (June 1st), Simon realized they were not enough for him anymore.

Simon wanted a bigger flag.

No. He wanted two.

The biggest pride flags he could find.

***

That was the reason why, after having pancakes for breakfast (because it had rained during the night), he took the car, took the other three people living in that house with him, and after he was able to read the map, they arrived at a store that, among other things, sold flags like the ones they were looking for.

“I want one too,” Adrian told them when they were at the flag section of the store. “For my room, you know. And I want to get ones for Danna and Nova because I don’t think they have any. They would’ve told me.”

Usually, when Adrian asked for something Simon hadn’t agreed to buy him, like some candy, an action figure, or a pair of sneakers, he would turn around and ask him if he had the money to buy any of those things himself, which would anger him so much he would stop wanting that certain thing.

But that day, he felt like buying them everything they wanted. As if money grew on trees (something he always told his kids didn’t happen.)

“Of course, darling,” he answered, “get them everything you want. It’s pride month.”

“It’s May 31th,” Max said. He was inside the shopping cart Hugh had grabbed the second they entered. It was something he always did, even if they weren’t going to buy a lot of things because, according to him, it felt weird and wrong not to.

“It’s almost pride month,” he corrected himself.

“So can I get something for Nova?” Adrian asked again, just to make sure.

“You can get something for Nova,” Hugh assured him, smiling a little bit.

Adrian quickly turned around and started looking for the flag he wanted while texting Nova about something Simon couldn’t read (not like he was trying to, anyway).

After making sure Adrian stayed on the same aisle as them, they started walking around, gazing at the flags and posters available. Simon felt pretty progressive because he was able to name every single sexuality and gender they were supposed to represent. He imagined Hugh was doing the same thing, but with a lot more difficulty than him. He kept his eyes fixated on each flag longer than Simon did, as if he were trying to remember what they meant, and when he did, he pushed the cart (with Max still inside of it, playing a game on Hugh’s phone because he had forgotten his tablet at home), and the cycle began again.

But suddenly, Simon saw ones that he didn’t recognize.

After three seconds of standing in front of those little flags, someone hit him in the butt with their cart. He turned around immediately, ready to say a really threatening “Hey” to whoever had done it.

Hugh was the only other person who was there. He had been the one who had hit him with the cart.

Suddenly, Simon felt a little bit stupid for thinking someone else had done it.

The two of them maintained eye contact for a couple of seconds until Hugh started looking at his own hands grabbing the cart’s handle.

“Simon.” Before Simon could ask him what happened, he added, with a deep voice: “Move.”

Simon didn’t move. Instead, he hit the cart with his hips, just out of spite. Hugh hit him again with it, making Simon feel the unexpected need to grab the cart with his two hands and use his own weapon against him, but Max was there and they couldn’t act like kids in front of him. So he just hit the cart with his hips again, a little bit harder than the first time, and left it there.

He realized he was just going to be wasting his time asking Hugh if he knew what that flag was supposed to represent.

“Cherub,” he called Max. “Do you recognize this flag?”

Max looked up from the screen. He usually didn’t like it when he called him “cherub” in public, but this time, he didn’t seem mad about it. “Um… no? Ask Adrian—” and continued playing.

Adrian came back with a basket full of pins, and for a second, Simon almost asked him if he really was that naive to believe he was actually going to pay for all of them. But then, he realized that it was only the basket where they kept all of the pins they sold and that Adrian had taken it to show them to them.

“Look, they have so many pins here—” he started taking random pins “—this is the aromantic flag… this is the genderfluid flag—”

“Interesting,” Hugh interrupted him, “but which flag is that one?” and pointed at the one Simon didn’t recognize.

Max took a random pin from the basket and started looking at it with curiosity. Adrian almost didn’t pay attention to it, and after a few seconds, he said: “That one’s yours.”

Simon frowned and took one. It was a handheld flag with green and blue stripes, with a white one in the middle. He touched the polyester with his fingertips as if that was going to give him the ability to communicate with it.

“But we don’t have a flag,” Hugh told Adrian. “I’ve heard of the lesbian fl—”

Adrian took a pin of the lesbian flag. “This one.”

“Yeah— but gay men don’t have one.”

“The rainbow is ours,” Simon said, without taking his eyes away from the blue and green flag he was holding. “Like, it’s for all queer people.”

Hugh directed his attention to Adrian again. “You’re messing with us.”

“I do mess with you a lot,” Adrian admitted, “but this time I’m not because if I do and you get mad, you won’t buy me all the stuff I want to get.”

“Huh.”

Simon knew Adrian and Max were a lot of things, but "dumb" wasn't one of those. And Adrian was especially intelligent when it came to convincing his parents to buy him things.

So he decided to believe him.

“Well, I like it,” he said. Then, he asked Hugh: “Do you like it?”

Hugh grabbed one and observed it for a while. “I like that it has blue on it,” he finally answered, nodding a little bit.

Simon noticed Max was spacing out while playing with the pin he had taken, so he waved the flag on his face, making him laugh and sneeze because the damn thing had a lot of invisible dust Simon didn't notice at first.

“Oh, sh—”

“You know? Maybe we should get two of these,” Hugh said, waving it too, but in his case, not on the face of one of their kids. “For our offices.”

“Matching flags, very romantic.”

Max rubbed his nose. “Why don't you get a big one for the house?”

Simon quickly started to look everywhere on that aisle, and he saw a lot of big versions of the flags he had recognized before (and some of the ones Adrian had mentioned), but there were no gay flags in sight.

“Maybe next year, I guess,” he shrugged. “I don't think they have them here yet.”

He grabbed two of the rainbow flags that were there, inside their respective plastic bags, gave them to Max, and he put them on his lap, still holding that pin. Simon made a quick mental note to remind his future self they needed to pay for that (he didn’t know if it had to with the fact that Max had been spending a lot of time with Maggie, Nova’s sister, but he had developed this weird habit of stealing the most random objects one could think of. Luckily, he limited himself to stealing things from his dads and, one time, from a store.) (Kids went through weird phases when they were Max’s age.)

(Because… it was a phase, right?)

Adrian received a text. “Danna says that she already has a flag, so I’m getting her a pin,” he said after reading it. “And Nova says she wants one too.” Then, his whole face lit up. “And I could get one too so we match.”

“Copycat,” Simon accused him, jokingly. “Your dad and I got matching flags, and now you want to get matching pins with your girlfriend.”

Hugh shook his head, disappointed. “I cannot believe you have betrayed your own family like this.”

They stayed at the store another 30 minutes to buy some other things they needed for the house, and from time to time, when he or Hugh grabbed something, they pretended they didn’t see Adrian and said: “Um, but the copycat may be listening” to a point he told them to stop, and refused to forgive them until they agreed to buy him the flag he didn’t intend to get anymore, but now was going to.

He got the last bisexual flag there was at that store.

***

The first time the four of them were together in their room was last June. Something went wrong with the A/C system of the entire house and the only room where one could stay without having a heatstroke was theirs because their A/C hadn’t broken down for some reason. Adrian and Max were sleeping on the air mattress until Simon (who hadn’t been able to sleep lately) heard that one of them woke up and asked Hugh something. He sat down on the bed, at the same time Hugh moved a little bit to allow Adrian to lay down between the two of them.

Then, in the middle of the dark, his eyes met Max’s.

He looked tiny. Young. Pretty young.

And far away.

Simon couldn’t remember who did it. He didn’t remember who talked that night. It could have been him, even. But he was sure that, at that moment, someone whispered:

“Get in here, kid.”

And Max obeyed. He crawled, raised his arms towards them, and Hugh grabbed him carefully by the collar of his shirt and placed him between him and Adrian.

It was a peaceful night. The bed was big enough for the four of them, and Simon was able to sleep and actually rest for the first time in weeks.

At least until their A/C turned off with a weird sound, and the four of them woke up at the same time, sweaty, uncomfortable, and almost at 11 AM, not because they weren’t necessarily willing to stay there longer, but because the heat was starting to get unbearable and suddenly the bed was too small for three adults and a little kid that was not that little anymore.

“This isn’t a room, this is a— a freaking oven,” Hugh said, while Adrian tried to push him out of bed to get the hell out of there and seek comfort on the air mattress he had abandoned in the middle of the night.

“And we are the... cookies,” Max giggled.

“The turkey,” Simon added.

Max turned around. His whole face was red and his hair was a little bit wet. “The lasagna.��

Simon grabbed him by the cheeks; a discreet way to check if he had a fever. “The cake.”

“The ham.”

“The—”

“Dad. Move.”

Later that day, Simon called someone to fix the A/C, and that was the end of the story.

When they arrived at the house, Adrian wanted to hang his flag as soon as possible, on one of his room’s walls, but Simon insisted that they should iron it first so it looked nicer. Hugh said that he was planning on ironing the ones they had bought for the house and offered Adrian to do the same with his, but when he insinuated that he didn’t trust him enough not to mess up his flag the same way he had messed up his favorite shirt (the one he wanted to wear to take Nova to a nice place during her birthday), Hugh reminded him that the only reason he kept doing that for him was that Adrian didn’t know how to iron yet, and decided that he was going to use that moment as a teaching opportunity. Max made the mistake of laughing at his brother when he thought no one was paying attention to him, but Adrian was and dragged Max into the teaching opportunity with him.

Simon joined too. Just because.

And suddenly, the four of them were in their room again.

With the A/C on, of course.

He didn't know if Hugh had noticed, but he had been so invested in his own explanation, that after he finished ironing the two rainbow flags, he started ironing Adrian’s without realizing it. Adrian, instead of giving up and stop pretending he was paying attention, was looking, kind of mesmerized, how he opened the bag of his blue, purple, and magenta flag, and proceeded to put it on the ironing board, now telling him that when Georgie had tried to teach him how to iron his clothes, she accidentally burnt Evander.

Simon was half-listening to the story, half-listening to the music video that Max was watching on the TV. He was sitting on a big and old ottoman they had bought a long time ago but had never found the perfect place to put it and just stayed there for years until they forgot about it. Max was in front of him, sitting on the floor and resting his back on the ottoman, while he covered his blond hair with small butterfly hair clips he had found at the store and bought just because he thought they were cute (who knows, maybe Nova wanted them for Maggie, or Kasumi could use them for herself, she loved them when she was little).

When all the hair clips were on Max's hair, he took a small mirror they kept in the bathroom (but Simon borrowed it for a minute) and gave it to him so he could see the final result.

“Look at me,” Max exclaimed, laughing. “I look so pretty.”

Simon grabbed one of the hair clips and pulled it a little. “Butterfly hair clips are a popular trend this time of the year.”

“This is definitely going to make me the most popular kid in the playground.”

“Definitely.”

He leaned forward to start taking the butterfly hair clips off Max's hair and was putting them on Max’s open hand when he noticed that he hadn’t let go of the pin they bought him at the store.

(Simon did remember to pay for the thing, but if he hadn’t done it, Max wouldn’t have said anything.)

“That was really nice of you,” Simon said.

Max looked at him, confused. “What?”

“Getting a rainbow pin—” he took his other hand and started putting the hair clips on it so none of them would get lost “—to show support.”

Max didn't say anything and Simon continued with what he was doing. After the music video finished, and another one started playing, Hugh gave Adrian his flag and told him he could go and hang it in his room, and as soon as Max heard that too, he gave Simon the hair clips and followed his brother out of the room, asking him if he could help him with it.

Simon, after realizing the bag where the hair clips came in had been destroyed by Max punching holes in it with the pin, took one of the empty pill bottles he kept in his drawers and put them there.

He closed the pill bottle and realized Hugh had been gazing at him during all this time, slightly leaning on the ironing board. “What?”

“That’s my pill bottle, Si,” he told him.

“Ah—” Simon pressed his lips “—can I have it?”

“No.” Hugh smiled at him. “Yes, you can.”

“So funny. Come here—” and patted the bed mattress.

Hugh, being extremely careful not to touch the flags he just ironed, lied on the bed and sighed.

“Do you want me to play with your hair?” Simon asked him with a soft voice.

He closed his eyes and nodded.

After a while of the two of them just being silent, he said, “Hey… I heard what you told Max, by the way.”

“The butterfly hair clips trend?”

“The pin thing.”

“What about it?”

Hugh opened his eyes, just a little bit. “Just don't tell Max I told you, all right? Because he told me he wouldn't tell anyone else until he was sure, but… I think it's important the two of us know,” he explained.

Simon was starting to feel his palms get a little bit sweaty. “Okay— but just tell me, please.”

He checked overhearing their conversation one last time, and that the kids were still at Adrian's room. “Max told me a couple of days ago that he has been thinking about… what he likes.”

He stopped playing with his hair for a second. But then, he continued.

It was his way of coping with the feeling of his stomach twisting inside of him. “What he likes?” Hugh nodded again. “Huh. And has he— does he has an idea or—”

“No, he doesn't,” Hugh answered. “He just knows that he doesn't like girls. Or that's what he told me.”

Simon raised his eyebrows and scoffed. “That sounds like a lot of things. Not liking girls.”

Hugh scoffed too. “That's what I told him. And that he can take all the time he needs to figure it out. Because he can—”

“Yes. Yes, of course, he can,” Simon assured, with determination. “Life is longer than we think it is.”

They stayed silent again. And Simon couldn’t help but feel relive inside his head the moment he called Max an ally, feeling his stomach twisting even more at every second it passed.

“I feel bad.”

“Why?”

His palms started to sweat again. “Because I called him an ally.”

“It’s all right. You didn’t know.”

“I shouldn’t have assumed anything.”

“You didn’t know,” Hugh repeated.

But Simon didn’t listen. “Si.”

Then, Hugh grabbed him carefully by the wrist, and, a little bit surprised, Simon tilted his head. Hugh usually didn't interrupt him when he was playing with his hair.

“What's wrong?” he asked.

“No, what’s wrong with you?” he deadpanned

Simon knew him well enough to know he wasn’t trying to be rude. It was just his way of asking things. Especially when he was genuinely worried and didn’t think about modulating his tone so it It fitted the situation better.

He sighed. Because he didn’t want to lie to him. “I assumed Max was straight.”

As soon as he said it, he realized how silly it had sounded phrased like that. But he also noticed his voice had broken and he had to put a hand on his mouth so he didn’t start crying.

And Hugh, instead of saying the encouraging phrase he expected him to say…

He smiled.

And for some reason, that made him want to cry even more. “Ew, why are you smiling?” he asked.

Hugh took his time to answer him. “Oh, it’s nothing. I think I'm just… happy.”

“Well, I’m not.”

Hugh smiled more. “I know, love, I know… It's just one of those things…” he tried to find the right words this time. “One of those things I didn't think we were going to go through together,” he kept saying. “Like… we're going to be together when Max finally discovers who he really is. Like we did with Adrian. And like other people did with us. And that makes me happy.”

Simon wanted to tell him to shut up and let him cry and be dramatic as much as he wanted because he considered he deserved it. But he tried to do it, the only thing that could come out of his lips was almost imperceptible “Yeah…” and then, a small tear started running down his face. Hugh quickly noticed this and wiped it away with his finger. Simon scoffed and looked away, rubbing his nose.

“Hey…” and he moved aside so Simon could lay beside him.

The space they had was a little too small but he didn’t mind because now he had an excuse to be closer to him.

And there it was again. Little Simon. Little Simon was there again with them.

Just that this time he wasn’t crying, or screaming, or even flickering. He was just… existing.

And all he wanted to do was to exist.

When Hugh held him that way, sometimes he felt as if it was the first time he did it. Which made Simon (and the sad, angry and scared part of Simon) wonder if there was a sad, angry and scared part of Hugh that also craved that comfort and validation, and if it was the one who hugged that younger version of Simon until they convinced each other that everything was fine.

That there was nothing wrong with neither of them.

Because sometimes it was as if people didn’t remind them that as many times as they needed. So the only option they had was to be there for the other, and tell him that it was okay to hug, to kiss, to touch, and to share until the one who was talking ended up convincing both of them.

Love wasn’t temporary.

And their love was as powerful as they wanted it to be.

Those younger versions of themselves wanted to stay like that forever every single time. But their adult versions knew they couldn’t do it because they had other responsibilities that they needed to attend.

Installing those two pride flags that were next to them, for example.

Their younger versions were excited to do that, but they also asked them if they could rest together a little bit longer. And neither of them had the heart to tell them no.

Hugh started to play with a lock of Simon’s hair. “We’ll be there to catch him.”

He knew he wasn’t talking about either of them. Even if, with his eyes closed, he could see little Hugh and little Simon holding each other’s hands and throwing themselves into the world, a little less sad, and angry, and scared than before, without being sure if there was going to be someone down there to catch them if everything went wrong.

“Together.”

And Simon agreed. “Together.”

***

“He’s going to fall.”

Simon rolled his eyes.

“No, he’s not,” Hugh told Max. “I’m here.”

“But what if—”

“Done,” Simon announced before Max could even finish his sentence. “Now, let’s just hope these things stay there as long as possible, because this ladder makes me anxious. I was trembling while putting the first flag.”

Max clicked his tongue. “It’s a windy day. The wind could have pushed the ladder or something.”

Now it was Hugh’s turn to roll his eyes. “Take my hand.”

Simon went down the ladder without letting go of his hand. Then, while Hugh took it and quickly went inside the garage to put it there, Adrian pricked his little brother up with his own rainbow flag pin, and in response, Max punched him in the stomach with all his might (which wasn’t that much). Adrian laughed and pretended to be hurt, but immediately asked him if he wanted him to help him with his pin.

Simon noticed that Adrian had already put his pin of the bisexual flag on his clothes, and watching him pull Max a little bit closer so he didn’t prink him again (now by accident), while Max gazed at his hands, trying to memorize his movements so he could do the same thing when he wanted to wear that pin again, made his mouth curved into a smile.

When his husband came back from the garage, he thought he was going to tell them to stop blocking the sidewalk and get in the house so they could continue with their day. But instead of doing that, he walked towards them and looked at their waving flags, flying on their mansion for the first time in years.

Adrian grabbed Max by the waist and carried him on his shoulders so he could have a better view. And he realized that there would be a day when they would throw themselves into the world completely alone, without knowing how people were going to act and aware that two of them were brave enough to take whatever blows that they were going to throw at them.

But they weren’t going to do it alone. Because Hugh, Simon, and their hurting parts weren’t going to spend a day without reminding them that they were going to be there, ready to catch them every single time they needed it.

Simon started to look for Hugh’s hand just to realize, Hugh was already looking for his too, and when they found each other, he couldn’t contain himself and stood on his tiptoes to kiss him on the cheek. Then, Hugh smiled and kissed him back, this time, on the corner of his lip.

Simon felt proud of what they were.

He was really proud.

And he hoped they were proud too.

#renegades #archenemies #supernova #renegades trilogy #hugh everhart #simon westwood #adrian everhart #max everhart #everhart-westwood family #the warden and the captain are sitting in a tree #obsi's writs #i should get an oscar for the homophobic storm joke

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renegades-as-marvel-quotes · 4 years ago

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Adrian: Look, let me walk you through a hypothetical. Can I walk you through a hypothetical?

Hugh & Simon: What Did You Do?

Adrian: I didn’t do anything.

#incorrect quotes #incorrect renegades quotes #renegades #adrian everhart #hugh everhart #simon westwood #humon #simon x hugh #the falcon and the winter soldier #everhart westwood family

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loving-jack-kelly · 5 years ago

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Upon rereading Renegades and Archenemies, here are my Stances:

If Max or Simon dies, I riot

Fuck Evander Wade I Hate The Man

Please let Max wake up and get Adrian, Simon, and Hugh to understand that Nightmare wasn’t the one who hurt him. That would open up so many doors.

The Council is corrupt but not necessarily on purpose (I’m looking at u Evander u might be on purpose)

I agree with Danna, Thunderbird freaks me out a little bit but I also want more of her. And Tsunami. Not Evander though.

Danna better kick some serious ass in Supernova also I love her

I really hope Narcissa comes back because her power is awesome and also she has so much narrative potential

Oscar and Ruby are...perfect

Frostbite’s team got what they deserved. I cannot wait until people find out that she would have rather watched Max die than lose her powers.

I’m personally hoping for Max v. Ace Anarchy round two: Ace actually loses this time

Also, if we don’t find out what happened to Lady Indomitable and if it’s connected to Nova’s parents, I’ll riot

They better find some way for Simon to visit Max since Nova has the vitality charm, the man needs to hold his son!

#Asper Yells #txt #I'm too invested in the everhart westwood family #emma this is the book I'm dying over #renegades #archenemies #Supernova #marissa meyer #bookblr

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justsomerandomficsforrenegades · 6 years ago

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Six Years Ago

Adrian tosses and turns in his bed, seeing nothing but the Monster behind his curtains and desk, hovering over the pile of toys in the corner. The Monster that shoved his mother from that rooftop on that fateful day. Adrian shivers with the thoughts that happen to him every single time he tries to sleep.

