Chapter 1: Maria di Angelo Adopts the Orphans Living Next Door
Notes:
Any and all Italian is from Google Translate. Same goes for any non-English language used in the future unless otherwise specified. If there are any mistakes, please tell me. I want this to be as accurate as possible.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Part 1: Maria's Brats
March 10, 1937 (Evelyn Rogers)
“Steve,” Evelyn shook her brother, trying to wake him as quietly as possible. “Steve!”
“Go to sleep, Evvy,” he grumbled. “It’s still dark out.”
“Steve,” she insisted. “I think someone’s in trouble.”
This got him up immediately. He shot out of bed and went to put on his boots. Outside, Evelyn could hear some kind of a ruckus in front of the new neighbors door. She didn’t fully understand what was going on, but she could tell it probably wasn’t good.
“Stay here, Ev,” Steve instructed. She nodded and did as she was told, but she was so scared.
“Are you getting Bucky?” she asked. Steve was too small to fight the thugs off alone.
He shook his head, “Bucky needs his sleep, he’s been working so hard these days.”
After their mother had died a year ago, Bucky and Steve decided to move their families into a shared flat. The Barnes’ parents had been dead for a few years now, and Bucky and Becca had two little siblings to take care of as well. The three older kids were the ones who looked for work and took care of them, but since Steve and Becca were still in school, which Bucky refused to let them drop out of, most of the burden fell on Bucky, who had a low paying factory job.
Evelyn knew that he needed his sleep, Sundays being the only time he could actually get all eight recommended hours, but she knew Steve would probably get himself killed if he fought someone alone.
She crept into the room shared by Bucky and Becca and shook them awake. Bucky was grumbly at first, but once she’d briefed them on the situation, the siblings all but ran out the door to save Steve from whatever was out there.
They were gone for what felt like forever, and Evelyn had paced their small kitchen until her feet started to hurt, at which point she went to sit patiently on the faded green couch. She refused to go back to sleep until she saw that they were safely home.
When they finally came back after a nerve racking eternity, it was with two young children. A girl who looked about Evelyn’s age, and a boy who looked like he was four or five.
“What’s goin’ on?” a bleary eyed Danny walked into the room. Suzy trailed behind him. “Who’s that? Why’re they in our kitchen?”
“These are our new neighbors,” Bucky explained. “Their home was attacked by a group of thugs while their mom was out on an errand. Steve, Becca and I chased them off and brought the kids here to wait for their mom.”
“What’s your name?” Evelyn asked the girl. She was always excited for new friends. “I’m Evelyn Rogers. You know my brother Steve, Bucky and Becca. This is Danny, he’s the fun one, and Suzy. Ignore her if she’s a bit grumpy, she’s always like that.”
“Am not,” Suzy protested.
“My name is Bianca di Angelo,” the girl said in heavily accented and broken English. She gestured to her brother. “He is Nico.”
“They’re Italian,” Bucky explained. “They don’t speak much English yet.”
Bucky introduced them to everyone. He’d taken Italian in school, and had been good at it. He’d been good in every subject. Evelyn had heard Becca and Steve say that he’d been forced to give up his dreams of studying law when their parents died. He could have gone to one of the best schools in the country, but he gave all that up to support his siblings, dropping out of school to take a factory job to make ends meet.
“Do you want to see my dolly?” Evelyn asked Bianca, dragging her to her room by the wrist before she could answer, not even waiting for Bucky to translate her question. She carefully removed her china doll, her most prized possession, from the small toy chest and handed it to Bianca.
The doll in question had once been her mothers, and looked just like her with golden curls and cool gray eyes. She was wearing a blue sundress and holding a small matching parasol. Sarah Rogers had made the dress herself as a Christmas gift two years ago.
“Look at this,” Evelyn reached into the doll’s little pocket to show Bianca the tiny handkerchief that she kept there. “Becca helped me make it a few months ago. It even has her name on it,” she said excitedly, showing off the small embroidered letters.
“Beatrice,” Bianca read, though she pronounced it beh-a-tree-cheh.
“No, it's Beatrice,” Evelyn insisted, saying it bee-uh-tris.
Bucky laughed from the doorway, “That’s how it’s pronounced in Italian,” he explained patiently. “Some names are different in different languages. Like how Mary is English, Marie is French, and Maria is Spanish.”
“Oh,” said Evelyn. “Is there an Italian way to say Evelyn?”
“I think the closest is probably Evalina.”
“Mamma called friend Carolina, Lina.” Bianca smiled shyly. “Call you Lina?”
Evelyn never had a friend give her a special nickname before. The only nicknames she had were from her brothers, and while she loved them, there was just something different about getting one from a friend. “Only if I can call you a nickname too. What’s a nickname for Bianca?” She turned this question to her brother.
“Hmmm…” Bucky thought about it for a second. “How about Bia?”
“Bia,” Evelyn tried it out. “I like it. What do you think, Bia?”
Bianca grinned. “I like, Lina.”
“Can you teach me Italian if I teach you English?”
Bucky translated and Bia replied with an excited “Sì!”
Evelyn turned to Bucky. “That means yes, right?”
“Look at that, you’re learning already.”
“How do you say ‘Will you be my best friend?’” she asked him.
“ Sarai la mia migliore amica? ”
“ Sarai la mia migliore amica? ” Evelyn copied, though it sounded very different when she said it. Still, Bianca seemed to get the message, as she nodded enthusiastically.
By the time Maria di Angelo came home, Nico was fast asleep, thanks to Steve, and Evelyn and Bianca had learned to count to twenty in Italian and English respectively.
Bianca’s mother had initially panicked that her children weren't at home, but Becca spotted her and brought her home. Maria burst into the apartment in a flurry of panic.
“ Dio mio, grazie al cielo state bene entrambi. Pensavo che tuo zio potesse averti fatto del male, non spaventarmi mai più in quel modo. ” (My God, thank goodness you're both alright. I thought your uncle might have hurt you, don't ever scare me like that again.) Maria checked her children for injuries. “What happened,” she asked Steve.
