#ticklish!drmarysomers | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

angelatmidnight1 · 4 years ago

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If We Could Turn Back Time

A/N: So, this idea came to me randomly and I was too excited not to write it. I was inspired by Horizon’s and Mirage’s voice lines and the song Stressed Out by Twenty One Pilots. I love the mother-son dynamic between the two characters, and I wrote this story with that in mind. Space mom is best mom, and I hope you like the story!

Before joining the Apex Games, Horizon made a promise to her dear son, Newton. She promised that she would return home safe and sound after she returned from her dangerous mission. She made this promise before Dr. Reid betrayed her and left her to die in a black hole. Eighty-seven years have passed since Horizon made this promise, but the astrophysicist remains determined to see it through. This is especially true on January 6, the day that would’ve been her son’s eighty-eighth birthday. Horizon, using her current winnings from the Apex Games, hunkers down inside her lab to conjure up a new spacecraft that would take her back in time to be with him. Everything goes smoothly until it unexpectedly crashes, but Horizon is determined to get it working. The astrophysicist becomes so engrossed in her work that she forgets that she was supposed to have tea and scones with Mirage. The trickster heads to her lab and finds a tense, tear-stricken Horizon. Elliot panics and rushes to her side, urging her to talk to him. Dr. Somers voices her frustrations, even going as far to denounce herself as a mother for leaving Newton behind. Horizon breaks down moments later; Elliot steps in to put a smile back on her face.

“Repulsors, check…” Horizon chewed on her pen as she rounded the corner in her lab. She had a clipboard in her hand with her latest blueprints taking up the majority of the page. The astrophysicist had spent a considerable amount of time on the spacecraft’s design, and she was certain that she covered every detail down to a T. All that was left to do was to test it.

“Stabilisers, check…” She looked up from the clipboard as she approached the spacecraft. She ran her hand along the smooth surface of the ship, humming thoughtfully. There were no scratches, no dents, no holes...everything seemed to be in place. Dr. Somers rounded the spacecraft once, twice, and even a third time before she felt comfortable enough to enter it. This is going to work… She thought. It has to.

“Best buddy…?” Horizon called out expectantly and hugged her clipboard to her chest. There was a brief delay before N.E.W.T. came floating in the room after her, beeping happily. She turned to her bot and grinned, stepping up onto it and laughing when he did a little spin. “Check.”

N.E.W.T. carried the scientist over to a small panel on her leftmost wall. The panel served as a mechanism that would simulate zero gravity inside the laboratory. Horizon flicked a switch on the panel and gently tapped her foot against the bot. The bot compiled by carefully boosting her upwards so that she could float back over to the spacecraft. Horizon settled into the seat with N.E.W.T. nestling beside her.

“Alright, little Newtie,” She said with a hopeful smile, “"Let's have a wee play with the laws of physics, shall we?"

N.E.W.T. beeped in the affirmative and watched as the scientist gripped the thrusters. She powered up the spacecraft and beamed as it roared to life. The sound grew louder and a bright light emitted from the propulsion systems. The spacecraft rose into the air and hovered in place, which made Horizon cheer. It was working! Recreating the ship she took in the past was a small step towards home, but it was progress. The scientist slowly steered the ship towards her left and right hand side to test the mobility. Then, she decided to do a full 360 degree turn, which is where the ship began to shake.

“Easy, girl. Just a wee bit higher…” Dr. Somers murmured, squeezing the thrusters and steering the ship further up. A low whine emitted from the spacecraft as a response and, much to the scientist’s disappointment, the ship came crashing down moments later. Horizon squeaked and pulled N.E.W.T. into her lap, looking down at him worriedly.

“You alright, darlin’? Are ya hurt?” The astrophysicist scanned the bot for any dents and patted the top of his head soothingly. N.E.W.T. beeped and flickered his light twice. It was a system they had; one flick meant yes, two flicks meant no. Horizon breathed a sigh of relief before she climbed out of the ship. She floated back over to the panel to switch off the zero gravity simulation. Her Spacewalk perk allowed her to gracefully land on the ground, and she took another breath as she approached the spacecraft. The leftmost delta wing had fallen off and both of the ship’s boosters were cracked. The astrophysicist let out a mild curse as she assessed the damage.

