#elisaphoenix

He messed around to pass the boredom and get a laugh out of his brother or dad. He tinkered and did his homework to get his mind occupied. He listened to Peter whine and Dia boss him around.

Whenever he did do something for himself, it was reading a book, hidden away in a deserted alcove on the fifty-first floor - or when he was really pampering himself, at the coffee shop three blocks away. He guessed that counted as a distraction as well, but he genuinely enjoyed getting lost in his favorite stories.

No one knew about his love for reading, though. Harley wasn't sure why. He wasn't trying to hide it… it just seemed like something purely for Harley, something private.

Anyway, Harley was content with his life; his own happiness derived from the people around him.

The latest addition to his life would have tipped the scales towards actual happiness if it wasn't for the fact that, like everything else in his life, his relationship with William was perfectly balanced.

Yes, being around him made him happy. It made his chest feel ten times lighter, and butterflies dance around his stomach. It made him giddy, and his cheeks hurt from smiling.

But even then, it also made him miss him - even from two feet away. His lungs ached because of the distance between them, his mind was occupied with his smile, and his hand itched to hold his.  

And because he cared more about other people's happiness than his own - especially when it came to William, though he refused to admit this - Harley couldn't take the risk and chase after what he wanted.

He wanted them to be more, wanted to take the gamble, and see where it would lead, but he knew he would mess it up eventually. Harley wouldn't ever want to do anything to make William uncomfortable or ruin William's chances at feeling part of their family. Because what if William would end up hating him so much that he'd prefer to leave than be around Harley?

Harley would rather leave, himself, than put William through that.

Or better yet, not try at all. Wait out those pesky feelings and try to enjoy the happy moments without the complications of his stupid crush.

So once again, the scales balanced out.

Still, everything felt heightened around William, especially since it was close to one in the morning, sitting in the family floor's dark living room. His mind was already foggy at the edges, but he was still clearly more awake than William, who was sitting way too close for Harley's liking - yet also not close enough, fucking dammit.

Brown eyes - black in the darkness of the night - blinked tiredly up at him, and it made it hard for Harley to focus on anything else.

They were still talking, but Harley had a hard time keeping track - about the movie, about their respective plans for tomorrow, about something Thomas had said, etc.

It took a while to register the silence that had fallen between them, William's eyes fixed on something on the far wall. Harley assumed he wasn't really seeing anything, instead just fighting against his exhaustion. His lips were pulled into a tiny, content smile, Harley couldn't help but notice, and it caught his attention for longer than was probably necessary.

Then, William yawned and shifted, leaning back against the couch's cushions, and the shift in position made it, so his head was right next to Harley's shoulder.  

It felt right, perfectly natural, to reach out and tuck the strand of hair covering William's forehead behind his ear.

It was a small movement, but Harley still felt it as William pressed into the touch, humming in contentment as he dug more firmly into Harley's shoulder.

Harley watched him in awe, mesmerized by the boy pressed against his side as he allowed himself to lean into him as well.

The next thing he knew was waking up to sunlight streaming in through the floor to ceiling windows, covering the couch he was lying on in a golden glow.

It took his brain a minute longer to wake up fully, or at least to become aware of the warmth pressed against his side. It wasn't unusual for him to wrap himself around one of the extra giant pillows on his bed, but none of those pillows were this warm, nor did they move, shifting up and down steadily with each breath.

His hand was definitely on someone's spine - he could feel the familiar ridges of the vertebrae, the warmth of skin even through the fabric of a shirt, and the curve of a back - and it was hard to ignore the soft breathing tickling his neck. It wasn't difficult to figure out who that someone was.

Harley wanted to panic - he knew he should. He knew he had to try and extract himself without waking William and pretend nothing had happened in the first place. Yet, his body didn't want to cooperate.

He felt warm and comfortable, and William was so soft against him, all he wanted to do was fall asleep again. He somehow always smelt like rain and vanilla, and with his nose basically pressed into his hair, it was overwhelming.

Maybe this was okay, Harley pondered.

They held hands, too, after all. Ever since their first trip - it hadn't been a date no matter what Peter says - to the park; it had become natural for them. They both clearly didn't mind, so whenever they were walking somewhere together, their hands always found their way into each other's.

It didn't have to mean more than they allowed it to. By gods, Harley knew William was touch-starved, so it was easy to write it off as nothing more than two friends finding comfort and touch wherever they could get it. A mutual agreement.

Harley kind of felt like last night had been a catalyst for another such shift. William had sought out his touch subconsciously, and Harley was more than happy to abide, to give him whatever he craved.

Maybe this could become part of their new normal.

And so he followed his instincts; he sighed and held on tighter, burrowing his face further into William's dark hair, and reveled in the gentle thrill running through his veins.

He might have fallen asleep again, he wasn't quite sure, but it felt like barely a moment later that his comfort was ripped away from him.

Harley heaved when one of William's hands pressed onto his stomach in his haste to get off him. The minute it took him to catch his breath was all William had needed to crawl off the couch and stare at him in panic. His face was beet-red, and his eyes were huge as they bored into Harley's. He was holding onto his arms as if trying to hug himself in comfort, and Harley frowned in tired confusion as he watched him.  

"Wha-"

"I'm sorry, I must have fallen asleep," he rambled, breaking their eye contact and shaking his head decidedly. "I shouldn't have -"

"Hey, it's fine, it's -"

"It won't happen again. I promise. I just- I'm sorry, I should go... I have to go."

Harley knew it was an excuse, but before he could argue, William had already blinked out of existence, like the entire night had been a dream.

Harley leaned forward and buried his face in his hands, groan echoing around the empty floor. How could he have been so stupid?

He shouldn't have given in, shouldn't have been so weak, ... shouldn't have wanted it.

He didn't know how long he sat there, questioning all his life choices, but Harley glanced up again when he heard a noise from the kitchen. He stood up to investigate - he and William should be the only ones awake already.

A voice was still nagging at the back of his head, making his skin bubble like swamp sludge, so he needed to shake it, to distract himself from what had just happened - to get his mind straight.

Maybe if he let it go, let William forget about it for a few hours, things would be alright again?

Still, William leaving worried him. The last time he'd let William walk away after a fight, he'd ended up in the hospital. Logically, Harley knew it was unlikely to happen again, but he still didn't like it. Harley needed to find him and apologize sooner rather than later.

But he wasn't sure what he'd be apologizing for.

He wasn't sorry - not really. He could apologize for wanting it - for having feelings that William didn't share - but that would mean admitting to having feelings in the first place. He still had plausible deniability, and that's all he had going for himself.

When he stepped into the kitchen, Harley was only mildly surprised to see Stephen and Val were already awake. Stephen was in the midst of making breakfast, and Val sat on the counter next to him - close to the strawberry bowl from which she sporadically stole some fruits.

William likes strawberries.

Harley scowled at his thoughts and took his regular seat at the kitchen table, resting his cheek on his hand as he watched his younger sister.

"What happened to the lazy day?" He asked, more out of a need for distraction than actual curiosity.

"Your sister didn't get the message," Stephen grumbled, back turned to Harley as he was stood at the stove making pancakes. "What happened to William?"

Stephen glanced back at him over his shoulder, sympathetic smile on his face. Apparently, their accidental sleepover hadn't gone unnoticed. Ducking his head to hide the blush that definitely did not exist, Harley ran a hand through his hair and refused to answer.

"You should go talk to him." Stephen's advice was ever so helpful.

Still, Harley knew he was right - and he really was worried about William running off again and getting himself into trouble - so he stood up, ignored the fantastic smell of pancakes, and headed downstairs.

By the time he got to William's bedroom, however, it was empty.

It was enough to set his skin boiling with anxiety, worry coursing through him. That's what he'd been afraid of, after all, wasn't it? That as soon as William found out about Harley's feelings for him, he'd leave.

That thought, combined with the memory of William in a hospital bed tied to an oxygen mask and the images of a house burning against a forest backdrop, was enough to have him panicking.

"FRIDAY? Where is William?"

"I'm not authorized to say."

"What?" The shock of FRIDAY's response was enough to distract him from his building panic. He stared up at the ceiling as if FRIDAY was an actual person to glare at. "How the hell not?"

"He asked me not to. He doesn't have the authority to block me from telling you if you insisted, but you also can't stop me from telling him when you're close to approaching him."

Fucking hell.

"Come on, FRIDAY! Aren't you on my side?"

There was no response. Harley grumbled.

Fine, if he was going to play dirty, so could he.

Instead of turning around and looking for the other teen - who clearly didn't want to be found - Harley stepped further into his bedroom. William couldn't stay away forever.

A cursory glance at William's bookcase showed he had plenty of stuff to entertain himself with. Taste in books was one of the things they had in common after all. One of the many things they could spend hours talking about. Harley shook those thoughts away - they were exactly what he needed to get out of his head by the time he would finally be able to apologize to William.

So he grabbed a book at random, which, as it turned out, was a novel Harley had read before but didn't mind reading again, and made himself comfortable on William's bed.

He promptly ignored how it smelled strongly of the other teen - the same scent he'd woken up to.

As much as he knew he had to get over it, he couldn't help but long for a scenario where William liked him back - where they'd be able to lie curled up to each other whenever they wanted. To be close and touch and talk without holding back. To be able to interact with his favorite person without the stabbing, ungrateful, needy pain in his chest begging for more.

Harley didn't know how long he'd been staking out William's bedroom. He hadn't dared to leave for lunch, and as he hadn't had breakfast, he'd texted Peter for food. Surprisingly Stephen had been the one to drop it off through a portal and hadn't said anything of it. Wanda had stopped by to chat when she'd walked past the open door and noticed him, and she'd laughed fondly at his misery before reassuring him it'll be alright and heading back out. But not before promising to try and convince William to come down if she'd bump into him.

He'd spend most of his day either reading or staring at the ceiling, lost in thought as he replayed the events of the previous night over and over again. Despite how tired he'd been, he still remembered William's smile vividly. Remembered every word that had made William laugh.

When the other teen finally did show up, it was as if Harley had conjured him with his mind. One minute he was staring out the window, thinking about the brown of his eyes and the harsh curve of his lips, the next, he was stood in front of him.

Harley pushed himself up from his elbows until he was sitting up, abandoning the book and not caring that he'd lose his page.

"Hi."

Despite having decided to show up finally, William still looked like a deer caught in headlights. His brown eyes were wide and uncertain, pupils carefully tracing Harley's movements, and his hands twitched at his sleeves. Harley felt like a single wrong movement would cause William to disappear again.

"Look," he started carefully, biting his lip and glancing away before quickly looking back at William to make sure he was still there. "I'm sorry if I did anything to freak you out. I don't -,"

He had to stop, not able to bring himself to say it. For some reason, he couldn't lie to William. For all he'd denied it to anyone over the last few months, he couldn't deny it any longer - not now it mattered most.

