Work Text:
The Them
It’s safe to say they all left the airbase a little confused, and as they got older the memory got foggier and foggier every time they thought about it. Eventually, as they all got really old, they began to think of that day as just one another one of their games. Except Adam, of course. They didn’t see each other nearly as often as they did when they were younger; they were all busy adults. But they never forgot their past, and especially not their time together as kids and all the fun moments they had thanks to Adam and his creativity.
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Brian
Brian enjoyed the rest of his childhood. He made some more friends in high school, where he did his homework (most of the time), showered more often, and played badminton. Brian had found something he was passionate about: he loved the camaraderie, sportsmanship, and rhythm of the game. And he was really good at it, too.
He still talked to Pepper and Wensleydale and Adam, but really only in passing - they weren’t in the same friend groups in school, and didn’t do any of the same extracurriculars. During the summer though, they played (but as they got older, it became “hung out”) and saw each other often - still in the woods. Over time, their space became even larger and more decorated. Most of the time they were getting ice cream (he still got chocolate, and wondered about all those flavors Americans got to have) and going on walks past where they played as children. No one called them the Them anymore. They had grown up.
Brian wasn’t as introspective as the others, especially Adam, who had gained a new perspective on the world after Almostgeddon. Brian didn’t think too deep about that kind of stuff but he admired the conversations from the sidelines, occasionally adding in little tidbits he had learned from shows or videos he watched or random facts from the internet. He spent a lot of time on the internet.
Brian didn’t really have a plan for after high school. He had forgotten to make one. One day in his senior year, his parents asked him what he wanted to do, and he said he didn’t know. Everyone else was going to college, so he decided he should go too. He didn’t really want to go into the military or straight into a job. Brian left college four years later with a bachelor’s degree in business, not really knowing what else to do. He thought it might be cool to be a “big boss man” someday.
Brian’s first job out of college was a low-level position at an insurance company, and he hated it. But that’s where he met his wife, whom he loved. They had a few children together and eventually moved back to Tadfield, where their kids made friends and grew up. They played in the same woods as he did when he was a kid. He loved watching them play and make friends. He shared with them a few of the games he used to play, like Spanish Inquisition and witchfinding. They played witchfinder but didn’t understand Spanish Inquisition. Brian always went with them to watch the traveling circus set up, and he got them a dog named Lucky. They made sure to recycle and use reusable shopping bags to reduce pollution. It had become a big priority for Brian.
Eventually, Brian got another job, one that allowed him to spend lots more time at home with his kids. He worked from home most days, which he loved doing.
They had a good life. And Adam didn’t even do it on purpose.
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Wensleydale
Wensleydale decided to start going by Jeremy once he got to high school; he thought it was more professional. He tried telling his parents to stop calling him exclusively “youngster,” but they never did. Even when he was in college, where he double majored in economics and business and minored in international studies. He loved learning and worked diligently all four years, never following the rule “sleep more than you study.” After college he moved into the heart of London with the goal of eventually starting his own consulting firm, which he did: JW Consulting was one of the most popular and successful firms in the city. It was a great company that helped and improved local businesses, and even had its own food shelf for the community making sure no one went hungry.
A few years after college, he ran into Pepper one morning on the bus. He was on his way to work and she was headed to a climate change rally, sign in hand. She was still wearing a red raincoat. Wensley commented on it, not knowing what else to say, and they ended up skipping their plans for the day and sitting in a coffee shop catching up for hours. She still called him Wensleydale, even after he told her he was going by his first name now. She said it would be weird to call him something else, which he thought (to himself, of course) that it was weird she wouldn’t change what she called him when she wanted to change so much in the world.
After seeing Pepper for the first time in almost ten years, Wensleydale realized what was missing in his busy life. Love. He asked, nervously, if she wanted to go out again sometime, and she agreed. They met up the next day, and then every night for the next week. Eventually they became official, and after a few months of what had been a long time coming they began to discuss their future. Pepper had wanted to stay independent, but came to see that she didn’t need to in order to keep the life she wanted. She could get married and still keep her values as a feminist.
And they did get married. Pepper’s best friend planned the whole wedding, and Wensley looked on lovingly, knowing not to interrupt. He had found his way back to her and he didn’t want to screw it up. She kept her last name, which he didn’t fight because he knew he would lose anyways; also it wasn’t his place. He seldom won an argument on the rare occasions they did fight during their whole relationship.
After a few years they began to talk about having kids. Wensley felt like it was the right next step for them, but Pepper wanted to wait until they were both sure it was what they wanted and they weren’t just doing it because it was expected of them. A couple years later, they did have kids, three beautiful mixed race babies. Wensleydale’s one request was that the name Brian be in there somewhere. Pepper didn’t argue and suggested Adam’s name be in there too, to complete the quartet. So their kids’ names were Lily Eve, Neil Brian, and David Adam Wensleydale-Galadriel. They tried to keep the first names short. Wensley and Pepper both secretly liked that David’s initials spelled DAWG, although they would never admit it to each other. David didn’t really like it.