“Evelyn here heard a lot of noise and we went to check it out.” Steve said. “Three thugs had broken in and were harassing them, but we chased them off. Bianca told Bucky you were out on an errand and we didn’t want to leave them alone in case those men came back, so we brought ‘em here.”
“ Guarda mamma, ho fatto una nuova amica! Si chiama Lina e mi sta insegnando l'inglese .” (Look mamma, I made a new friend! Her name is Lina, and she’s teaching me English). Bianca gestured wildly at Evelyn, who waved.
“Pleased to meet you, Mrs. di Angelo.”
“Oh none of that,” Maria waved her off. “Call me Maria. I’m pleased to meet you too, Signorina Lina.”
Bucky made introductions for everyone, and then asked Maria in a soft voice, “Why did you think their uncle hurt them?”
“Nico and Bianca’s father has a complicated family,” Maria said carefully, looking to make sure the younger kids weren’t listening. “His brothers don't like him very much, so they hate his children. One brother in particular seems to want him to suffer. And if he wanted to, he could seriously hurt the children. Their father believes he means to kill them. That’s why we’re hiding here, hoping he won’t notice us.”
“Do you think he sent those men?” Becca asked. The conversation was now hushed, and Evelyn strained to hear what the grown ups were saying. Were Bia and Nico in danger?
They murmured to each other for a bit longer, but Evelyn couldn’t hear what they were saying. She was distracted by Bia showing Nico Beatrice anyway.
“Enough of this talk,” said Maria suddenly, loud enough for Evelyn to hear. “You never know who could be listening. Now, where are your parents? I would like to thank them for letting Nico and Bianca stay here for the day.”
“We don’t have any,” Bucky answered truthfully. “Not anymore. They died, Mom when Suzy was born, then Dad from drink a few years ago. Steve and Evelyn’s dad died in the army. Man survived the Great War just to die in a fire in the barracks. Mrs. Rogers died last year, from tuberculosis. She was a nurse, caught it from one of her patients.”
“Oh you poor children,” Maria gasped with sympathy. “That’s it, you are all coming for dinner tonight. No complaints or excuses.”
“We wouldn’t want to impose,” Becca protested.
“It’s not an imposition,” Maria insisted. “It is a thank you for saving my children from those monsters today. And I always make far too much food anyway.”
The kids still looked uncertain, so she added, “I’m making lasagna,” in a sing-song voice.
Bucky grinned, “Can’t say no to lasagna. Especially when the other option is Becca’s boiled turkey.”
“Excuse you,” Becca retorted. “If you hate my cooking so much, you’re always welcome to make dinner instead. Every single night.”
“Don’t let him do that,” Steve joked. “He’ll burn down the whole building.”
“Please, even I’m not that bad,” Bucky protested.
“You almost burned down the apartment by lighting a candle,” Suzy reminded him. “Twice.”
“Et tu, Susannah?” Bucky gasped dramatically and clutched his chest, “Betrayed by my own baby sister. Then falls Bucky.” He flopped to the ground and played dead.
Becca rolled her eyes fondly at her brother’s antics. Suzy wrinkled her nose and looked annoyed.
“I’m not a baby,” she said stubbornly. “Evvy is the baby. I’m ten years old.”
Evelyn stuck her tongue out at her sister. Though she liked the attention and doting that being the youngest got her, she hated being called a baby, especially by Danny and Suzy.
“No,” said Bianca softly, but everyone heard. She had a small, shy smile on her face, “Nico is baby.”
Everyone laughed, and for the first time since her mother died, Evelyn felt like their little family was whole.
Notes:
Some Notes (Mostly just things I changed):
1. Steve's dad died much later than he did in canon. This is because he originally died in WW1, but that wouldn't fit with the addition of Evelyn, so now he died in 1930, a few months after Evelyn was born.
2. In a flashback in The Winter Soldier, Bucky offered to let Steve stay with him after his mom died. In the movie, he said no because he could make his own way, but I think if he had a little sister to take care of, he would probably say yes for her sake.
3. According to the wiki, Bucky is the eldest of four siblings, but I could only find one name, Rebecca Barnes, so I named the other two Daniel and Susannah.
4. Bucky is also an orphan, and the Barnes are poor. They live in the tenements of Brooklyn.
5. Steve and Evelyn see the Barnes siblings as their siblings and vice versa. (the di Angelos will soon be included in this)
6. The di Angelos move to America five years before they go missing. I figured they'd been in America for some time, since neither of them seemed to have accents in The Titan's Curse. They also move to New York instead of D.C., so that this crossover can happen.
7. Maria di Angelo is the OG Sally Jackson. She just adopts and mothers everyone.
8. According to the wiki, this is all happening on Bucky's Birthday. I didn't notice until I was double checking the ages, it was a complete coincidence that the day I chose for the di Angelos to meet everyone was Bucky's birthday (what are the odds?), so I guess he just didn't want to make a big deal about it or something?The kids ages:
Bucky - 20
Steve - 18
Becca - 16
Danny - 11
Suzy - 10
Evelyn - 7
Bianca - 7
Nico - 5
Chapter 2: Bianca vs. The Worst Substitute Teacher in New York
Summary:
Bianca starts school with Evelyn. It goes well, until it doesn't.
Notes:
Notice: I do not know Italian, and all the Italian in the chapter is from Google Translate. If you see any mistakes, please tell me so I can fix it.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
March 22, 1937 (Bianca di Angello)
To say Bianca was nervous would be an understatement. While Evelyn seemed genuinely excited for school, Bianca was filled with dread.
School had already been hard enough in Venice, but at least the teachers and other students spoke Italian. Would her reading be even worse now that it was in English?
“I’m scared,” she’d told her mother the night before. “What if they make fun of me?”
“I know baby,” Maria said. “It’s always scary to try new things. But your new friend will be with you. I know you can be brave, just like your Papa.”