Gritting his teeth together, he sat up straighter, subtly trying to shake the tension from his shoulders. It didn't work, and energy was starting to buzz through his veins, causing a spark of annoyance that quickly fuelled him to get up from the bed entirely. He felt like pacing - anything to get rid of the anxiety bubbling under his skin - but didn't get around to it.

As William seemed to startle slightly at the movement, taking a step back - a step away from him.

It was enough - Harley immediately deflated, the energy leaving him as quickly as it had appeared. The feeling to move shifted into a need to sigh, and he did so, sending William a weak but hopefully comforting smile.

He usually was the one to talk, knew he was the one to bring William out of his shell - it was their dynamic. Yet, as so often when feelings were involved, Harley was speechless. He didn't know what to say - needed William to take the lead.

"Why did you leave?" He asked simply, bracing himself for whatever William would say. Whether he was just horrified or downright disgusted - betrayed, uncomfortable. Harley would be able to take it - probably. He'd be able to let it go, to move on, put their boundaries back to wherever William wanted them to be - as long as they could get past this conversation and return to being comfortable around one another.

William remained quiet for a long time, seemingly frozen and unable to answer himself. Harley's nerves got the best of him, and instead of waiting for William to answer, he started rambling - deciding that taking everything back was probably the best course after all. He couldn't - he couldn't remain this distant from William, couldn't risk leaving this broken forever.

"I mean, it's not like it meant anything, right?" And suddenly, lying was simple - desperation a powerful motivator. "It's just what we do, right? At the tower? It's just like with anyone else -"

Harley stopped- unable to continue as William let out a small noise - as if punched in the chest. He watched as William swallowed and glanced away from Harley, stubbornly staring at the bookcase in the corner, jaw tense. There was a watery glint in his eyes that Harley wasn't sure he'd imagined.

"What?" He frowned, confusion and worry pushing aside his own anxieties. "That was supposed to make you feel better! Why do you suddenly look worse - please don't be sad!"

Harley felt ridiculous for begging, but he couldn't take seeing William like that - couldn't take the idea that he'd been the one to cause it.

"No, it doesn't make me feel better, Harley!" William finally gritted out. His voice was thin, hoarse like it even pained him to speak.

Harley took a step back as if he'd been slapped - no punched in the stomach by Peter's super strength. He felt like crying himself, seeing the sadness in William's eyes, mixed with his own heart quietly shattering.

He reached out for him, and though he hesitated to push their boundaries even further, he couldn't stop himself from touching William's biceps in a plea for him to face him again. Just holding onto him comforted Harley to his core, and he hated himself a little bit more for it.

However, to his surprise, William didn't flinch away from the touch, didn't jump, and pull his arm back. Instead, he turned into the contact, pushing in closer as he finally turned to face Harley once more.

Their eyes locked; William's brown ones were teary and red-rimmed, but the intensity in them took Harley's breath away. "I wanted it to be special; I wanted to be special to you!" William's gaze softened, and Harley felt his lips part in surprise. His heart burned in his chest, but his brain was frozen - unable to process his words. "I want it to mean something."

His hand clenched around Williams's arm, using the touch to ground himself while his stomach felt like floating away.

Could it possibly be?

Could William really mean it like he thought he did?

William's gaze was starting to waver, looking less determined by the second. Harley noticed him clench his jaw and swallow, eyes still locked, and he started squirming against Harley's hold. Before he could pull away, however, Harley breathed out, deciding that it was now or never - that they'd already passed the point of no return.

He used his grip on William's arm to pull him closer, while his free right hand moved to cup William's cheek, and he pressed their lips together in sweet release.

William gasped lightly against Harley's mouth before melting into the kiss.

Every breath in the last two years had come to this - to feeling William breathe against him, the rush of adrenaline running through his head - dizzying him.

William's hand held onto his waist, pulling him impossibly closer, and Harley stroked his skin with his thumb as his hand shifted from William's cheek to the back of his head.

They leaned into each other, torsos as flushed together as possible as William's hands traced the arch of his back.

Harley lost himself in it - in the softness of William's mouth, the tongue caressing his, moving as one.

William was as familiar to him as breathing, and yet this perspective was utterly uncharted - every move, tilt and tick as unsuspected as the flicker of a flame.

Where William hated voicing what he needed, his body didn't have the same filter. It asked for more without pause, pressed deeper against him, and chased his lips whenever Harley tried to lean back. And Harley didn't know how to say no to him; thoroughly content to grant him whatever he wanted.

Eventually, Harley pulled back, cupping William's face between his hands to stop him from following.

William grabbed onto his elbows to steady himself as he blinked up at him as if waking from a dream and breathed a sigh at Harley's smile - a mix between bewilderment and peaceful awe. His cheeks were flushed a glorious pink, eyes wide and delighted, and Harley couldn't stop himself from leaning in once more to place a last peck on William's reddened lips.

"You are so special to me," Harley smiled, elation coursing through his veins at finally, finally being reunited with William. To finally be able to stop missing him and speak the words that had been safely locked away in his mind. "I knew it the moment I first saw you."

William's eyes sparkled, and instead of responding, his arms wrapped around Harley's waist again, pulling him closer as he buried his face in Harley's neck.

Harley smiled at the touch against the sensitive skin and desperately pulled William closer still.

William was the one to break their embrace this time, and Harley yelped in surprise when William hit his shoulder.

"What was that for?!" he glared at William in affront as he cradled his arm.

William's eyes had settled back to their usual steady brown. He still watched Harley with admiration, but it had gained an amused but frustrated gleam. "Why didn't you say anything!"

"Why didn't you?!" Harley yelled back, incredulously.

They grinned sheepishly at each other, but William's words awakened an earlier doubt.

He'd never said anything because even in moments he'd considered the possibility of William liking him back, he still hadn't wanted to risk it. No percentage would have convinced him to gamble away their relationship.

But also - and possibly more importantly -  because part of him knew that even if William wouldn't hate him for having feelings for him, even if those feelings were returned,... he would eventually screw up.

"William?" He started, carefully catching William's eyes. He suddenly felt shy, like they hadn't just been kissing and weren't still standing impossibly close. William merely hummed in response, catching on to Harley's hesitation and tensing up as well. "What if I mess this up?"

William let out a breath, almost amused, and now it was his turn to touch Harley's cheek, forcing him to look back up at him.

"Harls, every time we've had even a minor fight, you always made sure to fix it as quickly as possible." His smile turned a little bashful as he continued, eyes fixed on the spot where his thumb rested underneath Harley's eyes. "If anything, I should probably learn to be more vocal about my worries... but I trust you more than anything."

Harley smiled, slightly reassured. "That would help, yes. You're super confusing at times."

From his position in the bed, he could easily see the cribs next to the bed. Lucy was still fast asleep, which was surprising only because she’d woken him and Tony up only once during the night.

Val’s crib was empty. He assumed Harley had taken care of her so they could sleep in - or maybe William, as Stephen hadn’t been disturbed by anyone coming into the room. Perhaps they were both in on it, but it didn’t really matter.

What mattered was that he could relax back against Tony’s chest and enjoy a few more moments of quiet warmth from both the sun and his husband wrapped around him. Tony’s breathing was familiar and comforting, and Stephen had to hold himself back from turning around in his arms and kissing him awake. Tony had gotten home late from a meeting the evening before, and deserved every extra second of sleep he could get, no matter how needy Stephen got for his attention.

It was only then that he recognized the fourth set of breathing in the room. He hadn’t registered it as strange, before, recognizing it simply as the sets of breathing from his husband and daughters. But Val’s crib had been empty.

He opened his eyes again, noticing for the first time the unnatural relief in the covers next to him. Frowning, he lifted the blankets, revealing Val lying next to him. Her eyes were open as she smiled up at him, giggling quietly before hiding further under the covers, curling up closer to him in the process.

Stephen reached out to grab her, pulling her up from underneath the blankets and settling her down against his chest. She giggled again, causing Tony to stir behind Stephen.

“Morning, mama.”

“Morning, Val,” Stephen smiled, pulling her into an even tighter hug. “How did you escape your crib?”

The palm against his stomach moved up to his chest as Tony buried his face in Stephen’s neck, pressing him closer as warm lips explored the sensitive skin underneath his ear.

It distracted Stephen enough to miss Valerie’s response, but he couldn’t quite bring it in him to care.

Finally, he rolled around so he could press his lips against Tony’s, preening at the attention he’d been craving.

Of course, that lasted about ten minutes tops before Lucy woke up. Still, it had been one of the best mornings in months, and he wished he could have just spent the rest of the day in bed.

Instead, he had to prepare to leave his family for another dimension tomorrow, meaning he was stuck interviewing this demon on any intel he could gather about his destination. The dimension was remote enough and closed-off enough that it hadn’t been traveled to in a while, and the writings of old had been long-lost.

“Alright,” Stephen started, turning back towards the pentagram that safely kept the demon at bay. “So what about civilization? You must know something about that.”

“Yes, they’re delicious. So much fear there.”

Stephen sighed again. The downsides were enough to make demon-summoning a rare practice indeed. Most sorcerers preferred to go in blind over having to deal with one.

“I have seven children, four pseudo-children, an inventor as a husband, and 10 bonus Avengers. My patience is endless. You can sit here and wait until you’re so bored your horns fall off. I’ll only release you when I have all my information.” Stephen promised, taking a step back and leaving the room to prove his point.

He could hear the demon start a tantrum to the empty room, but it wouldn’t be able to harm anything or anyone outside of its pentagram.

While the demon decided on whether or not it wanted to spend the rest of its existence in one of the sanctum meditation rooms, Stephen went to make himself a cup of tea and calm down.

He was waiting for the water to boil when he got a call from Tony, and he smiled as he pressed the answer button, still reminiscing about their morning. “Hey, darling.”

“You’re still in a good mood,” Tony remarked, and even over the phone, Stephen noticed the smirk in his voice. He merely rolled his eyes. It was true, he was in a good mood, to the point that his husband’s smugness only made him even happier for once.

“Why did you call, Tony?”

“I was just calling to let you know I’ll be making dinner tonight. I’m at the park with the Royal Court and we passed that Italian grocery store so I bought lasagna ingredients.” He was interrupted by a cry of protest. “Oh crap, the Baroness is cranky. I’ll have to deal with this. ”

“The Baroness? Really?”

“What? Do you prefer Viscountess? Marchioness?”

“You’re ridiculous.” Stephen rolled his eyes again. “But that sounds great, Tony. I’ll probably finish up here with plenty of time left, but William asked for some extra training so he’ll be stopping by after school. We’ll be back in time for dinner, though.”

