w i t h e r

“Yeah you totally can, and quite frankly, I don’t care what you do. But man, drop the pity act, it’s just annoying.”

“Alright, fine. What would you prefer then? The stoic, moody, bad boy? Or does that infringe on your brand?” Kevin joked, his tone lightening. Arguing with Julian was one thing, but teasing him was way more entertaining ( although there was no malice present behind his words at this point ).

“You’re right, but it’s not really about that. Every can be saved, that’s the whole point.”

“Too bad you might be a smidge too late. I already talked to Emma. She had no problem finding a place for me, apparently.”

“It’s a new thing. How about that? Just something new.”

“Ok, fair enough,” Kevin paused, debating if he should prod any further on the subject, “You the only spider person in your world then?”

“Fine. Maybe you should die then.”

“What a novel idea! Not like I haven’t considered that in the past.”

“Everyone in my cabinet and you don’t get to be the exception. You’re not that special, darling.” Emma’s fingers were flying over her phone as she sent off a few messages. Without asking she snapped a quick photo of Kevin and sent that as well. “Take offense all you like, but they’re there.”

Kevin’s nose wrinkled in disgust at the sound of the camera shutter, knowing deep down there was nothing he could do about this. Emma was very concerned about -- aesthetics. But things like that would take time, and in the meantime, Kevin didn’t exactly have a place to go.

“So...what now?”

“How so?” Her voice was, surprisingly, not snide.

“To make a long story short, accidentally killing your dad and winding up on the FBI’s Most Wanted list will do that to ya.”

“Stop caring, for one.” Felicia had picked up on his peeved emotion, but like her advice suggested, she didn’t quite care. “Once you let that go, everything else just gets easier. There will always be people who don’t like you, but you can’t let that stop you from taking up space.”

“Lucky me I ran into some of those people the other day. But they kicked me out of this really good bagel place so -- not sure how much I can do about that,” Kevin chuckled dryly.

“It wouldn’t take long.” Her reply was flippant. “But coffee? Only if there’s vodka in it.” He’d also have to keep her interest for that long. All bets were off. “So, maybe not very long at all.”

“Alright, coffee with vodka. Noted.”

“You try to be better. It’s hard to when you feel lonely. I used to believe i was my best when I had certain people around me. Now I realize that they helped, but they couldn’t make me into a good person. I had to learn to be one on my own.”

“Well, if someone could give me advice on how to do that with a mutation like mine, I’d be all ears,” Kevin shrugged watching as the plant he brushed his fingertips against withered away.

A brow ticked upwards in mild amusement. “Not long enough, I’d wager.” She idly unsheathed Dragonfang and weighed the blade in her hand. “Thankfully, I didn’t have this on me during your attack because I’m far too attached to it. Having it withered would have been heartbreaking, you know? Then again, she is indestructible and can absorb magic. I suppose we’ll just have to see how she holds up against you now. I doubt it would be much of a challenge. What do you think?”

Kevin eyed the large blade warily, “Pshh-- yeah, thankfully.” Was this woman threatening to kill him? Honestly, he deserved it. But that didn’t mean he was eager to welcome a fight.

“And now? Not really a good time, can I take a rain check?”

“They wouldn’t send me. I know what you did, but it sounds like mutants are dealing with their own beef.”

“Mutants are dealing with everybody’s beef apparently. Did you hear the Shi’ar are involved now? I mean, come on.”

“I think it’s more than that. I don’t want to kill anyone though. It is not who I am.”

“Good to know I guess. You seemed pretty harmless regardless of that fact though.”

“Nah, I’m just constantly vibe checkin’.”

“Vibe...checking,” Kevin’s expression turned into one of deep confusion and befuddlement, “What the hell does that mean?”

“Don’t thank me.” Lorna held a hand up between the two of them. “I just know what it’s like to run from your problems and pretend like it’s a good idea.”

Kevin gave her a nod of acknowledgment before falling silent, appearing to be in deep contemplation before letting out a prolonged yawn, “Fuck, I’m exhausted.”

“I’m the one who was picking a fight. You were supposed to respond.”

“Oh, uh-- alright,” Kevin raised both fists to his face in a sarcastic fashion, “--hit me, you won’t.”

“I’m pretty sure it could still happen. Cue the you’re your own worst enemy bullshit.”

“Yeah, says you-- and every other superhero within a 10-mile radius.”

“I think you should consider your own as well, at least a little.”

“My own life? Seems like kind of a waste.”