“Damn it...was it a miscalculation somewhere? A six where there should’ve been a seven?” Horizon mumbled to herself as she looked at her clipboard again. She didn’t immediately see the error and dropped the clipboard on her desk with a sigh. N.E.W.T. hovered over to her and nudged her leg, looking up at her. Dr. Somers looked down and leaned over to pet him again. “We’ll get this, Newtie.” She affirmed, her eyes finding the damaged ship. But then, she looked at her desk again and saw the small, framed picture of her and her son. “We promised.”

After repairing the spacecraft’s damages, Horizon made another attempt to steer it through the air...only to be met with the same results. She wrung her hands through her red hair and, after some more repairs and new calculations, tried to fly it again. But, this time, she couldn’t even get the ship into the air! The repair-recalculate-crash pattern continued well into the early evening hours, and didn’t stop there. After another crash, which completely destroyed the right side of the ship, the astrophysicist angrily dropped her clipboard onto her desk.

“No, no, NO! I had it!” Horizon yelled, abandoning the ruins of the ship and dropping into the chair at her desk. N.E.W.T. flinched and fled to the corner of the room. The astrophysicist buried her face into her hands and exhaled sharply. “I’m sorry, Newtie. I didn’t mean to scare ya. It’s just--he’s countin’ on me. It’s the one thing that he ever asked me to do...just keep a promise…” She stated in a whisper, glancing up to her son’s picture again. Horizon let out a shaky breath as she took the picture in both of her hands. A tear slipped down the woman’s face and, pretty soon, more tears followed suit.

In the corridor that led to Horizon’s lab, Mirage came strutting down with a grin on his face. The trickster had scored another win in the Apex Games, totaling up to his fifth win in a row. After the game, he spent time interviewing, signing autographs, and taking selfies with his fans. He snagged a copy of the magazine that had his face on the front cover before hurrying to Horizon’s lab. The astrophysicist had invited him over for tea and scones after his game, and Mirage had plenty to talk about! The trickster strolled right up to the laboratory door and rapped his knuckles against it.

“Hey hey, Dr.Somers! I’m here and ready to par-tea!” He chuckled; he was proud of that one. Normally, he would hear machines humming from inside the lab...but it was oddly quiet. The astrophysicist was also normally quick to answer the door and deliver a pun of her own which, he had to admit, were pretty good. So, for a solid minute, Elliot stood at the door and waited for any indication that she was around. Certainly she didn’t forget about him coming over? Mirage waited a bit longer and, the disappointment weighing down on him, finally turned to leave. But then, the door opened with a gentle squeak.

“There you are!” Mirage grinned and faced the door. “I started to think you forgot about me! I even got a little miss-tea eyed---”

The trickster stopped speaking when N.E.W.T. floated into the hallway. Mirage furrowed his eyebrows; how did he manage to open the door? The bot looked up at him and beeped softly, nudging the side of his foot.

“Oh, hey buddy.” Elliot smiled and knelt down to the bot’s level. “Where’s Horizon? Is she here? If not, I can come back later! I don’t wanna, ya know, be a nuance--news--...you know what, I can just come back later.”

N.E.W.T. beeped again and nudged Mirage’s foot with urgency. “What?” Elliot’s brows furrowed again and he stood back up. The bot got in front of him and blocked the path back that would lead him away from the laboratory. “You wanna show me something?”

N.E.W.T. hovered up and down before floating further into the laboratory. The bot kept looking back to see if the trickster was following him and, when he didn’t come right away, he beeped sadly.

“Okay, okay. I’m coming.” Elliot entered the laboratory and closed the door behind him. He half expected Dr. Somers to be waiting for him on the other side of the door, but there was still no sign of her. He hesitated; he had been in her lab plenty of times, but didn’t normally roam around unless she said it was alright. He didn’t want to accidentally get sucked into another dimension! But, the bot seemed anxious as it led the trickster up to another large door. Mirage sighed and helped N.E.W.T. open the door before heading into the room.

“Oh, Newtie, I told you. I'm fine.” Horizon spoke quietly from the opposite side of the room. Her back was facing the door so Elliot couldn’t see her face, but the trickster could hear a quiver in her voice. N.E.W.T. beeped sadly again and bumped Mirage’s shoe, his optic going from him to Dr. Somers. Elliot cleared his throat and tentatively stepped further into the room, startling the astrophysicist. “Dr. Somers? You okay?”

