Chapter Text
Morgan hated having to go to the damned soup kitchen. This one especially. It was always too crowded and too loud. And there are way too many heroes here… He thought once again as he waited for line to move forward. Winter always left these places overcrowded, understaffed, and with not enough food for everyone. Which made for nice sympathetic headlines and cushy stories for the heroes to bank on. They show up with money or food or volunteered in costume or whatever once or twice to get the photo ops they need and then they’d go right back to not giving a shit about the homeless people that live in Capital City. If Morgan could have hated them any more he would have.
So he kept his head down and let his long hair hide his face. … I could really use a shower. He thought idly as the line bumped forward. He was just about to get to grab a plate when a little kid, maybe 8 or so, came wandering down the line. Big fat tears on his face. Most everyone was ignoring him so Morgan was trying to as well… He was. He didn’t give a shit about someone else’s snot nosed brat. They weren’t his responsibility... Son of a bitch.
He stepped out of line and went over to the kid. “Oi, what? Why are you sobbing?”
“I- I- I-” Blubbered the kid.
Morgan rolled his eyes skyward but glanced around quickly to make sure all eyes were either on the food or the heroes at the front taking photos and signing autographs. When no one was looking their way he knelt down. “Oh-kay… Oh-kay, buddy. It’s alright… I know you’ve got some big feelings right now, but I need to to take a few deep breaths for me… Great big ones, alright?”
The boy blubbered some more but then he started doing what Morgan said. After about the third one he was only tear stained and not sobbing. He whipped at his nose with his sleeve and smeared dirt, tears, and snot across his cheek.
“Can you tell me what’s wrong?”
“I- I lost my- my doggie.” He hiccuped.
“You’re doggie?” And Morgan actually stopped to look around for a dog. He had thought this place had a no pets rule. A very fucking stupid one with the number of folks who had pets and companions to keep them company…
“Uh-uh-huh… He’s brown with a blue collar and he’s only got one eye. H-his stuffing is coming out a little.”
Ah. A toy. “... Did you have him when you came in?”
“Y-yeah.” He whimpered. “But then we got food and Mama went to go get- get pictures and she left and-and- and now he’s Goooone! ” The boy began to wail again.
“I know- I know… It can be scary when you loose someone you love, but we’re gonna look for him.” Morgan tried to soothe even as his stomach twisted with hunger pains. That line had taken him 30 minutes to get through… And it was even longer than before. Fuck me…
But as Morgan was looking around he spotted a teen- a volunteer, with thick rounded glasses and several layers of too big clothing. And he was holding a stuffed dog toy with a blue collar and missing one eye. The teen, maybe a little older than Morgan himself was looking around frantically. Morgan stood up and waved. It was enough to catch his attention and the volunteer hurried over.
“M-Micky! Micky I f-found him, buddy.” Barnaby said as he approached holding out the toy to the young boy.
“Bubbles!” The boy cried and lunged for the dog toy, snatching it back and rubbing his face all over the dirt matted toy. As he squished it more stuffing poked out of the missing eye.
“S-see I told you I was good at f-f-finding things. N-nothing to worry about.” He soothed. “I- I even found s-some thread. M-maybe your mom can stitch his eye closed.”
Morgan, who was about to retreat, paused. “Or I can.” He offered. He hadn’t meant to open his stupid mouth but when he was hungry he stopped thinking apparently.
The volunteer looked over at the other teen for the first time, seeming to only just notice him despite being waved down by him. His clothes looked mismatch and worn very thin. His hair was getting pretty long and he had patchy peach fuzz growing in on his face. He looked tired and skinny and… just like most of the other un-housed people here. It filled Barnaby with a kind of grief he didn’t know how to explain. It was why he volunteered here. Because these people were people too. People who needed help and- and he might not have money or food he could give but he had time. So he gave that. He did every weekend. “Uh- you-you can sew?”
“Yeah… I’m not great at it but it should hold.” Morgan said shrugging a bit.
Barnaby handed him the needle and thread he’d borrowed from one of the ladies who’d worked in the back in the kitchens when he’d told her about his hunt for the one-eyed stuffed dog. She wished him luck and handed him the thread in case he found the toy to fix it. “H-here.”
“Thanks…” And Morgan knelt down again. “Micky… Micky, your friend found you some thread to help patch up Bubbles, see?” And he showed the boy the bobbin and needle. “I can use this to fix up his eye so he doesn’t loose any more stuffing. Can I do that?”
Micky looked from the thread to him and back. He clutched the toy tighter. “You’re- you’re not gonna take him are you?”
Learned that one quick did you. Everybody steals shit… “No, Micky. I pinky promise.” And he offered the boy his pinky.
Micky looked at him nervously for a moment before shaking pinkies and passing the very abused toy over to him. Morgan fumbled with the needle and thread for a moment with cold fingers but managed to thread the needle. Then under the watchful eye of Micky and the volunteer, he stitched the eye closed. “There all better.”
Then he checked the toy for any more weak seams. “... Do you see how Bubbles has loose threads on his toes?” And he showed them to Micky.