“Wonderful, I’ll just - ugh, Lulu is upsetting Val now. I have to go. See you tonight!” Tony rushed to disconnect the call, and though Stephen already missed his voice, the image of Tony dealing with their daughters was enough to keep his smile going as he finished his tea and walked back towards the meditation room.

The smile dropped away from his face, however, the moment he turned into the room.

He lost a precious moment to surprise as he took in the scene in front of him. Val was sitting on the floor, hands stretched out as William moved to pick her up. The scene was very familiar, except that he knew Val was with Tony and the demon was nowhere to be spotted.

By the time he’d found his voice to warn him, William had already crossed the lines of the pentagram, the dark volcanic dust he’d used to create it lighting up like coals as William cried out in pain. Stephen’s mug crashed onto the ground as his hands tried to form a spell - anything - to stop what happened next, but there was nothing he could do as barely a breath later William was gone. The echo of his cry still sounded through the building, fuelling the terror racing through Stephen’s veins.

It took him two steps to cross the room until he was standing right in front of the pentagram, eyes blazing as he looked at the demon. It smiled up at him sweetly, still wearing the face of his daughter, which only infuriated him more. The demon seemed to enjoy pestering him, though, as its smile widened and widened until Val’s face tore open, revealing a massive row of teeth, her eyes rolling into the back of her head leaving nothing but sickly yellow orbs.

Two could play that game. His hands heated up red as he summoned as much power as he could, intent on torturing the information out of him if he had to. William was most likely sent to the demon’s home dimension, which at best was a barren wasteland, and at worst a systematic machine built to maximize human suffering. Even if it were a wasteland - which, as the demon had been forced to venture into other realms to satisfy itself, was the most likely - it would be crawling with demons. Though in this dimension, the worst they could do was feed off suffering - as their actual physical forms remained in their homeland - where they would actually be able to feed on human flesh.

He’d taught William to be strong and he was very powerful for his age indeed, but with so little experience still, he would have no idea what to do. He’d never even traveled to a friendly dimension before, let alone to a demon realm. Even if he was in no immediate physical danger, he would probably be scared out of his mind, and the very thought of that was enough to drive Stephen insane with rage. “Where did you take him?”

The demon, now back to its real form a black goo and smoke, only taunted him.

Stephen growled but took a step back, turning to his pile of books to search through them quickly. The summoning spell had been specific but not predetermined, so the demon that showed up had the right qualifications but there was no way of knowing where they were from unless they told you so. Stephen couldn’t wait any longer, however, as his child was in peril. So he just had to wing it.

He quickly summoned Levi, the cloak wrapping around him protectively.

If only he could get to the same space as William, he’d be able to protect him and he was sure he could figure something out eventually.

There was only a moment of hesitation, thinking about leaving the other kids back at the tower, but William was more important at the moment. The others were safe with their family, Stephen just needed to make sure his lost cub got back as well.

With one last glare at the demon, he cast a few protective spells over himself, before barging into the pentagram.

The spells protected him from most of the ordeal, but he still felt nauseous as his knees hit unfamiliar dirt. Still, he got up quickly, fighting against vertigo as he took in his surroundings in the desperate hope to see a familiar head of dark hair.

As expected, all he saw was a wasteland - well, apocalyptic hellscape really did the plain more justice.

The sand underneath his feet burned - he could feel its heat even through the soles of his shoes, yet the air was cold, causing even Levi to ripple in discomfort. There was nothing around for miles, which didn't bode well for Stephen finding William as there was no telling how big this world was. There were no rocks or structures to hide behind, though there was enough rubbish spread out over the plains to suggest a society had lived there once upon a time.

The sky was alight, though Stephen couldn't find a source for it. He could only assume it must either be just nearing dawn or dusk - or whatever counted for it in this world. The sky was cloudless and otherwise empty - no stars or birds or distant structures blocking his view.

It made the knot in his chest tighten, thinking about William and how he needed to find him.  It could have been that Stephen had landed on the same spot William had, but with William's powers, he could have easily been startled into teleporting himself away. Especially if he hadn't realized what had happened. It had happened before that he'd teleported without realizing, so he might have assumed he'd ended up in a desert somehow and was bouncing around this alien world trying desperately to escape it and find a way back to a New York that didn't exist here.  

Stephen was starting to panic more and more as with every second it felt like William was slipping further and further away from him.

------

William was panicking. One second he'd just been picking up his little sister, the next he had doubled over in pain. Agony had soared through him like flames lapping at his neurons, burning him from the inside out as images of his past - images of fear and torment - flashed on the back of his eyelids.

The pain had been overwhelming, taking his breath away and leaving him paralyzed and unable to think.

It's why the moment his knees had hit dark red sand, his first instinct had been to be relieved. The pain had faded everywhere but his hands and knees, where the sand continued to burn through his flesh and jeans. It had definitely been a better feeling than before, however, and the pain had lessened as he had quickly scrambled to his feet.

His hands had still throbbed an aching red, but he'd luckily prevented more serious burns.

Ending up a familiar place hadn't even been all that surprising. He'd teleported when afraid before, though usually to a place he knew and was thinking about. He definitely hadn't been thinking about a desert, nevermind a desert with dark red sand. Maybe he'd ended up on one of those volcanic islands, he had pondered, but it didn't feel like an island and he wasn't sure but he didn't believe there was any island he'd heard of where the sky looked like this.

William had hoped the red of the sky was that of dawn instead of dusk, worrying that he'd end up in the dark. It didn't matter, as he would soon be back at the tower anyway.

It's only then that he had thought of Val, of how he'd been holding her when whatever had happened had happened.

Now, he glanced around in vain, knowing that if Val was here with him he'd have seen her already. Still, he searched the sand for any sign of the little girl, his heartbeat quicking with worry every second he didn't find her.

He'd been holding her, which meant that whenever he'd doubled over in pain, he'd either dropped her or she was lost. He'd never lost anyone during teleportation before. He had no idea what would happen to the person if he did. There were nights he woke up screaming a name as images of them lost to the void forever flashed through his mind.

He had to find her, had to make sure she was safe and sound back at the sanctum with Stephen.

Yet, when he tried to teleport, he just ended back where he'd started.

Or at least, so he assumed.

Everything still looked the same, endless plains of sand and filth, yet that plastic bag hadn't been there before, and that clutter of shoes used to be a rock and located more to the left.

He tried again and again, but still nothing. He seemed to be moving throughout the desert, yet all he found was more sand and more rubbish as the sky started shifting into a deeper red.

A few times, he'd seen something shifting in the distance, which would have been a relief except that it wasn't. Merely looking in that direction, was enough to fill his veins with terror, despite not being able to see the things clearly. They looked dark and coiling, either the smoke of a campfire or a thick, dark oil spill, except that it moved and grew and shifted in shape as if alive.

He'd teleport again and again, eventually falling down in exhaustion as he breathed heavily with panic. He managed to crawl towards a nearby rock, leaning his back against it as he curled his legs underneath him, wrapping his arms around his knees.

The sky was still darkening, except that it took longer than he would have expected - longer than a sunset was supposed to last on earth.

And that did it, didn't it? The seed of doubt in his chest had grown undeniably. There was no way he was still on earth, though he had been too reluctant to admit it.

The worst of it all was that he was alone.

He'd survived harsh conditions before. Never a desert, sure, but he'd survived pain, he'd survived hunger, he'd survived countless situations that had seemed hopeless.

But he'd never been alone.

From the moment he was born, the universe had gifted him a brother. As if it had known all the suffering they would have to endure, and had intended to at least give them someone to endure it with.

He liked moments of solitude, sure, but they were always enjoyed only with the knowledge that if he was ready to come out of them, there would be someone waiting for him. Someone who cared, someone who he cared for, and someone who would always be there.

There had been times, the system had tried to separate them with promises that it would be easier to find a good home for both of them. Yet, Thomas had fought tooth and nail to stay by William's side. Thomas had been there always, and all they had gone through was worth it the moment they had met Stephen, and their family grew infinite.

He didn't know how long he would be there, but he hated being there alone more than he hated the odds of being saved.

William didn't know how long he sat there, but what alerted him of something coming was not the distant shrieking, which he'd only just become aware of, but the way his heart had sped up uneasily. The sudden rise of anxiety and fear in his chest had him look up and glance around the boulder he was leaning against.

In the distance, he saw another black cloud searing closer. The darkness was so vast, it seemed to distort the light around it. The sky bending to let it pass through. As it got closer, William scrambled back, finally making out the shapes within the void.

They were creatures. Some with wings, other with claws or tentacles, but all with sickly yellow eyes that barely made a dent in the darkness. The herd moved and shifted together, seemingly made out of fluids as they got closer.

William scrambled to his feet, trying desperately to get away, but he'd already exhausted himself. He tried some spells, but he was too overtaken by horror to focus.

Suddenly, from one breath to the next, they were all around him, surrounding him, enveloping him in the darkness. The sand around him was somehow the only thing piercing through the void, lighting the few feet around him like an invisible spotlight was trained on him, enough that he could still see himself clearly as the creatures snarled hungrily at him.

Another wave of pain went through him - the same burning he'd felt earlier - and once again he was assaulted by memories of pain and terror. This time it was way worse - as if the images were somehow clearer, sharp enough to cut into his flesh. It took his breath away as he didn't just see his own suffering, but also that of the foster kids around him, of his classmates, of the random people he'd ever passed on the street, like a horrifically vivid newsreel.  

It felt like tiny razors sticking into his skin, dissecting him cell by cell with a diamond-edged blade.

He could feel his heartbeat getting weaker, unable to take the torture as he fell to his knees, breathing heavily beyond the images still assaulting him.

There was another roar, and though William was too disoriented to say for sure, it seemed more distant than the shrieks of the things around him. A new wave of panic went through him, worrying about the promise of more creatures joining the cloud.

Something wrapped around him then and he gasped, trying to struggle against its hold on him but only achieving the opposite.

He was still struggling when he realized whatever it was, was surprisingly warm and soft, rather than wet and sticky, and in no way did it seem to harm him - except in maybe squeezing the breath out of him. There was another roar as light filtered through the darkness, interrupting the images in his mind as he went boneless. He would have fallen to his knees, except that the thing wrapped around him prevented him from doing so.

He was catching his breathing and blinking away the afterimages when he finally started making out what was happening in front of him. The creatures seemed to be scattering. Some roared in dismay, insistent on sticking around, but a blast of fire coming from behind William quickly dealt with those.

William turned on his heels, the thing loosening its hold enough for him to do so. For a second terror filled him again, and he tried to scramble back, the creature being the largest he'd seen this far, his first instinct was to fear it.

But when his vision cleared enough to see the creature wasn't black like the others, but a familiar dark navy blue, he sagged in relief.