“Elliot! Oh goodness, dear, you scared me.” Horizon started to turn and face the trickster, but stopped halfway and kept her back to him. She was still sitting at her desk and had something in her hand that Mirage couldn’t see. “How did you manage the door? I’m sure I locked it…”

“N.E.W.T. opened it,” Mirage explained before walking towards the scientist. “Are you sure you’re okay? You’re--whoa!” The trickster paused and finally noticed the destroyed ship. “What happened there?”

“Bloody thing crashed. I had her in the air just a few hours ago, and now she won’t fly. I’ve run tests, redid all of my calculations, patched her up…” Horizon’s voice got louder the more she spoke, which startled Mirage. He’s never heard her yell before, not even when they were participating in the Games. It was then that the scientist finally turned around, and Mirage could see her red, teary eyes. “I know there’s something I’m missing. But I just---I don’t know what it is. And I have to do this, Elliot, I have---”

“Hey, hey, hey! It’s okay,” Mirage panicked and immediately rushed to Horizon’s side. He hated to see others upset; it tore him up inside. He put a hand on her shoulder. “You’re the smartest person I’ve met, Dr. Somers. I’m sure you can rebuild it.”

Horizon shook her head and wiped her eyes. “There’s more to it than that…” She whispered, handing over the picture she was holding. It was a younger Horizon holding a smiling boy in her arms. “Today is Newton’s birthday,” She sniffled, “And I’m no closer to home than I when I left.”

“Oh…” Mirage held the picture and looked at it thoughtfully. It reminded him of the pictures he’d take with his own mother. For a moment, he felt a pang of sadness in his own heart, but then he refocused on the woman in front of him. “It looked like you two were close.”

“Oh, he was a rascal.” Dr. Somers stepped closer so that she could look at the photo too. “Couldn’t get him out of trouble before he fell back in again.” Dr. Somers wiped her eyes and smiled faintly. “When I told him I was leaving, he bawled from sun up to sun down. I thought he’d try to sneak into the car just to come with me. But that night, I sat him down and said, ‘Dinnae worry, Newtie. Yer maw will be back before you know it. I promise.”

Horizon’s eyes threatened to spill over again. “The world was about to destroy itself, Elliot. The world that my little boy was going to inherit one day. I didn’t want that to happen. All we needed was Branthium. But when I look back...” She gently touched the corner of the frame. “All I can think about is my wee boy waiting for his maw to come back. He waited so many years and...oh, Elliot, what kind of mother leaves her child behind?”

Dr. Somers began to cry and Mirage gently pulled her in for a hug. “Aw, Dr. Somers, don’t cry.” The trickster rubbed her back, and Horizon rested her head against his shoulder. “I’m sure he knew how much you loved him. I mean, you went to save the world. All for him! That had to make you a superhero in his book.” Elliot tried to lighten the mood but when she sobbed, all he could do was hug her tighter.

“...Maybe, Dr. Somers, instead of thinking about the lost time…” Mirage continued after her sobbing calmed down a bit, “Think about the time you did spend with Newton. The times where you two laughed together, spent time together, ate some good food. Ya know, the good times.”

Horizon met Elliot’s eyes after another moment of silence and nodded. “Aye, you’re right. We did share some fond memories together.” The astrophysicist responded with a small smile gracing her face. She recalled a memory of her and Newton at dinner, where he decided to stick carrots inside of his nose and pretend to be a walrus. At the time, Mary worried that he’d accidentally get the carrots stuck; but now, it was just one of the many things that Newton did that made her smile. Mirage beamed when he saw Horizon smiling.

“There we go. You’re smiling already! Just keep those thoughts in mind and it’ll be much easier to build something that’ll take you back to your son.” Mirage smiled, “It also helps that you can literally control the universe.”

Dr. Somers’ smile brightened as she wiped her eyes again. “Well...”

“You can! I’ve seen it first hand. N.E.W.T. is out of this world.” Mirage smiled some more when the woman chuckled. “Oh, did you like that joke?” The trickster grinned, “Because I totally didn’t planet.”

Mary finally laughed and shook her head. “You’re funny.” She giggled, seeing N.E.W.T. float over to them and look up at her. She let out a little sigh as she knelt down to pet him. “I’m sorry, Newtie. Yer maw’s just feeling a bit forlorn. But there’s no replacing you, dear. You’re my best friend.”