On the walk to school, Evelyn talked Bianca’s ear off, but she was having a hard time paying attention. She had felt sick to her stomach all morning and hadn’t even been able to eat her breakfast.
Evelyn had gotten Bianca a seat in the front of the classroom, right next to Eveyln’s own seat, which she was equally glad and horrified at. She liked that she would have Lina next to her, but she didn’t want to be noticed by the teacher. Bianca and teachers had never gotten on well in the past.
Almost immediately after the morning bell rang, the teacher, Ms. Harper, called the class to attention. After the good mornings and the collection of last week’s homework, Ms. Harper made the announcement.
“It appears we have a new student today,” she said. “Why don’t you introduce yourself, dear.”
Bianca stood up carefully, looking to Lina for moral support. Her best friend gave her a reassuring smile that calmed Bianca’s nerves a little.
“My name is Bianca di Angelo,” she said, hoping no one would make fun of her accent. “I am of Venezia in Italy. I am still learning English, sorry.”
“It’s alright dear,” Ms. Harper said “And I’m sure the rest of the class will help you learn, isn’t that right class?”
“Yes Ms. Harper,” the students all chorused, though most of them sounded lifeless and mechanical. Bianca supposed it was just too early in the morning for them to care. She sat down quickly, hoping to be out of the spotlight, but she noticed a few curious glances at her.
They started with some history, which was a subject Bianca had enjoyed, but she didn’t understand anything that was going on. Bianca had only ever learned Italian history, who was this George Washington the teacher kept going on about?
When they finally broke for recess, Bianca was thoroughly confused. She hadn’t been able to follow any of the events the teacher had covered, and they would have a test about it at the end of the week. Lina assured her that she could just ask Bucky for help, that he was always helping all the kids with their homework.
It was at recess that Bianca finally met some of her classmates. There was Patty, an enthusiastic girl who felt it was her duty to make Bianca feel welcome, Clara, who was one of Evelyn’s friends (“But not my best friend,” Lina had assured her, “Don’t worry, that will always be you.”), Charlie, the smartest, and most mischievous, boy in school, Harvey, an energetic rascal who was practically bouncing off the walls, Minnie, who was so shy and sweet that Bianca immediately felt protective of her, and Violet, a dark and morose girl that Bianca felt a sort of kinship with, and many more who she couldn’t remember. There were too many to keep them all straight, and they had all been so friendly.
Well, almost all. On the walk to school, Evelyn had warned her about a certain Olivia McGee, the meanest person she’d ever known. Bianca had wondered if Lina was exaggerating, but upon meeting the girl, she learned the truth. If anything, Evelyn was downplaying the horror of this girl.
They first truly met in the halls, where Olivia made sure to trip Bianca in front of everyone. Evelyn had been livid, yelling at the girl in English too fast for Bianca to understand. Olivia ignored her and looked right into Bianca’s eyes, her own cold and unforgiving. She said something, and while Bianca didn’t understand exactly what she’d said, the gist was clear.
Don’t forget your place, peasant. I am Queen of this school.
Bianca had met people like her in Italy. Bratty rich kids who thought they were better than everyone else and that their money meant they could trample over those below them. While her family had been very rich in Venice, Bianca had never been one of those kids. Not only had her mother taught her better than that, but even the di Angelo family’s wealth and social standing couldn’t make up for the fact that she was an idiot who couldn’t even read at the age of eight. No one had wanted her as a friend.
“Are you okay,” Evelyn asked as she helped Bianca to her feet. “I can’t believe she would do that to you. That no good, rotten -” Evelyn started ranting too fast for Bianca to keep up, but she smiled at her friend’s protective rage.
“I am fine,” Bianca said. “She’s not the only mean girl I’ve met, probably won’t be the last. è la vita.”
“Are you sure? I can ask one of the boys to put a lizard in her soup, I know Harvey would gladly do it for you.”
“No no,” Bianca held up her hands, but couldn’t help laughing. Just the image of bratty Olivia screaming at a dead lizard in her soup was enough to send her into a fit of giggles. “Don’t get trouble for me. I’m fine.”
“Oh all right,” Evelyn sighed, disappointed. “Next time. I really want to put a lizard in someone’s soup. It sounds like fun.”
April 28, 1937 (Evelyn Rogers)
It wasn’t for a few more weeks until there was a real problem. Bia had been flourishing at school, much to Olivia’s chagrin, making friends and even studying hard.
Ms. Harper understood that Bianca needed more help with some subjects, but since Bianca was eager to learn, she didn’t mind having to pay extra attention to the young Italian girl. And at home, Bucky would help her with whatever she needed. If Evelyn didn’t love her friend so very much, she might have felt jealousy for how much attention her older brother paid her.
But no, the whole family loved their new neighbors, who were quickly becoming family themselves. Becca would cook dinner with Maria every night, and they would eat together. Steve, Becca and Bucky had taken the di Angelo children under their wings, and Evelyn saw Nico as the little brother she’d never had. Evelyn was already struggling not to call Maria mom.
She felt awful the first time she almost slipped up. Sarah Rogers had only been gone for a year, what did it say about Evelyn that she was so ready to replace her? Was she a bad daughter? Was her mother up in heaven, bitterly watching her daughter forget her? Would she hate Evelyn for moving on so quickly?
When she’d voiced these fears to Steve, he’d been quick to reassure her. She wasn’t replacing her mother, and Sarah would have wanted Evelyn to be happy, she wouldn’t care if Evelyn called Maria mom. Still, Evelyn felt uneasy about the whole thing.
The di Angelos didn’t only bring changes to Evelyn’s life at home, but at school too. Suddenly, Evelyn had so many more friends than she’d had before. She had always been friendly, but only really spent time with Clara and Minnie. But Bianca was a girl who could make friends as easily as she breathes, and though she had started out shy and reserved, Evelyn was proud of how quickly she had become the most beloved member of their class.
