#kaljsdfknadfs this AU quickly became less about Stan landing his nemesis' ex-wife

[thelastspeecher]

Best Revenge AU - Skins and Stones

Wow, a title that’s actually kinda clever for once.  What a rare occurrence!  Anyways, here, have Junior getting his power in the Best Revenge AU and thus resulting in his world effectively getting turned upside down.

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              “We’re gonna need to dig out Junior’s child leash for Emory,” Stan said to Angie.  He, Angie, and the kids were at the park, enjoying some fresh air and letting the oldest three run off their extra energy.  Angie looked over at Emory, who, along with his twin Emmett, was a few months old.  She raised an eyebrow.

              “And you can tell that how?” she asked.

              “He’s got that same devious look in his eyes.” Stan held up his son.  “See?”  Angie laughed.  Junior ran over.  Stan set Emory back down.  “Hey, kiddo. Done on the playground?”

              “Yeah.  Can you play some soccer with me, Dad?” Junior asked eagerly.  Despite being eight years old, his power hadn’t manifested yet. Thankfully, he didn’t seem bitter about it, even after Danny and Daisy’s powers came in when they were toddlers.

              “You got it!  Think you can handle the boys on your own, Ang?” Stan asked, already getting up. Angie rolled her eyes.

              “Ya say that like I haven’t watched twins before,” she scoffed.  Stan kissed the top of her head.  “Go play a match with yer son.”  Angie pulled the family’s soccer ball out of the stroller and handed it to Stan.  “Junior, don’t go easy on him, okay?”  Junior grinned.

              “Wasn’t plannin’ on it, Ma.”

              “Let’s see how many goals you can score on your dad, eh?” Stan said, following Junior to the flat patch of grass they used to play soccer on.  “Go long.”

              “Wrong sport,” Junior said, but complied, walking away from Stan.  Stan set the soccer ball on the ground.  “Any day, old man!”  Angie laughed.

              “He sounds just like ya, darlin’!” she said to Stan.

              “Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Stan said.  “Ready, Junior?”

              “Yep!  Hit me!”

              “All right.”  Stan kicked the soccer ball.  The second his foot came into contact with the ball, Daisy shouted from the playground.

              “Junior!”

              “Yeah?” Junior said, turning to see what his sister wanted.

              “Wait-” Stan started.  Before he could do anything, the soccer ball collided soundly with Junior’s face.  “Junior!” Junior fell to his knees.  “Shit!”  Stan rushed over.

              “What happened?” Angie called.

              “He got hit in the head!” Stan shouted back.

              “Oh, shoot!”

              “Junior, you all right?” Stan asked, crouching next to his son.  He put his hand on Junior’s shoulder.  “You gotta look at me, kid, so I can see the damage, okay?”  Junior looked up.  Stan gasped.

              “What?” Angie asked, joining the two.  “Is his nose-”  She gasped as well.  “O-oh.”

              “What?!” Junior squeaked.  “What’s wrong?”

              “I- uh-”  Stan stared at Junior’s stone-gray skin.  “…I don’t know.”

              “Is my nose broken?  It doesn’t hurt-”  Junior touched his face.  His eyes widened.  “What’s wrong with my skin?!”

              “Nothin’, dear, nothin’,” Angie said quickly.  Stan ran a hand through his hair.

              “Angie, I’m not opposed to making the kid feel better, but I don’t think we should lie.”

              “No, it’s not-”  Angie smiled at Junior.  “Yer power came in, honey.”

              “Huh?”

              “I recognize it.  Look at yer hands.”  Junior did as he was told.  He gaped. “You have the ability to turn yer skin to stone.  Very useful to protect ya from things like gettin’ hit in the face with sport equipment.”

              “Whoa,” Junior whispered, still staring at his hands. “How do I…”  A shimmer passed over him, accompanied by his skin returning to normal.  “Whoa!” He looked up, grinning ear to ear. “I’m a super!”

              “You sure are,” Stan said.  He ruffled Junior’s hair.  “Go play with your sisters for a bit while your ma and I talk about this, okay?”

              “Yer gonna have me get some lessons on my power, right?”

              “Of course,” Angie said.  “Now, go play with yer sisters.”

              “Got it.”  Junior jumped up and ran over to the playground to join his sisters.  Stan and Angie stood.

              “Where are-” Stan started, looking around.  His gaze landed on the stroller, sitting nearby. “…Did you put the boys back in the stroller before you rushed over here?”

              “They’re infants, Stan.  I couldn’t leave ‘em unsupervised.”

              “I know, I was just surprised you managed to do that so fast.”