"Mom?!"

The dragon roared in affirmation, before landing in front of him. It's only then that William realized the thing clinging to him was Levi, rippling happily as it took William's recognition as permission to squeeze even tighter.

A second later, Stephen was back to himself, suddenly looking very small as he stood but a single pillar in the surrounding desert. Levi let him go as he started forward, quickly throwing his arms around Stephen as the sorcerer squeezed back just as tightly.

"You're okay, cub," Stephen murmured, seemingly to comfort himself as he pressed William's head closer into his chest. "I've got you."

"Mom," he pulled away, staring up at Stephen with dread building in the bottom of his stomach, "what happened to Val? I don't-."

"Val's perfectly fine." Stephen reached out to wipe a stray tear from William's cheek. He hadn't even noticed he'd been crying. "That wasn't Val at all. She's been safe with Tony the entire time."

"I'm sorry, William," Stephen continued, "I shouldn't have left a demon unsupervised."

"Can you find a way home?"

"It shouldn't be too hard to make a portal," Stephen assured him, stepping away from him just far enough to grab his ring and create a portal.

----

William sighed at the familiar living room beyond the portal, and Stephen wrapped an arm around his shoulder as he pulled him through. The shift in temperature was enough to make him shiver and as he breathed in the scent of Tony's lasagna, he realized how different the air had been. Where the other dimension, the air had been thick and fluid, here it felt fresh, actually replenishing him.

"How was the extra training, Tinkerbell?" Tony asked from the kitchen, clearly having noticed their arrival through the open doorway.

William shuddered again, which Levi evidently saw as its cue to wrap him up again. Stephen led him gently onto the couch and pushed him down, noticing the other teens watch them curiously from the dining table where they'd set up a board game.

"What's going on?" Peter asked, his voice laced with worry.

Stephen wanted to reassure him, but instead, he ended up going over to him and wrapping him up in a hug, pressing a kiss to his forehead. "We'll tell you all about it during dinner. William needs some rest."

Harley, who'd apparently been assigned to set the table, finished his task and went to sit next to William on the couch. The move was casual, leaving plenty of space between him and the other teen, but Stephen noticed the way he smiled victoriously when William took it as permission to lean closer and curl against him.

His eyes were already closed, so Stephen couldn't be sure he even knew what he was doing or who was next to him, but besides Stephen there was only one who William would dare to curl up to. He turned his attention to the kitchen next, finding Tony sitting at the kitchen table with Lucy in his lap and Val in her chair next to them.

"What's happened to Mimmo?" Tony asked as soon as he saw him inside the kitchen, brows furrowed with concern. Stephen leaned down to kiss him before picking up Val who was already patiently holding out her arms. "The lasagna will just be in the oven for another ten minutes, by the way."

"Thanks, my love. As for William, he should be fine. He's in good hands."

Tony hummed dissatisfied with that answer, but Stephen had one more thing to do before he could fill his husband in.

Moving back to the living room, he stopped in front of William and Harley. William's eyes peaked open and Stephen handed Val to him.

The little girl luckily didn't notice the minute hesitation on William's face, but the teen quickly relaxed once she was curled against his side and he was still in their dimension.

Stephen was exhausted as he plopped down in a kitchen chair next to Tony, leaning over to lay his head on Tony's shoulder. "We're not leaving bed tomorrow."

"What about that interdimensional mission?"

"Not. Leaving. The. Bed."

“It’s the thought that counts,” Cassie countered, grabbing a pencil and writing down some changes in her plans. The bakery in Soho should do, then, and it’s not like the budget was an issue. “How are the tickets coming along?”

She let her gaze shift up from her notes so she could catch William’s eyes, who dutifully glanced over at Thomas’ computer screen. “He’s playing bubble shooter.”

“Thomas!” Cassie groaned, reaching behind her for one of the throws and hurling them at Thomas’ head. She missed, of course, but once again - thought that counts. “They have to be finished by tomorrow night, so we can get them printed on time!”

Thomas rolled his head back so Cassie could see his eyes. He was lying upside down on the Langs’ couch - at least his shoes weren’t on the pillows - and Cassie’s laptop was balanced precariously on his lap. “Don’t worry; I’ll get it do-“

Thomas stopped mid-sentence, face frozen, brows furrowing. Cassie was about to ask what was wrong, but it was quickly disturbed by Thomas sneezing loudly, causing the laptop to lose its balance and flop down onto the couch seat before tumbling onto the carpet. The sneeze was followed twice more for good measure before he groaned in annoyance. The speedster cursed at the ceiling in such a way that had Cassie instinctively look around to make sure Dia nor the younger ones were within hearing distance.  

Cassie frowned at the strong reaction and stood up to make sure her laptop was okay - which it luckily was - but her attention was caught as she noticed William’s grin.

The other twin’s smile was impish like she’d never seen before, as he turned a ‘loving’ grin towards his brother, placing his hand on his chest as if it was a touching moment. “Ah, the sound of spring.”

“Fuck you.” Thomas countered, sounding a bit more nasally than usual, but William had already blinked away. He reappeared next to the window a few seconds later, closed it, and had apparently stopped upstairs to grab Thomas a pill bottle, which he handed over to him.

Thomas opened it and swallowed two pills as William went to sit down again.

“Steve used to have allergies,” Bucky mused from his seat in the lounge chair. Cassie had almost forgotten he was there. It wasn’t usual that an Avenger was on the Lang floor - they usually all hung out upstairs or on their respective floors - but it reminded her of why they were there in the first place. Their prom, which was quickly approaching, and the preparations that still needed to be done.

Though Bucky refused to make the cupcakes, he’d been very accommodating with everything else; their 30s theme had been a strategic choice after all.

They continued working for another hour - Bucky giving helpful tips along the way - before he had to leave for an Avengers meeting.

Cassie and the twins had just finished washing the dishes from dinner when the elevator slid open again, and her dads stepped out. It immediately disrupted the calm of the entire floor, but Cassie didn’t mind. Scott and Quill were talking loudly, Scott laughing in such a way that still amazed her, filled her with so much joy just to see him so happy.

“Hey,” Cassie called out, alerting the two men of the three teens in the kitchen. “Your plates are in the fridge.”

“That’s okay, baby girl,” Quill replied, falling onto the couch and pulling Scott down next to him. “Stephen fed us.”

“Alright.” She turned back to the twins, grabbed her laptop, and went over their to-do list, ignoring her dads’ conversation in the background. They’d gotten quite a few things done already. After Bucky’s refusal, she’d already called the bakery to get their order in, had coordinated with a supermarket to get the other snacks and drinks delivered to the school at a lower price with minor sponsoring, and had most of the decorations planned out. Bucky and Steve would have to look over some of them still, but she’d already had alternatives for if there were any complaints.

Thomas had been surprisingly un-twitchy for the last few hours, and though his eye-lids seemed heavier than usual, at least he’d gotten the design for their tickets finished. She’d never really doubted him, of course, as otherwise she’d have given the task to someone else or done it personally. He’d done the design for their flyers a few months ago, however, and though it had come with a lot of stress on Cassie’s part - as Thomas only meets his deadlines last minute - she had to admit they looked better than anything she could have made. Her skills mainly stuck to glue-on glitter and stickers, actually drawing, even origami - anything that involved real paper, not online design.  

“I think that’s it,” she mumbled to the twins as she went over the list once more. “Want to watch a movie?”

When she got two affirmatives, she picked up her laptop and was about to suggest going to the twins’ floor when Quill sneezed. The sound of it rang throughout the living room, bouncing off the walls and scaring Cassie so much she jumped and threw her laptop onto the floor. Among the pounding of her heart, she heard metal crunch, but her attention was still pulled towards Quill. The celestial sniffed and yelled out an apology, ignoring Scott’s worried look as he wiped at his eyes.

“God, is there something in the air?” Quill huffed.

“Not anymore. We closed the window earlier.”

“Maybe Peter’s flower,” Thomas suggested, pointing towards the vase of purple and red flowers on the living room side table. Peter had dropped them off earlier - ever the attentive boyfriend. “Trust me: Asters and Chrysanthemums are bastards. If it weren’t for the pills I took earlier, I’d be a mess too.”

Cassie leaned down to pick her laptop off the floor. The screen was broken, but everything else seemed intact - except for a mysterious rattling coming from inside.

“Shit,” Cassie cursed, mind spinning over the hundred-and-one things she still had to get done - Never mind, the tickets she’d need soon. “I hope Tony has time on his hands... or Peter as it’s technically his fault.”

“I’ll bring it to the lab right now!” William perked up, volunteering a little too eagerly. Cassie sent him a knowing look and caught Thomas’s fond eye roll.

“Thanks, William,” she said as she handed the laptop over, smirk on her lips. “Say hi to Harley if you see him.”

William’s red face was gone barely a second later, and Cassie got to bringing Quill a glass of water. She handed it over to him, and remained standing, leaning onto the back of the couch as she looked down at her parents.  

“Maybe you should get some medicine? See a doctor?” Scott suggested, tracing the skin under Quill’s eyes with a finger as his eyebrows creased in worry.

“Why? It was just a sneeze!” He argued, batting Scott’s worried hand away, though his voice was getting hoarser by the second, and Cassie could see his eyes turning red already. He tried pulling Scott closer against him, but he sneezed again - so loud that both Scott and Cassie jumped, the man ending up even farther away from Quill.

“Looks like hay fever to me,” Thomas yelled from the kitchen.

“Kiddo, I don’t have hay fever. I don’t get any kind of fever - and there’s not even hay around!”

“That’s not -,” Scott tried to argue before deciding against another approach. “I’m not sleeping next to you if you’re going to sneeze in my ear.”

“You wouldn’t last a day.”

“I will if I go to sleep upstairs. It will be at least a week before Tony and Stephen kick me out.”

Quill seemed to think this over, rubbed at his eyes, and sneezed again before deciding that maybe talking to Bruce wasn’t the worst idea after all. “Even if I do have hay fever or whatever, it’s not like Thomas’ medicine will work for me.”

Thomas tried speeding towards them, but instead of ending up on the opposite couch, he crashed against the table next to it. “Fuck. Sorry, I’m not supposed to run on my medicine.”

Quill looked at him, incredulously and pointed in his direction. “See! I ain’t taking that shit!”

“Relax,” Thomas countered, falling onto the cushions. “it just makes me a little drowsy. And I have cheap over the counter stuff, so it’s not as great as you’d probably get.”

“Why don’t you ask Stephen and Tony for better medicine?” Cassie frowned, making a mental note to ‘casually’ mention it to Stephen later.

“It’s no big deal.” Thomas waved their concerns off, causing Cassie to roll her eyes; Every time they thought the twins were making progress, there were times like this where they could still be so stubborn.