The problem came when Ms. Harper caught influenza and couldn’t teach for a few weeks. Instead, one of the fourth grade teachers, Mr. Anderson stepped in. Everyone in the class was scared of him. Unlike Ms. Harper, who was one of the nicest people Evelyn had ever met, Mr. Anderson was infamous for being strict and mean. And this wasn’t an undeserved reputation.
Bianca had always had trouble reading, something Bucky and Evelyn were helping her with. When Mr. Anderson called on her to read aloud, Evelyn’s little heart filled with dread.
“I can’t sir,” Bianca said softly.
“Speak up,” he ordered, making her flinch.
“I can’t read it sir,” she said louder, her voice quivering.
“If I tell you to read the passage, you will read the passage. I am the teacher, and you will do as I say. No excuses.”
So Bianca was forced to read aloud. She stumbled through the passage, taking five minutes to get through a single sentence. The air in the class grew heavier as they watched Mr. Anderson’s expression fill with ire and disgust.
He stopped her with a burning glare, “What do you think you are doing, young lady?”
“I’m trying to read, sir,” poor Bianca’s voice quivered. Her accent got thicker the more nervous she was. One of the boys in the back row gave a small chuckle, which just made Mr. Anderson more mad.
“Do you think this is funny, girl?”
“N-no signore,” Bianca was trembling now. “I can’t read.”
“Then I guess you are just stupid. Is that right, are you just a stupid little girl?”
She’s not stupid, Evelyn wanted to yell, but stayed silent. It wasn’t Bia’s fault that she couldn’t read and she didn’t know English very well. But even she was too scared of this teacher to stand up for her friend.
“Stand up here,” he demanded. Bianca slowly stood, her entire little body trembling as she made her way to the front of the classroom. Evelyn could almost feel the fear radiating off of her.
Once Bianca stood in front of the desk, Anderson demanded she present her palms to him. Evelyn couldn’t even describe the horror she felt as he brought a ruler down on her hands again and again, the whole time berating her for her stupidity.
Bianca bit back tears and stood shaking as the ruler kept coming down on her palm. Evelyn had never wanted to hug her best friend more. She had never hated anyone, not even Olivia or Mr. Barnes or even that mean old man who lived in Apartment 5C as much as she hated Mr. Anderson at that moment.
When he’d finished destroying Bia’s hands and the last shreds of self-worth she had left, he placed a large cone shaped hat reading dunce on her head and forced her to sit on a stool in the front of the class until the lunch bell rang.
Evelyn watched her friend die inside as mean children laughed and jeered at her, led by the brat herself, Olivia McGee. She wished she could help her, but she was just trapped there, watching her suffer.
Evelyn felt a sort of righteous anger like she’d never felt before. In the back of her mind, she wondered if this was how Steve often felt, if this is why he got into so many scrapes standing up for what’s right.
This isn’t the end, Evelyn promised internally. I will get them back for this.
April 28, 1937 (Bianca di Angello)
When they were finally free, Bianca had been the first one out of the door, not being able to take it for another second. She had never felt so humiliated in her life. She couldn’t face her friends after what had happened.
Were they all laughing at her? She remembered Olivia and her cronies cackling at her misfortune, what if her friends were now realizing just how dumb Bianca really was. Maybe they wouldn’t want to be her friends anymore. After all, who wanted an idiot for a friend?
“I want to go home,” she cried in a bathroom stall. “I just want to go home.”
Where was home? Was it Venice, where she had grown up? No, it couldn’t be. She had never been happy in Venice, never felt like she belonged. The only thing she had liked about Venice was that her mother and brother were there, and now they were here. And New York had Lina, and Bucky and Becca and Danny and the entire family she had come to adore.
“Bianca,” a soft voice called. It was Violet Graves, one of her new friends. “Are you in here?”
She sobbed loudly and Violet found her hiding place.
“Go away,” Bianca cried. “ Mi vergogno troppo per mostrare la mia faccia. Stanno tutti ridendo di me. Io sono stupido. Che sciocco che sono. Sono rotta? (I’m too ashamed to show my face. They’re all laughing at me. I’m stupid. I’m so stupid. Am I broken?)
“No, no,” Violet assured her, shaking her head so vigorously that her long black hair danced in the air. To Bianca’s surprise, Violet switched to Italian. “ Non sei stupida. Non c'è niente di sbagliato in te. Semplicemente non sei bravo a leggere. Neanch'io.” (You’re not stupid. There’s nothing wrong with you. You’re just not good at reading. Neither am I.)
“Non sei?” (You’re not?)
Violet shook her head. “È difficile anche per me.” (It’s hard for me too.)
“Ma sembri così bravo in classe. (But you seem to be so good in class)” Bianca said, “Non sembra che tu abbia molti problemi.” (You don’t seem to have much trouble)
“Mio fratello mi ha insegnato alcuni metodi per gestire. Se vuoi, te lo mostro più tardi, ma devi uscire e affrontare tutti. (My brother taught me some methods to cope. If you want, I’ll show you later, but you have to come out and face everyone).” Violet switched back to English. “No one is laughing, I promise. Evelyn’s been worried sick. She made all of us go looking for you.”
“Lei ha fatto? (She did?) ” Bianca was surprised. Her friend really did care for her. “Okay, we go.”
When they finally emerged, Lina ran up to her and hugged her so tight that she could almost feel her ribs cracking.
“Too tight, Lina,” she choked, and Evelyn loosened her grip.
“I was so worried,” Evelyn said. “Are you okay, are you hurt-” she started talking really fast, and Bianca couldn’t keep up.
“Slow, per favore ,” Bianca said. “I don’t understand.”
“Are you alright? Do your hands hurt?”
Bianca nodded, showing her her swollen, red palms. Evelyn sucked in a breath and gave her another hug.
“I’m so sorry,” she said. “Let’s get you home. I don’t think Maria would mind, and I don’t want you to sit in that class again.”
Bianca opened her mouth to protest, but then thought better of it. She was really tired and the thought of sitting in front of that teacher again today was just more than she could bear. And she just wanted to hug her Mamma after her horrible day.
