#geminisonic

Jack held his breath, watching and waiting for the inevitable. Rapunzel sat next to him on the couch and gasped loudly, hand going to her mouth in horror.

“No!” she cried.

Jack smirked, “Little bastard couldn’t steal the show for too long.”

“No! They can’t kill him!” she said nearly tearing up.

“Come on, kill the green shit!” Jack encouraged.

The shot rang out and Rapunzel squealed, and Jack cheered excitedly. Both changed their moods immediately to see the outcome of the conflict on screen.

“Damnit!” Jack yelled while Rapunzel sighed with relief.

“Oh, thank God!”

They watched the end of the episode and he was more than happy to shut it off.

“Oh, I’m so relieved they didn’t kill that precious baby Yoda.” Rapunzel cooed.

“Episode four and I’m already sick of that little shit.” Jack mumbled, crossing his arms.

“Oh please, he makes the show so much better!” Rapunzel tapped his chest lightly with a huff.

“No, it’s called ‘Mandalorian’, it’s about the ‘Mandalorian’ and the ‘Mandalorian’ is a badass from a badass culture with badass bounty hunters.” Jack defended, “If I wanted to watch a show about Baby Yoda, I’d call it that; ‘Baby Freaking Yoda’.”

She rolled her eyes, “I know, you love Star Wars and Boba Fett and all that, but you can’t deny, he’s super cute.”

“He was cute for two episodes.” Jack snorted, “But they better show more of Mando being a badass.”

“He already is, now quit your whining and decide where we’re eating for dinner.”

He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at her and she shoved him away, “You’re horrible.”

“Admit it, get me in a Mandalorian suit and you couldn’t keep your hands off me.” He teased, leaning into her only to land on the cushions as she stood up and put her hands on her hips, “I already can’t, but maybe if a certain ‘Mandalorian’ goes and gets me some dinner, he might get his bounty after all.” She pointed out with a sway of her hips.

“On it!” he said, grabbing his jacket and keys.

………………………………………….

 Jack picked up the takeout order and walked out while checking his phone. He stopped dead when he looked at the date. He’d completely forgotten and wanted to kick himself. While he and Rapunzel shared many different special days, there was one in particular that he always made sure they made special; the day they met.

“Shit.” He muttered angrily and quickly tossed the takeout in the backseat. He took off his beanie and ruffled his white locks in agitation, pacing around his car and wondering what to do. He could always just do flowers, but that got old quick. No, he wanted it to be special.

He looked up when he heard a child throwing a tantrum and noticed the new Build A Bear that had opened just a month ago. The different colored stuffed animals reminded him of the all the Care Bears he’d gotten Rapunzel and he knew this would be perfect. He raced over and looked to see what would stand out. He could always go with a simple bear or maybe a bunny. 

He paused when he saw it. He picked it up and groaned, shutting his eyes in irritation. He hated it, loathed it, but he had to get it; it was just too perfect.

Only twenty minutes later, he threw the Baby Yoda doll into the passenger’s seat and growled in frustration. He then glared at it and sat it up, quickly strapping it in for no real reason, “You better be worth thirty dollars.” He pointed threateningly at it and then started the car, “And don’t touch anything!”

Every few minutes he’d turn to look in disgust at the thing, “You know you’re a Hollywood sell out right?  Yoda was the best and you’re just some wannabe.”

The toy was mocking him, and he knew it.

He scoffed then, “Everyone just loves you, but I can see right through you. You’re worse than vanilla yogurt and I hate yogurt!”

He stopped at a light and glared at it, the stupid beady little eyes, the innocent grin, the soft plush. God, he wanted to chuck the thing out of the ship…car. Damn he was going crazy.

He was glad when he finally parked and grabbed it before he went to collect the food.

Once at the door he held the thing in front of his face for a few moments before smiling, “You’re lucky my fiancé loves you. But let’s make one thing clear; I detest you, so if you can make her smile, I won’t stick you in my dad’s fireplace at Christmas.”

The toy of course said nothing, and he nodded, “Good.”

He opened the door and was met with squeals of delight from Rapunzel who of course loved the toy and loved the food and loved Jack for remembering their special day.