“Whatever,” Cassie let it go, for now, turning her attention back to Quill. “You know Bruce will probably be able to make something for you.”

“Or how about your boyfriend stops buying you shitty flowers. I didn’t have issues until those showed up.”

“Could be,” Scott shrugged, “but you never know. Sometimes allergies get triggered later in life.”

“You calling me old?”

Scott didn’t even respond, just rolled his eyes and poked Quill in the side.

“Fine,” he grumbled. Cassie shared a victorious smirk with her dad and stood up straighter, ready to follow them downstairs. Scott stood up too, reaching out a hand to pull Quill up from the couch. Despite his agreement, the Celestial remained seated, allowing Scott to uselessly pull at his arm.

“Quill, goddammit.”

“What? I’m not doing anything - just pull harder.” The celestial argued oh so innocently, but his smirk wasn’t hidden one bit. Cassie sent him a look, and he finally relented and got out of his seat.

Cassie followed her dads to the elevator, turning to check if Thomas was following them, only to find the other teen passed out on the couch. Clearly, the medicine was indeed making him sleepy. She would definitely have to talk to Stephen later and hoped Bruce would be able to make a celestial version that wouldn’t have any severe side-effects. She quickly ran over to toss one of the decorative blankets over him before joining her dads in the lift. They were arguing about something - Cassie tuned in just long enough to recognize it as something stupid before promptly ignoring them.

They went down to the Stark Industries Head Bio lab, as FRIDAY had told them of Bruce’s location, and when they arrived, it was still full of scientists, despite the late hour. Cassie didn’t usually come to the SI floors - none of the kids did except for maybe Harley or Peter - and it was weird to leave the familiar elevator and step into an entirely different world.

The penthouse was often crowded, yes, but not like this. The offices and desks were spread out luxuriously, the lab being plenty big enough, but the number of strangers mulling around was kind of unsettling. Still, Cassie knew only the most trusted would be allowed in Bruce’s lab as it was one of the higher floors, close to the Avengers and with some of the most enhanced technology they had available - which said a lot.

She did recognize a few of them from around the tower, and most employees were always kind to her whenever they had a chance to meet.

She was just used to exiting the elevator onto spaces she could only honestly describe as ‘home’; this definitely didn’t qualify. It felt more like being nine years old and going on a school field trip to the local hospital to learn about vaccines - leaving the comfort of your school desks to experience the chaos of the real world.

It wasn’t hard to spot Bruce and focus on him instead; he’d clearly been expecting them, as he noticed them quickly and came up to greet them. “Hey, what’s going on? FRIDAY told me you were coming down to meet me.”

“Quill’s showing signs of hay fever,” Cassie told him.

Quill looked gruff and stubborn, but a little better since they’d left the Lang floor - perhaps it indeed was only bound to the flowers. Then again, they might as well test him. They were going back to the cabin in a few weeks - as spring was always a time for barbecues and picnics - so it might be better to be prepared if he was going to react to the trees or flowers there.

“Hay fever?” Bruce frowned, glancing towards Quill. “What makes you think that? He’s not supposed to get sick…”

“He was sneezing, and his voice got a little hoarser than usual,” Scott supplied helpfully, seeming a little troubled by the reminder that this indeed wasn’t supposed to happen. Cassie was starting to worry herself; what if it wasn’t just allergies but instead a sign of something more serious being wrong with his immortality. “His eyes were getting red, and he kept rubbing them.”

“Thomas was around, and he recognized it as well.” Cassie supplied helpfully.

“Thomas has hay fever?” Bruce frowned, getting distracted for a second. “There’s nothing in his chart.”

“Yeah, I thought so,” Cassie sighed, “I’ll mention it to Stephen later.”

Bruce nodded, attention efficiently shifting back to the patient at hand. “Well, we can test you. I’ll start by taking your blood and then doing a general check-up while waiting on the results. It shouldn’t take long.”

Bruce led them into a side room, and Cassie took a seat while Bruce rummaged through one of the cupboards for supplies. Quill seemed a little too nonchalant as he placed himself on an examination chair and made himself comfortable. On the other hand, her dad was starting to twitch nervously, and Cassie noticed him reach up to scratch at his neck before Scott seemed to catch himself and stop the movement. She motioned for him to take a seat next to him, and he smiled, trying to be comforting as he sat down and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer.

“Cassie,” Bruce called her name as he placed the basin with the needle and tubes on a side table and grabbed the elastic to clamp off Quill’s bicep, “You want to collect the blood?”

“Really?” Cassie queried, sitting up straighter in intrigue. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah, of course,” he shrugged, glancing to Quill to check if it was okay for him.

“Sure, baby girl, if you manage to kill me, I’ll be more surprised - and proud - than angry. Let’s see it.” Quill joked, shaking his arm at her as an offering.

She got up and stepped up to the chair, nervous but also already itching to grab the supplies and get to work. Collecting someone’s blood had never been on her bucket list, but being given the opportunity, she couldn’t help but feel excited. “What do I do?”

“Right,” Bruce grabbed Quill’s arm and traced the elbow, trying to search for a clear vein. “You feel this bulge here?”

Cassie traced her fingers over the spot Bruce had just left, and indeed found she felt an area that was slightly rounded and bouncy. “Yes.”

“Good. Now put on these gloves and disinfect the area.”

She did as told, following his instructions carefully as she grabbed the needle and carefully kept the vein in place. Bruce told her to be careful about not touching the needle or contaminate the results. She carefully pushed the needle forward and - jumped when Quill yelled out in pain, immediately pulling her hands back and staring at him in shock.

“Just kidding.” Quill grinned mischievously, utterly immune to Cassie’s furious glare.

“Don’t do that!”

“Sorry, sorry, I couldn’t help myself. Go ahead; I’ll behave.”

Cassie inched forward again, glancing wearily at her Papa, but also less worried now she definitely didn’t care about hurting him anymore: he’d deserve it. In the end, it only took her two tries before blood flowed into the tube smoothly. Quill, of course, didn’t flinch a bit.

“Great job, Sunshine,” Quill said, sitting up straighter and rubbing his arm.

“Indeed,” Bruce smiled kindly, collecting the tubes and filling in a form. He put them in a plastic bag along with the sheet and handed it to Cassie. “Now go give this to Joan down the hall; she’ll get us the results quickly.”

“Sure.” She took it, knowing it was just a way to get her out of the room so they could check his healing. She appreciated the thought, as, even though he could be a shit, she didn’t like the idea of watching anyone hurt her Papa - no matter if he healed quickly or not. It did make her itch impatiently, eager to know whether his healing was okay or not as soon as possible.

She found Joan quickly enough in a lab down the hall, marked with her name, and the woman took the tubes with a smile and assured she’d get it done right away. Cassie took her time getting back to the examination room, letting herself get distracted by the different labs and machines and listening eagerly whenever any of Bruce’s colleagues felt like gushing about their work.

When she got back to her parents fifteen minutes later, they both seemed more at ease. A glance at Scott showed her dad wasn’t nearly as nervous anymore, and Quill had even moved to the chair Cassie had sat in earlier, arm draped around his husband.

“So?” She still asked, moving to stand next to her parents as her gaze shifted between them and Bruce.

“Nothing seems wrong with him, and his healing still works perfectly,” Bruce reassured her distractedly, his attention was torn between answering her and checking his tablet.

“Told you,” Quill caught her gaze and stuck out his tongue at her. Cassie flipped him off, which Quill responded to with an exaggerated gasp, making it difficult for Cassie to hold back her smile. Despite knowing logically that Quill was probably fine, it still felt like a massive weight had been lifted off her shoulders. And - as Quill had taken her seat - she sat down heavily on Quill’s lap, making him huff as she ‘accidentally’ jabbed him in the stomach with her elbow.  

“You might still have hay fever,” Scott argued with him as if Quill had been told that multiple times already.

“Yeah yeah,” Quill waved him off, draping an arm around Cassie’s waist, so she was sat more comfortably.

“How so?” She asked Bruce, more out of intrigue than worry.

“You know how the immune system works?”

“Yeah,” she replied carefully. They’d learned the basics in her bio class. “Immune cells target and kill foreign substances.”

“Exactly. Pollen is already recognized as harmful to some people who have lived on Earth their entire lives - so I can imagine that to a human who hasn’t been in contact with any pollen in the last 30 years, it wouldn’t be so weird to react badly to it.”

“But how come it only started now? He’s been back for years.”

Bruce shrugged, putting away the tablet. “It’s just a theory, of course. The fact that he was off-Earth might be completely unrelated. Some people just develop allergies later in life.”

“I still don’t get why Quill would even get allergies,” Scott questioned, that earlier worry returned. Quill, who still had his arm around Scott’s shoulder, tugged at Scott’s hair, causing the other man to yelp and turn to glare at his husband.

The anxious frown was gone, though, and Cassie felt another wave of fondness for her Papa, leaning further against him.

“Quill’s immune system is enhanced, but, though he won’t die, he’ll only heal once the contaminant is taken away. Hay fever isn’t deadly either way, so your body can continue ‘healing’ the infected tissues constantly, but as long as the pollen is in the air, they’ll just start the infection all over again.” Bruce explained patiently, making sure to catch everyone’s eyes at least once to make sure they understood what he was saying. “Besides, the symptoms you experience are side effects of your immune system getting rid of the pollen, not directly caused by the pollen themselves. Say you get the flu; your body might go through the same symptoms anyone else goes through - coughing, runny nose, fever, headache, etc - but because your system gets rid of the contaminant so quickly, you don’t even notice the minute you might have been ‘sick’ for.”

“That makes sense,” Scott nodded before getting to actually fixing the issue. “So can you get him some medicine or something? We can just throw out the flowers, but he can’t always avoid them.”

“Sure,” Bruce replied carefully, “I can definitely try.”

Cassie already saw him getting lost in thought, working out possible theories and treatment plans. They got up and left him to it, and though it wasn’t even that late, Cassie was starting to feel exhausted. When the elevator stopped at their floor, Quill immediately sneezed again. Cassie only stepped off the elevator to grab the flowers - she noticed Thomas had already left - before getting back in and pressing the up button.

She yelled out to her parents that she’d be on the family floor if they’d need her right as the doors closed on her.

Once upstairs, she waved at Stephen and the girls in the living room before heading for Peter’s bedroom.

“Hey!” She smiled as Peter looked up from his desk and turned to face her, dropping his work as Cassie placed the vase onto his side table. “I’m going to have to leave these here until Bruce makes medicine for Papa. Turns out he’s allergic.”

“Seriously?” Peter asked, smiling widely.

“No need to look so excited.”

“I’m not, I promise!” Peter reassured her, holding his hands up in surrender. “I surely will not pass this information on to Harley either.”