              “I’m quick on my feet,” Angie said, putting her hands on her hips.  She sighed. “So.  Junior’s power…”

              “Yeah, there’s nothing like that in your side of the family, is there?” Stan asked.  Angie shook her head.  “Shit. It’s from Max.”

              “Yessir.  His grandfather and one of his older brothers have it.  They call it ‘stone skin’.”

              “Clever,” Stan muttered.  Angie frowned at him.

              “That ain’t the attitude I want to hear right now, okay?  Junior’s got a power what we can’t help him with!”

              “Is it really that bad?  I mean, his skin just turns into rock sometimes.  It’s not like you and Lute making tornadoes before you were toilet-trained.”

              “Just ‘cause he can’t cause natural disasters on accident don’t mean that he can get away without trainin’,” Angie scolded. “He can’t be turnin’ into stone randomly!”

              “He’ll figure it out.  I mean, I did.”

              “Why would we force him to figure it out on his own when we can find him a teacher?”

              “Because the only person who could teach him is Max,” Stan snapped.  “Remember? The man who abused you?”

              “Bethany has been keepin’ an eye on him fer me. Since leavin’ the hero life, Max has been gettin’ his life together.  Becomin’ a better man.”

              “Angie…”

              “One or both of us can be there during every lesson,” Angie said firmly.  “Max knows full well that we can both take his ass down if he so much as gets a toe out of line.”

              “Maybe there’s someone else who can-”

              “There isn’t.”  Angie met Stan’s eyes.  “You know Junior needs lessons.  And you know Max is the only person we can trust to teach him right.”

              “Fine,” Stan spat.  He kicked the ground.  “We’ll get hold of Max and make him teach his biological son how to use his power.”  He groaned.  “Fuck!”  Angie crossed her arms.

              “I know yer not happy, but-”

              “Angie.  We have to tell Junior the truth.”

              “Pardon?”

              “He’s gonna figure it out!  He’s got a power that isn’t from your family and isn’t from mine and a complete stranger is gonna have to teach him how to use it!”

              “I-”  Angie stared at Stan in horror.  “Oh, no. Yer right.”

              “God, Max is just- he’s gonna slip right in and take over my job as Junior’s dad.”

              “No, he’s not.”

              “Yes, he will.  He’ll tell Junior he’s his real dad-”

              “No,” Angie said firmly.  “He won’t.”  Stan looked at her.  “I’ll contact Max and explain that Junior has a power from his fam’ly that he needs help controllin’, but say that he can’t tell Junior ‘bout their relation.  All we’ll tell Junior is that he was sired by my ex-husband, who I left ‘cause he didn’t treat me right.”  Stan nodded.

              “Sounds good.  I mean, I wish this wasn’t happening.  But it’s the best option.”

              “Yep.”  Angie leaned against Stan.  He put an arm around her shoulders.  “That’s a conversation we can save fer home, though.”  They watched Junior, Danny, and Daisy playing on the playground, their excited shouts carried by the wind.  “We don’t need to ruin their fun trip to the park.”

              “Yeah,” Stan said dryly.  “We’ll just completely ruin his life later.”  Angie elbowed him roughly.  “Ow.”

-----

              Stan closed the door to the nursery.  On his way down the hall, he poked his head into Danny and Daisy’s room to check in on them.  Their nightlight offered a faint glow in their room.  Thankfully, they appeared to be asleep.  He finished walking down the hall and entered the living room.  Angie and Junior were sitting on the couch together.

              “Boys are down,” he said, sitting on the other side of Junior.  “The girls are asleep.”

              “Good,” Angie said.  Junior kicked his pajama-clad legs.

              “Why are you lettin’ me stay up past bedtime?” he asked curiously.

              “We have somethin’ to tell ya,” Angie said. “And we figured that it would be best to tell ya when yer siblin’s were asleep and couldn’t hear.”

              “…Oh.”  Junior looked back and forth between Stan and Angie.  “Am I- am I in trouble?”

              “No, little bean,” Stan said firmly.  “You’re not in trouble.  There’s just…”  He sighed heavily.  “I’m gonna cut straight to the chase.  You got your power today.”

              “Yep!”  Junior grinned, showing off the gaps from his recently lost baby teeth.  “Stone skin, right, Ma?”

              “Yessir,” Angie said, stroking Junior’s straw-blond hair. “Did ya notice anything…odd about yer power?”

              “Well…”  Junior furrowed his brow in thought.  “It’s different from my sisters’.  Actually, it seems different from all the powers on your side of the family, Ma.” Angie nodded.

              “That’s right.  You didn’t get it from me.”

              “Then I got it from your family, Dad?” Junior asked Stan.  It felt like someone was squeezing Stan’s heart.