They invited Brian and Adam over to meet the kids one night. Brian loved that his name was used as a middle name. He stayed for hours past dinner, talking with Wensley and Pepper about their childhood, their lives, and their hopes for the future. Brian visited often after that, and their two families became close friends. Adam was away that night so he couldn’t go, but he also liked that his name was used. He thought quietly that it was like they would always be together, year and years into the future.
The kids loved the stories of the Them when they were younger and all their adventures. They came to think of Adam as some sort of God with how their parents described him as the undisputed leader and how he came up with games to entertain them: they never said a bad thing about him. He was a calm leader, except for that one day where the world almost ended.
One night, Wensley and Pepper hesitantly asked each other about what had happened that day at the airbase. They talked about it late into the night, comparing and corroborating their vague memories. They were almost afraid and embarrassed to talk about it, like it was just another game Adam had invented that they were taking too seriously, or a dream, or truly a mass hallucination like the government said. But it wasn’t, and deep down they both knew it. It just wasn’t necessary for them to understand what had happened; they didn’t need to know that they had saved the world.
They never went hungry, and neither did anyone they knew. They lived a good, easy, life together, enjoying every day for the rest of their lives.
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Pepper
Of course, Pepper was still as fierce and outspoken as ever. When she ran into Wensleydale on the bus, she had been on her way to a climate change rally. By now, the women’s pay gap had closed and equality was common everywhere. One of the only things that desperately needed to change was the climate. But Pepper, always one to stand up for what she believed in, was trying to help. She was all dressed up for the rally: a white crop top with the phrase “There Is No Planet B” on it, bright blue jeans and a silver belt, and a baseball cap with a picture of the earth on fire on it, and a canvas bag filled with shirts to hand out. She also had a pin with a smiley face on it, and another that said Black Girl Magic.
Pepper was overjoyed to see Wensleydale. It had been a few months since she had thought about him, but he looked almost the same since childhood: same glasses that took up most of his face, same goofy smile, same floppy hair. She recognized him instantly, and he gave her the same confused look she had seen so much of when they were younger.
“Wensley?” Pepper stepped towards him, grinning.
“Pepper? Oh my God, it’s been so long.” He sat there awkwardly as Pepper wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly. “Actually I go by Jeremy now - ”
“Wow, I never expected to bump into you here. What are you doing here?” She let him go and they sat down, Wensley sliding over and picking up his briefcase so she could fit on the seat.
“I live here now,” he said. “I have my own consulting firm, JW Consulting, it’s going really well. What are you doing here? Last I heard you were in America on a national parks tour.”
“Oh, that was amazing.” She let out a big sigh and smiled widely. “I live here now too, or at least for now. I’m kinda just all over the place, you know?” Wensley did not know. He hadn’t gone far from Tadfield. “I’m on my way to the climate change rally, if you want to join me,” she raised her eyebrows and smiled at him.
“Agh,” Wensley hesitated. He wanted to, but he had work, but Pepper was here and it’s been a while… “Do you want to get coffee instead? I’m not really prepared for a rally.” He gestured down to his work clothes, khakis and a button up shirt and tie.
Now it was Pepper’s turn to hesitate. “Um, sure.” She was a little disappointed but understood. Wensleydale didn’t seem like the type or person who would go to rallies. “I know a good place around here actually, it’s called Grind It Out. It’s really good, they have amazing lattes.”
Wensleydale called into work and Pepper let her friends know that she wouldn’t be making it. They made eye contact with each other and smiled big - it had been a while.
They were both a little nervous, but it went great. They talked for hours. Pepper said that her dream was to start her own business selling baked goods and donating a portion of the profits. She was going to call it Pepper’s Pastries for Change. Wensleydale loved it.
They lost track of time and sat there for almost the whole day. They caught up in each other’s lives, filling in details of more than ten years. Pepper had gone to college in Manchester and majored in women’s and gender studies and minored in art history. She loved it the entire time and studied abroad every chance she got. She also joined her fair share of activism clubs and local groups. Pepper told Wensley that she had been to nearly fifty rallies, parades, and protests over the years, always peaceful ones, of course. She had met most of her friends there.
Pepper was a wonderful, caring mother to her kids, supporting them in whatever they did, driving them to wherever they wanted or had to be, and encouraging them in any endeavor. She was the cool mom. When their kids got old enough, Pepper asked if they wanted to join her at the rallies. They all said yes: they had grown up watching their mother standing up for what she believed in, and they wanted to do that as well. They couldn’t resist the temptation of making real change in the world. Their daughter Lily was especially passionate about Black Lives Matter, and David and Neil about climate change and stopping police brutality. They also attended a pride parade every year, as both allies and members of the queer community: Pepper was pansexual, and David was gay. Wensley supported them, of course; how could he not? He loved his family more than anything in the whole world. Pepper, too. After they had kids, family became the biggest priority by far for both of them. They lived an easy life together, encouraging, supportive, and in love.
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Adam
Adam had done a lot in his early twenties. He traveled all over, seeing and experiencing the world he had saved. Adam decided to take a gap year before college and travel the world. Then, before he knew it the gap year had turned into a gap decade. He was putting off going to college; he just didn’t think it was a good fit for him. He didn’t want to be stuck in an office for the rest of his life, and he couldn’t really see any other outcome from college. But he would get jobs when he traveled, staying in a country for a few months and picking up odd jobs in restaurants and ride sharing.