Cassie glared at him but quickly gave up and went to sit on his bed, patting the space next to her in invitation. “Come, I want to watch a movie.”

Peter did as told, moving in next to her and wrapping an arm around her shoulders. Cassie asked KAREN to play a rom-com she hadn’t seen before and leaned into Peter’s touch. It was nice to finally relax fully. Clearly, the last hour - and before that, too, to be honest - had been more stressful than she’d thought. She prided herself on her efficiency and ability to plan things to a T, but being the head of the prom committee was a bigger job than she’d expected.

Shit. The prom.

She tensed in Peter’s arms at the thought, anxiety running through her as she pushed herself away from him so she could sit up straight and think more clearly.

Peter glanced up at her with a worried frown. “What is it?”

“What’s going on with my laptop? I need to finish -”

Peter quickly relaxed when he noticed it was nothing serious, reaching out to place a calming hand on her thigh. “Don’t worry! Dad’s working on it; it won’t take long at all.”

Cassie frowned, still uncertain - she might yet have time to make a new design if she could borrow someone’s computer…

Peter rolled his eyes fondly at her hesitation before speaking up; “KAREN, what’s dad’s progress on the laptop?”

“He finished an hour ago and is now playing peekaboo with Lucy.”

“See,” Peter smiled triumphantly, leaning forward to pull Cassie back against him. Cassie sighed in relief and allowed herself to relax in Peter’s arms once more, turning her attention back to the movie.

——

A week later, Bruce finally had a treatment plan ready for Quill to try out, which couldn’t have come any sooner. As it turned out, it wasn’t just the flowers, and though Quill was spared mostly by the fact that they lived in the city, he and Scott hadn’t been able to go on their usual walks in the Park anymore. Apparently, having an enhanced immune system isn’t great when it’s working against you.

Bruce had been busy that week with some other research he was working on simultaneously, so he had asked them to come down to the lab whenever they had the time. Cassie decided to accompany Quill, as Scott had a meeting, and she was actually quite curious to see the lab again.

The sight of the lab floor was still foreign to Cassie, but it was already starting to look a little more familiar. Once again, Bruce rushed up to meet them, holding two nasal spray bottles and a strip of pills.

“This is what my seven Ph.D.’s have led to; designing nose spray to cure an immortal being’s sniffles,” Bruce sighed as he handed the stuff over, but his smile betrayed his amusement. “Nasal spray twice in each nostril. The pills might not work, but I thought we could give it a try. Best to take them at night before you go to sleep.”

Quill rolled his eyes but mumbled thanks as he opened the cap of the nasal spray and tried it out.

“Let me know how quickly you notice improvement - if you notice any at all. I have a few other ideas for alternate approaches or possible tweaks.” Bruce spoke eagerly, clearly curious to the result of his work, but was quickly called away by another one of the scientists allowed in the head lab. Cassie wasn’t an expert in biology or any of Bruce’s interests, but he knew that despite Bruce’s earlier jab, he had quite a few projects running at any given time.

“Oh, Cass,” Bruce stopped mid-step as he turned back to face her. “How were the results on your Bio test?”

“Full marks, of course. Thanks, Bruce.”

By the time the kids would wake up, the Avengers should be back already. They would probably finish their mission any minute now, though it would still be a while before they made it back to the tower.

Stephen was only due back from a different dimension later tonight, meaning they had to travel by jet.

She took the bottle out of the microwave, waiting a few minutes before testing the temperature against her skin and heading back into the living room. She sat down again, ignoring her laptop in favor of taking the youngest and carefully placing her in her arms. Dia talked with her while she fed Lucy, and the toddlers continued playing with their blocks. Not long after, Lucy was fast asleep again, back in her little cradle looking soft and comfortable. Cassie watched her fondly and took the burping rag off her shoulder, placing it on the coffee table. Usually, she would immediately put it away in the kitchen, but she had to take every minute she could get now. Cassie turned her attention back to her essay and barely noticed when Hailey crawled quietly into her lap. Glancing down to check if Hailey was content just sitting - which she was, off in her own little world holding her stuffed doll in front of her - she smiled and pressed a kiss to her crown before turning back to her screen.

Still, her mind wandered with the toddler in her lap.

Cassie had been an only child for most of her life. Even at the tower, she'd always returned to their floor with her parents, alone. Dia was her sister, in all the ways that mattered, but it was still strange to have a little girl with some of the same genes as her. To see where she was similar and where she was different. And a little brother, already a spitfire of a human being, running around with seemingly unlimited energy but who could be so gentle with the people around him still.

She was lost in thought when a crash sounded from the elevator, pull her back to reality. Cassie jumped, her heart speeding up as she crawled to her feet and stared at the elevator, willing it to open with a familiar face inside. She still had Hailey in her arms. Instead, the doors stayed closed, but thumping noises started emanating from what appeared to be the elevator shaft.

"Sissy?" Dia's voice asked quietly behind her, voice slightly trembling with uncertainty.

"I-," Cassie wanted to reassure her, but she didn't know what to think herself. "FRIDAY?"

The AI didn't answer; neither did VICTOR or any of the back-up AI's.

She immediately jumped into motion, darting towards the cupboard to grab the baby carrier. A second later, she had placed Hailey back on the ground and was strapping the baby into it, the infant quietly sleeping on like nothing was happening.

A small whimper reminded her that she still had three toddlers and a seven-year-old to deal with, and no idea how to get out of the tower and towards safety. She quickly grabbed Hunter from the floor and thrust him into Dia's arms. The girl held on to him steadily, though the toddler looked comically large in her small arms.

"Cassie!"

Cassie whirled around in relief as William suddenly stood behind her, wobbling unsteadily on his feet.

"We couldn't communicate with FRIDAY. What's going on?"

"I don't know," she replied and hated herself for the wavering of her voice. "There was a crash from downstairs, something in the elevator shaft."

"Hey, it's okay," William assured her, taking a step closer to pull her into a quick and comforting hug. He stepped back to glance around him, eyes quickly settling on Val.

The girl had remained quiet, nothing indicating that she was afraid, but now Cassie could see her relief as she reached out to William, noticed the slight trembling of her lip as she made grabbing motions. William picked her up swiftly, spurring Cassie back into action as she grabbed Hailey from the floor. With her free hand, she grabbed the handle of the baby carrier, making sure Lucy was still asleep and safely strapped in.

There was banging on their elevator doors now, and they quickly moved away from them.

"I don't-," William breathed, and it was the first indication Cassie got that he was as terrified and unsettled as her, nevermind obviously exhausted from to earlier fight he'd been in. It was one thing to fight alongside trained superheroes, but here, William was the only one with any experience. Cassie knew he didn't mind the danger if it meant protecting people, but it wasn't just their lives on the line; they were with five defenseless children. "I didn't know to preserve my energy, so I won't be able to make multiple trips."

"We'll make it," Cassie tried to soothe him now, as she felt William's free hand encircle her wrist. "Dia, hold on tightly to my arm if you can."

Dia grabbed onto Cassie as tightly as she could, trying to hold on without dropping Hunter. In other circumstances, Cassie would have refused to teleport like that, but as it was, she didn't feel like they had a choice.

The elevator doors creaked uneasily.

"Ready?"

"Now." Cassie agreed, before holding her breath as she felt the familiar tug.

She opened her eyes.

The relief at seeing everyone safe around her on the cabin porch was quickly shattered as she noticed the circle of people in front of them.

They were some kind of army, all wearing similar suits and pointing guns at them. The weapons had the familiar shine and glow of something different, something alien. None of them seemed as if they were in any way bothered by children standing at the opposite ends of their weapons.

She could hear William's breath hitch beside her, and the little movements of his hands as he tried to form a shield. Cassie moved slowly, not wanting to test whether William had enough strength left to hold the barrier up. It didn't matter anyway, as it immediately faltered, and though he quickly tried again, it wasn't with more success.

William glanced at her in confusion when she nudged the handle of the baby carrier at his hand, but he took it from her without question.  Pressing a kiss to Hailey's crown, she saw no other choice but to simply place her on the ground behind her.

A glance at Dia showed her oldest sister staring ahead at the enemies with terrified eyes, clearly feeling powerless as her hands too were full of toddler. Still, Cassie was proud to see the stubborn glint in her eyes that marked all the Stark-Strange children. Hunter was holding onto her neck without a care in the world, the only one still smiling.

"What are you doing?" William hissed at her, still clearly straining to keep his mind on trying to form an energy field around them.

"There's only one thing we can try," she hissed, straightening up and glaring at the people in front of them. "Get everyone inside as quickly as possible."

The soldiers seemed to be watching them with mild amusement, waiting to see what the group of children would try before their imminent deaths. Maybe they were waiting for orders. Cassie didn't care. She saw someone's finger tighten around the trigger as she took a step forward, putting her siblings behind her. Lucy had started crying, mixing with the quiet whimpers of Hailey and Val.

A second later, Cassie was as tall as she could make herself - if she'd have to guess, she'd say about 17 feet. She was careful not to trample any of her siblings as she swiped her arms in front of her, the army toppling like toy soldiers with yelps of surprise.

She couldn't quite reach the last lines, but she didn't dare move away, the only shield between them and her siblings. She braced herself as they fired their weapons and flinched when they made contact with her calves. Luckily, the wounds were small and only seemed to burn like oil specks from a sizzling pan instead of full blasts. From her peripheral vision, she noticed her siblings were gone. She sighed in relief, finally taking the few steps forward it took to reach the last soldiers and take them out.

It was then that she heard the familiar buzz of iron suits flying towards her, and she dropped to her knees in relief.

She found herself sitting on the porch at her standard size, breathing heavily as she looked down at herself. Her jeans were ruined by tiny holes, splashes of blood covering the fabric. She realized with a shudder that it couldn't all be hers.

She suddenly remembered, clear as day, the crackling of bones underneath her bare feet, the cries of pain filling her ears, and the scratches of the guns against her palms. She shuddered again, willing herself not to look at the carnage around her.

"Cassie!" She didn't even dare glance up at the familiar voice but felt herself sigh again in relief. Comforting arms wrapped around her, checking her and making sure she was okay. She let herself relax in Peter's arms, leaning back against his chest in exhausted shock.

"Cass?" A second voice, deeper but just as reassuring, came from her opposite side. He sat down next to her, his hand moving over her forehead and wiping strands of hair, sticky with sweat, out of her face. "Hey, miss Sass, you're okay. You're going to be okay."

"The kids-."

"They're safe. They made it inside, thanks to you. You're all going to be fine."

"Dad?"

"He's on his way," Tony reassured her again, "the jet is on its way. I'm sure Quill will be back soon, too, after what you just went through. He's probably freaking out right now."