Jack dropped Rapunzel off and headed over to his father’s house to have a family dinner now that Flynn was visiting. It was a nice surprise to see him in town, considering he usually couldn’t visit until the holidays. Luckily, he was working on a show not to far from Burgess and couldn’t resist some of North’s home cooking.

He parked and walked inside to the familiar scent of home cooked food that made his stomach growl. The house he grew up in hadn’t changed at all, only difference being the sound of Vanellope’s racing games she liked to play. But the warmth and comfort were never absent.

He made it to the kitchen to see his father busy at the stove cooking while Flynn leaned on the counter having a chat with him. Jack looked over towards the family room to see Vanellope engrossed in her racing game with headphones on.  

Max, old and feeble now, barked as ferociously as he could while hobbling over to see Jack. Out of instinct, Jack kneeled to scratch behind his ears, earning a soft snort from the dog. Another thing that may have changed but one thing was still certain; the way Max and Flynn glared at one another across the room proved old rivalries didn’t always die.

“Jack! Good to see you son!” his father boomed loudly, and Jack rushed over to quickly hug him, grateful to erase whatever negative and disgusting memories he might have had earlier that week. Flynn waved from the counter and Jack walked over to lean on the island across from where he stood.

“How’s wedding planning?” Flynn asked him with a grin.

Jack rolled his eyes heavenward, “Exhausting.”

North chuckled, “It will be here before you know it.”

“About time.” Flynn teased, “All I know is, the Bachelor Party better be epic.”

“You know Hiccup will make sure of that.” Jack chuckled.

“Unless there’s a tiger in the hotel room, it wouldn’t be a party.” Flynn snorted.

“Stop watching movies.” Jack groaned.

“Stop being a dick.” Flynn grinned mischievously.

“Stop being an ass- “

“BOYS!” North warned in a stern but loving tone as the two grinned sheepishly.

“If you give me twenty bucks, I’ll pretend I didn’t hear you both curse.” Vanellope smirked as she made her way to the kitchen and wrapped her arms around Jack before trying to sneak a cookie off the counter.

Flynn had a slight longing look in his eyes as he watched the two of them bond. Everyone understood though that he hadn’t gotten a chance to really be around Vanellope when she first came to live with North, as he’d been in college. Jack however still had another year or so with her as he finished high school and that gave them time to bond and he could be the big brother he’d always wanted to be.  

“So,” Jack looked up at Flynn, “When do we get free Hamilton tickets?”

Flynn shook his head, “You and I both know that isn’t happening. I can’t even get them, and I work on Broadway.”

“You should give them tickets as a wedding gift!” Vanellope pointed out.

“Not a bad idea Squirt.” Flynn smiled as he walked by her and ruffled her messy hair.

“We’ll take cash at this point.” Jack grumbled and followed his siblings to the table where Flynn must have already set up.

“Jack, is everything alright at home?” North asked with concern as he began dishing out food.

“Oh yeah,” Jack said quickly, “Work has been picking up and Rapunzel still has her job, but I know school is starting to get to her a little bit.”

“It’s a pretty big step.” Flynn nodded but smiled warmly at him, “But I’m proud of her for going for it.”

“Me too.” Jack smiled; glad Rapunzel decided to spend some time with her mother tonight. He too felt a sense of comfort as he sat with his family around the table, laughing and catching up on their days. Vanellope was chatting consistently as she ate, and Flynn of course did his usual teasing towards both his siblings. He couldn’t lie and admit he’d missed this, but he also would never regret finally moving in with Rapunzel, no matter how stressful it was.  

“Well, I set the table, so now you clean.” Flynn smirked at Jack who threw his napkin down with a grunt.

“Knew I should have come earlier!” he pouted.

Vanellope snorted, “You’re both so dumb.”

North chuckled and looked over at her, “Don’t forget you need to finish your math.”

She groaned, hoping she would have had more time to play her game, but she would never disappoint her adopted father. As much as she’d come a long way to trusting him, she still had that lingering fear in the back of her mind that if she screwed up even the tiniest amount, he’d abandon her like all the others before him.