“Okay,” said Bianca. “Let’s go home.”
Notes:
Some Notes:
1. Schools in the 30s were mostly one room school houses, but for a larger city like New York, it would have been a bit more similar to what we know today, with multiple teachers and classes, seperated by grade levels.
2. While dyslexia had been discovered in the 1800s, it was not common knowledge in this time period, meaning that teachers were unequiped to help students with dyslexia and many people would see children with dyslexia as just stupid or slackers (history sucks sometimes)
3. Teachers in the 30s would often use public humilation and corporal punishment to discipline their students. This would include getting hit with a ruler and sometimes use of a "dunce cap." The other students would often laugh at their peer's misfortune, since children can be evil sometimes.
4. Bianca has a double problem. She struggles to read because of her dyslexia and she also originally learned to read in Italian, which is very different set of rules, causing more confusion.
5. Bianca's struggle to understand the history lesson was inspired by a friend of mine in Elementary school, who moved to America in fifth grade and had to get extra tutoring in history because she had learned only Indian history before and was missing a lot of context. I assume this would be even worse back then, when there was more seperation between countries without the internet making communication easier.
6. Bianca was too emotionally distraught to ask how Violet knows Italian (aka, I couldn't find a way to fit it in the conversation), but basically, Violet is an orphan who got adopted by an Italian immigrant as a toddler.Important: I have not read The Sun and The Star yet, but I completed a timeline for how this fic is going to go a while ago (leaving room for TSATS post-snap). While it is mostly canon compliant, I made major changes to a few background characters that I am very attached to. So if the Stoll Brothers, Drew or Katie, for example, are in the book and do something important, there is a chance I will have to change a few things.
Chapter 3: Evelyn (and Danny) Ruin a Proposal
Chapter Text
April 28, 1937 (Steve Rogers)
When Evelyn and Bianca came home, everyone could immediately tell something had happened. Both girl’s eyes burned red, Bianca’s with tears, Evelyn’s with fury. “Are you girls okay,” Becca asked, concerned. “Did something happen at school?”
Bianca nodded solemnly, but it was Evelyn who responded. “Mean ol’ Anderson was our teacher today.”
“Evvy,” Steve reprimanded. “Don’t call him that. You should respect your teachers.”
“He made fun of Bia for not knowing English and not knowing how to read, then hit her with a ruler,” she said, grabbing Bianca’s hands and showing them her red marked palms. “Then he made her sit in front of the class wearing the dunce cap. He’s so mean.”
“ Oh mia cara (Oh my darling) , ” Maria gasped. She grabbed Bianca into a hug. “How are you feeling?”
“My hands hurt,” she said.
“I have some cream in our flat, venga con me (Come with me).” The two left the Barnes and Rogers kids alone, along with a Nico who was sleeping on Steve's lap.
“That bastard,” Becca thundered. “Hurting sweet innocent Bianca like that. It’s not her fault she doesn’t speak much English.”
“Language,” Steve called from where he was sitting on the couch with a sleeping Nico, covering his ears. The boy looked so peaceful and serene, he didn’t want to wake him up.
“We should try dropping him in Italy, see how he deals with not understanding Italian, that son of a w-”
“Becca,” Bucky scolded, interrupting her before she could teach the children any more curse words. “I agree, but we can’t make an example of insulting teachers in front of Danny, Evelyn and Suzy.”
“Or Nico,” Steve pointed at the child curled up on the couch. “And especially using words like that.”
“But he was mean to Bia,” Evelyn protested. “That’s not fair!”
“I know it’s unfair Evvy,” Bucky said, “but sometimes we have to deal with bad people who do bad things, and we just have to make sure we are still good despite that. We can’t do anything about them, and we just have to deal with it.”
“Well now,” said Steve, not wanting his sister to get the wrong message, “That’s not exactly right either. If we all just let bad people walk all over us, there won’t be any good left. You have to stand up for what you believe in.”
“Yes, but not in this circumstance,” Bucky hissed. “What do you want, for her to beat up her teacher?”
“No but-”
“And your need to stand up for what you believe in leads to you being beaten in an alleyway at least once a week,” Becca added. Why was everyone ganging up on him now? “I doubt we should be teaching Evelyn to do that.”
“And I don’t think we should be teaching her to lie down and take whatever shit anybody gives her.” Steve raised his voice.
“Now who needs to watch his language around the kids?” Becca exclaimed. It was then that they remembered their audience. Said kids were staring at them in confusion.
“So you’re saying I should just let mean people be mean to my friends?” Evelyn asked, cocking her head and blinking her large eyes innocently.
“No,” said Bucky. “That’s not what I mean.”
“So I should get back at Mr. Anderson?”
“No, that’s not what we mean either,” he said desperately, not knowing how to explain the nuances of dealing with shitty authority figures to a seven year old.
“So what should she do?” asked Danny, who also looked completely lost.
“Nothing,” Becca declared desperately. “She should go to her room and do her homework. And so should you!”
The three kids exchanged mystified glances and did as they were told, leaving Steve, Becca, and Bucky alone.
“That went poorly,” Steve slumped his head back and rubbed his face with his free hand. Somehow, Nico had managed to stay asleep through the yelling.
“I’m starting to think we’re not very good at being parents,” Bucky said at last.
“Why, whatever gave you that impression,” Becca said sarcastically.
May 1, 1937 (Danny Barnes)
How Danny had gotten roped into this was a complete mystery to him. He’d been pleasantly minding his own business the day before when Evelyn came into his room and declared that she needed a garden snake.
“Or a frog, whichever you can get. Or better yet, make it a lizard.”
“Why,” he asked, suspicious.
“Remember when I asked you for information on Anderson?”
“It was yesterday.” Of course he remembered. He’d had to break into Anderson’s office and root through his schedule diary. It wasn’t hard, necessarily, but it was still dangerous. Evelyn had paid him two Snickers bars for his efforts.