N.E.W.T. perked up and beeped happily, cuddling against her side. This made Horizon laugh again, and the gears in Mirage’s head started turning. Mary looked up at Elliot and noticed her reflection in a mirror behind him.

“Oh, I’m a mess. I’m sorry you had to see me this way, Elliot.” Dr. Somers frowned and wiped the rest of the tears off her face. Mirage shook his head and helped the woman to her feet.

“Don’t worry about it, Dr. Somers,” Mirage smiled, “ I can keep a secret. It’s one of my many talents.”

Horizon returned the smile with N.E.W.T. happily circling her feet. “Thank you, dear. You’re very kind.”

“Anytime, doc. So, how long did it take you to build all this?” Mirage nodded towards the spacecraft before approaching it. Although half of it was destroyed, the trickster still thought it was impressive that one person built it alone. Horizon followed him and observed her work.

“Oh, maybe about, ehm...three days or so? It was really just the better part of a couple of afternoons.” The astrophysicist knelt down to gather some debris from the floor, sighing. “But now it’s back to the drawing board..”

The trickster didn’t want to lose her to her work just yet, so he followed her lead and gathered more debris from the floor. “Well, since I’m here,” Mirage started, “ Maybe I can help you put some pieces back together. More hands, less work, right?”

Horizon dropped some debris in a large waste bin by her door and looked at the trickster. “Are you sure, Elliot? I don’t want you troublin’ yourself over me.”

“It’s no trouble! Just tell me what to put where, and I’ll do it. It’ll be a piece of cake.” Mirage grinned, getting rid of his own debris before returning to the ship. He eagerly slapped the side of the spacecraft, flinching when he accidentally knocked another piece of it off. He looked up at the astrophysicist sheepishly. “Uh, I’ll put that back…”

Horizon chuckled and went over to the trickster, picking up the piece to discard it. “Dinnae worry about it, darlin’. Nothin’ the two of us cannae fix.”

The duo spent the next two hours cleaning the area around the ship before they, mainly Horizon, began the repairs. While they worked, Mirage asked her where she managed to find all of the supplies to build the ship. He didn’t remember World’s Edge or King’s Canyon having these materials laying around, after all. This sparked a conversation about what Dr. Somers used to build the ship, and how easy it was to find the supplies if one knew where to look. This was Elliot’s chance to strike. After welding the leftmost delta wing back on, Horizon returned to her desk to write some more notes on her clipboard. Mirage slowly walked over and stood behind her, poking her side. The scientist flinched and accidentally drew a line across the page. She turned around to face a now smirking trickster, raising a brow. “Did you need something, dear?”

“Yeah, where’d ya say this goes, again?” Mirage held up a triangular piece of the ship as he looked at her. The astrophysicist was holding her arm closer to the side he poked, which only made him smirk some more. Horizon gave him a quizzical look at first, but then visibly relaxed as she put the clipboard back down.

“Oh, I’ll show you.” Dr. Somers led Elliot back over to the ship and gestured to the appropriate location. It was at the upper part of the ship; not out of her reach, but high enough where she had to reach up a bit. “You can put it right hehehere---!”

Horizon flinched and giggled when she felt a pair of hands squeeze her sides. She lurched out of the sudden squeeze and stepped away from the obviously guilty Mirage. “Whahaht on eahahrth are you doing?”

“What? I thought you were gonna fall, so I was just holding you up! I’m only the best person you could ever be friends with, so what would it say about me if I didn’t catch you?” Mirage chuckled, putting the spaceship piece down and following after her. “And you know what?” The trickster grinned, holding his hands out in front of him and wiggling his fingers. “I’d be an awful friend if I didn’t make sure you were all cheered up~.”

The realization dawned on Horizon and her face turned red. “Now wait just seechohohohnd! Elliot!” She tittered when he managed to squeeze her sides again. Before he could squeeze a third time, she grabbed his hands, pulling them off of her sides. “Let’s nohohohot get ahead of ourselves.” She giggled, “I’m fine. Really.”

“But that’s what they all say!” Mirage playfully argued, pulling his hands out of her grip. “I’ve gotta be sure! That’s what friends are for.”