Adam’s first stop was Spain, where he tried all sorts of new foods. He ran into Crowley and Aziraphale in Andorra - well, it was more like they saw him from across the restaurant and were too nervous to say anything. Of course, Adam knew they were there too, but he didn’t say anything either. He kept eating his escudella in peace.
The angel and demon debated whether they should go up to him; after all, they had traveled all the way down here to see him. Yes, it was a little vacation, but it wasn’t a coincidence. They ended up just watching from afar. Aziraphale was wondering how Adam was doing, and Crowley agreed to “run into” him in Spain, but they lost their nerve and didn’t say anything. They knew he was okay.
Adam had never settled down and didn’t really have a plan to. He was the poster boy for wanderlust, and he was fine with that.
He never really dated anyone, either. Adam would rather spend his time exploring. Of course, he was never alone - he made friends everywhere he went; he was easygoing and attracted good people. And he traveled with Dog, who stayed alive many years past his life expectancy. This was also not on purpose: Adam wanted him alive still, so he was. Nobody questioned it. It never even crossed their minds.
His parents would receive postcards every month or so, always accompanied by candies and nice notes updating them on what Adam was doing: cooking in Italy, painting in Japan, tasting all 39 flavors of ice cream in America (his favorite was butterscotch), learning new languages. They were never scared or worried about him. He always came home for Christmas and they loved hearing about his adventures from over the past year. Their favorite was the year he went to Canada and sent them back maple sugar candy.
Overall Adam was happy. And that was all he had ever wanted. Subconsciously, everyone he had ever come in contact with over the years was happy, too; they had bad days, of course, but they were good people with good lives.
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Warlock
Warlock had gotten much more mature. He no longer threw cake across the room or told people they smelled like poo. He went to UCLA, where he majored in engineering and minored in music. He broke a lot of stuff when he was young, which he then had to put back together exactly how it was, by orders from his nanny. This sparked an interest in engineering; and wouldn’t it be fun if the objects could spin and make noise, too?
Warlock joined lots of different clubs, which expanded his list of interests: he mastered ukulele, improved his creative writing skills, and learned how he could be more environmentally conscious. He realized how sheltered and privileged he had been as a child, and became determined to change that and learn as much as possible.
Warlock had learned a lot from his nanny and the gardener, and tried to follow their guidance into adulthood: he never stepped on a bug, at least on purpose; he cleaned up his messes; and always made a fuss when he didn’t get his way (although one day his roommate had finally had enough and yelled right back at him. After that, Warlock was nicer.) He also listened to Queen and kept a lot of plants. Crowley argued that both were his influence, but Aziraphale pointed out that Warlock was a kid when he knew Crowley and didn’t know that he had had plants or listened to Queen. Crowley ignored this fact and said it was his influence anyways, even though Aziraphale was the gardener and it was probably him that gave Warlock the idea to have his own little garden. Either way, Warlock still thought of Brother Francis and Nanny Ashtoreth often and wondered if they were together, like he had always thought. He missed them. Warlock felt that they were the only adults who ever truly cared about him, even if they were being paid to. He made a vow to be there for his kids; he didn’t have a dad when he was younger, so he wanted them to.
As he got older, he met more people and dated around. When he was thirty, he met his wife and they got married after just one year of knowing each other. They had a huge blowout wedding and Warlock’s parents came. Harriet Dowling was kind and promised to be a good mother-in-law, while Thaddeus huffed around in the background and was checking his watch every few minutes and talking to his security guards. He had nowhere to go, he just felt awkward at his son’s wedding. As Thaddeus aged, he began to feel worse about not being as much of a family man as he could have been; he realized that he was never really around and he felt bad about it. Harriet said she forgave him, but he still felt bad. He could never get that time back, and now that he had an opportunity he just couldn’t do it. He hoped Warlock understood. (Warlock did, which made him want to be a good dad even more.)
And Warlock was a great father. He had an example of what not to be, which is just as good to work off of. His wife Catherine was a great mother and they made a great team. They had two kids, a boy and a girl. The boy was named Teddy, and the girl was named Frances (after Brother Francis - Catherine didn’t want the name “Ashtoreth” anywhere in their kids’ names, understandably, but Warlock wanted a little tribute to his childhood. When Aziraphale found out, he teased Crowley about it for weeks). Catherine and Warlock loved each other a great deal, and their children got along very well.
Warlock became a very successful engineer and Catherine had her own personal holistic medicine practice. They were both happy with their lives, and their children were as well. It was a very loving household, and it filled a hole in Warlock’s heart. He wished that Nanny and Brother Francis could see where he was now.
Little did he know that the odd couple he saw at the grocery store occasionally and had talked to a few times actually did care and did check up on him. He always walked away with the feeling that he knew them from somewhere, but he could never place them. Oh well. Maybe Crowley and Aziraphale would build up the courage one day. (They did, and it went very well.)