“So you remember that he’s taking his girl out to Robin’s Diner tomorrow night?”
“Of course. What does that have to do with your lizard?”
Evelyn gave him a wicked smile. “You’ll see.”
So now here he was, hiding in a booth next to the meanest teacher in the school with Evelyn and a small gecko, praying his older sister doesn’t notice them.
“Did this have to be during Becca’s shift?” he grumbled. “She’s going to kill us.”
“That’s just the sacrifice we have to make, soldier,” said Evelyn, mimicking the war film that they’d seen a couple weeks before the di Angelos moved in. “Besides, I promise to do your chores for a week.”
“Two weeks,” Danny countered.
“One and a half weeks,” said Evelyn. “And I won’t tell Becca that you cut class to play baseball last Friday.”
“What? How did you-”
“I have my ways,” Evelyn grinned mischievously. Danny would be lying if he said he wasn’t just the tiniest bit scared of the wicked gleam in her eyes.
Truthfully, Danny probably would have agreed to this scheme without the bribe, though a week and a half of no chores did help. He cared about Bianca, and was angry at the teacher who hurt her. He wanted revenge on the old creep just as much as Evelyn did. He just also wanted to not be killed by his sister for what they were about to do.
In the next booth, Anderson sat across from his girlfriend, who Danny thought was too pretty for a grump like him. She could really do better. Then again, anyone could do better than mean ol’ Anderson.
They were talking about their days. Apparently Anderson’s girl was a nurse at the children’s ward, and was talking about a little girl who was very sick. The nurse was doing her best to keep the girl’s spirits up, but it was clear she wasn’t going to last long. This made the nurse (and Danny) sad. Danny decided she was too nice for a grouch like Anderson too.
He watched in disgust as the teacher softly petted her hand and murmured comforting words, the liar. How could a humiliate one little girl, only to feign compassion for another? Danny didn’t feel the least bit sorry for what they were about to do.
Waiting for the most opportune moment to strike, Danny and Evelyn sat in that booth for most of the dinner. Evelyn kept them entertained with stories and conversation, pausing every once in a while to feed small crumbs of bread to the gecko. It had been a while since he’d just sat down and talked to his sister, and he was pleasantly surprised at how fun it was. He should do this more often, he thought.
The couple in the next booth were almost done with their food, and had just ordered dessert, when Evelyn spotted her chance.
Dessert? Danny thought. It must be a special occasion, getting dessert at a diner on a teacher’s salary. His mind flashed back to how Anderson kept fidgeting with something in his pocket, to the star marked on this day on his datebook.
“Oh no,” Danny realized. “Oh no, no, no. Ev? Ev, we can’t do this. Not tonight.”
“Why not?” she asked.
“He’s going to propose,” he said. “Anderson’s gonna propose to his girl. We can’t ruin that!”
“Even better then,” Evelyn said deviously.
“What! Absolutely not!” Danny refused to ruin such a romantic moment, even if it was for someone he hated.
“Don’t go chicken on me now,” Evelyn growled. “We need to get justice for Bia, like Steve said.”
“Yeah but-”
“If you won’t do it, I’ll do it myself,” she declared.
“Evelyn, don’t you dare,” he lunged across the table. Evelyn held the gecko in position, just out of Danny’s reach. Stupid little sisters. “Give me that lizard, Evvy.”
“No,” she said stubbornly. Then many things happened all at once.
Danny could have sworn that time slowed down at that moment.
Anderson knelt down and presented a diamond ring to his girl.
Evelyn tossed the lizard over her shoulder and into Anderson’s pie.
Danny watched the nurse’s expression shift from confusion to a surprised smile to a horrified shriek as the lizard got up from among the berries and started ambling across the table towards her.
Anderson’s girl screamed and all hell broke loose.
The waitress, started by the scream, tripped and spilled a cream soda all over Anderson’s jacket. Anderson then started yelling at the poor girl while his maybe fiancee was still screaming as the lizard sat right in front of her and stared at the bizarre woman.
In all the commotion, Danny almost didn’t hear a furious voice yelling.
“Evelyn Jane Rogers! Daniel John Barnes!”
We’re dead, was Danny’s last thought before turning to face his enraged sister. We’re so dead.
May 1, 1937 (Becca Barnes)
Just one day, she thought angrily, grabbing her siblings by the sleeve and pulling them behind her. Just one day without any trouble. Is that really too much to ask for?
She didn’t know if she was asking her siblings, herself or God. Regardless, she didn’t get an answer.
Becca dragged the two pranksters back to the flat, berating them the entire way. Were they trying to get her fired with their shenanigans? Her boss was kind enough to let them sit in the diner while she was working, and then they went and pulled something like this!
“I hope you two have a good explanation for all this,” Becca fumed. “It’s a miracle Campbell didn’t fire me right then and there.”
“We had to.” Evelyn insisted. “It was important.”
“More important than my job?” Becca asked. “More important than the money we desperately need to keep food on the table?”
“Ye-” Evelyn started to insist before Danny elbowed her in the ribs.
“No,” he hung his head in shame. If Becca hadn’t been so mad, she would have found the gesture endearing. “We’re sorry Becca, honest. Evelyn just wanted revenge for Bianca, and I guess we weren’t thinking. Please don’t be too mad.”
They’d reached the flat and Becca walked in and slumped on the couch, burying her head in her hands.
“What am I going to do with you,” she bemoaned. “Is it really so hard to stay out of trouble, Danny? And you should have known better than to encourage your sister like this. You’re eleven, almost a man. Set a better example.”
“I know,” he said. “I just- I didn’t think. I’m sorry,” he said again.
Becca sighed, the last bit of anger draining out of her, leaving her just exhausted. “You are both grounded for two weeks,” Becca said finally. “No staying after school to play baseball or going to Clara’s for tea parties. You go straight to school and straight back. And you have to explain to Steve and Bucky what you did.”
“What are we supposed to do if we can’t play with our friends?” asked Evelyn.