With that, the trickster lunged forward and pulled the scientist towards him. Dr. Somers squeaked and attempted to push him away, making it easier for him to reach under her arms and tickle her armpits.

“Nohohohohoh Eheheheheliot dohohohohn’t!” Horizon gasped and brought her arms down against her sides. This only helped with keeping Mirage’s hands in place as he gently scribbled his fingers against her hollows. “STaahahahahahahap!”

Mirage raised a brow and gently scraped two nails down the center of each of her armpits. “Don’t stop?” The trickster repeated, having to raise his voice a bit when the scientist belted out a laugh. “Well, okay, if that’s what the doctor ordered…”

“No! No no no noohohohohoh thahahahat’s nahahahat wahahahaht I mehahahahahnt!” Dr. Somers protested and, in a panic, she whirled around and tried to make a break for it. For a moment, she freed herself from Elliot’s hold and was able to put some distance between them. But, she didn’t get too far before she tripped over herself and tumbled to the floor. Mirage was able to catch up to her and made sure she didn’t hit the ground too hard. Then, after pinning her arms down underneath his legs, he resumed tickling her armpits. This time, he gently drilled his fingers into the center of her left armpit, while scritching circles around the outside of her right armpit. Mary sputtered before she fell back into her giggling fit. “Ah! Nohahahahahahahahahah Gohohohnahahahe nohohohoh dahahahae thahahahat! (Please don’t do that!)”

“Sorry, didn’t catch that.” The trickster chuckled and suddenly squeezed her sides again. He snickered when she arched her back and squealed. “Can you say that again in laman--lemons---no, what’s the saying again?”

“LAaahahahahahahaymaahahan’s teheheheheheherms!”

“Bingo, layman’s terms.” Mirage nodded and stroked along the scientist’s sides, easily keeping up with her when she twisted her torso around. Horizon’s laughter had a warm, musical quality to it, and it made the trickster smile. After a few more seconds of gentle stroking, the trickster dug his fingers into her sides, laughing along with her when she snorted.

“I-I saahahahahahahahahaid dohohohohohn’t tihihihihicahahahaah mehehehehehe!” Mary shook her head, unable to get a clear word out as Elliot kneaded her sides at a fast pace. “Eehehehehehehehliot plehheheHEHEHEHEASE!”

“Please what? I still can’t understand you!” Mirage grinned and went back to stroking her sides. “Say it again.”

Mary’s giggles calmed down to the point where she could speak. But, before she could, Elliot swiped his fingers over her stomach. She bucked her hips and coughed out a laugh, her squirming becoming more frantic. The trickster noticed and, smirking, he wiggled his fingers into the sides of her stomach.

“NAHAHAHAHA EHEHEHEHEHEHLIOT!”

“Doctoooor~.” Mirage answered in a sing-song voice, finding himself laughing along with her. He put his fingers together to make a claw-like shape with his hands, scratching up and down her abdomen. “I didn’t know you were so ticklish,” He teased, playfully jabbing her side before returning to her stomach. “That’s quite the discovery!”

“PLEHEHEAHASE STAHAHAHAH!” Horizon’s face lit up bright red at the trickster’s teasing and she desperately tried to pull her arms free. Although her stomach was only her second worst spot, the ticklish sensations were still maddening. “I CAHAHAHAHAHA!”

“But I’ve gotta cheer you up! And this is working a treat.” Mirage declared happily, moving one of his hands up to poke at her ribs. After some test pokes, he settled on her uppermost ribs, wriggling his fingers in circular motions. He kept his other hand on her stomach and raked his nails just above her navel.

“I’M CHEHEHEHEHERED UHUHUHP! I-I’m nohohohoht lyhyhyhyhing tohohohoho yohohohu…” Dr. Somers’ laughter calmed down to giggles when Elliot switched back to her armpits. The trickster tapped his nails against her armpits, occasionally squeezing the spot right where they ended.

“Hmm...I just don’t know,” Mirage mused, zigzagging his nails back into her hollows. Mary yelped, her nose scrunching up from how hard she was giggling. “Whaddaya think, buddy?”

N.E.W.T. had floated over to the duo and trained his optic on them. The little robot beeped and, when Horizon heard it, she looked up with a start.