So instead of sleeping, Adrian pulls out a marker and does the only thing he knows. Draws. They’re scary, dark things that hover and stare at him from the paper. The Monster wants to get rid of him, too. It bares its teeth, it’s eyes burning into him, it’s darkness consuming. He’s careful not to put so much effort or to think the drawing alive, else it try to shove him of the roof too.

Adrian’s marker stops. His shoulders tremble. Tears drip onto his art and they smudge the sketchy lines into a blur of black-blue color. His mom. He sobs silently, the piece of art soon becoming just a smudge of black. He’s frustrated that he can’t sleep, frustrated he couldn’t save his mom, couldn’t do anything to fix the world while his dads tried to rebuild it.

“Adrian?” He doesn’t even notice the door opening to his basement room. Far from the high up windows, somewhere the Monster couldn’t push him to his death. “Are you still up?” Simon’s form leans in, casting a shadow on the wall. Adrian jumps away from the desk, quickly shutting off the light and crumpling the tear-soaked art.

“No,” he says, his voice squeaks.

“Hey little guy, what’s up?” It’s Hugh this time.

“Just can’t sleep. I’m going to bed now.” Adrian does his best to subtly slip into bed, dragging the covers up to his chin.

“You sure? Don’t need a story, or a snack, or a movie maybe?”

“I’m fine, thanks. Goodnight.” But he won’t voice how much he doesn’t want to be left alone. He takes off his glasses, rubbing the tear smudges off of them, sniffling. His dads mumble things to themselves that Adrian can’t hear.

“Well, we’re lonely too, so we’ll join you tonight,” Hugh says, snatching up a blanket at the foot of Adrian’s bed and spreading it on the floor. “You’re always so far away from us way down here.” They laugh.

Less reluctantly than he thought he would be, Adrian slides to the floor, taking his sheets and pillow with him. He smiles, laughs a little, rubbing his face with his sleeve.

The warmth of his dads on either side of him, feeling comforted and wanted, it almost seems as though the Monster never existed, and that he could just pretend it was him and his mother in their apartment, thinking about all he little gifts he would draw her tomorrow.

Adrian slips back into peaceful sleep, imagining what gifts his dads would like.

#adrian everhart #renegades #fics #my writing #hugh everhart #simon westwood #early years #six years ago part 2 #some warm cozy family fluff for ya

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the-wee-woo-royal · 2 years ago

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Love Is...

This is for @renegades-ship-weeks week 4 / Macker - Coming out

Its late but we're just gonna ignore that and celebrate that I WROTE SOMETHING! AND ITS NOT DEPRESSING!!! WOOO

May the gay be good <3

Tagging (dm or comment to be added/removed): @obsidianfr3sk @greenalmond @galaxy-creationz @healing-winston-pratt

He’d been surrounded by gay people his whole life.

It was as natural to him as seeing a straight relationship.

Back in the glass room Max called home for 10 years, it's no surprise he’d people-watch.

He’d watch how comfortable everyone seemed to be with expressing themselves.

He’d watch the confidence with every move, the words never stuttered.

And in the face of deep hatred, not a trace of fear.

It may have been that the only LGBTQ+ people he knew then were the most confident beings alive, being his dads, all of Team Sketch, and one of his caretakers.

Or maybe it’s something that came with time.

Was 17 years not enough time?

He just couldn’t understand why he was different. He knew he was gay when he discovered what love really was, it was never girls. Ever. He was a Renegade. An Everhart-Westwood. Confident with almost everything he does.

Everything except admitting he was gay.

Max owned it to himself and himself only. Yeah, he saw a hot dude (one in particular) and was reminded why he was very not straight.

But even to his family, who he was close with and knew would accept him. They werent homophobic at all and the big fact that his dads were also gay.

There was no reason not to at least let people, especially his family, know. Max hated the “girlfriend” assumptions.

All he needed to say was two words to stop them.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

May 24th - Max: age 17

Many talked about love as something obtained, like a toy that can be played with wherever then forgotten and deserted just as fast. Not as something that was to be respected.

Those people didn’t appreciate love for what it really was.

It was different for everyone, but when the heart truly sets its course… you just know.

To Max, love is showing his new and improved glass city to one of his best friends, letting them marvel at his (and Adrian’s) work.

Love is finally eating a family dinner his Dad’s had made. Not anything special. Just togetherness.

Love is seeing the flag so despised, celebrated, cherished and loved by a mass of people.

Love is the boy he’d seen as a friend, then become more in his heart just by existing.

Jade Tucker

His silliness and carefree attitude was often seen as trouble, but to Max it was that exact fire he’d grown to love.

Just thinking about him made Max smile at random. With every passing day those thoughts became more and more frequent. Until he couldn’t put it off anymore.

He had a crushed on Jade Tucker

‘Loved’ right now was possibly a little far-fetched… but not by a lot.

This time… Max was going to do something about it. He knew deep inside that this crush was worth chasing.

So he did.

It's been 4 months since he and Jade made it official. Very few friends knew. Jade was very PDA orientated but respected Max’s wish to keep it to a low place with many people. It's not like Max didn't want to but he was constantly being watched and didn’t want the secret to spill before he had a chance to tell people himself.

Even then, the want to scream it from the top of the Renegade Tower was growing everyday. But his own self-consciousness kept him back.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

May 30th

Everyone talks about how their ‘coming out’ talk ended, either in good spirit or bad.

No one ever tells the part on how to start the conversation.

How do you even bring it up?

“I’m gay and am dating one of my best friends!” seems real tempting, but doesnt seem the best outright.

Max thought about this for six days, what he’d say and advice on how to properly ask someone out, yet standing right beside the doorway of his dad’s office, he couldn’t recall one thing.

He’d gone in confident, but one he saw the door already open he just passed it and rested on the wall beside.

Part of his plan was knocking. Now that he couldn’t, the rest of his plan just went poof your on your own!

And he couldn’t pass it again to leave otherwise one of them would see and know something was up.

“I’m gay and am dating one of my best friends!” Was really tempting.

He was just gonna wing it.

Max took a breath and entered the doorway.

The home office was a large room, since it was shared between both councilmen. Adrian once said that they used to have their own offices in the smaller rooms downstairs but they often needed each other’s opinion or double-approval and this room was closer to the rest of their common living space. Made them feel closer to the kids.

But deep down both brother’s knew they just missed each other throughout the workday and would find any excuse to linger around the other at home.

Love is missing the sight and presence of your partner, even just a door down.

He didn’t linger for long before his dad, Hugh, asked him what he needed. Not in a mean ask so you can leave and I can work away, unlike a lot of other parents he’d seen, neither of them were like that. It was simply asking so I can help you, as my child, in any way I can.

Max felt like he wanted to cry. Not out of sadness or fear. It was all overwhelming to him.

Nothing was going to plan.

“I.. umm… kinda need to- well? No, I want…. To tell you something… important.” He’d tried to say it with confidence like on TV, but it came out shaky and the urge to cry was choking him up.

It had caught the attention of his Pops, Simon, who started to look worried. His Dad nodded and gestured to him to take a seat on one of the chairs in front of him. Pops stood and pulled the chair from his desk over, next to him as he sat.

He looked at both his dads who are studying him, waiting for him to talk. Max knew they knew he was scared shit-less. They wouldn’t press or tell him to spit it out.

Max stared at his hands in his lap, shaking, “Well, uhhhh-” his brain was failing and he could feel his eyes watering, “I just- umm, I-” his throat was closing and the tears started to flow.

He sniffed a few times and that caused his parents to go into dad-mode.

Pops put an arm around him, pulling him close and used his other hand to cover Max’s, trying to stop the shaking. Placing a kiss on his head, he tried to comfort him, “Hey, hey, It's ok… ok? Take your time, love. We aren’t going anywhere.”

Dad had moved from the other side of the desk to kneel in front of him. With one hand resting on his and Pops, he reached the other to cup his cheek, wiping the falling tears. Dad tilted Max’s head up just a bit to make eye contact, “You are my son. I love you, we both love you. Nothing you say will ever change that.” There was a slight smile on his lips, “You could decide to become a bum living in our basement forever or even convert to Anarchism, annf still nothing will change that.”

Simon piped up with a snort, “wait a second, Anarchism… maybe. As long as you have a cool name and costume. We raised you to have taste. Now living in our basement forever?? Sorry but your dad and I want some nice alone time when we retire.” He clicked his tongue, “But even then yeah… I guess I'd still love you with everything in my heart. But you’d be on thin ice.” He finished with faux irritation and grumbling that made Max laugh and wonder why he’d been so scared in the first place. If anyone could cut tension, it was his Pops.

Ah fuck it. It was the first thought for a reason.

“I’m gay and am dating one of my best friends!” He didn’t know where the sudden confidence came from. But there wasn’t a stutter or waiver of his voice that hinted to any unease.

Both his parents were stunned for a moment before Pop’s sent Dad a quick cocky smile, a silent message. A taunt.

At that moment Max was sure that this… was hardly a surprise.

Pops squeezed his shoulder, “That was very brave of you. I'm glad you felt you could tell us.”

Max wiped the last few remaining tears, “You knew, didn’t you?”

“Kind of, one can never be too sure on someone else’s sexuality. Your Dad, however, has an awful gaydar.”

Dad snorted, standing, “Lapse of judgment,” he smiled slyly, leaning against his desk, “so… dating and boys?”

The blood rushed to Max’s face, lighting his face of fire, “Stop there. Just… no.”

“Do you need help?! I have many cute date ideas for you and Jade. ” Pops looked and sounded very happy at the mere beginnings of his son’s budding romance, which was good, in a way. It was a bit surprising that Pops knew it was Jade, but then again it was Pops.

He knew all.

“NO!” Max answered quickly. The last he needed was his parents involved in his love life. Dad was dense and straight-forward and Pops could be a little much sometimes.

It fit their relationship dynamic, but Max was more on the lowkey side of things.

Pops deflated, “Ok… but I'm here if you need any advice.”

Dad rolled his eyes at Pops but nodded in agreement.

Well, Jade has talked about progressing their relationship after he told his Dad’s. Maybe more public dates. WIth his Dads now knowing, there was no need to hide much anymore. ANd confidence comes with practice.

Max huffed, not believing he was asking this, “Actually, can we come with you to Pride in a few days. Tickets kinda sold out before we thought to buy them and well, you kinda run it and get in for free, so ....”

Hugh snorted, “We don’t get in for free, we still pay and donate to every organization there.”

Max sighed, “That's a choice. You could get in for free, you just choose not to.”

Max put on his most charming smile as both his parents did what they do best.

Embarrassed him.

“Simon! Do you hear this?!?!” His Dad reached a hand out to his husband, “Already taking advantage of his poor compassionate parents to impress a boy!! Like a leech!”

Was it too late to put himself up for adoption… again?

Simon took the hand and theatrically fell into Hugh's chest, like he was dying, “ Oh, husband of mine, we are too kind and good and thoughtful…”

Out of anyone who would have found him in that river….

“And handsome and generous not too. He wants to seem cool and hip to his boyfriend!! Little does he know that it's us! WE are the cool ones!”

Or even better! Let him drown. Anything was better than this.

Hugh nodded like he heard the wisest, mind blowing thing ever, “And we will never get the credit, will we.”

Pops shook his head solemnly.

Max groaned and buried his face in his hands, “Is that a yes?”

Hugh nodded with a big smile as Pops laughed, ruffling Max’s hair.

Max stood to leave but was interrupted by his Dad, “Hey, Max?”

He turned back around and met his eyes, “We’re proud of you, you know.”

His heart burst in his chest at the words, an instant smile forming on his face, “Thank You.”

His Dads shared a quick look, “There's no need for any ‘thanks’. It's our job, that we do with pride, to love you, in any and every situation,” Dad finished as Pops crossed the short distance and kissed him on his forehead, “Now, go kiss your boyfriend a lot and tell him that he won’t outdress me at Pride this year. I've stepped up my game.”

Was that… possible. Dad was already very… out there. THERE'S MORE THAT CAN BE DONE?!

Max left the room in way better spirits than when he entered it. Nothing went to plan but that made it all the better. It was just his and his Dad’s raw emotion.

He didn’t realize this before but it finally was clear.

He didn’t need unbreakable confidence to be openly gay. All it really took was his feelings and a few people in his corner telling him to kiss his boyfriend.

There will be a part 2 (dont ask when idk) of some Max and Jade time and to close up a few things I left hanging on purpose (small things but still).

I hope you all liked it!!! I love everyone of you who read it.

Enjoy the rest of pride month and be proud!!

#renegades ship week 4 #rsw4 #renegades #renegades trilogy #marissa meyer #fanfic #my fanfic #max everhart-westwood #jade tucker #hugh everhart #simon westwood #captain chromium #dread warden #bandit #humon #royal writes #my post #love is...#macker

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renegades-garbage · 3 years ago

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Chapter Two- The Aptitude Tests

Hey, I re-wrote this chapter. I like it muuuuuuch better than the original version. The beginning is still the same though.

Anyways I hope you like it. if you have any ideas for future chapters I would love to hear them! Sorry, it took forever to write this I’ve been real busy. Anyways love you, bye!

Tags- @the-wee-woo-royal @aaaangie (lmk if you want to be added or removed)

Adrian had awoken to the sound of cheers and yells, as always in Dauntless. Though today people were actually cheering for a reason. It was today that the 16 years olds would take their aptitude tests. This meant that Adrian would find out which faction he belonged in.

He was almost certain he would get Dauntless, but being the only person who had ever moved factions before the age of 16, he was a little nervous about his results.

No matter what though, he was going to choose to stay in Dauntless when the time came. Most people choose their home faction but that wasn’t Adrian’s only reason for staying. He had thought about going back to Amity, where his mother had raised him for the first half of his childhood, but he quickly realized he could never leave.

Not only were his adoptive dads Hugh Everhart and Simon Westwood (though Simon had taken over Erudite he after Georgia died, and was there a lot of the time, he still technically lived with his husband in Dauntless) here, but he also loved the freedom and joy that came with living in Dauntless. Not to mention only the Dauntless did field work for the renegades.

After getting ready, Adrian headed downstairs and was surprised by the sight of his dads making breakfast. Usually they had left to go to work by now. They were busy people being council members and all.

“Hey Dad” This was directed at Hugh who was standing at the stove cooking something in a pan. “Morning Pops” he said to Simon who was sitting at the counter reading a newspaper. They both greeted him back as he sat down.

“We’ve decided to have breakfast as a family at least one day a week,” Hugh told Adrian “We are always so busy we don’t see you before we leave for work.”

Adrian nodded though he knew that wouldn’t happen. He loved his dads but when they started traditions they were very very bad at sticking to them. They planned family meals, walks, etc every couple of weeks in an effort to spend more time with him but they never lasted.

“You excited about your aptitude test today?” Simon asked.

“Yeah, I'm a little nervous about the simulation though.”

‘It's not so bad” Hugh said, handing him and Simon plates. They both thanked him, and Simon gave Hugh a peck on the lips.

Adrian fake gagged at their display of affection though he did think it was sweet, and they laughed.

As they ate they discussed the aptitude test, and Adrian traveling to Erudite, where the testing building was to take it. When they were done Adrian offered to clean up and his dads thanked him as they hurried off to work.

Once everything was cleaned up Adrian left the house quickly so he wouldn’t be late. He walked down to the pit where all the kids were waiting.

Adrian heard a loud annoying voice talking to a group. He looked over and saw the very reasons he considered leaving dauntless at least a little bit everyday. Gennissa Clark and her cronies. Or should he say “Frostbite, Aftershock, Gargoyle, and Stingray”?

They only answered to their superhero names though none of them were actually renegades. They were all prodigies, but due to the fact that they were all sixteen, and hadn’t even officially chosen dauntless as their faction, they weren’t even eligible to try-out. Everyone pretty much despised them and Adrian avoided them as much as possible.

Before Adrian could find any of his friends-well, before he could find Ruby as she was really the only close friend he had, someone yelled that it was time to go, and everyone ran to jump onto the trains and head to erudite.

***

Nova scanned the waiting room as she sat anxiously with the other Erudite teens. Technically she wasn’t Erudite anymore, she was factionless, and an Anarchist but for her current mission this was the best option.

She had to remind herself not to scowl at the council sitting at the front of the room. Hugh Everhart and his perfect pearly white smile made Nova want to throw up. Three months ago she had tried to assassinate him, well Nightmare tried to assassinate him, but now she had to be Nova Mclain, aspiring Renegade because she had failed.

She remembered it like it was yesterday. Sitting on the roof at the awful Renegades parade telling herself to pull the trigger, and when she finally did it struck Captain Chromium’s stupid invincible temple instead of his eye.

And now she had to infiltrate the Renegades. Well, she didn’t have to. Leroy made it very clear that this was her choice, but she needed to avenge her family. She needed to show people that bad things happened when you put all your trust in the Renegades.

“Nova Mclain” someone called, pulling her out of her thoughts. The name sounded wrong but she ignored it as she got up and walked to the desk sitting at the front of the hall. “Please wait outside the third door on the left to get your aptitude test” the woman sitting at the desk told her.

Nova only nodded and walked toward the door.

***

Divergent?

Adrian didn’t even know what that meant but the woman administering the test looked scared which was not giving him a good feeling about the situation.

‘What does that mean?” He asked the woman who had mentioned her name was Millie. “Shouldn’t you know? you're a council member's son,” she said incredulously.

Adrian’s brow furrowed and Millie sighed while practically pushing him out of the chair. “Look all it means is that you got multiple factions as a result” based on her tone and the way she was ushering him out of the room Adrian could tell it was a much bigger deal than she was trying to make it seem like.

“What?! How is that even possible?”

“It just is, okay. I'll put it into the system as Dauntless, most people get their home faction anyway. Your actual results are Dauntless and Amity. Just don’t tell anyone or bad things could happen. That’s all, now be on your merry way.” Millie said in a very rushed voice just before quite literally shoving him out the door.

Adrian’s brain began trying to process the information as he tripped out into the hallway, but before he could come to any sort of conclusion he bumped into something.

Or someone he realized as he turned around to see the girl that he had so stupidly knocked into. She was short with shoulder-length black hair and tan skin. She had a hard set to her jaw that was more than likely the result of her annoyance at their collision. Which he caused.

“Sorry, oh great skies, I'm so sorry.” he had reached out an arm to steady her but upon realizing that she was perfectly fine, he pulled it away quickly.

“Oh um it's fine.” She replied. He looked at her for a few more seconds. He didn’t want to seem creepy but he couldn’t help it. There was no denying that this girl was beautiful.

Adrian watched her hand go to her wrist and her brow furrow before she looked down at the ground. He followed her gaze and saw a rosey copper-colored bracelet on the ground. He guessed it had fallen when he bumped into her.

“Oh,” he said, picking it up before she could, which he immediately felt stupid for. Why didn’t he just let the girl pick up her own bracelet? But it was too late to go back.

“Here,” he said, gesturing for her wrist. “My mom used to ask me for help with her jewelry all the time- oh wait the clasp is broken.”

“Oh it's ok” the girl finally spoke and he found himself wanting to hear more of her voice. “I can take it to a jeweler or something and get it fixed.

“I can fix it for you” Adrian gestured for her wrist once again.

“No you don’t understand, you can’t, it’s not,” the girl said, her bright blue eyes meeting his. He gently grabbed her hand, confusing her, and wrapped the bracelet around the wrist that had a tan line from the bracelet. He, again felt dumb as he had probably just made this random girl uncomfortable but it would be even weirder for him to grab her wrist and then just drop it so he continued.

Adrian blushed at the electrical current he felt as he touched her skin. Great skies Adrian you just met this girl and you’ll probably never see her again, calm down. He thought to himself as he pulled out his marker.

He drew a new clasp for her, and though he could have just touched it to bring it to life he found himself wanting to impress her and give it a little more flair, so he blew on her wrist and watched the clasp materialize.

The girl didn’t look nearly as impressed as Adrian had hoped she would. She merely thanked him, looked at him for a few seconds while he could practically see the gears turning in her head, though he didn’t know what she was thinking, and walked through the door to the testing room.

Wow, I'm great at talking to girls. Adrian thought self-deprecatingly. He sighed and walked to his seat as thoughts of the girl were completely replaced by thoughts of his newfound divergence. Almost completely.

***

Nova was on her way home after sneaking out the back door of the aptitude test building. She had completely forgotten about the boy that bumped into her and was most definitely not still thinking about the current than ran through her when he touched her skin, or the sheepish smile he gave her. Nope, absolutely not.

Anyways, her “aptitude test” was quick considering she didn’t really have to take one. Leroy had replicated the serum to perfection and she had taken the simulation many times. She knew very well that she was divergent. Dauntless, Erudite, Abnegation. Though Millie just put it in as Dauntless.

