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“Hello?”
Tide thought he was hallucinating the voice when he heard it. It wouldn’t be the first time. Sometimes, in the vast silence of the island, he’d hear his kids’ voices whispered on the wind, Dakota yelling behind the call of animals, Vyncent’s games chirping under the sound of the rain, William speaking as Tide replied without thinking, always forgetting for a moment that there wasn’t really anyone there begging to have something other than beef stroganoff for dinner.
“Hello? Tide?” Called the voice that wasn’t William.
Tide ignored it, grit his teeth and kept cleaning the rubble. He had to get this place back in shape. He had to make sure the boys had a proper home if they ever needed one. Some place they could go to just be kids again. Tide wanted them to have that, needed them to have that.
“Is anybody home?”
When the boys got here, Tide would show them their rooms. He’d make them eat as soon as they got settled in - he was worried they wouldn’t be looking after themselves in the midst of all the heroing and excitement. William especially had a bad habit of neglecting his needs.
“Tide? Are you around?” The voice called again, closer.
Tide would show Dakota how well the animals were settling in, and all the mini-Bobo’s. He’d let him name them all, and pretend not to notice when he inevitably forgot which was which.
“Come on, I don’t have much longer, where are you?”
He’d finally teach Vyncent to swim. They could make a day of it, all of them, splashing in the water and having lunch on the sand. It would hurt to be at the beach, Tide knew he’d feel the absence of his powers like a severed limb. But it would be worth it to see the kids laughing, Vyncent and Dakota trying to play fight in the waves. William being dragged along, protesting when Tide forced them to use sunscreen, tanning under the sun like regular teenagers.
“I um, have some beef stroganoff here, so come out, come out wherever you are…” the words were followed by an awkward ‘pspspspsp,’ like fake-Will was calling a cat.
Maybe, hopefully, they’d bring Ashe, too. Tide wouldn’t be surprised. His boys were strong, and promising young heroes. If anyone could do it, it would be them. And when they did, Tide would have a room here for him, for Ashe to recover in. Tide had found the sounds of the island at night very soothing when he got overwhelmed. He’d show Ashe his favorite outcropping, the one with the best view of the stars, the jungle, and the sea. He’d show him how to get up there whenever things got to be too much, when he needed a break.
“Tide, please, I don’t have much time before I'm pulled back.”
And William-
“Tide!? You are here!” The voice was so close, almost like he was really in the room.
Tide jolted, unable to stop himself from reacting. He told himself not to look, knew it made the lonely ache worse when he’d turn, expecting their smiling faces, just to find an empty spot. Only this time, when he turned around, there wasn’t an empty space at all.
There was William, standing across the room. Tide froze for a moment, his gaze flitting rapidly over the boy, and he knew at once that this was real, because his William had been pale, but not snow-white pale, not paper thin, not with a white streak in his hair and a chest that didn’t move and-
Tide was running before he knew it.
Will stumbled forward too, lunging into Tide’s open arms as the space between them closed with one, two, three blinks. Blinks where his boy didn’t disappear, where he was real, and then he was there, wrapped up in Tide’s arms. Holding him was like holding an ice sculpture, frigid and stiff and so delicately carved that it felt like he’d snap if Tide squeezed too hard. So Tide cradled him, close and firm but so gentle, because this was his boy and he looked like death.
They sank to the floor together, William clinging to Tide’s neck and babbling full speed about people and places Tide didn’t recognize or didn’t hear, too busy running one hand over Will’s bony spine and checking for a pulse with the other, growing more frantic when he couldn’t find it.
Will finally caught his hand in his own, shaking his head. “You won’t find one.”
“Will,” Tide choked out. “What happened?”
William cringed in on himself, his shoulders curving forward, so Tide tried a different approach. “How are you here? Are the others alright? Have you found-”
“Oh no,” William whispered, drawing back some. “Oh, fuck. Don’t worry, Tide, I’m okay, Dakota and Vynce are okay - I can’t stay, I can’t, I’m sorry. Don’t worry about us. We’ll see you soon, I promise.”
“Wait, wait no, I-”
“I’m about to go, okay? I’d stay if I could, but I can’t, we still have so much to do.”
Tide gripped his shoulders, giving him a slight shake. “You boys come here when you can, alright? Everything’s here, waiting for you. I- I’m waiting for you. Be safe, okay?” A strange glittering started to warp William’s form before his eyes and made Tide’s hands feel fuzzy. He ignored the sensation and pulled Will into a hug, relishing the embrace he got in return. “Be safe, alright? And remember, your fish dad-”
William vanished beneath his arms, leaving Tide curled protectively over thin air. “-loves you,” he whispered into the empty space once more.
He stood on shaky legs and didn’t let himself linger. The kids were okay. That was all he needed for now.
And when William got here, Tide would sit him down and listen to everything. All his recent adventures, his conspiracy theories, the mysteries he’d been obsessing over. Tide would prod Will into finally talking about the way he looked at Vyncent, and about how Tide could help him on those days he sunk into his bed for hours unable to rise. He’d ask him about the wisps, about his powers, about how he got them. And when Will was ready to tell him, Tide would listen, and they’d figure it out, together.
When his boys got home, Tide was going to take care of them. For real, this time. No matter what it took.