Cassie chuckled slightly and turned her face into Peter's neck as her boyfriends pulled her closer and hooked his arm underneath her legs. She was picked up, and her arms naturally found their way around his neck.

He took her inside the cabin, moving her to one of the upstairs bathrooms. He placed her on the counter next to the sink, his deep brown eyes carefully raking over her. "Cass, your clothes are covered in blood. You okay to wash up on your own? I'll go grab some pajamas."

She nodded, though she felt the loss of his safety around her as he moved out of the bathroom. Still, she washed off quickly and methodically, trying to imagine herself washing off after a workout, a painting session with Dia, imagine the blood as nothing but strawberry frosting she needed to wash out of her clothing before it set. The soap burned as it came in contact with the wounds, but she ignored them, not willing to think about them. She knew her papa would come back and make everything okay again.

She was clean in no time and shrugged on the comforting cotton pajamas Peter had left for her while she'd been in the shower. He was waiting in the hallway, sitting against the opposite wall, and smiling up at her as she stepped out.

He crawled to his feet, grabbing her hands and immediately enveloping her in another hug.

They were interrupted by a shout from downstairs, calling her name, before loud footsteps thundered up the stairs. She met her dad halfway, throwing her arms around him as he clung on tightly to her, carding his hands through her hair the way he used to when she was little, and they hadn't seen each other in a while.

It was only when he pulled away and ran his hands over her wet cheeks that she realized she'd been crying. Like a damn had been burst, all of a sudden, she couldn't stop. He pulled her close again, trying to comfort her, but she was still sobbing twenty minutes later.

A familiar crying came from downstairs - Hailey - and she could see the conflicted look crossing her dad's eyes.

"It's okay, dad," she said, voice still shaking as she ran a hand over her cheek, trying to wipe away tears that just kept coming. "Can you please get them?"

"Of course," Scott nodded, pulling her closer and pressing a kiss on her forehead before turning to rush back downstairs.

She felt a tugging at her hand and realized Peter was still standing behind her.

He indicated his head and pulled her further into the hallway. She thought he would bring her to her own room and put her to bed, but instead, he opened the master bedroom and motioned for her to lie down on the bed.

She did as he'd indicated, and he sat down on the floor next to her, his face barely inches from hers as he watched her.

Swallowing, she tried to speak again, trying to lighten the mood despite the tears still streaming down her face. "I think I need mom to write me an excuse note."

Peter chuckled, reaching forward to tuck her hair behind her ear and leaned in to press a quick kiss to her lips. "I'm pretty sure he'll excuse you for a whole week."

"Will- William? I need to see him."

Peter nodded and headed back out, returning barely a minute later with her best friend. A new wave of tears seemed to wash over her as she saw him. She sat up when he immediately rushed forward and wrapped her into a hug.

"Cass, everyone's okay. You were so brave," he whispered into her hair, running his hand in soothing circles over her back.

"Sissy!" The bed dipped as Dia crawled onto the mattress next to them, worming her way into the hug as she clung on tightly to Cassie. Cassie returned the hug just as strongly, repeating William's words to her sister.

Scott returned then, Tony and him carrying the twins into the room and dropping them on the mattress next to her. Val and Lucy followed suit as everyone took their familiar places on the bed, sticking together tightly and waiting for the last members of the family to arrive.

Cassie winced as Hunter tried to crawl over her. The wounds were small as far as Cassie had been able to see, but they still burned when touched.

Having seen her discomfort, Peter leaned down to pull her pajama leg up, taking a heavy breath when he saw the cuts, some oozing with fresh blood.

"It's fine, Petey," she tried to assure him, but he'd already brought it to Tony and Scott's attention.

Tony called in Bruce, who gingerly put ointment and bandages around the gashes. As much as she'd just wanted Quill to return, she still sighed in relief at the soothing effects of the salve. Dia curled in closer at the sight of the blood, ducking her head to hide it in Cassie's neck, and Cassie distracted herself by carding her hand soothingly through Dia's hair.

“But that’s not the point!” William quickly collected himself, flush sweeping over his cheekbones, “We all know there are only two options: tell mom or wait for mom to find out. If you even try I will go warn mom myself.”

“Ugh,” Harley sighed, falling back onto the couch and throwing his head back. “You’re so lame sometimes.”

He didn’t see how William’s face paled at his words, the color draining from his cheeks as his eyes widened slightly. Didn’t notice when his lips parted as if to protest, but no sound came out.

He only heard when William left, the elevator door sliding closed behind him. Tilting his head back down, he frowned in the direction of the closing doors. William hadn’t said anything as he’d left, which wasn’t necessarily weird - everyone went wherever and whenever they pleased - but there was something about the air that felt off.

He had just been about to ask William to watch a movie with him instead and found himself noticeably more disappointed that this plan had been thwarted than the previous one. He’d never really had much commitment for his pranks or mischief unless he was challenged - merely lacked a reason or person stopping his impulse. This time he had just wanted to complain, to whine about his unfair prison sentence, to mess around with William and watch the smile tug at his lips at his idiocy.

Now the penthouse was completely empty again, and Harley still wasn’t allowed to leave - not even to go after William and ask where he was going.

He was a little surprised that William had left in the first place. Usually, they would spend whatever time they could just the two of them - he wasn’t going to put too much thought into that - and this proved the perfect opportunity. Hadn’t he stayed behind for him? To keep him company?

Not that he’d asked to or had expected him to, but there didn’t seem to be any other reason why he hadn’t gone with everyone else. It made it even stranger that he’d left, as the tower was empty except for them.

Pouting slightly, he stood from the couch and slumped towards his room, falling onto his bed. No use suffering through these hours alone for nothing. He pulled his History textbooks closer and started reading.

He got through most of his homework for the weekend by the time the rest of the family returned. It was clear from the wave of sound that suddenly burst out from the living room, filling the penthouse with its usual laughter and yells, the undeniable presence in the air.

Harley wanted to go down and greet them, glad to finally have some distraction, but he figured he might as well finish the last two pages of his notes - no more than a half-hour work anyway.

He got distracted, however, by Stephen as he stepped into the room, Val on his hip as she sucked a toy into her mouth. Stephen stopped as he looked around the room, frowning at Harley. “Where’s William? I want to ask him to take Val for a moment while I prepare dinner.”

“Why don’t you check his room, then?”

“What’s going on?” Stephen asked, squinting at Harley in suspicion as he took a step further into the room. “Did you guys fight?”

“No, why would you think that?” Harley asked, not looking up from his notes. They hadn’t, had they? He glanced back up and caught Stephen’s knowing gaze, but he quickly changed the subject. “I can watch Val while I finish here.”

“Alright,” Stephen sighed, though he still seemed doubtful. He was distracted by pulling the toy from Val's mouth, but Harley had no doubt he’d inquire with William about whatever was going on later. Ugh, meddling parents. Everything was fine.

He dropped Val on the bed next to Harley, the toddler shifting closer to her brother and tugging at his sleeve as Stephen left the room. “Saw stars!”

“That’s nice, Val,” Harley’s answer was absentminded as he was still writing, but he was sure to send her a small smile.

She tugged his sleeve again, more insistent this time as her face twisted. “Tell Will?”

“William will be up soon, Val.” Even if he wanted to take Valerie down to see him now, he couldn’t as he was still barred from leaving the floor. So it wasn’t like he was avoiding William or anything. Besides, he still had to finish this page.

Valerie huffed, but as usual, she knew to be patient when needed. She simply grabbed one of Harley's spare pens sprawled over his sheets. Harley handed her an empty piece of paper - making sure anything important was out of reach of her pen - and she immediately started scribbling.

Stephen’s insistence that something was wrong, had watered the small sprout of doubt in his chest. It started to bloom, distracting him from his work and making worry course through his veins. He had felt something was off when William had left, and more and more he was starting to believe his instincts had been right.

Ten minutes later, he was done with his homework, and he got up to combine everything in his binder and stuff it back into his bag.

Seeing him move and clean everything up, Val closed the pen and reached her hands out. “Tell Will now?”

Apparently, drawing hadn’t been enough to distract her from her main goal. Sighing, Harley guessed there was no way refusing without having to admit to himself that he was avoiding William, so he picked his sister up and placed her on his hip.

Val, clearly content he wasn’t preoccupied anymore, immediately started babbling at him, telling him about all they’d seen at the Smithsonian - Harley only understood half of it, but it wasn’t hard to pretend when needed.

He walked from the stairs into the kitchen, a furtive glance showing the Avengers in their usual stations around the living room. Stephen was cooking as he’d said, and though he was still clearly in the early stages of preparing the meal, it already smelled amazing.

Tony was sitting at the kitchen table, keeping Stephen company while giving Lucy her bottle. Both parents looked up when Harley and Val entered.

“Hey, kid,” Tony grinned at Harley, but still looked slightly guilty about not having been able to convince Stephen to let him come on their family outing after all. Stephen looked worriedly at Val, clearly wondering if Val already needed his attention again. When she seemed content on Harley’s hip, his eyes shifted to the teen.

“I know I’m not supposed to leave the floor but can I bring Val to William? She wants to tell him about the trip but he’s still not come upstairs.”

Stephen, undoubtedly noticing the hesitation in his voice, nodded. “You wouldn’t have any idea on why he hasn’t come up, would you?”

Harley shrugged, but having gotten the permission he needed, he turned around and left the kitchen. He felt dumb for even having asked, but he wasn’t going to risk getting grounded an extra week - not for something so stupid, not when he still didn’t know why William was upset with him. Because by now Harley had figured out he must have done something wrong, though he couldn’t figure out what.

He continued responding to Val as they took the elevator down to Wanda and Vision’s floor, but his mind was on the conversation from earlier.

The living room was dark, a stark contrast to that of the penthouse. The sun had started setting about an hour ago, and the light of the elevator ran a pale path onto the floor.

Val held on tighter to his collar, curling into him as he stepped further into the room.

He didn’t bother turning on the light as he crossed the familiar path through the lounge and towards the hallway. Light spilled out from under William’s door as he stopped in front of it.

Suddenly he realized he had no idea what to do. He was certain William was upset with him, but he didn’t know why. How could he apologize when he didn’t even know what he’d done? He couldn’t even gauge how upset William was.

Val, either not noticing his hesitation or tired of waiting, leaned forward and knocked her tiny wrist onto William’s door. The sound was tiny and dull, but it cut through the silence like a knife, anyway.

The door opened, showing William against the light of his bedroom. His hair was dented as if he’d slept on it, and he blinked at them in surprise.

Valerie was already reaching out her hands, and William - moving as if on instinct - took her over from Harley.