Millie had factionless ties and was willing to fake a couple documents or “accidentally” put something into the system wrong. Which was why this whole fake identity thing was going smoothly.

Now all Nova had to do was choose Dauntless at the ceremony, infiltrate the renegades, and takedown Hugh Everhart and the Renegades council. Easy right?

#renegades trilogy #renegades trilogy fic #nova artino #adrian everhart #my writing #hugh everhart #simon westwood #leroy flinn #renegades #anarchists #divergent

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emybain · 4 years ago

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Quarantine: Renegades Edition

so please don’t take this seriously. i honestly don’t remember writing half of it, but it be like that. this is simply a glimpse into the lives of Nova and Adrian during a global pandemic, aka snippets of the few months they’re in quarantine together. also, happy birthday to my girl nova. there’s a bonus/crack scene at the end that was inspired by tiktok, as well. i regret nothing (other than this poorly written fic)

ao3

“They’re saying this thing could spread into June, July, maybe even August,” Adrian said, relaxing back into the leather couch, pulling the laptop with him. Nova adjusted against him, pulling the blanket over her legs just a little higher as the AC powered on.

“That’s if people keep being dumbasses,” Danna replied from behind the screen, leaning forward to rest her head in her palm. “It’s our job as citizens to prevent the spread of this disease. Why can’t people get that through their thick heads?”

Nova and Adrian were on a video call with the rest of their friends, who were all also quarantined in their homes. Nova had her own apartment, but at the very start of this outbreak—a new disease that was rapidly spreading around the world—she decided that quarantining by herself for an unknown amount of time wouldn’t be good for her mental health, so she packed up clothing and other essentials and headed over to the Everhart-Westwood residence. Not to mention that a mansion was vastly better than a one room apartment. Oh yeah, and she supposed being stuck with her boyfriend every day wasn’t so bad.

“They’re being ignorant,” Nova chipped in. “People think that they’re immune, or that this virus is being blown out of proportion.”

“When they get sick, I’ll laugh.” Ruby popped a cracker in her mouth before the camera became blurry as she moved. She appeared to have shifted from lying on her back to her stomach from a spot on her bed. There was minimal background noise from her end, which was suspicious since she shared a room with two teenage boys. They must’ve been off playing video games, probably who Max was laughing with from his room upstairs.

Narcissa poked her head out from behind a lengthy book from her place on Danna’s bed in the background of Danna’s screen.. Like Nova, she lived by herself, and would rather be with her significant other than be alone. “This isn’t the first time a pandemic has spread throughout the world. There was the European Virus fifty years ago, coronavirus back in the 21st century, the Spanish Flu in the 20th century, and so on and so forth.” She waved a hand in the air. “Hopefully, people will come to their senses. History always repeats itself, no matter how hard we may try to prevent it.”

“Thanks for the optimistic input, babe.” Danna rolled her eyes and cast a glance back at her girlfriend.

“It’s what I do,” Narcissa replied, returning her attention back to her book, but there was a smile on her face.

“Well, maybe when things start to calm down a bit, we can all hang out. A picnic or in cars or something.” Oscar shrugged. “Six feet apart, of course. I’m not about to catch something from you nasty people.

“Did you just suggest a picnic?” Ruby snorted. “You might want to check your temperature. I think you’re getting sick.”

“You seem to forget all about the many picnics we’ve had.”

Ruby stuck her tongue out in response, then straightened a little and turned her head to the side. “What?” she yelled. After a moment, she turned back to the screen and groaned. “Ugh, I have to go. Mom’s making me bake with her again. Maybe this time we’ll try something besides bread or cookies.” She waved at them before she vanished from the meeting.

At that moment, the front door clicked and opened, revealing Hugh and Simon, both carrying multiple grocery bags.

“My dads just got home from the store. We should probably go help.” Adrian sat up, leaving Nova to fall a little in his direction as she had been leaning on him.

“Hi Adrian’s Dads!” Oscar yelled, though they were already out of the room when he did so. Nonetheless, they both shouted back their greetings from the kitchen.

“I should probably go, too. There’s this show I started bingeing and I finished the fifth season last night. I’m dying to know what happens after that cliffhanger.” Danna leaned back in her chair.

“Oh, is it that one you were telling me about?” Nova raised her eyebrows. “Based off of that movie series?”

“Yes! And watch it so I can rant to you about it! I’m so pissed off at the main characters. They’re just...so stupid.”

With that, the remaining five waved and said their goodbyes. Adrian set the laptop down on the coffee table in front of them, and they both stood up. Nova stretched, her muscles tired from sitting for nearly an hour.

In the kitchen, Hugh was unloading the bags while Simon busied himself with spraying the items with cleaner and wiping them down with a paper towel. A couple of weeks into quarantine and Nova and Adrian knew what to do. They got to work putting stuff away, with Nova on pantry duty and Adrian at the fridge.

Although Nova hadn’t been out in public since the world went into quarantine, she could tell that the grocery stores and other places were beginning to recover from the initial shock of the pandemic. With each trip to the store, Adrian’s parents came back with more and more food and supplies. Hugh had even decided to buy a fridge to store out in the garage for extra food that didn’t fit inside. She found that to be a bit ridiculous, but it seemed to make him happy. What was it with men and having fridges out in their garages?

“Is Max upstairs?” Simon asked, pushing a milk jug toward Adrian.

“Yeah. I think he’s playing video games.” Adrian shot Nova a look, and she repressed a smile; they both knew what was about to come.

“Has he done any schoolwork since we left two hours ago? Or at least left his room?”

“I think he left to use the bathroom about forty five minutes ago,” Nova said. She glanced at the knock-off brand of her favorite crackers in her hand and sighed, placing it on a shelf. The off-brand wasn’t bad, but it certainly wasn’t the same. It was the type of product that you had to buy name brand, as the imitations were just a waste of money. Alas, with the pandemic, she knew it was a fight to get the good products before anyone else.

“He’ll get it done, Pops,” Adrian reassured. “He’s been doing fine the last couple of weeks. Just going at his own pace, is all.”

“I know.” A sigh escaped Simon’s mouth. “And I’m glad that he’s able to be a kid now, but being a kid includes doing your homework.”

Nova thought of the classes she was taking at a local university. She was doing her best to keep up with her online work, but as the weeks dragged on, she was losing motivation. “This quarantine is probably nothing for Max, remember? I’m sure he does his work whenever he wants to because he actually enjoys doing it.” She shrugged. “Better than sitting around surrounded by glass walls.”

“You’re probably right,” Hugh added, washing his hands once the last of the groceries were out of the bags. “I’m not too worried about him, just as long as I get to see his face once a day.” He chuckled at his own words. Simon offered a smile in support.

Once all the groceries were stored away, Nova and Adrian headed downstairs, taking the laptop with them.

__________

Adrian stood from his seat, where he had previously already been on edge.

“Nova, where are you going?” The glare he received was enough to scare off anyone else. He had seen this side of her before, though, and was unfazed. “It’s almost midnight,” he added, only increasing the glare.

“Anywhere but here.” Her eyes turned to Hugh, who crossed his arms in response. The two were arguing. Again. It was something that was new to their quarantine, having only surfaced about a week ago. They liked to argue over literally anything, from who got to have control over the remote to whether or not Nova should be a part of their daily “family walks” to the current state of the government and the involvement of the Renegades, who were no longer in charge but were still heavily tied into politics. Hell, even the weather wasn’t safe from their growing agitation with one another. Today, everything had been going fine, for once, until Hugh just had to bring up a curfew, as Nova liked to leave the house at odd hours.

“This house is a fucking nightmare.” She gripped the keys to her motorcycle in her hand and turned to the door. From beside him, Adrian heard Max mutter something about irony under his breath. He too, despite entering the years of being a disagreeable teenager, was sick of the fighting.

“Language, young lady,” Hugh said, warning laced in his tone.

“Once again, you’re not my dad,” Nova gritted out. She opened the front door, revealing the darkness outside. “And you never will be.”

“Nova, what he’s asking isn’t completely unreasonable.” Simon ran a hand through his hair and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “You’re in our home for who knows how long, so as parents, you’re now our responsibility. Even when you’re not under our roof, you’re our responsibility. We just want you to be safe.”

“If you don’t want to follow our simple rules, then why are you even here? We’re paying for an apartment not two miles north from here, and you’re not even there. Instead you’re here, wasting our time and resources.” Even though the words weren’t directed at him, Adrian felt a chill go down his spine.

Nova’s mouth opened, and she stared at Hugh blankly. Adrian could’ve sworn he saw her eyes welling up. “I’m here because I didn’t want to be alone. I’ve been alone my entire goddamn life, and I didn’t know if I could handle doing it again.” She swallowed, hand turning on the screen door. “But it’s not like I expect you to understand.” And then she was out the door.

Adrian rushed forward, eyeing his dad coldly. “Seriously?”

“She’s out of line!” Hugh defended, although Adrian could see the regret in his features.

Choosing not to answer him, Adrian shook his head and went outside. Nova was at the end of the driveway, sitting on her motorcycle and looking down at the ground. Adrian approached her slowly, making sure his steps were loud so that she knew he was there.

“I don’t walk to talk about it.” She hid her face even more from him when he bent down. “You’re welcome to come with me, but I don’t want you to get in trouble for breaking curfew.” Her voice soured at the word.

“I understand why you’re mad, but don’t avoid me because of it.” He lightly nudged her chin with his knuckles.

“He’s just so...so…” she lifted her head up, running a hand through her hair in frustration as she tried to find the right words

“Stubborn? Controlling? Self righteous?”

“Yes.” She let out a laugh, though it was void of humor. “It’s just...who does he think he is? I’m an adult. Even if he was my father, he can’t control what I can and cannot do.”

“You seem to forget that I’ve had to live with him for years,” Adrian said dryly. He reached for her hand and laced their fingers together. “I’m an adult, too, but that doesn’t matter because he pays the bills.”

Nova gave him a long look. “You really need your own place.”

“Don’t remind me.”

“But you get what I mean.” She looked down at their hands, turning them around to examine the back of his. “I’m not his kid. It’s different with you because you’re his son.”

“That doesn’t mean he doesn’t want to keep you safe.” Her grip on him tightened, just slightly. Even though it had been a few years since the events surrounding the supernova, Nova still had trouble believing that her former enemies actually cared about her. It was hard to trust them when it had been ingrained in her from a young age that they were the bad guys.

“I can take care of myself fine. I’ve been out in the middle of the night so many times I’ve lost count. I’ve been doing it since I was a kid.”

Adrian sighed and rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand. There wouldn’t be any reasoning with her, at least not tonight. He had to let her cool down and return to the subject when she had a clearer mind. “At least come back inside? We can go play video games downstairs, or watch a movie, or do anything you want. I’m sure once you and Hugh are both calmed down, you can reach a compromise.”

“But I don’t want a fucking com-”

“Or he’ll see things your way,” he tacked on quickly. Right. When she got like this, it had to be her way. It was funny, how she resented Hugh at times for his stubbornness, when she was equally as stubborn if not more so. This quarantine was really getting to all of them. Adrian couldn’t wait for the day life could go back to normal.

“Adrian? Nova?” Adrian turned his head around to see Max, who was squinting at them through the dark, despite the outside lights being on.

“What’s up, Max?” Nova shifted her body on the bike to face the teen.

“Pops wants to know if you’re coming inside soon. He needs to set the alarm so he and Dad can go to bed.” Max paused, eyeing the bike. “Unless you’re going for a ride, then he’ll leave it off.”

Adrian waited for Nova to answer, as it was up to her. Nova ran her free hand over the bike, then sighed.

“We’ll be in right behind you. I was just...checking some things on her.” All three knew she was lying, but Nova was still learning how to express her emotions in front of others. Even in front of Max, someone she got along with as well as she did with Adrian.

“Alright.” Max turned to leave, then glanced back at her. “You know, things are rough right now, and I know it isn’t easy for everyone to be in isolation for so long, but,” he shrugged, “at least we’re together. I was able to make it in a quarantine for ten years with no one but myself and the doctors for company, so this is easy for me, but I know I’m probably the only person on this planet who thinks that way.” He let out a soft laugh. “I guess I’m just trying to say that I’m glad you’re here, and that I’m glad our family is quarantining together.” The smile he shot her was genuine. He turned back around and walked back to the house, where Adrian could see the outlines of his dads watching at the door.

“Huh.” Adrian watched his brother go inside. “Just when you think he’s starting to learn how to be a proper kid-”

“-he goes and spouts shit like that?” Nova finished, shaking her head. Adrian could see the small smile on her face through the curls hiding her features.

“Yeah.” Adrian squeezed her hand. “C’mon, let’s go back inside.”

“Okay.”

__________

Nova placed the mixing bowl in the sink and turned on the faucet. She reached into a drawer and grabbed a towel, placing it under the running water. The kitchen was a mess, although she had seen it in worse states. At least the ingredients were all stored away so that she could get started on wiping down the counters. Hugh and Simon were at headquarters for the day, as their presence was required for something Nova didn’t care enough to know about, and they figured it would be best to work from there instead of coming home. And, according to Simon, them being out in public and at headquarters would be good for publicity. It had been a while since they stepped into work, seeing as even the Renegades had to obey social distancing orders.

Point being, they were out of the house, so Nova could do whatever she wanted without questions being asked. And she had grown to appreciate baking during quarantine, among her long list of new and revisited hobbies. The Everhart-Westwoods always, to Nova’s surprise, had sweet tooths, so they never minded that Nova made a mess of their kitchen; it was just when Hugh or Simon entered the kitchen and started asking a bunch of questions that got on Nova’s nerves. Today, she could bake in peace.

Or so she thought.

“Mm. Smells good in here.” She looked up at her boyfriend, who just entered the room. He peeked at the oven. “Cupcakes?”

“Muffins,” Nova corrected, setting the used towel next to the sink. There was dried paint on his forehead, as well as on his hands. She had to shake her head. How was it possible to get so dirty? Well, she should speak for herself and her flour-covered apron.

“Oh, well, same thing.” He shrugged and grabbed a water glass from a cabinet.

Nova blinked and reached for the remote, which was sitting beside her, and paused the show she was watching on the kitchen’s small TV. “No. No not really.”

Adrian chuckled and nudged her lightly as he passed her to the fridge. “Yeah, kind of. The only difference is cupcakes have frosting.”

Nova scoffed. “The only difference? They’re two completely different things. That’s like saying ice cream and gelato are the same.”

Adrian turned to face her, leaning against the fridge. He took a sip of his water. “Ice cream and gelato are the same. One’s just claimed by the Italians.”

She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Those aren’t the same, either, dumbass. Ice cream, clearly from its name, has more cream than gelato. And gelato’s more dense than ice cream. Those are just two differences.” She crossed her arms. “There are more.”

“And? What does that have to do with muffins and cupcakes?”

“Because they’re not the same.” Nova had to laugh at the absurdity of it all. And Adrian claimed he was a smart person. Yeah, maybe smart compared to sloths. “Muffins are considered a bread. Cupcakes are...well...cake. Two completely different recipes. You can’t just slap some frosting on a blueberry muffin and say it’s a cupcake. Maybe it looks like one, but the flavor and textures are way off.”

“They both are made the exact same way, babe. No difference.” With the way he was smirking, Nova had the thought that he could just be messing with her.

“Don’t ‘babe’ me.” She glared at him. “Fine. If you won’t believe me, the baker, then you don’t have to eat any of my muffins. Not cupcakes.”

He groaned and reached for her, but she dove out of his reach. “Nova, don’t be like this. I’m sorry. They’re not the same, okay? Happy?”

“Not until you’re honest.” She checked the timer above the oven. “I’m going downstairs for a minute.” Pointing a finger at him, she added, “Don’t mess with them. I’ll know.”

“Admitting defeat?” he called at her back.

“Hell no,” she tossed over her shoulder. “This conversation is far from over, buddy.”

She definitely heard him mutter rudely how he knew, but chose to ignore it. After all, she was the bigger person in the relationship.

__________

Adrian turned into a parking spot and turned off the car. He glanced over at Nova, who was giving him a very pointed look.

“The park? What did you plan? A picnic?” That was, in fact, the plan, but only part of it.

Leaning over, he planted a gentle kiss on her lips. It only softened the look a little. “You’ll see, nosey.” He unbuckled himself and opened the driver door. “Now, come on.”

She rolled her eyes, but got out as well. Seeing her in a pair of cutoff shorts and a simple t-shirt was refreshing, as she had been wearing sweats for the past two months, ever since the world was sent into quarantine. She and Adrian both had been dawning the same three pairs of pants and shirts for weeks now. But, this was the first time they both actually got out of the house, save for their daily walks or motorcycle/car rides, so it was only fitting to get dressed up for the occasion. And by dressed up he meant ditching the sweatpants.

Also, it was Nova’s birthday. Adrian hated that she was being forced to spend it unceremoniously, when so many of her birthdays had gone practically unnoticed growing up with the Anarchists, so he took it upon himself as her boyfriend to do what he could for her. And that meant having a socially distanced picnic in the park with their friends, who they hadn’t seen in person in months.

They walked down the sidewalk hand in hand, going into the grass whenever a biker or runner passed by them to maintain distance. Adrian almost wanted to pull his mask out from his pocket, but knew he was probably fine. Besides, if he put his mask on, Nova would follow, and he knew how much she hated wearing them, for obvious reasons. They were outside, and there were hardly any people in the park.

“You’re an idiot, Adrian Everhart,” Nova said once they could see their friends, but there was a smile on her face. They were all spread out on blankets, making a circle, and in the center sat an unoccupied blanket piled with food and gifts.

“Hey, I can’t take all the credit.” He squeezed her hand, grinning down at her.

“It’s about time you two showed up,” Oscar said, checking his watch. “We’ve been here for hours. We’re starving.” He stood and went to the middle to start making a plate. Adrian made a face at his back. He had specifically asked that they wait for Nova until they started eating in the group chat, so he guessed Oscar was holding his word. He waited, after all.

“Twenty minutes,” Danna corrected from her spot beside Narcissa. She looked at them and rolled her eyes. “Happy Birthday, Nova.”

Everyone chorused in their ‘Happy Birthdays’ and Nova thanked them as she and Adrian sat down on the one remaining blanket. “You guys didn’t have to go and do this for me.” She turned her gaze specifically toward Adrian. He raised his hands in defense.

“Blame Oscar for putting the idea in my head. All he ever talks about when we video call is how bored he is.”

“That’s true.” Nova shook her head in amusement. “This is very sweet, but don’t expect me to cry or anything.”

“You cried on your seventeenth birthday, and that’s enough for us,” Ruby teased.

“That was literally two years ago.” Nova ran a hand over her face. “It meant nothing.”

“Mhm,” was Ruby’s response, but Adrian could tell she wasn’t convinced. None of them were, obviously.

Nova peered at the food pile. “Is that Mediterranean pizza I see?”

“Yeah, and it’s all yours,” Oscar clarified, passing a plate he made for Ruby to her before sitting down himself. “I still don’t understand how you like that. There’s not even meat on it!”

“There’s also cannoli’s.” Adrian stood to go make them both plates. He knew that cannoli’s were one of the few desserts she liked, probably because they weren’t that heavy. “Do you want one or two?”

She pondered the question for a moment, then smiled at him. “Two.”

When he returned with their food, she leaned over and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

“What was that for?” He handed her plate over.

“For being you, and for giving me the best birthdays ever.” She shifted her body to lean against him. “How’d you know I wanted to see everyone for my birthday, anyway?”

“Because I know you.” He kissed her forehead. “Happy Birthday, Nova.”

__________

Bonus crack scene:

“I would like to thank everyone for joining me today,” Nova said, swirling the water in the wine glass she snatched from the cabinet. Since Hugh wouldn’t let her drink actual wine, this was the next best thing. She cleared her throat. “I took it upon myself to observe the members of this household over the course of a week and rate everyone on their performances.” She pointed to the pyramid of papers set up on the wall, held there by type. There were pictures of everyone in the household behind a white sheet of paper. Starting at the bottom on the left side was the worst member, and the one at the top was the best. Why she decided to do this, she had little clue, but she figured it would be an entertaining activity to spice up everyone’s day.

“Is that what this is? I thought it was something actually serious.” Hugh leaned back, crossing his arms over his chest. There was a smile on his lips.

“It is serious.” She pointed her glass at him. The fast movement caused a bit of water to slosh over the side. “It has come to my attention that there are people in this household who have some improvement to work on if they want to move up next week.”

“If I’m not at the top, I’m breaking up with you,” Adrian joked, adjusting the glasses on his face. She narrowed her eyes at the camera he was pointing at her.

“I do not accept bribes.” Tearing off the first piece of paper, she began. There was a snicker, probably Max. “Hugh.” He immediately started protesting, but Nova silenced him. “No, no, no. You’re mean to me. Always looking to post up or some shit.”

“Language,” he warned, though his tone was light.