“Newtie! Neehehehehwtie hehehehehlp me!” The scientist yelled, squeaking when Mirage dipped his hands down and drilled his fingers into her hips. Horizon cried out again and arched her back, momentarily losing herself in giggles before she was able to speak again. “Ihihihihihi nehehehehehd yohohohur HEHEHEHEHLP!”

Mirage started to prod her stomach again, poking at a pace fast enough to send her back into a fit of panicked laughter. “I’m just trying to raise her spirits,” He explained, continuing the tickling as the robot floated up to his side. “See? She’s laughing!”

Horizon cackled out a protest and N.E.W.T settled on top of her legs, beeping cheerfully. The little robot wasn’t entirely sure what was making her laugh so hard, but he was happy to see her smiling. In fact, N.E.W.T. got so excited that he activated his black hole ability, swiping her shoes. Sometimes, N.E.W.T. was rather playful, where he liked to take her things and float away. Pens, books, mugs, and today, shoes. The astrophysicist’s head shot up while she was laughing, a feeling of dread settling on her shoulders. “GIHIHIHIHVE THOHOHOHOSE BAHAHACK NEEHEHWTIHIHE!”

The trickster glanced up at the robot and halted the tickling. “Oh, you wanna help, Newt?” He grinned, noticing the shoes that N.E.W.T. was levitating in the air. Horizon breathed heavily and paled when Elliot glanced back at her feet. “Wait! Elliot, plehehease..” She pleaded, squeaking loudly when Mirage reached behind him and stroked one finger down her sole. “Dohohohn’t tickle my feeheheheht! Plehehehehase!”

“But I have to! Newt here wants to make sure you’re cheered up too.” Mirage chirped, quickly turning around so that he could face her feet, but keep her arms pinned. With N.E.W.T. sitting on top of her legs and the trickster holding down her arms, it was even more difficult for her to struggle. So, when Elliot dragged one nail down Horizon’s sole again, again, again, and again, the scientist immediately dissolved into uncontrollable laughter.

“AHAHAHA STAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”

Horizon screamed and kicked her feet at Elliot’s hands, prompting the trickster to hold onto her ankles to keep them still. He fluttered all of his nails against the center of her sole, smiling at the heavy laughter it produced.

“Nope! No-can do, there are tickles a-foot.” Mirage snickered, his fingers dancing over her arches before settling back onto her soles. N.E.W.T. beeped and cuddled against the scientist’s legs.

“NAHAHAHAHAAHAH NOHOHOHOH I CAAHAHAHN’T TAHAHAKE IHIHIHT!” The astrophysicist laughed and desperately arched her back, but she wasn’t going anywhere. N.E.W.T. wasn’t uncomfortably heavy, but he weighed just enough to help keep her in place. “PLEHEHEHEASE!”

Mirage noticed that Dr. Somers laughed harder the higher up he tickled, so he wiggled his fingers until he got underneath her toes. She screamed again, her laughter momentarily going silent before picking up again. “Oho, this spot seems toe-tally ticklish. Haha, get it?” Mirage laughed and raked his nails against the stems of her toes. Horizon’s face only grew redder as her legs jolted, threatening to throw N.E.W.T. off of her.

“EHEHEHEHELIOT NOHOHOHOHOHOHAHAHAH!”

The laughter poured out of Horizon like honey as she tried to curl her toes. The trickster held her toes back with one hand so that he could easily tickle between them, prompting another cry of laughter.

“Coochie coochie coo~.” Mirage teased, tickling between her toes some more before raking his nails along the length of her foot. Horizon arched her back again, shaking her head wildly as she laughed and laughed. While he tickled her foot, something fluttered in the distance, barely catching his eye. He looked up towards the scientist’s desk and, in a little container at the corner, were a collection of pens. One of the pens had a fluffy tuft of pink feathers at the top of it. The trickster halted the tickling and turned to nudge N.E.W.T.

“Newt, buddy! Can you go over there and get that for me?” Elliot motioned to the fluffy pen while the astrophysicist greedily breathed in air. Both N.E.W.T. and Horizon followed his gaze over to the pen and, when the bot went to retrieve it, the weight was lifted off of the scientist’s legs. She attempted to pull her ankles free from his ironhold, but he held strong.