              “You got it from your dad, yeah.”  Stan put his hand on Junior’s shoulder.  “But not from me.”  Junior frowned.  “Bean, technically, I’m your stepdad.  Your ma got pregnant with you before I started dating her.”

              “You- you’re-”  Junior stared at him.  “You’re not my real dad?”

              “Junior, you have two dads: the one that made ya and the one that raised ya,” Angie said.  Junior looked down at his hands.  “Sweetie?”

              “I-”  Junior looked at Angie.  “Who- who was the dad that made me, then?”

              “My ex-husband.”  Angie ran her fingers through Junior’s hair.  “I was married ‘fore I met Stan.  But it went sour and I had to leave fer my own safety.  I didn’t know it, but I was pregnant when I left. With you, little bean.”

              “Does he know?” Junior asked quietly.

              “Your biological father knows about you,” Stan confirmed.  “He saw you when you were a bit younger and connected the dots.  You look like him, after all.”

              “Yeah,” Junior mumbled.  “I guess- I guess I know why I don’t look like you, Dad.”  He frowned.  “Why didn’t you tell him about me right away?”

              “It wouldn’t have been safe,” Angie said softly. She took a deep breath.  “He actually- he actually hurt me when I tried to leave him.”  Junior’s eyes widened.  He stared at Angie in horror.  “Don’t tell no one, honey.  Yer dad – Stan – is the only other person who knows.”

              “Why didn’t you tell the police?” Junior asked.

              “It’s…complicated.  When yer older, I can maybe tell ya more.  But right now, I’m tellin’ ya all that ya should know.  Okay?”  Junior nodded.  “Yer adult fam’ly members know the truth ‘bout yer parentage.  But none of yer cousins or siblin’s do.”

              “I sure hope Emory and Emmett don’t know,” Junior mumbled.  Stan chuckled.  “So…you’re tellin’ me this ‘cause I woulda figured out that I didn’t get my power from either of you?”

              “Basically, yeah,” Stan said.

              “Would you have told me the truth if I got one from Ma’s side of the family?”

              “Not at this age,” Angie replied.  “But when ya got older, yes.”  Junior nodded slowly.

              “Am I…am I gonna have to meet my other dad?” he asked.

              “Only if ya want to.”

              “I don’t,” Junior blurted out.  Stan felt a weight he hadn’t realized he was carrying leave his shoulders.  “If you had to leave him and lie to him to be safe, Ma, and he hurt ya on your way out, I don’t want anything to do with him.”

              “That’s perfectly fine,” Angie said.  Junior nodded vigorously, tears standing in his amber eyes.  “If ya ever change yer mind-”

              “I won’t.”

              “-I’ll set up a way fer ya to meet,” Angie continued, ignoring the interruption.  “But right now, we want to keep ya happy and healthy.  Right, Stan?”

              “Duh,” Stan scoffed.  He put an arm around Junior’s shoulders and squeezed. “Junior, you know you’re my kid, right? Doesn’t matter where you came from or who made you.  You’re Stanley Stanford Pines Junior.  My son.” Junior sniffed loudly.  He leaned against Stan.

              “I- I know, Dad,” he said in a quavering voice. Stan kissed the top of Junior’s head. “Can I- can I go to bed now?”

              “Sure thing.  If you have any other questions or wanna talk about this more, you let me or your ma know, got it?” Stan said.  Junior nodded.  “Good. Want me to tuck you in?”

              “Y-yes, please,” Junior squeaked.  Stan scooped Junior into his arms and carried him to his room, right next to Danny and Daisy’s.  Angie followed.  She watched from the doorway as Stan carefully tucked Junior in.

              “Good night, little bean,” Stan whispered.  He kissed Junior’s forehead.

              “Night, Dad,” Junior replied.  Stan walked back to Angie.  He turned off the light.  Angie closed the door, then promptly leaned against it.

              “Oof,” she muttered.

              “Hey, I think that went pretty well.”

              “Oh, it definitely did.”  Angie groaned.  “But I think it gave me a few gray hairs.”

              “Nah.  I’m gonna go gray way before you, Ang, and I’m not gray yet,” Stan said dismissively. Angie chuckled.  “I could use a drink, though.  Do you want one?  Wait, you’re breastfeeding.”

              “Yes.  I am. But the boys can get by on the stuff I pumped and froze until the alcohol leaves my system,” Angie said firmly. “I’m gettin’ alcohol tonight.” She cocked her head, smiling at Stan. “Aw, like how we met.”  Stan laughed.  “Want to serve me up some whiskey?”

              “Only if you grab the bourbon.”

              “Deal.”