“Not to mention you don’t let me express my true self by cussing,” she added sharply. “Also, you tried to kill me three years ago and I’m sorry, but I just can’t forgive my haters like that. Try better next week, okay?”

“Hold on, wait a second.” Hugh held up a hand. “First of all, young lady, if you want to bring up the past, it goes both ways, but we’ve both changed for the be-”

“No comments at this time,” Nova interrupted. She ripped off the next sheet of paper. “Next up is Nova.” Laughter broke out in the room. Even she couldn’t help from smiling. “Not gonna lie, I held out hope for this one, but she’s got a lot of issues, if you know what I mean. Always picking an argument, refuses to participate in family activities, and is kind of just there. Doesn’t really do much of anything. The only reasons she’s above Hugh is because, for one, she’s far more attractive, and she bakes stuff for everyone.

“Adrian-”

“Oh, come on!”

“-you refused to cuddle with me yesterday and watch guilty pleasure movies because you said you were busy. You argued with me the other day on the validity of the Star Wars prequels and sequels.” She raised an eyebrow at him. “And you’re filming me without my consent. Other than those things, though,” she shrugged, “pretty cool boyfriend. You didn’t say anything when I stole one of your sweatshirts the other day, so that gets you some points.”

“Wait, the gray-”

“Max is next.” She tossed the white paper to the ground. “You never say anything mean to me, unlike some members in this household, but that could also be because you spend all day on video games. Because of that, I’m afraid you can’t be higher.”

“Hey, I’ll settle for third.” Max shrugged, grinning.

“And that’s why I like you!” She nodded firmly. “In second place, we have Simon. Who doesn’t like Simon? You always have something nice to say, and on occasion, you’ll back me up in an argument because you’re an intellectual. I always enjoy our deep conversations, too. Truly a wonderful person.”

“Thank you, Nova. I enjoy our talks, as well.” Simon chuckled. He looked pretty pleased to be on top.

“And that leaves us with,” she ripped off the last paper at the top, causing the room to erupt in laughter and clapping, “Obi Wan Kenobi. Truly an iconic and handsome man. Every time I watch Star Wars, he brings up my serotonin levels. Not just because he’s cute, but because he can land some sick burns.”

It was easy to say that, thanks to Adrian’s video, Nova started a trend all over the world.

#nova artino #adrian everhart #danna bell #oscar silva #ruby tucker #narcissa cronin #max everhart #hugh everhart #simon westwood #renegades #archenemies #supernova #supernova spoilers #my writing

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novissa · 4 years ago

Text

it’s brighter now

here’s the nova birthday fic finally!! here’s the original post. also this wasn’t supposed to be this long but it’s over 3k words now i guess

“Nova!” Ruby yells, catching her by surprise. Nova almost loses her balance as Ruby throws her arms around her.

“Is everything okay?” Nova asks, cautiously hugging Ruby back. The touch doesn’t shock her as much as it used to.

“I can’t believe you didn’t tell us about your birthday!” Ruby says, jokingly offended. “I know we couldn’t celebrate last year, with everything… but we could have a party this year.”

Nova freezes, trying to remember the date. It’s… “Sweet rot, it’s May 26th,” she says. Ruby’s beaming face confirms it. “That means… tomorrow’s my birthday.” She completely forgot. Birthdays never really were much of a focus with the anarchists, and her presents mainly were science experiments with Leroy. Occasionally Winston would tell her a story or draw something for her, but most of the time it was just a present to eat something other than honey.

“Don’t tell me you forgot,” Ruby says. Nova shrugs.

“How did you even figure out my birthday?” Nova asks instead of replying to that.

“Your file,” Ruby says. “I was doing desk work for Thunderbird earlier and I wanted to see when your birthday was.” She smiles. “I mean, I didn’t expect it to be this soon, but I’m glad I didn’t miss it!” When Nova raises an eyebrow, she adds, “Well, Leroy also told me.”

Nova can’t hold back her smile. Of course. “You really don’t have to do anything—”

“Shut up, Nova,” Ruby says fondly, “We’ll throw a party for you. Balloons, cake, the works.”

Nova frowned. “I don’t want a party,” she says quickly.

Ruby looks at her, then nods. “Okay, if it makes you uncomfortable we don’t have to have one. But we have to celebrate somehow! What if it was just the team? We could go to the movies or go skydiving or something!”

Nova laughs. “Do people actually do that? Anyway, I’d… be alright if it was just the team. And Narcissa. But no skydiving or anything. Maybe something we’d do on a normal night. We could just watch a couple movies at home.” It surprises her how… almost excited she is for this. While she’s still not too big on the idea of a birthday party, she really does love these guys. Her friends. Friendship is still a concept that is fairly new to her, but she’s glad she has them. Maybe… maybe she’s not so far gone after all.

“Yes!” Ruby says, hugging her again. “Okay, this is the greatest thing ever. I’ve got to go, but we’ll figure out a time for tomorrow. Okay. See you later, Nova! You’re the best.”

Nova smiles. “See you,” she says lightly. “Oh, but please don’t make a big deal. No presents or cake or anything—”

Ruby’s face lights up. “Don’t give me any ideas.”

“I swear to the stars, Ruby, if you’re about to text the team to plan something elaborate—”

Ruby laughs. “Sorry, I have to go! My… brothers need me to help them with their… science project!”

Nova sighs, but a smile plays on her lips. She can’t say she’s too terribly annoyed about all of this. It wasn’t long ago that she was completely uncertain about where she fit with her team, but now… things really are good. Sometimes she still hears gunshots in her head when she closes her eyes, but she doesn’t need to run anymore.

(The second Ruby’s out of Nova’s line of sight, she sends a text to the rest of the team.)

Ruby to nova defense squad May 26, 2:42 p.m.

GUYS WE HAVE AN EMERGENCY

Nova’s trying to figure out how to make Oscar a cane-gun when he knocks on her door. He hands her a cupcake and she takes it, slightly puzzled as to what’s going on. “Uh… hi?” she says.

“Nova! Happy birthday-eve!” Oscar says enthusiastically. “Ruby told me about the plan for tomorrow night, and I wanted to stop by to see how you were doing with all your inventions and stuff. And my grandma insisted I bring you a cupcake.”

“Thanks,” she says. “Um, do you want to come in?” He’s acting kind of weird. “I can show you how your cane-gun’s coming along.”

“Yeah, sounds great,” Oscar says, slightly distracted. “What do you use to make your inventions? Like, what supplies?”

Nova blinks at him. This is odd. “Well, it depends…” She explains the different materials she uses the most, though Oscar mainly looks confused.

“Uh, could you write that down?”

Nova nods, reaching for a sheet of paper. “Why? Are you… considering learning more about this?”

“Yeah! That’s exactly it!” Oscar says quickly, looking very relieved. “It’s so interesting hearing about your inventions and I’m thinking of giving it a try. That’s why I wanted to know.”

Nova smiles. She loves to see other people getting excited about engineering. “We can go supply shopping together! And I can help you! Are you free right now?” She runs through the list of everything she’d need to help him with in her head.

“Um— no. Sorry. I’m meeting up with Ruby in a few minutes,” he says apologetically. “But maybe sometime this week?”

“Yeah!” she says. “Is there anything else going on?” She studies him carefully, watching him fidget with his cane. Something’s definitely not normal. “Are you… okay?”

“Yeah, totally!” Oscar says (not very convincingly). “Anyway, thanks for talking to me about this. And the design for the cane-gun looks awesome! I’ve got to meet up with Ruby now, but seriously. Thank you. And happy birthday-eve.”

Nova smiles and closes the door behind him. That was weird.

Oscar to nova defense squad May 26, 2:58 p.m.

Ahhhh I’m not good at lying

Nova heads to Leroy’s apartment the next morning. She tries to visit him as often as possible, and it’s always interesting to see his latest science experiment. He greets her at the door with a grin. “It’s my favorite birthday girl!” he says, wrapping her up in a hug. Nova feels like she’s gotten caught in quite a few hugs lately, but she finds that she doesn’t mind it as much as she thought she would.

“How have you been doing?” she asks him, eager to get the attention off of her birthday.

“About the same as you asked last,” he says. “I’ve been talking to Hugh and Simon a little.”

This catches her off guard. She figured out that most of the council isn’t actually that bad a while ago, but it’s still so odd to think of Leroy chatting with his once mortal enemies. She tends to try to keep her life compartmentalized, and the idea of a former anarchist and the head of the Renegades council gossiping over tea is too weird for her. “How are they?” she asks, still trying to wrap her head around that mental picture.

“Good,” Leroy says. “I’m glad that Simon can be around Max now. It sounds like they’re very happy.”

Nova smiles at that. She wishes the best for them, even though it wasn’t long ago that she attempted to murder Hugh. “I’m glad. They deserve to be happy.”

Leroy watches her carefully. “About that… are you?” At Nova’s confused look, he adds, “Happy. I know you said it wasn’t joy you were looking for when I gave you the choice to be free, but now… are you happy?”

Nova thinks about it for a moment. She never thought that it would be possible, after the death of her family and her search for revenge. Even now, there are hard days for her. Sometimes she likes to imagine an alternate universe where things aren’t so broken, where she has a sister and a few less scars and can fall asleep every night. But in this universe… so many things have gone wrong and have shattered and broken into a thousand pieces. But maybe she doesn’t have to imagine all these universes. She thinks of every kind thing her friends have done for her, Ruby’s insistence that they do something for her birthday, Max’s geology jokes, the cupcake Oscar gave her, and Adrian’s hand in hers. There is goodness in this world. While she can’t fall asleep every night (and often likes the perks of not having to sleep), she feels safe for the first time in years. Maybe her family’s dead, but she’s made her own. She has scars all over her body, but she finds that she doesn’t hate them anymore. So maybe she is. She looks at Leroy and nods. “Yeah,” she says softly. “Yeah. I think I am.”

Leroy’s face softens. “That’s good. I’m glad. So am I, I think.”

She smiles again. It’s a new feeling, and a bit disconcerting, but she kind of likes being happy. She’s never felt so light.

“What are your plans for your birthday?” Leroy asks.

As much as Nova wanted to avoid this topic before, she doesn’t hate it as much as she thought she would. It’s an instinct to hide, to pretend to hate things so that she doesn’t feel bad about not experiencing it before, but it’s also nice to let herself hope. “I’m going to hang out with the team tonight,” she says. “I don’t want something huge, but I do like being with my friends.” Friends. The word still feels foreign on her tongue. “I might hang out with Adrian this afternoon, too.”

Leroy smiles. “That sounds good.” It looks like a thought occurs to him. “But I think Adrian might be busy this afternoon. Something about, um… Max.”

“Huh,” Nova says, looking at him closely. Leroy’s a pretty good liar, but after spending ten years with him she can tell when something’s off. Interesting. She wrinkles her nose as she detects a new scent. “Wait… is something burning?”

Leroy’s eyes widen. “Oh! That’s one of my new experiments. I’ll take care of it. You should go. I don’t want you to have to deal with something like this on your birthday.” He shoos her out the door.

“I can help—” Nova’s cut off by Leroy waving at her and then closing the door. “Oh.”

Leroy (direct message to Simon Westwood) May 27, 2:07 p.m.

I think I burnt the cookies.

After leaving Leroy’s apartment, Nova goes back to her own apartment before realizing that she left her jacket at Adrian’s house a couple days ago. She contemplates just waiting until tonight to pick it up, but she kind of wants something to do. She calls him, but he doesn’t pick up.

Nova (direct message to Adrian Everhart) May 27, 2:40 p.m.

hey i left my jacket at your house on monday can i come over?

Adrian 2:41 p.m.

Sorry I’m not home! But you can pick it up tonight

Nova 2:41 p.m.

oh it’s okay i’ll just get it now i have the key

Adrian 2:41 p.m.

No don’t do that my dads are trying a new recipe Kasumi gave them and you do NOT want to get caught up in that

Nova frowns down at her phone and considers going anyway. Then again, it is just a jacket. She’ll get it back tonight. Instead she picks up one of the books she borrowed from Narcissa and still hasn’t started reading yet.

Ruby to OPERATION DAYDREAM May 27, 3:01 p.m.

Running a little late but I’ll be there in 5!

Nova’s almost halfway through her book when Adrian texts her. She glances at the text, then gets up. Her fingers shaking, she quickly types out a response, then rushes out of her apartment.

Adrian (direct message to Nova Artino) May 27, 4:51 p.m.

Nova I’m really really sorry to do this on your birthday and that it interferes with our plans but can you come to my house right now?? It’s about Max and we really need your help

Nova knocks on the Everhart-Westwood household’s door. When she doesn’t get a response, she fishes out her key from her pocket and unlocks it, worry gnawing at her mind. She steps inside. The house is dark, but nothing about it seems unusual. Just… very quiet. She creeps into the kitchen, reaching out to turn a light on when she thinks she hears a giggle. She pauses, wondering if she imagined it. She steps forward, when the lights suddenly flicker on and there’s a chorus of voices screaming “Happy Birthday!”

She almost screams, and then realizes that it’s just her friends. Her entire team is there, along with Max, Narcissa, Simon, Hugh, and… Leroy. There must be a hundred balloons around the room, along with some messily hung streamers. Some slightly burnt cookies sit on the dining table, along with a cake that has “happy birthday” written on it in icing. It’s just so very ridiculous and insane and normal that she feels like she could cry. Everything about this has her friends’ handiwork, and she can’t help but laugh. This explains why everyone was acting so weird. “Sweet rot,” she says. “I can’t believe you did this.” She glances at Max, who is beaming at her. “Max is alright?” she asks, just to make sure. “That was just to get me here?”

Max hugs her. “I’m fine.”

She lets herself relax and smiles at her friends. At her family. “This is the best birthday ever,” she says. “Come on. Let me hug you.” And she absolutely cannot stand group hugs, but she figures that it’s called for in this situation. And maybe she doesn’t hate things as much as she thought she did.

The cake is delicious. The cookies are noticeably burnt, but the fact that Leroy cared enough about her to try to bake was enough. More than any of that, though, being with the people she cares about is the best part. She doesn’t care if she sounds cheesy; it’s true.

Once they finish off the cake, Danna suggests that they move downstairs. “We can open presents and then watch some movies,” Danna tells her, and Nova wants to complain about the fact that she didn’t want any presents, but in the end she decides to just nod and thank them.

“Go on without me,” Nova says. “There are some things I want to talk about with them.” She nods towards Hugh, Simon, and Leroy. Adrian squeezes her hand as he heads downstairs.

Once they’ve all left, she turns to Leroy. “Thank you,” she manages to choke out without crying. He’s been the closest thing she’s had to a father for over ten years, and she knows that he always tried to make her birthday special when she was with the anarchists. And now that they’re finally out of the woods, he found a way to make her feel loved. “The cookies were lovely.”

Leroy smiles his lopsided smile that she loves so much. “You’re welcome,” he says. “And no, they weren’t.” He shrugs. “I think my baking skills have improved, though,” he says. “And I barely did anything. Your friends really are something, Nova.”

“They really are,” she says. Turning to Simon and Hugh, she tries to figure out what to say and fails. “Thank you,” she says instead, and tries to convey everything she’s not saying into those two words. It’s not just for the party.

“Of course,” Simon says, and in those two words he tells her that he understands. He says them so earnestly, and it means that they would never consider not doing this. “Thank you for everything that you’ve done for Adrian.”

Hugh nods, and Nova almost loses it. She’s not used to crying. “Nova… your parents would be so proud of you.”

This time she can’t stop it, and a tear rolls down her cheek, followed by others.

Hugh pats her on the back. “Happy birthday.”

Once Nova has dried her eyes, she joins the others downstairs.

“Finally!” Oscar says teasingly. “You have to open my present first.”

She laughs and humors him, and then laughs some more when she finds what’s inside. “So this is why you were talking to me about my inventions.”

Oscar shrugs. “To be honest, everything you said went over my head, but I would still like to give it a try.”

To no one’s surprise, Narcissa’s gift is a couple books that she picked out for Nova, and Nova’s glad that she can finally say that she started reading that book she borrowed a couple months ago. There was so much bad blood between them not long ago, and Nova’s astounded by how far they’ve come since then. And also how different things are from the time they dated. It’s so strange to think of that now.

Ruby gifts Nova a friendship bracelet, and Nova barely stops herself from crying again. It fits on her wrist perfectly, next to her father’s bracelet.

Max is next, and he hands her a small model of a house. “It’s from my replica of Gatlon City,” he explains, “so technically Adrian made it. But it’s our house. Just to remind you that while you have your own place now, you’re always welcome here.”

Nova sniffles. For a happy occasion, there seems to be a lot of crying.

Danna gives her yarn and knitting needles. Nova hugs her, and she’s relieved that things seem to be normal now between her and Danna. “They’re extra sharp so that you can also stab people with them,” Danna says with a wink.

Finally, Adrian hands her a canvas. It’s a painting of people standing under a starry sky. There’s her parents, exactly how she described them to Adrian, and Nova is painted in the center, surrounded by the rest of her team, as well as Narcissa and Max. She also sees Hugh and Simon, and Leroy, and… and Callum and Winston. There’s even a little Maggie in the corner, her face drawn in its usual frown.

She wipes at her eyes, not wanting to get tears on the painting. “Adrian… this is beautiful.”

Adrian kisses her on the cheek. “I wanted to paint something that would show how much you mean to us. And what better way to do that than to have a painting of all of the people who love you?” She smiles, and hugs him. “I left some space so that we could add on, because there are going to be so many more people who love you in your life.”

“I love it,” she says. And I love you.

“Now, are we ready to watch a ton of movies?” Ruby asks, her eyes sparkling. Nova smiles at her, trying to thank her for putting all of this together. Ruby smiles back.

Nova (direct message to Adrian Everhart) May 27, 9:55 p.m.

hey i didn’t really get a chance to say as much earlier but thank you so much for your present adrian. it really means a lot that you would care enough to do that

Adrian 9:55 p.m.

You’re welcome!!!! I love you Nova

Nova 9:56 p.m.

i love you too.

#renegades #renegades trilogy #nova artino #adrian everhart #novian #nodrian #nightsketch #danna bell #ruby tucker #oscar silva #narcissa cronin #max everhart #hugh everhart #simon westwood #leroy flinn #my writing

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the-wee-woo-royal · 3 years ago

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I have died. Murdered by cuteness. Obsi is wanted for the murder of Rita Everhart-Westwood.

But seriously it was amazing. The story was something I didnt know i needed but filled up my heart. It's perfect as usual and ❤Humon❤ you can never go wrong with that lmao.

Thank you so much! 😍😇😍😇😍😇

now

Summary: “Now— do you like it?” Simon asked (still making jazz hands).

Oh, no, he liked it. But Simon had made a tiny mistake. And it wasn’t like he wasn’t allowed to make mistakes. It was just that… if he had a coin for every time Simon had made that exact mistake, he would have two coins. Which wasn’t a lot of coins; but it was funny it happened twice.

And there it was. Again. The infamous latticework pie.

AO3

Hello, friends! Obsi here. I want to start this author note by saying this fic is a birthday gift for Rita (@the-wee-woo-rita), a fandom friend of mine that I hold dear to my heart since the day they started to constantly appear in my notes and hasn’t stopped since <3 Forgive me if I spent the rest of my time covering the birthday kid with invisible virtual kisses:)

Aaaah, Rita:’) Feliz cumpleaños, amigue✨ I hope you have an amazing day and that you’re reading this while your family and friends are giving you tons of presents and kind words <3 I gotta confessed that I noticed you almost since you entered the fandom bc you were always on my notes, so every time I saw your icon, I was like “Oh, Wee Woo is here <3”. oH AND WHEN YOU STARTED YOUR FIC DKJFHKJFKJDF I wanted to read it since you started posting it, and when I finally could, it left me 💖💖💖. Not only because it’s a super fun story, (go read it if you haven’t, people) but also because I can tell you’re writing from the heart and you’re as invested in Hugh and Simon’s relationship as I am skjdhksd one time I even cried because I felt so proud of you for writing it lol

I guess that you already know what this fic is going to be about. When you told me this is your favorite scene of these pair of idiots and knew I had to write something for you about it sdkjfhjksdf it came out really fluffy and funny, so I hope you enjoy it as much as I did <3

Never stop writing. You got this✨ Enjoy your gift!!

Keep reading

#ahhhhhhhhhhh #kdjdgsklajshdhslshf #💎 p e r f e c t I o n 💎#fanfic #humon #hugh everhart #simon westwood #captain chromium #dread warden #the council #council #everwood family #adrian everhart-westwood #sketch #max everheart-westwood #bandit #renegades

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loving-jack-kelly · 5 years ago

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Listen I love Hugh and Simon a lot but I love them even more knowing that Marissa Meyer decided to give her main character two adoptive dads because of the impact seeing how many gay couples were working to adopt through foster care when she was going through the process herself like Ms. Meyer said gay rights! She said gay superhero rights! She said gay adoptive family rights! And she said all of that with the same family anyway I wasn't joking when I said Simon and Hugh are my emotional support cannonicly gay superhero dads.