“Dehehehar, hahahve mehehehrcy on mehehehe…!” Horizon started giggling again as Mirage poked at her feet at random intervals. By then, N.E.W.T. returned with the fluffy pen and dropped it onto the trickster’s lap. He picked up the pen and glanced back at her; although she was breathless, she looked much happier compared to when he first saw her. And, on top of that, he was having a blast! He didn’t want to tickle her too much, but he wasn’t ready to stop just yet. So, after a couple more pokes and some idle twiddling of the feathered pen, he started to gently tap her feet with it.

“Not yet, Dr. Somers. I think you’re almost cheered up~.” Mirage smiled, slowly stroking her heels with the feathers. Horizon flinched and snickered, tugging at her legs with a renewed vigor.

“Noheheheheheheheheh f-feheeHEHEHEHAHAHTHEHEHERS!” The scientist protested, momentarily pulling her ankles from his grasp and covering one foot with the other. Elliot pulled her ankles back under his arm and flicked the feathers up her soles instead, drawing out squeals and cackles.

“No?” Mirage chuckled and wiggled his fingers on her left sole, stroking the feathers along her right sole. Horizon yelled and fell back into heavy laughter, crossing her feet repeatedly, although it didn’t block the tickles. “Is this better?”

“NOHOHOHOHOHOH IT’S NAHAHAHAHAT!” Horizon yelled, squealing and laughing harder when focused the tickling on her left foot. The trickster noticed that her left foot seemed more ticklish than her right foot, and when he rubbed the feathers against her left toes, she arched her back and dipped into silent laughter.

“What about this, Dr. Somers? Is this better?” Mirage smirked and wiggled the feathers between her toes. She squeaked and fell back into silent laughter. He eased up on the tickling by stroking the feathers down her soles and arches, which still made her laugh, but not quite as hard.

“EEEHEHEHAHAHALIOT DEAHAHAHA STAHAHAHAHA!” Horizon shut her eyes tight and panicked when she felt the feathers trailing back up to her toes. “IHIHIHIHIHIHT REHEHAHAHAHALLY TIHIHHI-AHAHAHAHA!”

Mirage suddenly put the feathered pen down and used his nails to tickle all over Horizon’s feet. The scientist bucked her legs and shrieked with laughter; but, when the trickster buried his fingers back underneath her toes, her laughter went silent again. He looked back at her to see the tears streaming down her face and finally stopped the tickling, releasing her legs. Horizon gasped for air and hid her red face in her hands.

“Oh my stahahars…” She giggled a little bit and looked up when N.E.W.T. returned to her side. The bot carefully put her shoes back down and tentatively beeped, which only made her chuckle.

“Dinnae fash yersel, Newtie. I’m not upset with you. But, aye, I could use my shoes.” Horizon smiled, her smile widening when the bot floated into her arms to cuddle. She then looked up to see Mirage offering his hand to her and, keeping one arm wrapped around her dear companion, she stood up with his help.

“So, how’d I do?” Mirage looked up at her and gave her a small smile. “Do you feel better?”

“Maybe a bit winded, but aye, I feel much better, dear. Thank you.” Horizon smiled brightly, and it made the trickster’s heart swell with pride.

“You’re very welcome! Now, since it’s getting late, how about I get us some pizza? I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.” Elliot chuckled. Horizon’s eyes widened; she had completely forgotten that she promised him tea and scones!

“I suppose it is getting late…” She responded, glancing over at a digital clock she kept on her desk. “How about I still make you that tea while you get the pizza? It’s the least I can do.”

“Deal!” Mirage took out his phone so he could call the pizza order in. While he did that, Horizon put her shoes back on and left for the kitchen, her companion following close behind. He pocketed his phone once the order was placed and looked towards the picture of the scientist and her son. Although he succeeded in cheering Horizon up, there was one more surprise that he had up his sleeve. After all, every kid deserves a present on their birthday.

It didn’t take long for Mirage to get the pizzas; they were ready by the time he arrived to pick them up. But, that’s not all he went to get. On his way to get the food, he bought the biggest, most colorful birthday card that he could find and an assortment of colorful pens. He even managed to find some balloons but needed to tie them to his wrist so they didn’t blow away. Then, he returned back to the ship so that all of the Legends could sign it. Although he didn’t give all of the details about Horizon and her son, most of the Legends were happy to oblige. But, when the trickster went to Rampart, she wouldn’t let him hear the end of it.