“Jack…” she gave him an innocent look and he knew what was coming, “Do you think you could help me?”

“No problem,” he grinned, “You get started so I can clean up then I’ll come over and take a look.”

“Deal!” she squealed happily and rushed off to find her bookbag.

“I’m glad you both want to help her with her homework.” North nodded proudly at his boys, recalling that Flynn had taken the time to sit with her yesterday after school and help her with some science. Because she’d had a late start in life and due to her medical issues, she had to work extra hard to keep up. But thanks to a lot of great teachers and her after school tutoring, she was finally at the level she needed to be, but staying the course was just as tricky.

“Trust me, if she has Bunny as her math teacher, she needs all the help she can get.” Jack admitted with a laugh as he collected the plates and started cleaning. As he did, he suddenly looked up to see his reflection in the window and that haunting nightmare came back full force as he froze for a few moments, thankful when he was jolted out of it by Vanellope yelling for her calculator.

He finished cleaning quickly and turned to see his father still sitting at the table with Flynn and decided to at least see if maybe there was a way to keep his bad memories at bay. His father and Flynn had always been good about it.

“Hey, uh,” he stammered as he sat down, “Did I ever um…talk in my sleep living here?” he asked.

They both stared at him a moment before North nodded, “As a matter of fact, you did, especially in the beginning.”

“You would walk around too.” Flynn nodded.

Jack stared at Flynn and to his surprise, so did North as apparently this was news to him, “When?” he asked.

Flynn narrowed his eyes and thought back, “I know I only caught it that one time and I don’t think you ever did it again, but I remember I found you in the bathroom staring at the mirror or something. I tried to wake you up but just ended up putting you back to bed. It was weird.”

“Why didn’t you tell me that?” North asked him.

Flynn shrugged, “He was still adjusting, and I used to do stuff like that all the time, I honestly figured you knew and had worked it out after that.”

“You said you found me in the bathroom?” Jack asked nervously.

“Yeah, I would have laughed but I didn’t have room to, considering I’d wake up in closets all the time.” Flynn chuckled.

“They say a lot of children with severe abuse will have odd sleep patterns, you were both still in survival mode even if you were safe.” North said sadly, “But then one day, you both had your moment to realize you could relax and just be children; happy and free from all that pain.”

They both smiled fondly remembering the day it clicked for them, light a window finally opening for them, letting in the sun and fresh air.

“Flynn you were such a good brother when Jack came to us.” North reminisced, “I did have to teach you patience because you so badly wanted Jack to be your little brother, but he was still afraid and needed his space. But not once did you complain or fail to lend a helping hand where you could.”

Jack smiled at his brother who nodded to him, “I admit, it never gets any easier, but you definitely made my life worth it, Dad.”

“Mine too.” Jack agreed.

“So, are you having a hard time at the new place, Jack?” Flynn asked in a nonjudgmental voice. To many it would seem nosy, but Jack understood his brother’s question having both come from a place of learning to adjust in new places. In response he shrugged, “We’re both adjusting but, I don’t know, lately I’ve been having some…off nights.” He admitted.

“Well, with a new place, a wedding to plan, and a job, it is a lot.” North smiled knowingly, “But you and Rapunzel love each other very much and I’m sure you two make a wonderful team as you process it all.”

“We are a good team.” He smiled but it felt forced as he recalled her face looking at him after that horrible dream, memory, whatever it was. Her eyes mixed with tears, pain, fear, and disappointment. He was her fiancé; he was supposed to be honest with her. So why, why couldn’t he be honest about this? Oh yes, because he’d never been, and it had gotten him this far so why worry about it.

He rubbed his eyes and sat back, “Sometimes I just wish all that bad stuff would disappear completely.”

“You and me both.” Flynn agreed, resting his chin in his hand as he too seemed far away in unhappy thoughts.

“Let me tell you both something.” North sighed heavily, “You’re both old enough now to know, but there’s a big reason I started adopting.”

They both stared at him, his once warm and cheery smile, bright eyes full of wonder, suddenly became dark and lost in a memory full of pain and fear. They had been told many times by North that he’d had a past in Russia, but he never went into detail before.