#renegades #im gonna loose it waiting for supernova #but #marissa meyer #better know #if she even thinks about touching the everhart westwood family #i will throw hands #if max doesnt survive or if adrian simon or hugh die #or if simon or hugh are made unredeemable #i will Fight Her

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princessselene126 · 5 years ago

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Game Night

I was inspired to write this after finishing Supernova yesterday. I had this random thought that Nova does a weekly game night with Simon, Hugh, and Max where they talk about Adrian and he has no idea that they do this. It does contain spoilers for Supernova, so don’t read it if you haven’t read Supernova. I REPEAT: THIS FIC CONTAINS SUPERNOVA SPOILERS. Anyway. 2124 words of fluff and family bonding. Maximum fluff nodrian at the end.

This is part of a larger series that can be read as individual fics or one big one. If you’d like to read them in order, please go to the second masterlist linked below.

masterlist We Rise with the Sun masterlist

Nova didn’t bother knocking on the door of the old mayor’s mansion anymore. SHe had no reason to now that she lived there.

It’d been almost six months since the battle at the cathedral. Six months since Ace died. Six months since she’d told Hugh Everhart--Captain Chromium, one her boyfriend’s dads--that she, a villain, was in love with his son. Six months since he told her he didn’t believe there were villians anymore.

It’d also been about six months since game night began.

Game night started off simple enough. One night a few weeks after the supernova, Nova got a message from Max asking her to come over. This was nothing out of the ordinary now that he was actually able to interact with people without stealing their powers, so she went to the mansion without a second thought.

When she got there, however, she’d been surprised that Simon Westwood--her boyfriend’s and Max’s other dad--opened the door. “Nova, good to see you. Come on in. Max and Hugh are in the living room,” he said with a smile.

She found her lips mimicking his out of habit. “No Adrian?” She asked as she stepped into the threshold. The few times she’d been to the mansion Adrian was always with her, it was strange that he wasn’t there now. And as nice as Simon and Hugh had been to her since the battle, she knew she had a lot to do to earn their trust.

Simon shook his head. “No he’s with Oscar planning some one month anniversary thing for Ruby, I think.”

“Right. He mentioned that a couple days ago.” She pulled her hat and heavy winter coat off, hanging them on the wooden pegs by the door. “I bet he’s going to jump out of a cake or something in the middle of HQ.”

He laughed. “I wouldn’t put it past him.” Together they walked down the hallway to the refurbished living room.

Max smiled at her from where he sat on the floor. “Hi Nova! You ready for game night?”

Nova blinked a few times. “Game night?”

And that had been that. Every Wednesday night Nova, Max, Simon, and Hugh had game night without Adrian. It was a good way for them to get to know her better, for them to trust her. It didn’t hurt that she also got to hear a lot of ridiculous stories about Adrian as a child. A lot of very cute stories.

Tonight they were playing Uno, which was admittedly the most dangerous game they played so they didn’t do it often. Even though they were heroes, whenever a draw 4 card was set down threats were thrown around--very violent threats. Nova said she’d put someone to sleep and make them wake with the worst headache anyone could experience. Hugh would make a chromium knife and twirl it in is hand while biting his lip. Simon’s left eye would twitch and his fists would clench the table so hard his knuckles turned white. And Max? Max would curse the person out so much it would make any sailor blush. Uno was the only time that Simon and Hugh wouldn’t scold him for it.

Hugh shuffled the cards with his large hands, then started dealing them out. “Everyone remember the rules?”

“No putting anyone to sleep,” Nova said.

“No lying that I have to go to the bathroom then turning invisible to come look at your cards,” Simon added with a sigh.

Hugh looked at his husband with his eyebrows raised. “Or?”

“Or anywhere else.”

The first couple times they played Uno that was a problem. There was no such thing as honor when it came to Uno, Simon had said after Nova felt his body near her and elbowed him in the ribs.

Hugh nodded. “Good. Max?”

Max was grinning at his cards. Nova couldn’t help thinking the kid had a terrible poker face. Well, he didn’t even have a poker face.

“What?” Max asked.

“What’s another rule?”

“Hey, I don’t have any rules that apply to me except the normal ones. You’re the ones that cheat, not me.”

Nova couldn’t help rolling her eyes at that. Just because the kid didn’t have powers anymore didn’t mean he was incapable of cheating, in fact he’d done it many times. True to his former hero name, the Bandit was excellent at stealing things, but also hiding them.

“Alright, fine,” Max said with a scowl. “No hiding cards.”

“Right. And what happens when someone breaks one of the rules?” Hugh asked. He set the remaining stack of cards in the middle of the coffee table and flipped the top one over as their starter card.

“They have to drink a glass of pickle juice,” Nova said. “Now let’s get on with it. I need to redeem myself after Clue last week. I still can’t believe I lost to you of all people.”

Hugh grinned as he took his turn. The winner of the week before always went first. “It was a very embarrassing defeat for you.”

They started off in a clockwise direction, and Max was next. The first few times around were uneventful, each wanting to hold onto the special cards until they got some numbers out of the way.

“So,” Simon said. “Who wants to share their most interesting Adrian story first?” He put a reverse card down, making Nova grumble.

She started to draw cards until she had one she could use, then set it on the pile. “He was pretty much his usual self around me. Didn’t do anything embarrassing.” Well, there was one thing that happened, but that was while they were making out and it was important for context that they were making out, so she wasn’t going to tell his dads and little brother about it.

“Liar,” Max said.

“Am not.”

“Are too.”

Hugh interrupted the back and forth bickering he knew was about to happen. “Max has a point. You always have an Adrian story for us.”

She could make something up that sounded Adrian like, but she’d promised herself and Adrian and his family that she wouldn’t lie to them anymore. “It’s hilarious, but if I tell you, you’re going to be grossed out,” she warned.

“Oh?” Simon seemed intrigued now. “Is it PG?”

Max set another card down. “I’m eleven, I think I can handle PG-13 after all the crazy things I’ve done.”

“That depends, on how PG-13 it is,” Hugh said as he eyed Nova. It was one of those looks that made her feel like she was undercover as a renegade again. It made her feel like she’d be sent to prison if they found out her secrets. Not that they would.

“It’s on the low end of PG-13,” Nova said.

Simon glared at his husband when Hugh set down a draw four. He drew the cards and seemed even more frustrated my what they were. “I want a divorce.”

Hugh grinned. “No you don’t. And go ahead and tell us Nova.”

She very pointedly didn’t make eye contact as she laid her card down. “Adrian wasn’t paying attention when he went to kiss me and accidentally stuck his tongue up my nose a little bit. It was weird. His cheeks were so bright it looked like he was wearing face paint.”

Simon snorted, Hugh covered his mouth with his hand to hold in his laughter, and Max made a disgusted face.

“I told you it was gross.”

“I can’t believe he…” Simon started laughing so hard he had to set is cards down.

Now that he was laughing, Nova looked them in the eyes with a small smile on her face. “Honestly, neither can I.”

“How would that even happen?” Hugh wheezed. “Please… please don’t tell me he kisses you with his tongue out all the time, because if he does we’re going to have to talk about that.”

“No, he definitely doesn’t,” Nova assured him. “I have no idea what he was trying to do that day and he knows better than to do… whatever that was again.”

Max gave her a look “Up your nose?”

“Only a little, but it was enough to be weird. I think he was going to lick the tip of my nose because I was annoying him.”

“And he misjudged the distance,” Simon mused now that he was calmed down a little bit. He picked his cards back up and took his turn, but he was still smiling at his ridiculous son. “We know his vision is terrible without his glasses, but he’s always been a bad shot with a gun too. Maybe his depth perception is off.”

Hugh set another card down. “But it hasn’t been much of a problem before. Drawing takes depth perception and he’s great at that.”

“It actually doesn’t take that much,” Nova said.

Simon and Hugh looked at her curiously.

She flushed slightly, still not exactly used to the two of them looking at her like she had more answers than them. “Well, think about it. Drawing happens on a two dimensional surface, he only needs to look at the piece of paper, or glass, or wall, or whatever he’s drawing on. But shooting, or aiming at anything really, requires you to be more spatially aware.”

There were a few beats of silence, as if Simon and Hugh were thinking over what Nova said, wondering if maybe their son needed to go to the optometrist again sooner than his yearly appointment.

Max set a skip card down. “It’s still gross that he stuck his tongue up your nose.”

“It really is,” Nova agreed. “What’s your Adrian story for the week?”

“He charmed an ice cream lady into giving me free ice cream,” Max said with a grin. “He forgot his wallet when we went yesterday and offered to take a picture with her in exchange.”

“Why wouldn’t you guys just come back and get it?” Hugh asked.

Just as Max opened his mouth, they could hear the front door open. Footsteps resounded down the hall toward them. “I’m home!” Adrian called to no one in particular.

“We’re in the living room!” Hugh called back as he tossed another card down.

Adrian stepped into the room and his brow furrowed the second he saw his dads, brother, and girlfriend sitting on the floor around the coffee table. “Uh… what’s going on in here?”

“Game night,” they chorused without looking away from their hands.

“Oooookay that was creepy.” He walked across the room and sat on the couch behind Nova. Leaning over he pressed a kiss to her cheek.

She gently swatted him away. “Don’t look at my cards, you’d just go tell Max what I have.”

“What?” He laughed. “No I wouldn’t.”

“Yes you would,” Nova, Simon, and Hugh said together.

Adrian made a face. “You guys gotta stop doing that.”

“And you need to stop sticking your tongue up Nova’s nose,” Max said.

His cheeks heated, eyes darting back down to Nova. “You told them?”

She at least looked sympathetic when she turned toward him and rested her cheek on the side of his thigh. “Sorry. They pried it out of me. But in my defense, you didn’t give me any other good stories to tell them for this week.”

“What does that even mean?” he asked, more more confused than he’d been when he walked in. “Stories? You do--” Adrian paused mid sentence, eyes widening with realization. “You guys have been talking about me. That’s how you knew about the incident at the parade when I was thirteen.” He looked at his fathers. “You promised you’d never tell anyone about that.”

Simon grinned widely. “Actually we promised we’d never tell any of your friends about that, and we haven’t. Nova’s your girlfriend, therefore we haven’t broken any promises.”

“Friend is in the word!”

Nova reached her hand up to cup Adrian’s cheek, giving him a soft smile. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone your secret.”

He sighed and leaned into her, trusting her. “No more swapping stories about me.”

“Now that I can’t do. This is our destressing time.”

“You can destress with me.”

She shook her head. “No can do. Your dads and Max need this too. You’re more than welcome to join us if you want to listen to stories about yourself though.”

“I’ll pass.”

“In that case…” Nova let her power surge through her, putting him into a peaceful nap. Adrian slumped back against the couch. He’d wake up in an hour or two feeling refreshed. By then they’d be done with game night and she could spend some quality time with him.

She turned back to the table where it was still her turn.

“Go drink the pickle juice,” Max said. “You cheated.”

“He wasn’t even playing!”

part 2 (kinda?)

#renegades #arch enemies #fanfic #mine mine mine #i wrote this #renegades fic #supernova #supernova spoilers #spoilers #beware #nodrian #nova artino #adrian everhart #hugh everhart #simon westwood #max everhart #We Rise with the Sun

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the-wee-woo-royal · 3 years ago

Note

all the questions of the shipping ask game✨

Sorry it took a while, i wanted to get on my computer. Also i copy and pasted the ones that were already asked.

HERE WE GO.

1. What was your first OTP?

Sabrina and Puck from the Sisters Grimm series. Probably one if the first series I read and even then I just knew that they would come together.

2. What is your current OTP?

HUMONNNN (hugh everhart and simon westwood) They deserved so much more 😢😢 There isn't much of them on the books as a couple but all the head cannons have made me think they are the perfect couple and deserve the world. 😍😍😍

3. Do you have any OT3/OT+ ships? What are your favorites?

I do not have any romantic ones. If you count friendship i would say team sketch and the rampion crew. They were made to come together and be friends. ~found familyyyy~

4. What is/are your favorite trope(s)?

I love enemies to lovers. Like the whole time its just ¨get over yourself yall are in loveeeee¨ Its so cute. There also always a little ¨oh¨ and you know their whipped. I also like total opposites but same in a way coming together. Plus found familys. dont know if that counts as a trope but i like it.

5. What is/are your least favorite trope(s)?

Abusers to lovers. I don't understand it. I like enemies to lovers but when it gets physical I just cant. It's not right.

6. Do you have a certain kind of ship you’re more attracted to?

Hc Humon??? I think this is the same as #2(?)

7. Are most of your ships “pure” or “problematic”?

Problematic.

8. Who is the most shippable person you can think of?

what makes a shippable person

9. Are there any fandoms you don’t have any ships for?

No, by brain is love deprived so i find love in literature.

10. Do characters have to have canon interactions for you to ship them?

All the tlc ships, nodian and oscarxruby: Yes

Danissa and Humon: NO! GOD DAMMIT! (cannon no, hc yes, god i love fan fiction)

11. What makes a great ship in your own opinion?

I dont really know, you kinda get the vibe. Like you can just see how they act toward each other.

12. What drives you away from a ship?

Any type of abuse. Im a one strike and your out type person. Or when people just try and put two people together when it doesn't make any sense.

13. Is there anything you ship but refuse to interact with the community for?

i dont interact with the community in the first place i am s c a r e d.

14. Has a fanbase ever made you ship or not ship something? Why?

Humon, I didnt think of them much when i first read the book, but then i stumbled across some fan fiction and now i have been influenced heavily and i cannot go back.

15. Do you like/participate in ship wars? Why or why not?

I never have before.

16. Are there any ships you just can’t/don’t understand? What are they?

iko an kinney, they had one scene together, which they showed obvious hate, theres almost no fan stuff to persuade someone so i dont really get how people see it.

17. Are there any popular ships that you just don’t like? What are they?

Honey Harper and Ace or Leroy. I don't believe any of the anarchist were truly love with each other. (I believe Honey was attracted to Aces power but not much more.)

And hate me if u will I don't like Nobell or NovaxRuby. Ruby and Oscar are made for each other. Quite literally soulmates (in my opinion). So it feels weird to match them with other people.

As for Nobell, I just don't see it. One, I just kinda don't like cannon Danna. Head cannon Danna i would die for but thats off topic. Danna hates the anarchist, it shows multiple times throughout the book she believes the councils code is right. Nova doesn't. Plus Nova held her captive WITH THE ANARCHISTS and that has to be a bit traumatizing. They might mend their relationship but I don't think enough for them to be a couple (i see them as more of power badass besties / Brotp) Also I like Narcissa and Danna (for the same reason as oscarxruby). It would be a bit hard for them (again with the different views and all) but at least theirs no previous hate between them.

18. What is your favorite unpopular ship?

Mal and Evie from Decedants. "Sisterly Love" my ass they were in love and deep down we all know it.

19. Do you prefer fluff, angst, or smut for your ships?

All, im a little sensitive to strong emotions. Like i wont cry (usually) but if theres a cute scene, the either fluffy or angsty feeling will stick with me all day. As for smut, i like it but it doesnt stick with me after reading it.

20. Do you prefer bigger fanbases or smaller ones?

Idk, iv only ever been in smaller or dead ones. I hear that big fan bases get really toxic real fast (so may opinions and all so i get it). But i see... not mean but not entirely friendly people in small ones too. I guess small ones bc you can interact (even i get brave enough) with a lot more of the community and you can see fan stuff for almost everyone.

21. Have you ever received hate for a ship you liked?

Not personally but I know people hate Humon with a burning passion and i get kinda anxious that they'll hate me too. i get paranoid real fast.

22. Do you have any ships that you ship, but would never want to see as canon?

nope

23. Have you ever had a ship become canon, but you didn’t like how it was portrayed?

24. What is your favorite canon ship?

I have many, i love marissa meyers books rn so all of them im for.

25. What are your favorite ships from a dead fandom?

idk if sanders sides is dead, i recently got into it but theres not much. I like prinxiety and loganxpatton. Opposites attract.

26. What are your favorite shipping scenes?

i dont wanna go searching for all so here are ones that came to mind right now:

Wolfet: The train scene in Scarlet and literally all of Winter.

OscarxRuby(really gotta learn their ship name): the part where they played videogames. it was short but sweet. WHEN THEY CUDDLED ON THE STAKEOUT! when oscar asked her out, it was kinda weird (timing ya know. people literally just got massacured) but the little speech he made was really cute (what is up with confessing love right after someone dies in the books)

Humon: When Simon bid on the pie for Hugh when hes a cake lover. I love sacrifice (i also love food) and when Hugh ran to Simon when the bees hit attacked him, although it was kinda his job as a husband to do that. i dont have many canon ones for them.

Nodrian: the whole trilogy. how can u expect me to unravel all that in a few sentences. i just cannot.

Jacinter (pretty sure i did not spell that right): when he faked her death. It was G O L D and the way jacin sat bu her bedside 24/7 was so damn cute.

I have many more non cannon shipping scenes to canon. it didnt really ucure to be now that 1/2 my thoughts on books were fake.

i need help

27. What are your views on reader x canon ships?

Their cool. I dont personally read them much and when i do i never think of me in the situations. I read it as any other thing in short.

28. What is your best shipping advice?

Support what you want. Don't care if other people don't like it or harass you for it. You like what you want. If you want character a and b *(+) to be together do it. It's nobody's business but urs. (Unless it's pedophilia, abusive or any of that stuff the just stop)

*+ is for more than 2 people.

29. Do you like OCs (Original Characters)?

Yeah, I like OCs. Their creative and apart of the writer in some way.

30. What are some of your favorite shipping blogs?

ever interacted with them but i had one blog that i loved, it was all based on one ship i adored but THEY DEACTIVATED i miss u.

#thank you for the asks #ask game #asks #renegades #tlc #descendants #sisters grimm

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aion-rsa · 5 years ago

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Marissa Meyer's Renegades Trilogy is Riveting Superhero Fiction

https://ift.tt/2pd2a65

Marissa Meyer finishes what she began with Renegades in Supernova, an epic & emotional conclusion to Nova and Adrian's superpowered story.

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This article is sponsored by Macmillan Books. All views expressed in the article reflect those of the writer.

It's no secret that it's a great time to be a fan of superhero storytelling. The biggest, most expensive movies in the world are about superheroes, and we're getting to a point in comic book adaptation culture that even some of the medium's more obscure characters are making their way onto TV screens.

But we don't talk enough about how the trend has spilled over into fiction. From Sarah Kuhn's Heroine Complex series to V.E. Schwab's Villains series to Lauren Shippen's recent The Infinite Noise, there are increasing examples of character-driven superpowered stories in the literary world and, like all media, there are ways in which this medium in particular can explore the themes and anxieties of this narrative subgenre in ways other media cannot, chiefly (at least for this reader) delving into the psychology and interiority of superpowered characters. Marissa Meyer's Renegades trilogy, which comes to its conclusion next month with Supernova, is one such superpowered story.

The Renegades series takes place in the fictional Gatlon City, which is ruled by a council of superpowered individuals and their squads of "prodigies," people with extraordinary powers, known collectively as Renegades. When the first book in the series kicks off, the city is a decade past the Age of Anarchy, characterized by Ace Anarchy's decision to overthrow the prodigy-prejudiced existing government in favor of a city (dis)order in which gangs of prodigies rule.

Protagonist Nova, who has the power to put people to sleep with her touch, is raised by the Anarchists after her parents and sister are murdered, and believes in the Anarchist cause wholeheartedly. The first book in the series sees her going undercover within the Renegades in an attempt to take them down from the inside. Of course, things get complicated when she begins to fall for Adrian, her Renegade colleague.

read more: Wayward Son by Rainbow Rowell Review & Discussion

Adrian, the adopted son of two of the Renegade founders, Hugh Everhart (Captain Chromium) and Simon Westwood (the Dread Warden), Adrian is a Renegade through and through. Born with the power to bring to life anything he draws, Adrian has one of the cooler, most original superpowers in the series. By the first book, he has begun experimenting with drawing his own tatooos, which give him permanent kinds of new powers.

The complexity of secret identities in this story owes as much to the spy genre as it does the superhero narrative. Both Nova and Adrian have two superpowered alter egos. In the Renegades, they are Insomnia and Sketch, respectively. As an Anarchist, Nova is Nightmare. As a vigilante working outside of Renegade rule, Adrian is Sentinel. Who knows which superhero (or supervillain) identities keeps these two on their toes, and builds suspense as the trilogy progresses and Nova and Adrian grow closer.

read more: How Red, White, and Royal Blue Hopes For a Kinder America

Both characters, who get POV status from the narrative, are a product of their pasts and the circumstances of their respective upbringings. Nova blames the Renegades for not protecting her family, and was raising by the Anarchists to believe that the Renegades are dictators with too much unchecked power. Adrian blames the Anarchists for the death of his mother, Lady Indominatable, and was raised by the Renegades to believe that the Anarchists are all evil individuals who cause chaos and destruction in their quest for power.