“Aww~. I didn’t know you were such a softie, Witt!” The modder teased, reaching up to pinch his cheeks. Mirage groaned and pushed her hand away; it took all of his will power for him not to blush.

“I’m not! It’s just---it’s for---I--it’s for Horizon’s son, Rampart.” Mirage stammered, sighing as he adjusted the pizza boxes in his hand. “And it’s supposed to be a surprise…”

“Oh, give it here! I was just teasin’ you.” Rampart snickered and made a gimmie motion with her hands so that the trickster would hand over the birthday card. She chose the bright orange pen to sign it with, her grin softening as she handed it back to Elliot. “It’s a really nice thing you’re doing for her, mate. I’m sure she’ll love it.”

“Of course she will!” Elliot was quick to respond as if Ramya said the most obvious thing in the world. But then, he faltered and gave her a genuine smile of his own. “But, thanks Rampart.”

Rampart smiled and waved him off as he left, returning to Sheila and picking up her wrench. Mirage could tell the pizzas were getting cold, so he hurried to his party ship for the last part of his surprise.

While Mirage was gone, Horizon boiled water for tea at the stove. She played ping-pong with N.E.W.T. while waiting for the water to get hot. The astrophysicist giggled as the bot darted across the room to volley the ball back to her. Once the kettle whistled, she paused their game and set two mugs down on the countertop. “He’s been gone a while, hasn’t he, Newtie?” She mused as she poured the hot water into each mug. N.E.W.T. beeped softly and flicked his light once. “I wonder where he went?”

Horizon set a tea bag in each of the mugs, her gaze suddenly trained onto her lab. “Did I leave a light on?” She stepped away from the counter and saw a bright light engulfing her laboratory. She looked at her companion before the two of them went back into the lab. When she got there, she heard faint music sounding outside of her observatory. She furrowed her brows and pressed another button on the wall so that the roof opened. Her eyes widened when she saw Mirage’s party ship hovering above.

“Dr. Somers!” Mirage’s used the ship’s megaphone to call down to the scientist, grinning. “I thought we’d celebrate Newton’s birthday in style!”

Mirage hit the party button on his ship to launch the fireworks. Instead of his huge decoys dancing around the ship, the fireworks were green, blue, orange, and white, with the words Happy Birthday, Newton stretching out over the dark sky above. Horizon stood dumbfounded, the words getting caught in her throat. Her stunned silence gave way to a huge smile that even Elliot could see.

“Well don’t just stand there,” He chuckled, sending a zipline down to her. “Come on up!”

Horizon put N.E.W.T. on her back and zipped up to the party ship. She put N.E.W.T. back down once she got up there and looked around, the red balloons catching her eye. Then, Mirage hopped down from the platform and waved to the smiling scientist.

“Elliot, ya beauty, this is wonderful! I-I’m speechless. You didn’t have to do all of this for us...” Horizon finally found the words she needed as the trickster strolled up to her.

“But it’s Newton’s birthday! And I know how much you wanted to celebrate with him, so think of this as celebrating early. Ya know, for when you see him again.” Mirage happily insisted, handing her the huge birthday card. “Here, this is from all of the Legends. I may have, um, scribbled Revenant’s name in there. But let’s keep that a secret.”

Dr. Somers blinked and took the card from him. She opened it and looked at the colorful signatures and messages from her fellow Legends. Her eyes welling up with tears again. “Elliot…”

“Wait, hold on. I forgot one more thing.” Mirage took off the medal he got from his recent game and handed it to her. But, Horizon didn’t take it.

“Oh no, dear. I couldn’t. I know how precious your medals are to you.” Horizon looked at him hesitantly and held the birthday card to her chest. Mirage took a step forward and carefully draped it around her neck anyway.

“Yeah, but there’s someone else out there who it’ll mean even more to. I mean, hey, his mom is a Legend. I’m sure he’ll be one too.” Mirage smiled, gasping when the astrophysicist pulled him in for a tight hug.

“This means the world to me, Elliot. Thank you…” Horizon whispered, putting her head back onto his shoulder. Mirage slowly returned the hug and beamed. The trickster never shied away from the spotlight and loved it when all eyes were on him. But, nothing felt as good as making someone else’s world a little bit brighter.

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