“Don’t worry,” said Becca. “I’ve got plenty of chores for you. You’re going to be the best little helpers for the next 14 days. Understood?”
“Yes ma’am,” Evelyn looked at her toes.
Satisfied, Becca left the room to start on dinner. She was too exhausted to make anything good, she’d been on her feet for hours, and had been busy studying for hours before that.
Just four more weeks, she thought. Just four more weeks until graduation, then she could focus on the diner and the house, without having to also stress about school.
She would also be able to work more hours on weekdays, which meant more of that desperately needed money. She would have dropped out ages ago, like so many of her friends had, if it hadn’t been for Bucky’s insistence that she at least finish high school, but she’d put her foot down about college.
Steve had gotten a full scholarship to a nearby school, but she knew she wouldn’t be getting anything like that, and despite Bucky wanting to make sure his siblings had every opportunity, they just didn't have the money, and Becca wasn’t going to let him shoulder most of the burden any longer than she could help it. The minute she was done with school, she was finally going to do her part.
Chapter 4: Tutoring Sessions and Family Dinners
Chapter Text
May 5 - May 28, 1937 (Evelyn Rogers)
Bia was crying again.
Ever since she’d been humiliated by that terrible teacher, some of the kids, led by that nasty Olivia McGee, have been teasing her for struggling, calling her mean names and mocking her broken English. Even Ms. Harper couldn’t get them to leave the poor girl alone.
Evelyn’s little heart broke every time she had to find Bianca sobbing her eyes out because of something Olivia and her posse did. Bianca still had many friends at school, but that confidence she’d had before was all but evaporated, and everyone could tell.
Where once she’d shined, Bianca tried to disappear now. She hardly ever spoke at school anymore, ashamed of how she didn’t sound like everyone else.
After a few weeks of this shadow Bianca, Evelyn had decided enough was enough. Bucky would help Bianca with her reading at home, but he was so busy that it just wasn’t enough anymore. And if Bucky couldn’t do it, Evelyn would have to step up.
There was only one Italian speaking girl at school that Bianca was comfortable around, Violet Graves, so Evelyn was quick to recruit her help. The two girls decided that they would teach Bianca to read and speak English during the lunch hour. Ms. Harper had graciously allowed them use of her classroom, as long as they didn’t make a mess.
On the first tutoring session, Bianca had been hesitant. “I not learn from others, why is this different?”
Violet explained that she thought she knew what the problem was. “It’s called dyslexia,” she told the girls, “it’s not very well known, but lots of people have it, like me and my brother. It means you find it hard to read, but my brother helped me learn some skills to cope.”
“And you think Bia has this dyslexia?” Evelyn asked, stumbling over the unknown word.
Violet nodded. “That crossed with her not knowing English is why it’s so hard for her. But that doesn’t mean she’s stupid, no matter what anyone thinks. That’s what Luka always says. He says ‘Vi, don’t let anyone ever call you stupid. It takes strength and smarts to overcome’, whatever that means.”
“Violet,” Evelyn chided. “You're getting off track. The point is, Bianca, we love and want to help you, so let’s get some reading into you!”
At first, it had been hard. Not only was it difficult for her to process the letters, but English and Italian had such different rules.
“So in English, ‘C’ is a ka and ‘CH’ is cha? That makes not sense,” Bianca had said. “In Italian, it is the opposite.”
There were many things about English that confused Bianca (and confused Evelyn when she started thinking about it), but the two girls patiently explained them to Bianca, and she slowly began to understand.
The girls spent every lunch for weeks helping Bianca sound out words and learn English grammar, and Violet even showed her some tricks that helped her read. Evelyn didn’t really understand how they helped, but they did, so that was really all that mattered.
A few weeks later, Ms. Harper announced that the class would be memorizing poems to recite. She handed each student a paper with a unique poem. Evelyn received “The Walrus and the Carpenter,” by Lewis Carroll, and Bianca was handed “The Lady of Shalott” by Alfred Tennyson.
Bianca spent the whole two weeks studying and practicing the poem, working harder than Evelyn had ever seen her before.
“This is my chance to prove I can do this,” she’d told her. “I can finally show everyone I’m not stupid like that teacher said.”
When the day finally arrived, both of them were nervous. Ms. Harper chose the names from a hat, and Charlie Robinson went first. Through all of the previous student’s turns, Bianca was practically vibrating with nerves.
When it was Evelyn’s turn, she was so busy worrying about Bianca that she barely registered the words she was saying. Ms. Harper didn’t seem to react poorly, so she must have done well, but she didn’t really care in that moment.
The last time Bianca had read aloud in front of the class, it had gone so poorly, and Evelyn just wanted to protect her friend from that kind of pain again.
Bianca walked to the front of the classroom after Ms. Harper called out her name. Evelyn knew that the teacher would be very forgiving of any mistakes Bianca made, but after how Anderson had humiliated her in front of them, many of their classmates would not. No matter how many friends Bianca had, Olivia had more followers.
From the corner of her eye, Evelyn saw Olivia whisper something in Molly’s ear, giggling. Her hand clenched into a fist, she was sure the bully was poking fun at Bia.
At the board, Bianca took a deep breath and straightened her spine by rolling back her shoulders. Then, she started to recite. “On either side the river lie/Long fields of barley and of rye…”
The soft murmuring of the classroom, which had been there the whole day, suddenly disappeared as everyone stared at Bianca.
While everyone else had recited their verses in a monotone, Bianca’s voice carried emotion as she recited her poem. Her pronunciation was perfect, but her accent seemed to enhance her performance, for it really did feel like a performance, and made every word sound magical and melancholy.
“God in his mercy lend her grace/The Lady of Shalott.” Bianca finished. Everyone in the room was shocked, and there was a still silence that rang louder as she stopped talking.
Bianca looked confused at first, as if wondering what she did wrong, before the class burst into applause. The look of joy on her face in that moment was one Evelyn would remember forever.
