Chapter Text
The tension in the room was unbelievable as the two boys stared each other down. Scott’s eyes might have been icy pits of stone, but Matt’s reflected the fierce determination that had helped him survive gods, monsters, and Richard’s attempts at cooking.
This was different, thought. This was so, so different.
Scarlett couldn’t take it anymore.
She sighed.
“Scott, just let it go.”
The other teenager turned his glare on her.
“Not until he admits he cheated.”
“I didn’t cheat!” Matt protested. He waved his hands frantically at the board game. “I rolled a five! Why would I even cheat?!”
“You did!” Scott’s stony composure was broken. “If you had rolled a four or a six you would have landed on one of MY properties.”
“THAT’S BECAUSE YOU OWN LIKE HALF THE BOARD.”
“You did land on free parking instead.” Pedro contributed, amused. “That’s pretty lucky.”
Both Matt and Scar gave him looks that rivaled Scott’s. Their potency was wasted on the Peruvian, thought, as Scott gave him a small, thankful smirk.
Jamie came back to the room with the drink tray. “What did I miss-oh.” He looked at his brother and the leader of the five, who had gone back to glaring at each other. “Scott, it’s just a game.”
“Then he shouldn’t have cheated.”
“I DIDN’T CHEAT.”
In the meantime, Pedro reached up to the coffee table to grab more popcorn. However, he misjudged the position of the bowl.
The bowl came crashing down on the board, scattering buttery popcorn, game pieces, and paper money over the board. There was a stunned silence as Matt and Scott glared at the board in unified horror.
When they looked back up at him, Pedro was very, very glad he had the power to heal himself.
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Richard came back to their shared house much, much later. To this day he wonders who thought it would be a good idea to give five super-powered kids Monopoly.