Like many beliefs, there are hints of truth in both of Nova and Adrian's world views, but the reality is much more complicated than either young adult knows. The Renegades series is the story of how their black-and-white, good-and-evil world views are complicated by their relationships with one another, and by their growing up. As with all good superhero stories, the foundational theme explores the nature of power—how it can best be used to help those who don't, and what it looks like when power is abused.

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As is to be expected, the series owes a lot to the comic book foundation of this genre, and is in conversation with what has come before. By the third book in the series. Agent N, a serum that can permanently neutralize a prodigy's superpowers, has become a huge threat to the stability of this prodigy-ruled world. It is reminiscent of X-Men's Mutant "cure" storyline, which played a prominent role both in Astonishing X-Men and X-Men: The Last Stand. Here, it is used as a representation of the power the Renegades have, and the ways in which weapons can be turned against even those who wield them.

The third book in the series does some tidy worldbuilding—explaining how superpowers came to be in this reality, with a truly lovely tie to some of our world's most wondrous science—but Meyer's strength continues to be in building intricate webs of interpersonal relationship and a focus on the interiority of characters. As this trilogy races to its emotional conclusion and the walls between Nova's different lives stretch thinner, there is an impending sense of doom but also the possibility of healing. Will this world end in hope or tragedy? You're gonna have to read to find out.

Supernova hits the shelves on November 5th, and is now available for pre-order. The first two books in the series, Renegades and Archenemies, are now available wherever books are sold.

Kayti Burt is a staff editor covering books, TV, movies, and fan culture at Den of Geek. Read more of her work here or follow her on Twitter @kaytiburt.

Read and download the Den of Geek NYCC 2019 Special Edition Magazine right here!

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Feature Kayti Burt

Oct 25, 2019

Science Fiction Books

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obsidianfr3sk · 4 years ago

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This is so stupid but it’s late and I’m curious. Do you think max still believes in stuff like the tooth fairy and Santa Claus?

First of all, i love this tye of questions, so if you want to send more, send!! Don't be shy:')

My headcanon is that Max did believe in Santa Claus and the tooth fairy when he was little, but when he turned 8-9, he probably was like "mmmm ok this doesn't make that much sense". So, when his dads asked him something like "do you already have your letter for Santa Claus?" at the start of December, he told them "don't worry, i already know Santa isn't real, but i want-"... And he proceeded to tell them what he wanted.

I also think he did write want he wanted for Christmas but instead of like writing "dear Santa", he wrote "dear Hugh and Simon" because they were going to be the ones buying him the presents anyways. At least he did that until they told him "no, this is not cute, you're a kid, believe in Santa and write him a letter", and he only did that so he could get presents.

Something similar happened with the tooth fairy thing. I imagine him telling his dads "look, here's one more baby tooth for your collection, can I have some money now, pls?" because yes, think Hugh and Simon are the kind of people who keep their kid's baby teeth in a little box

If someone believed in Santa until he was 12 or something, was Adrian.

Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk I have a masters degree on the Everhart-Westwood family

#renegades #archenemies #supernova #renegades trilogy #headcanon #thank you curious anon you made my whole day #also serious question is keeoing your kids baby teeth in a box is something all parents do or im just being crazy?#I've heard about people keeping the umbilical cord #anyways-#I love answering this types of questions ndndmsksks #and im so excited about receiving this ask thanks again anon✨✨✨✨

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obsidianfr3sk · 4 years ago

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five valentine’s day that went wrong and one that (almost) didn’t

@queercreators event 02: romance — [ five valentine’s day that went wrong and one the (almost) didn’t ] [ “Five Things” Fic ] “

dedicated to my dear Reneweys [ @nodrianbcyes @honey-hippie-harper @healing-winston-pratt @alecjamesartino @bluenoctuary-art @everyone-has-a-nightmare ] ♡

Summary: They always managed to ruin their Valentine's Days one way or another, but it didn't matter. Because there was no way they could ruin what the two of them had.Boy, he would like to see someone try.

AO3

Well, hello there!!! It’s been a while since the last time I posted something x’d I know I always say the same thing but it’s true skjdfhkjdfs I started this fic during the first week of febreary when I had this shot of adrenaline and started to do a lot of creative stuff, and originally I wanted to post this during Valentine’s Day, but... the shot of adrenaline passed x’d and let me to deal with this alone.

As you can see for the description, this a “Five Thing” fic. At first I wanted to post each chapter seperately, but idk, it seem a little bit... weird x’d so, here in Tumblr, the six chapters are all in one post. If you don’t like the format, but want to read the fic, you can find it on AO3! Don’t forget to leave kudos and a comment if you liked it:’)

Now... I’m not used to write happy sttuf in general x’d AND I’M LESS USED TO WRITE HAPPY STUFF ABOUT HUGH AND SIMON BECAUSE SKJDFHKJDSF the angst, dudes:))) but I think I did. Like... I actually wrote a fluffy fic:’) I’m so proud of myself dkjfhkfdshjk

Tag list: @the-lady-with-the-pen @chiyuki-hiro @all-weather-is-bad @styeenza

First try

Year 2

It was the second Valentine's Day after the beginning of the Age of Anarchy, and the capacity that the human being had to adapt themselves to the most terrible of conditions never ceased to amaze him. The economy had collapsed, the government had fallen, his school was practically one of the last ones still in open, and there was a “fucking junkie” ruling the city...

But the world celebrated Valentine's Day anyway.

Or at least in his class did.

The teacher had brought a bunch of cardboard boxes, that looked like she had fought with some tramps to get them (which she probably did, they were too many boxes for one person to generate) (unless she was a crazy person who collected boxes). She gave one to each one of her students, took out the last bottles of paint, pieces of colored cardboard, and rusty scissors, and then told them that today they were going to learn how to make a mailbox.

At first, Hugh had no idea what turning a box into a mailbox had to do with the curriculum the school was supposed to follow. It's not like people sent a lot of letters anyway. But when the girls got excited, he remembered that February 14 was something like an important date. And then, he remembered an activity that they did during his first year, when everyone decorated a box for their classmates to put letters and sweets in it.

First year… And now he was in his third year.

Time flies by.

After telling them which parts to cut into (Hugh had to share his scissors with other three classmates because there weren't enough for everyone), she invited them to pick the decorations they wanted to put on their mailboxes. The girls pounced on the pink, red, and even white paint, while most of the boys laughed, saying it was a stupid activity and they didn't want to do it. Hugh felt the urge to agree, but he didn't

He had already tried to make them like him. It hadn't worked for him.

So he grabbed a bottle of navy blue paint, some cartoon bear stickers, some notebook paper, and a bitten pencil. That would be enough to make his mailbox and his cards.

After a while, he started to have a good time. Crafts had never been his strong suit, but he was proud of how it ended up looking. One couldn’t tell his mailbox used to be a cereal box because the paint he used was so dark, that it only needed two coats of it and it dried much faster than Abernathy’s, who had practically finished the pink paint trying to hide the face of that missing child in the milk carton box the teacher gave to her. Hugh realized that she was holding her tears back, and as the good classmate that he was, he told her not to worry, that the missing child could be decoration if she painted him a mustache or something, and it would look very funny. Abernathy, far from finding it funny, acted super offended, assuring she had never met a child as rude and insensitive as Hugh Everhart, and she ran out of the classroom, hiding her face in her hands and screaming like a baby.

Unfortunately, the rest of his class agreed with her, and when it came time to deliver the cards, Hugh did not receive a single one. Although he doubted it had anything to do with that missing boy thing.

They wouldn't have given him anything anyway.

He wasn't sure if they knew he was a prodigy. Maybe they had noticed that it wasn't normal that Hugh had practically broken a chair in two when he placed his backpack on it to get something out, or that he had left the PE teacher unconscious when he accidentally threw a ball at his face while they were playing soccer. The teachers, if they noticed, didn't say anything. After all, that school was supposed to be only for normal kids.

Not prodigies.

But children could be very insightful. Most likely, they did notice and therefore did not want to be associate with him.

Or maybe—

Maybe they just didn't want to hang out with Hugh, because of… that.

Because he was Hugh.

He decided to wait for everyone else to leave before starting to cry (or before breaking another chair, whichever came first). Or at least that was what he was about to do when he heard that someone had come up with the same idea as him and started crying first.

Simon Westwood had never been too talkative. Even before his older sister and mother died, he liked to sit at the last table, not speaking to anyone, and some older kids were constantly picking on him, without any teacher trying to do anything to stop them.

Not that Hugh was paying much attention to him or something.

The teacher practically ran to see what was going on with Simon Westwood, asking him what happened and why hadn’t he finished decorating his mailbox. Simon Westwood tried to explain it to her, but he was mumbling his words so neither the teacher nor Hugh could understand what he was saying.

Hugh didn’t get mad with him though. His mom had died. His sister died too, a couple of weeks later. He wouldn’t be in the mood for doing cheesy crafts if the same had happened to him. But the teacher wasn’t as benevolent as him, and started to say things like she was trying really hard to bring joy to her students, and that she was sure that if he tried a little bit harder, he would be able to enjoy Valentine’s Day, like the rest of them.

“Let’s see what nice things your classmates have said about you,” she exclaimed. But that only made Simon Westwood start crying again.

No one had given him a card.

Like… no one.

And Hugh was listening to all of this conversation, just sitting there, trying to stay as stiff as he could so they wouldn’t notice he was there (as if he weren’t literally right in front of them). Seeing Simon cried like that made him think that maybe he was just acting though when the other kids laugh at him because of his looks, his ratty old clothes (older and rattier than theirs), or just—

His mind exploded.

He suddenly understood why the other kids didn't like Simon Westwood. It was before he was him.

Just like how they didn’t like Hugh Everhart because he was Hugh Everhart.

When the teacher went out of the classroom with Simon, saying something about calling his dad (although he knew they wouldn’t be able to do that, since no one had a functioning phone those days), he took one of the cards he did for his classmates, cards that he never gave to them, and put one inside Simon Westwood’s mailbox/cereal box. He had left his backpack and his things there. When he came back to take them home, he would see the card too.

A voice in his head told him to get out of there before he came back, but another one told him to stay. Maybe Simon Westwood and he could be friends. Maybe he would understand what it felt like to be hated just for the way you were born. Maybe he was a prodigy too.

Or maybe he wasn’t.

He couldn’t take that chance.

So Hugh went home, but promised Simon Westwood (and himself) he would keep an eye on him.

After all, friends were there to have each other’s back.

Because they were friends, even if Simon didn't know it yet.

Second try

Year 9

They were friends.

He had never seen Hugh before meeting him on that alley where Simon got his powers. Like— he had seen him because he was in the same class as him, but he hadn't really seen him. During his childhood years, Simon was more focused on other things. Like being a little depressed and anxious ball with skinny legs and skinny arms, for example.

It wasn’t like he wasn’t depressed or anxious now. Nor it was he had gotten super muscular all of the sudden, like Hugh (he had always been bigger than the other kids, but he practically turned twelve and already looked like a teenager, except for the voice and the face).

But at that moment, he wasn’t depressed or anxious. He felt weirdly at peace.

He and Hugh were walking down the street, thinking about which store were they going to rob that day to get dinner for them and their families, when Simon noticed a couple holding hands in front of an abandoned café. She had dark hair and he had blue eyes, which looked at his girlfriend as if she was the Virgin Mary or something. Then, she kissed him and gave him a small blue flower and a heart-shaped card. The guy looked so moved by the gesture that he kissed her on the lips again, with so much more passion than before.

Simon looked away before they realized he was looking at them, not only because he didn’t want to come off as creepy, but also because he knew how awkward he would feel if they started to make out or something.

“Love is in the air,” Hugh sang.

Simon chuckled. “You noticed them too?”

“I noticed them when she gave him the flower,” he told him. “I had never seen a girl giving flowers to a guy before.”

“Times have changed, I guess. That’s why they don’t feel uncomfortable giving such public displays of affection. Kids in our day weren’t like that.”

“I know, right?” said Hugh continuing with the joke. “They are so perverted. There are children present, for God’s sake.”

Simon chuckled again and Hugh stopped to tie his shoe. While he was there, Simon noticed he was throwing glances at them.

“You know, giving them the death stare isn’t gonna prevent them from being in love,” Simon told him.

“I can try,” Hugh joked. Then, he shook his head. “It’s not that. I just—”

He waited for him a couple of seconds before asking, “Just what?”

He finally answered, “Someday we’ll have something like that.”

Simon frowned. “Huh?”

“You know,” Hugh mumbled. “We’ll have girlfriends and— and all of that.”

“Oh!” Simon exclaimed. “Yeah, someday, yeah.”

But before Simon could keep talking about it (or just develop some opinion on the topic) Hugh shrugged and urged him to keep walking. ��I guess. I didn’t even remember today was Valentine’s Day though. They were my reminder—” he turned around and waved at them “—Thank you, exhibitionists, you reminded me what day is it!”

Now, Hugh probably didn’t mean for them to hear him say that. Simon knew him well enough to know Hugh thought he wasn’t being loud, but the thing was… Hugh was always loud. He could be “whispering” and the whole neighborhood would hear him ask Simon if he knew how bars with strippers worked because he did know, and wanted to brag about it. Then, Simon would feel embarrassed, because, in fact, he didn’t know how bars with strippers work.

Simon immediately turned around and realized the girl was looking at them with an expression he couldn’t read. He turned invisible and pushed Hugh inside of an alley, hoping those trashcans hid them well enough in case the guy turned out to be a freaking animal and wanted to kick their flat asses for calling them exhibitionists.

Simon felt the anxiety kicking in, when Hugh started laughing so loud, that said anxiety turn into the need of punching him really hard on the arm.

So he did it. Multiple times.

“Dude, dude, shut the fuck up, dude,” Simon said keeping his voice low (because he could keep his voice down, unlike others), “that guy’s gonna kick our asses, for real. Dudeeee—”

But his voice kinda cracked when he said that “Dudeee—” and that made Hugh laugh even more, so Simon kept punching him, using a vocabulary that would make the most dangerous of gangster blush. And he probably would have kept hitting him, if the anxiety of being discovered hadn't been overshadowed by how weird it made him feel to see his best friend laugh.

When Hugh laughed, his cheeks would turn red and his eyes would water. They could be in the most embarrassing situation ever, one where no one was laughing, and if he found it funny, he was going to do it, because he wasn't going to be able to help it. And it wasn't like Simon would stop him, either. Not at all. He liked it when he laughed.

Even though he ended up making him laugh too. Like at that moment.

Most of the garbage ended up in the drains, the sidewalk, or anywhere else except where it belonged, the trash can. Generally, Hugh always refused when someone hinted at sitting on the floor, precisely for that reason. However, on that occasion, the two were sitting in that stinking alley, throwing pebbles at each other, playing with some bottle caps they found on the ground, and arguing about who would win a bare-handed fight, Wonder Man or Phantom Feline.

They decided it was time to go home when a cat-sized rat appeared out of nowhere, and the two of them came out screaming like idiots, even faster than they would have run if that guy with the girlfriend would have chased them. They ran until they reached Simon's house, all sweaty and tired, their hands on their bent knees and breathing heavily.

Then Hugh laughed again. And his cheeks were flushed again, and his eyes were watery again, and he made Simon laugh again until Mr. Westwood came home from work and told him to go inside, that it was too late to be outside.

Once he was locked in his room, with his younger sister playing in the living room and his father in the kitchen, the image of that guy kissing his girlfriend did not make him feel anything. So, he tried to imagine kissing a lot of girls that he considered a thousand times more attractive, but just when it seemed that the idea was beginning to be something desirable, Hugh came back, with his laugh, his screams, and his eyes, like one of those freaking trains that he dreamed of having the opportunity to stop one day and that never missed a single chance to tell Simon all about it.

The truth was that Simon did believe that Hugh might be able to stop a train with his bare hands, but he doubted he would be able to stop the train of thought that Simon hopped on whenever he thought of him. And he was so ashamed to know that not even the strongest prodigy on the planet was capable of doing that, that he decided to take those memories from the collar of the old blue hoodie that each one of them wore and bury them alive in the backyard of his memory.

Forever and ever.

Thrid try

Year 12

Two months ago, after their first date, Simon told Hugh he would never plan another important date, forever and ever. But now, Simon had let him plan their first Valentine's Day together without putting any objections, proving that he trusted him. And he was happy for him; Simon had always had problems when it came to trusting other people. It was nice to see the other grow to become a better person.

And it was even nicer when you were no longer only friends, but a couple.

So yeah, he wanted to make Valentine's Day special. It was kind of a big deal.

Georgia and Tamaya brainstormed with him places he could take Simon to. They all agreed that it had to be a place safe enough and that it wouldn't put them in a situation where they had to reveal their powers, and by consequence, their secret identities. But then, everything started going downhill, especially because Georgia had some very odd ideas (like something about flowers, a choreographed dance, and poetry) and Tamaya was as romantic as a rock (“Just don't end up nearly killing yourself in front of him, that should be enough.”)

It was February 13th, and Hugh was on his cot, a bit angry at Georgia and Tamaya, not only because they couldn't help him on such an important mission as they promised, but also because they blamed him for their failure, telling him that he "had no imagination" and that he "thought with his dick", just because he thought all their ideas were horrible.

Maybe he should have phrased that better...

Simon and Evander slept on the bunk bed Simon used to share with his younger sister. Simon was taking a shower, so he was all alone with Evander and Kasumi, who sometimes went there to visit her best friend, even if Tamaya told her not to do it because it smelled horrible in there and she would bring the odor to the girl’s bedroom (Hugh thought the room didn't smell bad at all, and if it did, it was because Evander acted like he was living in the street yesterday and had no sense of personal hygiene). But Kasumi didn’t seem to mind, and she spent most of her afternoons cuddling with Evander on the top bunk, while she read an old book and Evander read one of Simon’s comics (because Hugh would join the Anarchists before letting Evander touch his comics).

They started whispering at each other about who knows what, and even though he kind of wanted to know what they were talking about, he was just too tired, so he decided to put a pillow on his face and try to fall asleep. But then, he heard, quite clearly, that they said his name.

And he couldn’t let slip that.

He pulled the pillow off his face, and said, “What are you saying about me?”

They both peered over the edge of the bunk. “We were talking about how you're not good at romance,” Evander replied.

The audacity of that b— boy.

“You are eleven years old," he told him. “What are you going to know about romance?”

“No more than you,” Kasumi acknowledged, very solemnly.

Hugh made his “See?” face and he looked away.

Then, Evander asked, “Why don’t you take him to Cosmopolis Park?”

Oh, stars. He couldn’t be serious.

Cosmopolis Park.

A freaking theme park.

Evander was eleven, all right. His idea of a date was probably something out of a princess movie he and Kasumi watched from time to time (sometimes Tamaya joined them too and she always acted like she was just watching it to make fun of it, even though everyone in the house knew she had a weird soft spot for cheesy princess movies). But Hugh was technically an adult now. He should know better, and knowing better was not taking your boyfriend to a theme park for Valentine’s Day. That wasn’t very romantic.

“What a stupid idea.”

Kasumi got red all of the sudden. For the look at Evander’s face, Hugh knew he had fucked up even before she said, “It was my idea…”

“Oh— no, Zoomie, I… what I meant was that—”

“Don’t fix it, bro,” Evander interrupted him. “You’re gonna make me want to punch you more.”

He wasn’t afraid of Evander punching him because he couldn’t compare a kid’s strength to his, but he obeyed him and mumbled a small, “Sorry.”

The “sorry” was for Kasumi though, not for Evander. If Kasumi hadn’t been there, he probably would have told Evander something like “Oh, yeah? You’re gonna punch me, little punk? Come on, punch me, don’t be a pussy” (and then Georgia would have stormed into the room, telling him not to use the word “pussy”, and they would have pointed at each other saying “He started it!”)

After giving him a goodnight kiss, Kasumi got off Evander’s bed, with the book under her arm. Before leaving the room, she knelt beside Hugh to kiss him goodnight, as to show his comment didn’t cause her to feel any kind of resentment towards him.

Because of course it didn’t. Kasumi was like that.

“I was just saying— Valentine’s Day is also a day to be with friends,” she whispered. “And you and Simon are not only boyfriends but also... you know, friends. I bet that wherever you take him, it'd be magical for both of you. Because you find magic in each other's company, even before you knew you were in love. So... why not?”

She turned off the lights on her way out.

He never thought Kasumi’s tendency to romanticize everything was odd or weird. It was something that he expected from a teenage girl, especially one who has such a vivid imagination. But he also never expected that imagination would help him in some way. And he never expected for her to say the exact words he wanted to hear, even before he knew he wanted to hear them.

She was so wise.