“Yeah…”
“Can I stitch those up too? So he doesn’t loose more stuffing from them?” After a nod from the boy he made quick work of the stitches. They were messy but would hold for a while. The toy was on its last leg but this would keep it going a little longer. “There all done…” Morgan muttered as he tied off the last knot and broke the thread with his teeth. And just as promised he passed the toy over.
“Micky! Micky!” Called a panicked woman’s voice.
“Mama!” The boy exclaimed and hurried over to her.
She shot both teenagers suspicious looks as she pulled her son close. “I told you to stay at the table with you sister.”
“But- but Bubbles. I needed to find him.” The boy said.
His mother shot him an angry look. “Now young man, I told you to stay put!”
“But-”
And Barnaby stepped over, “Y-you’re mom is right. S-she wanted to m-make sure you were safe. B-but we found Bubbles n-now so you need to go b-back to your table, okay?”
She gave Barnaby with another distrustful glare until she saw his volunteer badge. She relaxed marginally. “... thank you for helping him find his toy.”
“D-don’t mention it.” He muttered and rubbed at his neck.
“Look! Look! He fixed his eye too!” Micky added.
“Oh- t-that wasn’t me-” Barnaby started to say and glanced over to look for the other teen… But he was gone.
Morgan had tucked the thread into his pocket and started to back away once the mother started shouting. He didn’t need that kind of heat or attention and he was good at disappearing. Besides thread might come in handy… He made it outside and around the corner before he heard someone calling out to him.
“W-wait!”
Morgan made to start running but the guy said something Morgan hadn’t expected.
“W-why?”
Morgan paused and turned back, hands stuffed into pants pockets as the winter night wind whipped around him. “What?”
Barnaby held up a finger and panted a little. He had had to sprint to try and find the other teen after he’d said he goodbyes to the woman and Micky. “W-why are you leaving? …You- you didn’t eat… I-I saw you in line e-earlier. You- you couldn’t have gotten a-a plate yet…”
Morgan just shrugged and failed to suppress a shiver. “... Lines too long now. I’ll get dinner somewhere else.”
“I-I can grab you a plate.”
Morgan snorted and rolled his eyes. “ P-pu-lease , you’ll start a riot in there if you let me cut. No special treatment, right? ”
“Y-you waited in line like e-everyone else. You- you should get to eat too.”
Morgan just shook his head. “No, I was an idiot that s-stepped out of line. Shit happens.”
“To- to help a crying kid.” Barnaby countered, not sure why this teen was arguing with him so much. When he started to open his mouth again to argue, Barnaby snapped, “J-just shut up I-I’m trying to help you!”
Morgan blinked at the volunteer. No one had every yelled at him while trying to help him before. He couldn’t help the smile that pulled at his face as the volunteer started to flounder and stumbled over his apology.
“I-I-I- I didn’t mean to-to yell. I- Sorry- I- I was just-”
“Trying to help me- And-And I was being a dick.” Morgan said laughing as he shivered again.
Barnaby smiled a little and adjusted his glasses. “Y-yes. You were.” And then he stuck his hand out to the other boy, “I’m B-Barnaby.”
Morgan snorted and took his hand, “Morgan.”
Barnaby almost shivered at how cold Morgan’s hand was but he used the grasp to tug the other teen back inside with him.
Morgan laughed again and let himself be dragged over and forced into a seat.
“S-stay.” Barnaby said and pointed at Morgan and then the chair.
“I’m not a dog .” Morgan said rolling his eyes and Barnaby started floundering again after realizing he accidentally insulted Morgan. “ Dude-! I’m kidding. Go.”
“Ah- right…” And he hurried off.
But Morgan did stay and rubbed his hands on his arms while he tried to warm up again. It didn’t take long for Barnaby to return, but he had more than just a plate with him. Over his arm was a thick winter hoodie with fur around the collar. It was a dark red color and looked a kinda too big for Barnaby. Which meant it was absolutely too big for Morgan. “H-here.” And Barnaby set the plate down and handed him the coat.
Morgan stared at it but didn’t take it. “... I’m not here looking for new clothes, man.”
“No- no but you are looking for w-warmth. A-and I hate that coat.” Barnaby said. “So- so take it.”
“... why do you hate it?” He asked suspicion coloring his words. Over the last year and a half Morgan had learned fast that people don’t give you shit for free, not without strings.
“B-because it makes me l-look like the g-girl ice climber from super smash bros… And b-because I’m not a f-fan of red.” Barnaby said honesty. And because my aunt sucks and that was a present from her…
After another beat of silence Morgan took the coat from him. “... thanks.”
“Y-yeah… I-I need to get b-back to work…”
“Right… okay. Be seeing you, I guess…”
“Y-yeah, bye, Morgan.” And he turned to hurry off. He didn’t say anything about the thread and figured LuAnne wouldn’t mind. He could always buy her some more later.
“... bye Barnaby.” Morgan muttered even though the other teen was long gone. He held the coat in his hands and… didn’t know what to think… Other than he probably shouldn’t come back to this soup kitchen for a while. He slid the coat on and quickly started eating. He needed to get gone.