Chapter Text
Sean looks at the mirror on the other side of the interrogation room. This doesn’t make any sense. They’ve already answered the question millions of times, and it hasn’t changed yet. For all Sean knows, he should already be in jail waiting for court, and Daniel should already be safe in their grandparents’ house.
“...Sean?” Daniel asks, looking at him with that fear Sean’s way too familiar with. “What’s...Going on?”
“I-I don’t know, enano,” Sean answers, truthfully. “This doesn’t make any sense. Flores said you’re too young to be convicted of anything, that you would be safe...”
After a few moments in silence, Daniel shuffles closer to Sean with his chair, leaning on him and putting Sean’s arm over his shoulder. They lean on each other, and Sean’s more than thankful because he doesn’t know if he could take it without Daniel.
After maybe ten or fifteen minutes, someone finally appears. Flores.
“Thank you for waiting. I was – Finishing some stuff. I want to help you two, and I’m pretty sure I can, but you’ll have to cooperate.” She says, sitting in the chair on the other side of the table.
She puts a few files on the table, laying out some pictures in front of them, namely, the street where they used to live, all torn up with cars and trees shattered, the officer that shoot their dad, his face bloody and filled with bruises, Merrill’s place, looking like it victim of an explosion, and Merrill’s mugshot, with a simple bruise over his right eyebrow.
Flores looked different. Her hair was up in a ponytail, she was wearing a navy t-shirt and jeans, but the weirdest part was that her entire right forearm was covered with a silver-colored bracer that had some that looked like the outline of a Wolf profile drawn across it.
“It seems like wherever you two go, weird stuff keeps happening. Stuff no one can explain.” She points at the picture of their street. “The damage is similar to that of a bomb, and the same happened in Jonathan Merril’s house, but we couldn’t find any traces of anything similar to a bomb known to us. Now, even if you are suspects, the damage here is not anything a human being could on their own.” She gives them a look full of meaning, though Sean can’t decipher what meaning. “Not a normal human being, at least.”
And it kind of clicks, but Sean is still confused because how the fuck does Flores know anything about that?
Sean looks at Daniel, and Daniel looks just as confused and fearful as he feels, and they look back at Flores without saying anything. She seems to make some decision, then she puts both of her hands on the table, palms up-
And they burst into flames.
Sean will forever deny that he yelps when he sees it, but he does, and when he turns to Daniel, his little brother’s hypnotized by the flames, and after long enough that they can be sure it wasn’t imagination, the fire stops.
“You both can trust me,” Flores says. “I need you to show which one of you has it, and what it is.”
Sean and Daniel look at each other, and after a few moments, Sean puts on a brace face and nods.
Daniel mimics his brave face, nods back, turns back to Flores, and suddenly the files are floating. Not as if they were struck by a wind gust, but lifting in the air as if someone is holding them, only there is no one holding them.
Flores is smiling.
“Sean, Daniel, I’ll need to explain a few things.” She says, before showing the bracer and pointing at the wolf. “This is the symbol of Hecate Corporation. We’re something like a secret government division, we supervise and take care of people like you, Daniel, so that no injustice takes place.”
“People like me. There’s more?” Daniel asks, voice and face full of awe.
“Yes. I have a theory of what actually happened if you can confirm it.”
And then they tell the story, finally without having to lie, without having to pick and choose words so it makes even a little bit of sense. Sean looks at Daniel and sees relief written across his face, and when they’re done, Flores is nodding.
“That checks out with the evidence. I’m glad. We’ll cover up the story with something believable.” Flores turns to talk to Daniel. “Daniel, as you’ve basically just discovered your powers, you won’t be convicted of anything. Sean,” She turned to Sean then. “you’ll probably get some sort of punishment for running away, but as you are a minor and were clearly flying blind, I’ll do everything I can so you’re not severely affected.”
“I...Thank you, I can’t...”And then he’s hugging Daniel, and he can feel Daniel’s tears wetting his t-shirt, and distantly he knows he’s crying too.
“You’ll stay with your grandparents. They’re already here to get you both.”
Daniel is sobbing right now. Or maybe that’s Sean. Fuck, who knows? They’ll stay together. They’ll be safe.
They’re gonna be fine.
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When they can lie down in Stephen and Claire’s guest bedroom, Sean spends some time thinking.
It’s not really a guest bedroom anymore. They talked and decided it’s going to be Sean’s bedroom, and they’re going to redecorate Karen’s room so it can be Daniel’s room. It wasn’t hard to decide, Sean’s relationship with...Mom...Is getting better, but sleeping in her room would still be way too much.
Sean fiddles with the plastic bracelet on his right arm. It’s got a tracker, and it was Hecate Corp’s condition so that they could be free and have as much of a normal life as possible.
Daniel is sleeping by his side, clinging to him, and it’s awesome seeing him so relaxed again. It hasn’t been that long, really, what with the time they spent in Away, but right now there’s no impending doom, there’s the certainty that they will be safe and won’t get separated.
Also, Sean’s pretty sure it has something to do with the fact that Daniel got to see Chris again. He’s happy they won’t get separated too.
Claire and Stephen were overjoyed. They got to talk to Karen, too, and it had been full of tears and screaming, but it had ended with all of them saying “I love you” over and over, and a Family hug Sean and Daniel were also part of.
They had made all these plans for Sean and Daniel. They weren’t going to be held back in school, which was nice, and they were going to the same school as Chris, which was also nice. Another nice thing was that Sean got to worry about things like “I wonder if I’m gonna make any friends” again, instead of the usual “I wonder how I’ll keep Daniel fed”.
Sean hugs Daniel a little tighter and closes his eyes. They’re gonna be fine.