Cosmopolis Park didn’t sound like a bad idea anymore when Simon entered just after Kasumi, wearing his pajamas, and asked him with a teasing voice, “So… where are you gonna take me tomorrow?”

Hugh didn’t know if Evander was already asleep, so he just smiled at him and told him it was a surprise. Simon rolled his eyes and gave him a soft kiss on the nose before getting into his own bed.

It was his way of telling him he trusted him. And relationships were supposed to be built upon trust. He didn't need anyone to tell him that.

As far as he knew, Simon hadn't been to Cosmopolis Park in years, probably before the Age of Anarchy began. It was no secret that the park was currently full of gangs and drug addicts but it was still a relatively peaceful place. At least peaceful enough that the park was full of families, groups of friends, and tons of couples.

Although there weren’t any couples...

Well, there weren’t any couples like them.

He wondered if Simon noticed that small detail too, but when he turned to ask him that, he knew it would be better if he just kept his comments to himself. Because he wasn't an expert reading other people's emotions, but Simon...

Simon looked so happy at the moment.

The two walked side by side, their shoulders brushing against each other's, but their hands tucked deep into their pockets. Hugh was trying to keep his eyes fixed forward to avoid bumping into anyone, but the small chuckles Simon let out every time he saw something that surprised him, made said task impossible. Suddenly, he no longer wanted to avoid the embarrassment that would cause him to bother someone by bumping into them; he wanted to look at him.

He wanted to look at him trying to hide his laughter by covering his mouth with his hand, as if he wanted to suppress some kind of dark feeling, without realizing that his joy was so full of light that it was practically impossible. He wanted to continue to see how his dark eyes, with very long lashes and deep bags under the eyes, perfectly captured the lights of the Ferris wheel and the food trucks. He wanted to see the tiny smile he had the entire time they were at the park because even if Simon didn't smile like that very often, when he did, Hugh felt as if he was witnessing the most wonderful of miracles.

Hugh took his hands out of his pocket, and when he turned his attention back to Simon, he was looking at him too. They stopped in their tracks, not caring that people passed around them, sometimes unintentionally pushing them a bit or stepping on their shoelaces.

Hugh took a step forward and Simon did too.

Then Simon pulled a hand out of his grey jacket's pocket, making him wonder if he was dreaming or if it was really going to happen.

Hugh held his breath and felt the blood rush to his face, along with the overwhelming feeling that everyone around him was staring at them, with the newly acquired gift of recognizing those two faces that always hid behind pair of colorful masks and now were gazing at each other with true devotion. He desperately wanted to know what was going through their heads, he wanted to know if they still considered them worthy of their admiration and respect, and he wanted to know if he had been right when he assured Simon that, someday, the two of them would hold each other in public without thinking it twice.

But then, just as Simon's fingers brushed his cheek, his attention was completely diverted to someone behind Hugh.

“Are you talking to me?” he asked awkwardly.

Hugh turned to see who his boyfriend was talking to. He was a slightly older man, juggling three balls and standing on the table of his own stand. He was smiling at Simon and he had a mustache that quite frankly made him look like a ridiculous comic villain.

“Yes, you!” and he threw a ball at Simon.

Simon covered his face with his hands, but Hugh caught the ball before it hit him.

Who did this guys think he was?

The guy, far from mocking Simon's reaction, seemed intrigued. “Do you want to win a prize, big guy?” he asked Hugh.

Hugh was ready to say no to him in the kindest way he could, when the guy pulled out a laundry basket, like the one Georgia put on his head every Sunday, saying "Laundry time!" in a voice so high that made birds explode.

“You just have to throw that ball you have in your hand—” he raised the basket “—here. And you can win a prize.”

He finally gave him a chance to reply. “No, thank you, we’re fine.”

He shoved his hands into his pockets again and told Simon to keep going. But the guy did not give up.

“I see,” he crooned from afar. “Your dad didn't play ball with you and that's why you don't think you're capable of throwing it correctly. It’s fine.”

Simon put his hand to his mouth as if thinking "Oh, stars, he did not."

And Hugh looked at him as if thinking "Oh, but he did."

If that guy knew who he was talking to, he would probably think it twice before making comments to strangers mocking their lack of a father figure.

So he turned abruptly and threw the ball into the basket.

If Hugh had been a little calmer, he probably would have been able to remember that, before leaving the house, Tamaya had told him that theme parks were full of games that had the sole purpose of scamming people and that one of them was that game in particular. The balls bounced so much that even if they made contact with the bottom of the basket they would jump back to whoever threw it, making them technically lose.

He would also have listened to himself, to Hugh, who told him that it would be best to turn around and get on with their lives, and not to Captain Chromium, who was determined to win that freaking game because he won every single game the world put in his way.

After three balls, the guy turned to Simon, extended his hand at him, and told him, “It's fifteen dollars.”

That was enough to make him lose his mind. Hugh told him that it was not worth arguing with him, but Captain Chromium did not tolerate that people tried to take advantage of him, and he spent about ten minutes screaming with the mustachioed man, until Simon panicked (or lost his mind), grabbed one of the balls and threw it right in the man’s eye.

Then, he did take Hugh by the hand.

But just to be sure they both got out of there before someone tried to stop them.

They ended the evening at a hamburger stand several blocks away from Cosmopolis Park (because obviously, they weren't going to stay there after the show they had put on). They did not have enough money to buy two sodas, but they bought a strawberry juice carton to share and sat on the sidewalk to eat their hamburgers of doubtful provenance, ranting against the man, against the park, and, especially, against those damn balls.

“I can't believe there are people like him breathing the same oxygen I breathe,” Simon commented, before taking a bite out of his burger ravenously. “He had no right to make that joke.”

But Hugh was so distracted by how attractive Simon looked when he bit his hamburger like that all he could say was:

“If my dad knew I couldn't win that stupid game, he would abandon me again.”

Simon frowned a little bit, repeating the sentence in his head until he finally understood the joke, and laughed so hard he began to choke with his food. Hugh started to panic and told Simon he would give him five back blows like he read he should do when someone started to choke. That was enough for Simon to spit his food on a napkin. Both were so grossed out by it, that they started laughing again. Simon hid his face on Hugh's shoulder, practically using his fit of laughter as an excuse to snuggle against him, and Hugh used his own angriness as an excuse to stay right there, telling the entire world to go to hell, and willing to keep doing it forever, just as long as the conversation didn't end and they had to go home.

Georgia and Tamaya would kill them. It was already late at night.

Fourth try

Year 17

It was already late night when they arrived at the motel.

Simon had stayed invisible the entire time they were at the reception like he always did when they had one of those more… private nights out. Hugh was the one who was in charge of booking the room because Simon got too anxious anyway at the mere idea of having to interact with one of the receptionists.

It was one thing for his entire family (or the Council, as they had been calling themselves lately, as a joke) to know that tonight he was going to have sex. Strangers knowing it was a completely different thing.

He still wasn't quite sure which one was more embarrassing, but yeah. It was different.

He only became visible again when Hugh closed the door behind him.

Simon looked at the huge sports bag that Hugh carried with him. “What you got there?”

“Nothing important,” he assured with a shrug. He was smiling like he was a kid getting a bunch of presents at Christmas, and Simon was extremely happy too, so, without asking any more questions, he kissed him on the lips and went to the bathroom to give both of them time to get ready.

Not that they hadn't done that before. They didn't like having such intimate moments in the house. And even if they had wanted to, it was practically impossible to have even a minute of privacy there. The last time he had slept in a room by himself had probably been… never. And the number of occasions someone had opened the bathroom door while he was there were more than he could count. The door lock had been broken for a few weeks but nobody knew how to solve the problem because they had no idea how doors worked. Georgia had tried to implement a serious policy of knocking before entering any room with the door closed, but the only one who paid attention to her was Adrian because the rest of them were simply too used to walk around the house as if they were in their own houses. (That they were their house, but it was more Simon's house than theirs.)

In fact, it was the first time in forever that he was in a bathroom and he didn't have to put his hand on the door, to stop whoever tried to open the door before they ended up seeing him in the most vulnerable of positions, so Simon took off his T-shirt, his jeans, and sat on the toilet, wearing his underwear and his jacket, trying to enjoy his first moment of privacy in a long time.

At least until his legs started to feel cold and Hugh told him that he could go out now.

When he came out of the room, Hugh, who was lying on the bed, widened his eyes. Simon was already ready to hear a flattering comment, but instead, he frowned and asked, “Are you going to leave your socks on?”

Simon looked at his feet automatically. He had indeed left his socks on.

He didn't see anything wrong with it.

“The carpet is filthy,” he replied. “I don't want to get fungus or something like that.”

Hugh found no fault with his logic. “Okay, but take them off when you get on the bed,” he asked.

Then Simon realized that Hugh, not only never stopped doing that ridiculous pose that pretended to be sexy throughout the entire conversation, but he also had thrown out the (probably dirty) bedsheets from the motel bed and put instead one of the blankets they took out of the closet to cover themselves during winter.

So that's what he carried in his sports backpack.

Hugh seemed to realize that Simon was looking at the blanket and not at him, because he immediately said, “Oh, I hate motel bedsheets.”

Simon couldn't help but laugh. “You hate them?”

Hugh finally stopped doing that ridiculous pose and sat down. “You just never know who sleep in them before us, Simon,” he replied, “and you never know when was the last time they washed them. Maybe they— ” he pointed to the pile of blankets thrown away “—are covered on the… bodily fluids of twenty other people, and you want me to lie on them? Is that how you want us to make love? Like animals?”

Simon kept laughing, but Hugh wasn’t laughing. “Simon, stop it!” he exclaimed. “A new class of bacteria could be there, ‘cause— oh, I am convinced that those things have a new kind of bacteria no one has discovered yet, and— ”

And he went silent when Simon put his hands on his shoulders, still with a smile on his lips.

“What?”

“Hugh, have I ever told you I think you're really sexy when you out crazy me?” Simon asked, running his fingers through his hair.

Hugh stood still, looking directly into his eyes. “No, I think you haven’t.”

Simon shrugged. “Well— I think you're really, really, sexy when you out crazy me.”

“Well, I think… I think—“

Hugh could no longer continue his sentence. Even though Simon wasn't doing anything to stop him from speaking.

He was literally just standing in front of him, one knee leaning on the mattress and one hand on Hugh's head.

“You think?” he asked him. “That’s new.”

“Simon, wait, I'm trying to seduce you,” Hugh said.

Simon took a step back, pointing to the bathroom door. “I think I’d wait over there.”

“No, wait—” he gently grabbed his wrist before he could move further away “—I’m starting to… Let me think of something.”

Simon chuckled. He put his knee on the mattress again and Hugh grabbed him around his waist, pulling him close to him and resting his head on his chest, while Simon rested his chin on his head. He had just taken a bath when they came out of the house, so Hugh’s hair smelled of him and lemon zest because they have been using dish soap as shampoo the last week.

That was the kind of privacy that they sometimes lacked at home. He was no longer talking about sex. Simon craved to have him like this, so close to him. Both in their underwear, both in a practically unknown place, and both completely vulnerable, but together. Feeling at home, even if technically they weren't.

Because Hugh was his home.

He was sure he saw him that way too.

Simon was so focused on trying to capture that moment in his memory so that he could repeat it over and over again for the rest of his life, that he was totally thrown when Hugh blurted out:

“I think you have a nice dick, dude.”

Simon broke the hug ... “What?”

Hugh’s cheeks turned even redder. “Tell me I didn't say that.”

He put a hand up to try to hide his laughter. “No, I think you did.”

He still couldn’t believe that was Hugh’s best try to seduce him. And apparently, Hugh couldn't believe it either.

“Then— forget about it,” he stammered. “Let's all of us forget about it.”

Simon realized that he tried to grab him by the waist again, but he moved away just in time, pretending to be extremely offended. “So I don't have a nice dick.”

“Let's just stop saying the word dick, please.”

“You started it.”

“I PANICKED, ALL RIGHT?”

“PANICKING IS MY JOB!”

“I’M TAKING YOUR JOB THEN. AND I’M GONNA STEAL YOUR BOYFRIEND TOO IF YOU KEEP LAUGHING!”

Simon didn't try to pretend that he wasn't laughing, because he was more than aware that it was already too obvious at this point.

So he decided it was better to play along.

“No, don't take my boyfriend!” he exclaimed dramatically, putting his hands on his shoulders. “Take me instead.”

Hugh took him by the waist and pulled him close. Simon didn't try to walk away this time. “Deal.”

But when Simon was about to start kissing him, he diverted his attention from Hugh for a split second, making him realize the curtains were wide open. “Oh, shoot, wait— the curtains.”

Luckily he hadn’t taken off his socks yet.

With quick steps, he headed to the window. He put a hand on each curtain and was about to close it completely when the lights of a car approaching from the end of the street caught his attention. It was a yellow sports car that looked more like a ripe banana than a vehicle.

Shit.

It stopped a few feet past the motel they were at. Out of it came a short man, with scars on his face and thin hair, and a tall blonde woman in a yellow dress, very inappropriate for the occasion. Not because it was provocative thought. It’s just that no one would wear such an expensive-looking dress in such a dangerous neighborhood unless they wanted to be robbed.

Or that they had enough status not to be.

Simon turned to see Hugh. “Hey—” Hugh looked up slightly. “—Come here.”

Hugh obeyed, a little bit confused, after putting his socks on (obviously). Simon had closed the curtains just enough for them not to be noticed but also not so much that they couldn’t see what was happening on the street.

Hugh gasped. “Are those—“

Simon swallowed hard. “Cyanide and Queen Bee in person.”

“What are they doing here?”

Simon had as much an idea of what Queen Bee and Cyanide were doing there as Hugh had, but he responded with the first thing that came to his mind anyway.

“Probably celebrating Valentine's Day,” he replied. “What a shitty place to take your girlfriend during Valentine’s Day though.”

At least take her to a motel. Like I did with Hugh.

“Do you think Queen Bee and Cyanide are together?” Hugh asked Simon.

Simon shrugged. “I don't know, but I know Queen Bee has a thing for Ace Anarchy.”

He had the slight hope that Hugh would take the bait and give him a chance to discuss his theories about Queen Bee's fixation with Ace Anarchy (which he always talked about with Tamaya), but Hugh, despite being very nosy, just kept quiet, watching Queen Bee and Cyanide argue outside the car.

How could that woman walk in such big heels?

“Or maybe Cyanide is the one who has a thing for Ace Anarchy,” Hugh blurted out suddenly.

Simon turned to see him. “Wait, really?”

“Don't be so heteronormative, Simon,” he scolded him. “Plus, I've never been in the cathedral, but I bet that when you enter there, it reeks homosexuality.”

“Dude—”

“I just know.”

And they kept watching.

There was something very personal about seeing two people arguing from a distance, like old ladies peering out of their home windows whenever the neighbors had a particularly loud fight. Simon almost considered it romantic.

Then, Queen Bee tried to turn around to turn her back on Cyanide, but something went wrong with her heel and she went face first towards the sidewalk, letting out a scream that could make someone think she was being murdered, and causing Cyanide (and the two of them) to laugh out loud.

How could that woman walk with those heels? Well, apparently, she couldn't.

The tension he felt when Cyanide interrupted his laughter and turned around as if he knew someone was watching them, made him remember that they were not gossiping old ladies peeking out of the window of their house and that those two were not some neighbors having a little fight. No, they were Dread Warden and Captain Chromium, stuffed into a hotel room like they were fugitives from the law or something, and those two little people in the middle of the street were two of the most feared and powerful villains in the world.

There was nothing romantic about that.

So Simon immediately closed the curtains.

But now neither of them was in the mood to have sex anymore, really.

“We should do something.”

“I'm on it.”

Hugh was already crouched slightly by the bedside, pulling his unmistakable superhero suits out of his sports bag.

Simon was so puzzled that he couldn't even stop to enjoy the… image that Hugh was inadvertently giving him by bending down like that.

“Wait, did you actually bring our supersuits to our date?” he asked him.

“Yeah,” he replied without looking up.

Who knows what kind of demon got into Simon at the time, but a not very family-friendly thought crossed his mind, and that thought was the one that made him ask, “Why?”

Hugh, completely unaware of what he was thinking, handed Simon his clothes and dropped the two pairs of boots on the floor as he sat in the bed.

Only the stars knew how he had managed to fit a blanket, their shoes, and their suits in that sports backpack.

“Because I thought something like this was gonna happen,” he explained while putting on his leggings. “You know, crime doesn’t celebrate Valentine’s Day the same way we do.”

Oh.

The little not very family-friendly thought hadn't been right then.

Simon felt a bit sick admitting that he wasn't sure if he was relieved or disappointed.

“Oh. I thought...”

Hugh looked at him, intrigued, and a second later, he understood what Simon was thinking. “Oh, stars, no. I was not thinking about that.”

“All right then.”

Now it was Hugh's turn to watch him change. Simon knew that was what he was doing.

Because he knew his look better than he knew anyone else's.

When he was fully dressed, Simon reached out to reach for his shoes, and Hugh put his own hand over his', to get his attention.

He already had the mask on, but he could see that he had turned red. If Simon had been white too, he probably would be redder than him.

He swallowed. “Unless— unless you're into it?”

Simon swallowed too. But he didn’t plan to answer him right now.

It had been hard enough to put on their suits. They didn’t need to start taking them off.

So he pulled his hand away and started putting on his shoes.

“Hugh, the villains—” he reminded him.

“Right, right.” Hugh brushed off his knees. “The villains. That’s important.”

After making sure the door had the lock on (and that said lock worked), they turned off the lights, Simon turned invisible, and Hugh climbed onto the roof, pushing himself off the window frame as fast as possible so that Queen Bee and Cyanide, who were turning their backs on them, standing in front of the door of an apparently abandoned building as if waiting for someone, did not see him. Afterward, Simon followed him, assuring him that he could climb on his own.

The two remained hiding behind the building's water tank. Well, Hugh was behind the building's water tank, and Simon was in plain sight, invisible, with his hood on and his cape fluttering behind him, making him feel…

He wanted to say that it made him feel heroic, but the truth was that Simon also felt very sexy when he got into this mysterious and threatening mode.

Simon turned his hand visible and pointed at them as if to say "Are we going or what?"

Hugh turned to see them with a frown, analyzing the situation. But when Simon was about to ask him what they were waiting for, Hugh turned to see him, with the same smile he had on his face when he was about to let the world know the coolest plan of all the plans, completely ignorant that in reality, it was the dumbest thing he had ever came up with.

“Wait, I have an idea.”

And in that situation, Simon had to take the role of being the one to tell him that his idea was bullshit and that it wasn't going to work, but he used to listen to his idea before expressing his comments about it. Not only because he didn't like talking without knowing all the facts first, but because may he could go to Tamaya the next day and tell her what had happened in the last episode of Hugh Had an Idea And It Went Wrong.

(They also enjoy episodes of Evander Acted Like An Animal Again and Queen, Realize That Junkie Doesn’t Care About You, Please.)

“Do you remember that song Evander used to sing to us?” he asked him.

Oh, Simon remembered it and cringed every time he thought about it.

But the cringe wasn't enough to stop him from singing the song.

“The Warden and the Captain are sitting in a tree—”

Hugh cringed too. “That one, yes. Stars, I hate it so much—” and he pointed to Queen Bee and Cyanide “—Let's make them hate it too. ”

Simon seriously tried to take his role as the voice of reason in that situation. He let his imagination (or rather, his anxiety) run wild, making him imagine the thousand and one scenarios in which that specific fight could turn out worse than they usually did if Hugh made that comment. Queen Bee would probably call Hugh a "lesbian" (“You have a lesbian haircut, honeybun, accept it”), Cyanide would go crazy trying to find Dread Warden to melt his skin slowly and painfully, everyone would wish death upon everyone, and the only reason the fight would end would be because either Cyanide would finally manage to injure Simon or because Queen Bee’s stilettos would break.

He didn't see how teasing them with an attack worthy of elementary school kids would make the situation worst.

Besides… it was going to be hilarious to see that.

He didn't see why he couldn't co-star in Hugh Had Idea and It Went Wrong.

“I'm in,” he replied, trying not to raise his voice too much. “I'm super in.”

Hugh rose his hand and Simon high-fived him quietly. But Hugh seized the opportunity to take his hand, running his finger across his knuckles. “Okay, but you sing the spelling part, because—”

“You don't know how to spell,” Simon interrupted.

Hugh let go of his hand. “Well, when you said it in that tone, it sounds a little mean.”

Simon rolled his eyes and took his hand again. Then the logical part of his brain (yes, the same one that always insisted on being the voice of reason in situations like that) began to yell at him that he should convince Hugh to let Cyanide and Queen Bee did whatever they wanted, while the two of them did whatever they wanted.