“I-,” Harley started, frowning before clearing his throat. There’s no reason he needed to be weird. William clearly looked fine, and he wasn’t shooting daggers at him with his eyes so clearly, he wasn’t angry, right? He’d probably just been asleep and hadn’t heard FRIDAY, so he continued matter-of-factly. “Valerie wanted to tell you about the trip.”

“Oh,” William asked feebly, shifting Val so he could look at her as he took a step back into his room. “You do? What did you see?”

Harley was about to leave - having finished his mission - when he stopped himself. His initial assessment had been right - he hadn’t been glaring at him - but that was because he had barely looked at him at all. The only time he’d got a clear look at William’s brown irises was when he’d first noticed Harley at his doorstep. But he’d quickly recovered from his shock and focussed solely on Val, not even sparing Harley a second glance.

The usual ease between them was gone. Warmth no longer radiated off of William like he was the sun to Harley’s planet. Harley felt it like a stab to his chest, like he’d suddenly lost a limb he hadn’t even known he’d had.

He looked back over towards the other teen. He’d moved to sit on his bed with Val as Harley had earlier, the two talking animatedly about the museum trip William had missed out on.

Maybe that was it? Maybe William felt angry because he’d had to give up his trip just because Harley had gotten himself in trouble. Because he felt like he owed it to Harley to stay behind too. Maybe William regretted being his friend in the first place - being friends with someone brash and impulsive who often didn’t think before speaking.

It was so different from William’s peaceful and calming nature, after all.

The thought filled him with incredible sadness - the kind of sadness that occupied your entire chest, leaking down into your limbs and making your nerves tingle like a negative charge. The kind of sadness that was almost like grief - losing something that you only ever thought you had, finding out everything you knew and cared about was an unsustainable fantasy.

“Dinner should be ready in half an hour,” Harley spoke, voice quiet, before leaving. William hadn’t looked up from Val, but Harley had seen him nod in acknowledgment. He guessed he didn’t have the right to ask for more.

^^^^^^^^

“Did you figure out what’s wrong?” Tony asked, handing over their sleeping infant. Stephen took her into his arms, holding her against his chest almost like comfort. He pressed a grateful kiss against Tony’s lips, and send a thank you up to the heavens that Lucy didn’t fuss about being taken from her daddy.

He sat down on the couch next to his husband, leaning into him. Tony’s good arm wrapped around his shoulders, pulling him even closer.

“Neither of them will talk.” Stephen tried not to pout, but Tony must have noticed it anyway as he smirked before kissing it from his lips.

“You can’t fix everything, tesoro. Mama bear needs to let them fight their own battles.”

“They’re just stubborn,” Stephen grumbled, “they get that from you.”

Tony spluttered, his arm tightening around Stephen’s shoulders momentarily. “Why is this on me all of a sudden? They’re stubborn in their own unique ways!”

Stephen huffed and rolled his eyes, but a smile tugged at his lips and he leaned further against Tony. He yawned, which wasn’t unexpected.

Living with a newborn - they should try and get as much sleep as possible, not take their entire family on outings to the Smithsonian. Lucy, though a heavy sleeper, didn’t sleep through the night yet. Stephen could catch naps along with their daughter during the day - Wong already used to taking over his responsibilities every few months - but Tony couldn’t.

“We should go to sleep,” he mumbled against Tony’s shoulder. He hadn’t even noticed his head had fallen onto Tony’s shoulder, his eyes closing. There was no response from next to him, but Stephen could feel his chest moving up and down with the steadiness of sleep.

^^^^^^

Harley, to his great annoyance, couldn’t sleep.

The room was dark, his bed incredibly comfortable, and yet, sleep wouldn’t come for him. His thoughts kept wandering off, racing through his head, and sending alternating waves of guilt and panic through him.

He kept seeing William in his mind’s eye - which wasn’t anything new, really. He was used to being plagued by images of him whenever he closed his eyes. But usually, the images were soothing and kind, showing the sparkle in William’s eyes or the tilt of his lips, the way his smile lit up his entire face.

Now, they were angry and harsh, playing into his fears that he’d hurt William, that he’d ruined something incredibly precious in his life. What if it couldn’t be undone? If William was sick of him forever. Had he been more annoyed with his teasing earlier than he’d let on or had Harley just missed it? What if William didn’t even like him at all? That Harley had simply mistaken his politeness for friendship and ignored all the signs that William felt forced and uncomfortable to be around him.

He’d already gotten up to grab a snack earlier, but he hadn’t felt like eating. There wasn’t anything left to do but try to sleep, and yet he couldn’t.

Sighing, he got up, throwing his sheets off of him. He pulled on a sweater against the chill running in his bones despite the controlled temperature of the tower.

Contrary to earlier when Harley had gone to the kitchen, his parents’ door was closed and the living room was empty. They must have woken up earlier and traded the couch for their bed. Just as well, Harley thought as it made it easier to sneak towards the elevator.

He made the same way down as he had earlier, the Maximoff living room just as dark and empty. The only difference now was that there was no light shining out from underneath William’s door.

This time, he knocked before he could stop himself, unable to rely on his baby sister to take the step for him, and hoped the noise wouldn’t wake up the other habitants of the floor.

It didn’t take long for the door to open, followed by the whispered hissing of his name. “What are you doing here?”

Harley tried to focus on his tone, trying to gauge if he was angry or not. He merely sounded confused, to Harley, but he wasn’t sure how reliable his assessments were anymore.

“Hi,” Harley started, feeling incredibly self-conscious as he tugged at his sleeves. He searched the darkness for William’s eyes, but they were unreadable in the night. He’d apologized a million times before, but this felt different, somehow. More serious in a way that had never been applicable before. Whenever he’d done something incredibly bad, he had to be the one to fix it. Only he could make amends, leaving the controls to him.

Now, it took two to tango. The direction of the conversation was just as much up to William as it was up to him, and whether or not William forgave him depended on him. Leaving out the fact that he still didn’t really know what he’d done.

“I’m sorry,” Harley whispered, unsure as to where to look, “I- I admit I don’t exactly know what I did … but I’m sorry. I don’t- I don’t want you to hate me.”

The space was silent for a terrifying breath, every second of its expanse tearing at his heart, like sheets of ice sliding over his skin. Harley shivered again.

William took a soundless step back - Harley had only noticed it cause he’d been staring down at the ground, had watched his feet retreat. The shift in darkness didn’t make him look up, but a second later a hand was on his arm.

William grabbed onto his elbow and pulled him further into the room, the door closing soundlessly behind them.

Harley looked up at him in question. But before he could open his mouth, William was right in front of him. His arms wrapped around his neck, pulling him into a hug.

Startled, Harley’s hands moved up, landing uncertain on William’s lower back. His heart jumped pleasantly, and without meaning to he pressed further into the hug, searching out the scent of rain and vanilla in William’s neck.

Suddenly, Harley felt exhausted, a strange contrast to how wired he’d been earlier. Still, he didn’t feel like letting go of William, and luckily the other teen didn’t seem inclined to either.

Eventually, though, William pulled back, though Harley thought he looked reluctant while doing so. He, himself, dropped his hands to his sides as if burned the moment William was pushing away.

He wasn’t sure where the hug had come from, but he didn’t want to push his luck - especially when he apparently couldn’t trust his senses at all. He’d been so certain William was upset, so why had he hugged him? It didn’t make any sense.

“I don’t hate you at all, idiot,” William whispered. Harley’s eyes had adjusted to the darkness, but William’s features were still vague. His eyes seemed to sparkle in the dark, however, and Harley thought he could see William smile in that soft way of his.

“You don’t?”

“Of course not,” William reassured him, though he seemed more hesitant now - as if he was holding back something still.

“So you don’t hate me?” Harley asked, his face pinched. “But you are mad at me?”

William was smiling now, Harley could see the flash of his teeth. His finger came up to touch Harley’s cheek, so lightly and quickly that Harley wondered if he’d imagined it.

“You’re pouting,” William explained, smile clear in his voice.

“Sorry,” Harley murmured quickly, feeling his cheeks light up pink. “So why are you angry?”

William sighed, his shoulders drooping. Harley regretted having ruined William’s smile, but he needed to know. He could pretend everything was fine, move on and bask in William’s smile, but the risk would remain too high that he’d end up making the same mistake.

He stepped back until he could sit down on his bed, grabbing Harley’s arm to pull him back and down with him. Harley did as ordered, sitting on the edge as he glanced down at where William’s hand was yet to let go of his wrist.

When he didn’t, Harley shifted his hand until their palms slit together, loosely locking their fingers together. Their shoulders and legs were already pressed together.  

Glancing back up at William, he noticed the other’s face was closer than he’d expected it to be, startling him slightly, his breath catching in his throat.

He could tell William swallowed before he glanced down at their linked hands. It seemed to give him the confidence he needed to say what he needed to say.

“It’s dumb but…,” William hesitated, gaze fixed on the dark carpet. Harley squeezed his fingers to encourage him - he didn’t feel like he’d be able to talk right now. Even whispering seemed intrusive to the moment. “Do you really think I’m lame.”

It was such an unexpectedly silly question, Harley couldn’t hold back a snort. He moved his free hand to cover his smile, but the damage was already done.

William groaned leaning down to rest his elbow on his lap and his head in his hands. He tried to pull free from Harley’s grip, but Harley held on tighter. “I told you it was dumb-“

“No! I’m sorry!” Harley reassured him, his humor and relief quickly fading as he squeezed tighter around William’s hand. His free hand moved from his face to William’s shoulder, trying to get him to show his face again.

He rested his chin on top of his hand, looking out over William’s shoulder as he tried to collect his words, leaning his head against William’s in hope of reassuring him further. “I don’t think you’re lame at all. What makes you think so?”

That got William finally pulling himself up again, so quickly Harley had to lean back lest their heads bumped together.

“Well, you said so.”

Harley stilled, freezing as he stared at William. “Oh,…”

So he had messed up after all. Had been careless and stupid and had almost missed losing a friend over it.

“I- I truly am sorry. I didn’t mean it.” Harley bowed his head again, suddenly not feeling like he deserved to be holding William’s hand. He couldn’t let go though, instead - nonsensically - he traced William’s nails with his fingers.

William’s hand spasmed around his, pulling away from Harley’s trailing fingers but staying firmly locked around his left palm. “That tickles.”

“Sorry,” Harley said again, and this time he smiled sheepishly.

“You’re forgiven.” The smile was back in William’s voice and as Harley still watched his finger trace over their locked hands, William’s head tilted hesitantly, coming to rest on Harley’s shoulder. The air around them softened like a sigh, even though Harley felt like he was holding his breath.

He leaned in to rest his head on William’s, basking in their proximity. It felt safe in the dark, isolated, and hidden, like it was all just a shared dream.

“So you don’t mind when I don’t want to do things?”