But that the logical part of him had no voice in that situation because the logical part of his brain was not the part that loved Hugh. After all, there was nothing logical in loving the way he made a kind of mini-horn with both hands, took a deep breath, and yelled with all his might:

“CYANIDE AND THE QUEEN BEE SITTING IN A TREE—”

Fifth try

Year 20

K-i-s-s-i-n-g.

That was what he wanted to be doing. He wanted to be kissing Simon. He wanted to be with him, walking in the park and watching life go by in front of them. The birds singing from the trees, the children chasing each other, and the wind ruffling their hair. The day was going to be so perfect that he was going to be able to ignore homeless people getting high on corners or young people dealing drugs (that should be) illegal, focusing all his attention on Simon and how happy he felt that this time, everything he was going well.

He didn't want to be crammed into the living room with the rest of his family, listening to the thunder and the rain crashing down on the ceiling.

But apparently, that's what he was doing.

Tamaya was sitting on the floor, covering herself with her wings. Simon had sat on the other end of the three-seater couch, looking out the living room window with a thoughtful expression, worthy of a character in a Shakespearean play or something. Evander was leaning over him and had Kasumi on his lap. She was watching him play (or rather trying to play) a Tetris game that he had on his phone, putting her icy feet on Hugh's arm, probably without realizing it, and Hugh was on the other end of the couch, first starting at Simon, thinking of how handsome he looked when he was thinking, and then at Georgie. She had been smart enough to sit on the reclining sofa, which gave her the space she needed to cuddle with an inconsolable six-year-old Adrian.

“The storm will end soon,” she was telling him. “The storm will end soon.”

But that was not enough to comfort Adrian. His mother had already been telling him for about an hour that “the storm will end soon”, but the storm just ... did not end. And each time they heard a new thunder, Adrian let out a howl and clung to his mother with more force, asking her to please not go away.

Everyone knew that when Adrian asked Georgie not to go away, he was actually asking everyone not to go away. If any of them left the room, he would probably lose his mind.

He felt the urge to tell him that she wasn't going anywhere. That wasn’t very Georgie. Georgie didn't leave people who needed her like that, scared, crying, and begging her to stay. So since Georgie didn't do it, neither did the others.

It is not like they could have gone anywhere though.

Georgie realized that Simon hadn't stopped staring out the window.

“I'm sorry you couldn't do anything special this Valentine’s Day,” she whispered. Simon blinked as if he were waking up from a dream. “What did you have planned for this evening?”

Simon turned to see him, disappointed. Hugh decided to answer for him.

“We were going to have a picnic at the park,” he replied.

Georgie blurted out something that sounded like “Awww”, and Evander scoffed.

“That’s gay.” Hugh put his arm behind Kasumi and smacked Evander on the back of his head. “BRO, YOU LITERALLY MADE LOSE ME.”

Tamaya laughed and Kasumi shook her head. “I want to play too—” she tried to take the cellphone and Evander pressed it closer to his chest “—Vandy.”

Georgie intervened (without letting go of Adrian). “Vandy, give Kasumi the phone. It’s her turn. And then it's mine.”

But Evander didn’t want to.

“But it only has ten percent of battery left,” he exclaimed.

“Perfect, it's more than enough for Tamaya, Kasumi, Simon, Hugh, and I to get a turn too.”

“Hugh punched me! He does not deserves a turn.”

“I didn't punch him,” Hugh said. “I just hit him very slightly.”

“My brain almost felt out of my head.”

“Do you still have a brain?” Tamaya asked. Hugh high-fived her. “I've been thinking about that joke for weeks, dude.”

“Evander Wade, share the phone,” Georgia said. “I'm no longer asking.”

“No! It's my phone.”

Desperate, Tamaya reached out to take Evander's cell phone, and he stood up so fast that Kasumi ended up falling on Tamaya.

“MOTHERFU—”

A thunder. Again.

Adrian started crying. Again.

And they all went silent. Again.

Hugh took advantage of the fact that Evander got out of the coach to move closer to Simon. Evander didn't say anything to him because he was too busy handing the cell phone to Tamaya, who then gave it to Kasumi. Kasumi refused to sit down with Evander again and stayed on the floor with Tamaya (although resting her head on his knees, as if they were a pillow).

Simon rested his head on Hugh's shoulder.

“Next year will be better,” he whispered in his ear. Simon didn't answer him; he only put his hand on the window, leaving the trace of his fingers on it. “Are you all right?”

Simon put his hand on Hugh’s waist and pulled him closer to him, closing his eyes for a while. “I'm tired…”

“Rest then.”

After all…

Hugh was tried too.

There had never been a day when they didn't have to face a new threat. It seemed that the Anarchists, instead of getting weaker, were getting stronger. Even with the many new allies the Renegades had, no one seemed to have a second of the day to rest. Adrian got more and more nervous when they went out as days passed by, and it was becoming more difficult to calm down him during his tantrums. Even he, who was a child, could feel the tension in the city.

But precisely because of that, because he was a child, he could not understand the enormous responsibility that the Renegades had on his shoulders and that they could not stay with him, no matter how much they wanted to.

Maybe that was why no one had tried to leave the room. It was their way of telling Adrian that they were still there for him.

He was about to fall asleep when Simon pulled him away. His first instinct was to pull him closer, but as soon as he realized that Simon was just standing up, he let go of him.

Suddenly, he looked happier. Much happier than anyone else in that room.

Everyone noticed that change.

“Are you still too tired to celebrate Valentine’s Day?”

Even Hugh didn't understand what he meant.

Evander turned to see Georgie. “Georgie, you told them no hanky-panky in the house.”

“Vandy—” Kasumi intervened.

“Zoomie.”

“Don't say hanky-panky.”

“Yeah, you sound like a grandma,” Tamaya told him slightly punching him on the leg.

Hugh shushed them. “Shhh, guys, let Si talk.”

“No, go on, guys—” Simon told them “—Let us show you.”

And he held out his hand.

Obviously, Hugh accepted it.

He had no idea what Simon was planning to do, but he wasn't too tired not to celebrate Valentine's.

He was never too tired of him.

Adrian immediately reacted to this. “Hey, no, don't go...” he cried, stretching his little arms towards them.

Luckily, Simon looked like he already had that covered.

“We're not going anywhere, Adrian,” Simon assured him. “You are coming with us.”

Adrian and Georgie's eyes widened at the same time.

“Me?” Adrian asked pointing to himself.

“You,” Simon replied, confidently. “But it's a very special mission,” he added in a lower voice, putting a hand on his shoulder. “You can't tell anyone.”

Adrian rubbed his eyes and Georgie looked up at the ceiling as if she were making sure a new leak hadn't magically appeared. Tamaya, on the contrary, didn't understand, and she stared at the scene, very intrigued by Simon's plan too. Luckily, Georgie noticed it, and with a frantic movement of her hand, told her to stop staring. Hugh made the same move, but this time, directed at Kasumi and Evander.

When Adrian opened his eyes again, everyone but the two of them was pretending they weren't listening to the conversation.

“What mission is it?” Adrian asked in a thin voice.

“Look, we can't go out to celebrate Valentine's Day,” Simon explained, “but what we can do is bring Valentine's Day here with us.”

Adrian looked puzzled.

“Hey, but you're going to need a superhero name to be able to participate in the mission,” Hugh commented, trying to get Adrian more interested. “Do you have any ideas?”

Simon scratched his beard, thinking. “Hmm, very good question, my dear Captain,” he commented. “Maybe—”

“Oh, I know what superhero name I'll have,” Adrian exclaimed, grabbing Simon by the cheeks. “Hey, your beard feels funny.”

Simon grabbed him by the cheeks too. “What’s your superhero name, then?”

Adrian whispered it in his ear and Simon's face lit up. “It's a perfect name, Adrian.”

Adrian shushed him. “Shh, don't say my real name! I have to use my superhero name, remember? It's a mission.”

Evander scoffed again and Kasumi shushed him immediately.

“And can he tell me your superhero name?” Hugh asked Adrian.

Adrian stopped to think about it. “Yes, why not?” he finally replied.

Then, Simon stood slightly on tiptoe to reach him and whispered in his ear the most perfect superhero name he had ever heard.

Sketch.

Hugh took Adrian by surprise when he graved him and carried him in his arms, making him gasp in shock and excitement. Even Georgie started to laugh out loud at her son's reaction.

“Ready for the mission, Sketch?” he asked him making his voice lower than it actually was.

Adrian gave a military salute. “I was born ready, Captain!” he exclaimed, moving his feet in the air.

Georgie stood up too. “Where you taking my son, guys?” she asked dramatically.

Hugh placed Adrian on his shoulders.

“Don’t worry, mom,” Adrian told her, “I’ll be fine. I need to accomplish this mission.”

Georgie pretended to start sobbing. “No, but you don't have to, son of mine, you're too young!”

“Listen to your mother, kid,” Tamaya intervened. “Stay with us, stay safe with your family—“ and she passed her wings over Kasumi's shoulders.

“Tamaya has two wings,” Kasumi pointed out. “And they're warm.”

“Really?” Evander asked.

But Tamaya’s face changed immediately. “It's not for you, it's for Adrian.”

“GO WITH THEM, LITTLE SKETCH, GO!” Evander yelled standing up on the sofa. “GO SAVE VALENTINE’S DAY!”

That was enough for Adrian. He kissed his mother on the cheek and told her that he would be back soon. Then the three of them began their journey to the kitchen while the others stayed in the living room.

Simon pulled out a bag of bread from the refrigerator and asked Hugh to pass him the peanut and hazelnut butter jars from the cupboard. Adrian took it upon himself to count the remaining loaves of bread and separate them into pairs, spreading them on the table. Simon encouraged him to count how many pairs there were and Hugh had no problem helping him when he got stuck at number five. Then Simon toasted them on the stove, and he allowed Adrian to pile them up like a tower on a red ceramic plate.

When it was time to make the sandwiches, Simon and Hugh sat at different ends of the table, each holding a butter knife. Simon would spread peanut butter on one of the loaves, Hugh would spread hazelnut on the other, and Adrian would gather them together and wrap them the best he could in a napkin, before putting them in a makeshift basket that Kasumi had made long ago.

“Mommy, no!” yelled Adrian when Georgie dared to enter the kitchen. “It's a secret mission!”

“Don’t worry, don’t mind me,” she told them pretending not to notice what they were doing. “I'm just gonna prepare myself some strawberry milk.”

As soon as Adrian looked away, Georgie winked at Hugh. And Hugh winked back.

“I think we're done with this mission now,” he replied using that ridiculously deep voice again. “You have to break the news to the rest of the team, Sketch.”

Adrian jumped out of his chair and practically ran into the living room, holding the basket with sandwiches in his hand.

The three of them had been so into their mission, they didn't realize that the others had put several blankets on the floor and Tamaya was cursing under her breath for being unable to use a lighter to turn on the candles. Kasumi approached Adrian, with a VHS in each of her hands, asking him which movie he would like to see, and Evander came over too, but to try and tell Adrian to pick the action movie, not the romance movie the girls wanted to see.

Simon seemed like he wanted to join the conversation too, but Hugh thought he had done enough. And he meant it in a good way. So he took him by the hand and they lied down on the couch, not caring that perhaps one of the others wanted to sit on it.

Adrian had already chosen the movie (he chose the period drama over the action movie, thankfully) when Georgie walked into the living room with a stack of plastic cups under her arm and a jug half full of strawberry milk, carrying it as it were a trophy. During her birthday, everyone in the house had raised money to buy her a huge pot of strawberry milk powder, which they made her promise that she would not share.

Some promises could not be kept.

The adults got two sandwiches each, but Adrian had practically all of the strawberry milk. Throughout the movie, Kasumi was sighing and muttering how much she wanted to wear a dress like the one the main character wore in the movie during that elegant dinner. From to time, Tamaya frowned and muttered something about how problematic she found a line or scene. Georgie braided their hair and when she finished, she would undo the braid and start over, laughing out loud at Evander's comments about how horrible the romantic interest looked and that he did not understand how that was the ideal of beauty that women had. Adrian fell asleep in Simon's arms about halfway through, and about that exact time, Hugh began to notice that Simon was starting to have a hard time trying to stay awake.

He looked adorable when he was thinking, but he liked it even more how he looked when he was falling asleep.

He kissed the back of his head. “Are you tired?”

He nodded slightly. “Yes… but never of you.”

Hugh kissed him again. “I was thinking the same thing.”

“What thing?”

Georgie turned around for a second and realized that Adrian had fallen asleep. She stopped braiding Evander’s short hair (for some reason, Evander had let her braid his hair) and sat on the recliner chair, hugging Adrian like a stuffed animal.

She winked at him once more. And Hugh winked back, one more time.

“Nothing— ” he laid himself more comfortably on the couch and allowed Simon to get on top of him, resting his head on his chest. “—Sleep for a while.”

Simon made no further objection. “You too.”

Hugh did not fall asleep. In fact, he stayed awake for the three hours the movie lasted, even though by the time the credits started, Tamaya was snoring and Kasumi and Evander were under her wings, rolled up, and cuddled up to her. Georgie ended up falling asleep on the couch, covered in the same blanket Simon used to cover himself a few hours ago.

When the clock told him it was 7 PM, Hugh knew it was time for them to go patrol. However, the rain had gotten even worse, and Simon...

Simon looked so peaceful.

He hadn't realized how deep the bags under his eyes had gotten, nor that his face hadn't looked as relaxed as it looked right now for weeks, because he frowned most of the time. He hadn't held him that close either or had the opportunity to give him as many kisses as he had been doing in that time. Not because he didn't want to, it was just ... well, they had been busy trying not to die.

How tiring it was to try not to die.

He knew Simon was tired because, again, he was tired too, and he bet that the rest of their family felt the same as them. But Simon was the only one who had overcome his tiredness and his moodiness to just... make them forget their sorrows for a moment.

He was like that.

Hugh gave him one more kiss on the cheek.

Thank you.

If Simon had been awake, he would have asked him "Thanks for what?"

And Hugh would have answered him, "For just being you."

Someday they would get their happy ending. But for the moment, all he wanted was to be crammed into the living room with the rest of his family, listening to the thunder and the rain crashing down on the ceiling.

He doubted that happiness would ever end.

Sixth (but not last) try

Two years after the Day of Triumph.

Just over a year ago, Simon had been on the roof of the same building he was currently in. Of course, it looked very different from how it looked now. It didn’t have any windows, no furniture, and, obviously, no electricity. It was the vile shell of what had once been one of the most beautiful skyscrapers in the city. Simon was thinking about that when he realized that he did not have a single memory of having seen that place when it was in its maximum splendor and that the only proof he had of it was the stories of those adults who arrived before him.

That sooner or later, he would become one of those adults. Those who told stories of the past to the generations that came after them.

He thought of Adrian. He thought that there would come a time when he would be curious to know certain things that happened and would ask questions that Simon would not be too sure how to answer. Not precisely because he didn't want to or because he thought he wasn't ready to hear the truth; he just didn’t know those truths at all.

Why did people change for the worst? How did the world use to be when prodigies weren’t divided by heroes or villains?

What happened to Lady Indomitable?

How did the world use to be before she was gone?

Then Simon, with tears in his eyes, looked up at the crescent moon and the six stars lined up in such a way that they seemed to form a smile. He hadn’t seen anyone in his family smile for… a very long time.

Because when Georgia Rawles left, she took with her their capacity to smile.

Yet, at that moment, Simon could feel her. He could feel her when he was crying, asking her to please fly again and to help him get down from that skyscraper. He felt her hugging him, keeping him from falling to his knees and cutting his skin with the shattered glass that was on the floor. She promised him that she would never give up on him and assured him that every time he saw the sky, he would find those six stars forming that smile, which from that moment on, would be hers.

Simon didn't want her to make promises, but… it was Georgie. His Georgie. The Georgie who made pinky promises even though she was about to turn thirty because you were never too old for pinky promises. The Georgie who always protected him and never gave up on him, even though there were times when Simon thought she should.

So since she was his Georgie, Simon accepted the promise. As she turned around and rose again to the sky, he wondered what would happen when the city was so full of light, that the stars (Georgie’s smile) faded away and everyone, including them, forgot about them (about her).

But, after all this time, Simon was looking at the stars, on the roof of that same skyscraper that had now been turned into a fancy restaurant, holding Hugh's hand across the table, and noticing that Georgie was still smiling at him from above.

As it always should be.

“Did you ever expect things to turn out like this when you were little?”

He turned to see Hugh again. “What things?”

But Hugh kept staring at the stars. Simon didn't care. He liked to think that the sparkle in his blue eyes was due to them. “Us.”

Simon shook his head, “No,” he answered when he remembered Hugh couldn’t look at him. “Did you?”

Finally, Hugh saw him again. “I think that when I was little, I didn’t know one could be as happy as I am with you right now.”

Simon rolled his eyes.

“I'm serious,” Hugh insisted, taking him just a little tighter by the hand. “I'm so glad we finally made it out.”

Simon leaned forward slightly. “We really did, huh?”

Then, Hugh gently pulled him closer to him, making their foreheads bump and closing his eyes. “And I'm so glad that now, nothing bad is gonna happen to you, to us, and to what we have.”

Simon closed his eyes too. He would have liked to promise Hugh that it would be like that. That this new chapter of their lives, the chapter of getting married, having kids, and rebuilding a city together, was would turn out as well as the last one, when they fought crime, defeated the bad guys, and held hands only when they were not wearing the armors that protected them from the outside world.

But he could not promise that. And anyways, Hugh was not very fond of promises. He said they were very easy to break.

So he grabbed his chin and gave him a quick kiss on the lips before saying, “It's getting late. We should ask for the check.”

Hugh nodded and called a waiter. He noticed that Simon was reaching into his pocket and quickly told him not to do it, that he got it. Simon knew there was nothing he could do to make him change his mind, so he instead just asked if he could get a slice of chocolate cake to go. Adrian would love to have chocolate cake for breakfast.

The waiter returned a few moments later with the bill (and Adrian’s chocolate cake). Simon almost winced when he saw the amount of money they had spent on a meal that hadn’t been that good in the first place (although he did not know if it was because of the lack of ingredients or because gourmet food kind of sucked). However, Hugh didn't seem at all concerned and reached into his pockets to get his wallet.

Suddenly, he leaned his elbows on the table. “Simon.”

Simon leaned his elbows on the table too. “Yes?”

“Have I mentioned you look very handsome tonight?”

He tried to remember. “No,” he replied. “But thank you for noticing. I even took a shower.”

“Wow,” Hugh exclaimed with too much enthusiasm. “Feeling fancy today.”

“I do feel fancy today,” Simon replied, adjusting the jacket he had put on over his pink button-up shirt at the last moment because Hugh had told him that the restaurant had a pretty rigid dress code.

Simon almost didn’t put on the jacket out of pure spite. In fact, he spent all the way ranting about how it was stupid to have such a specific dress code in a place like Gatlon City, and that he bet that the owners of that restaurant, who now were acting like total snobs, had spent most of their lives wearing only a t-shirt and old jeans, like the rest of them.

Hugh, who had been wearing the jacket from the beginning (a blue one), was quiet, listening carefully to what Simon was saying until he blurted out:

“We can do something else if you want to.”

He didn't say it in an “I’m hurt by your comment” tone. Instead, he said it the same way he would tell him that they could watch another movie or that they could get take out instead of cooking dinner. He said it as if the reservation he made was not at stake, or as if he hadn’t been sending him hints of wanting to go to that specific restaurant since New Year.

Simon knew that if he had said yes, Hugh would have taken him wherever he wanted. However, Simon also knew that it didn't matter where they went. They had spent Valentine's in an alley, at a fair, fighting villains, and in a house too small for seven people. And in all those places, he had a great time.

Surely that place was… snobbish, but he could have a great time there too.

After all, they were together.

He was sure Hugh knew that too.

Hugh nodded, agreeing with him. He hardly ever agreed with someone other than himself anymore.

“Is this your strange way of making me say you look good too?” he asked him then.

And Hugh’s smile grew bigger. “Simon Westwood, you are the love of my life,” he replied taking his hand, “and this is my strange way of telling you I forgot my wallet at home.”

Simon laughed so loudly that the other customers turned to see him. But he couldn't care less. He kind of wanted them to saw them. He wanted them to notice how much he was laughing and he wanted them to see him kiss Hugh as he reached for his pockets…

Oh, no.

“Hugh.”

He tensed. “Yes, dear husband of mine who’s going to pay for this dinner?”

“You look good too.”

That was enough for Hugh to realize that Simon had also left his wallet at the house.

The two remained serious for a long time. But then, Simon could see how Hugh's brain clicked in a very strange way, which made him see this whole situation as the funniest thing that had ever happen to him.

He kissed him once more.

They always managed to ruin their Valentine's Days one way or another, but it didn't matter. Because there was no way they could ruin what the two of them had.

Boy, he would like to see someone try.

#queercreators #queercreators02 #renegades #archenemies #supernova #renegades trilogy #hugh everhart #simon westwood #humon #obsi's writs

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