The moment the bell rang, signaling the end of the school day, every single one of Bianca’s friends crowded around her and gave her praise and congratulations.
Clara even went so far as to tackle her to the ground with a hug, practically screaming about how well she did and how she sure showed that meanie what for. Whether she meant Olivia or Anderson, Evelyn couldn’t say. She was too busy laughing and marveling at how happy and surprised Bianca was by the sudden attention.
When they got home, everyone was so proud when Evelyn told them how well Bianca did in her recitation.
“Were you nervous,” Danny asked.
Bia shook her head, “It was actually a little fun standing in front of everyone.”
“She didn’t just recite it either,” Evelyn added. “Why, the way she said the words reminded me of the movies. I think Ms. Harper almost cried. And she told her she did well, which she didn’t do for anyone else!”
“Well done, signorina,” Bucky said with a twinkle in his eye, ruffling Bianca’s hair. “Can we get an encore?”
“What is an encore?” Bianca asked.
“A repeat performance. Can you read us your poem?”
Bianca nodded and did it again. And again, everyone was shocked by how beautiful and melancholy she had made it sound.
“Good Lord,” Becca gasped when she’d finished. “That was beautiful Bianca. Truly incredible.”
“I just imagined how the Lady was feeling, so tired and lonely and sad, and how Lancelot felt finding her floating down the river,” she said. “It just felt right.”
Everyone praised Bianca, and she smiled shyly. “I wouldn’t have been able to if Evelyn didn’t help me in school every day,” she told them. “I think she’s the best teacher ever.”
Evelyn hugged her friend tightly, that word ringing in her ear. Teacher.
May 9, 1937 (Becca Barnes)
Sunday dinners had once been the highlight of the week, back when Becca’s mother had been alive. Winifred Barnes had been a queen of the kitchen, and Becca remembered helping her mother cook every Sunday for a big meal.
But ever since she died, and the duties of being the woman of the house fell to her, that magic was gone and by Sundays now, Becca was too tired to make a giant meal, or really do much more than boil some turkey.
She still remembered her mothers old dishes, still had the recipe book written in her own hand, but never had time to make any of them. They never sat down to eat together anymore either. Everyone was so busy and exhausted, and no one wanted to wait until Bucky came home late every night. All in all, meals weren’t about the family anymore, and Becca often felt like she was disappointing her mother by letting the tradition die. She was the woman of the house, it was her job to keep everyone together, but she could hardly keep herself together most days, and everyone was just drifting apart.
But that had all changed when the di Angelos had come into their lives. Maria brought back life and togetherness to meals. Sunday dinners were back on, with Maria, Becca and Steve sharing the burden of feeding seven hungry people. And they ate together. Becca had almost forgotten what it was like to sit together with her family around a table and just exist with them.
Maria also taught Becca some of her own family recipes, which the children always devoured with gusto. She hated to admit it, but Maria might actually be a better cook than even her late mother. And with the addition of Steve helping and making his own mother’s dishes, every meal also served as a sort of memorial to their lost family. The first time Bucky had tasted lemon chicken made in their mother’s style in years, tears started running down his cheeks and he’d excused himself to cry in private. Becca had gone after him, and they sat and talked, reminiscing and remembering her together.
The di Angelos had brought a new light to the family, who had barely been surviving and had been still shrouded in grief and darkness before they’d entered their lives. Slowly, Becca had even started to see Maria as a motherly figure in her life, something she hadn’t had in over ten years. She and Bucky had taken to calling her “Mother Maria,” something that Danny and Suzy had also been quick to adopt, but Steve and Evelyn had only lost their mother a year ago, and Becca could see the guilt in little Evvy’s eyes whenever she slipped and called Maria mom.
“So,” Becca started. “How was school today?”
“It was alright,” Danny said. “Me and the boys-”
“The boys and I,” corrected Bucky.
“The boys and I,” he amended, rolling his eyes, “found a bird’s nest, and we used our slingshots to try to hit the bird, but we all missed and it flew away. We were going to steal the eggs, to eat, but Dottie wouldn’t let us. She said it was cruel.” He made a face. “Then Marvin McGinnis called me a sissy for listening to a girl. Am I a sissy?” he asked his brothers.
“Of course not,” Steve said. “That McGinnis boy doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”
“He said his old man says any man who lets a woman order him around isn’t a real man.”
“Well that’s just silly,” said Bucky. “Becca tells me what to do all the time, does that make me weak?”
Danny shook his head. “I guess not.”
“It is a wise man who listens to the wisdom of others,” he told him. “And a foolish one who turns a deaf ear.”
“What does that mean,” asked Bianca.
“It means that everyone has something to say,” Bucky smiled at her. He might refuse to admit it, but Becca could tell she was his favorite. “And everyone has something to learn.”
Bianca nodded with understanding, but Becca wasn’t sure how much she’d actually comprehended. While Bucky was great with children, he often forgot that the vocabulary and thoughts were far limited to that of a full grown person, which meant he sometimes left them confused.
“You’re awfully quiet Suzy,” said Becca suspiciously. The girl didn’t seem to hear her, staring intently at her lap.
“It’s ‘cause she’s reading,” Nico giggled from beside her, trying to grab the book on her lap.
“You little tattletale,” Suzy gasped, snapping back to reality, outraged at the little boy, who had managed to grab the copy of Mary Poppins out of her hands and was waving it in the air with glee. “Give that back!”
Steve gently took the book out of Nico’s hand before it almost took a dive into the alfredo chicken on his plate, but refused to give it back. “You can have this back after dinner,” he told her.
“But-”
“No buts,” he said firmly.
“Meals are a time for family and connection,” Maria reminded her. “It’s a time to be with your loved ones. These are the moments you don’t get back, you can always read later.”
“Alright,” she grumbled.
Nico giggled again, looking far too delighted in Suzy’s misfortune. “Suzy’s in trouble,” he sing-songed.
Suzy glared at him, “If you keep annoying me, I won’t read you good-night stories anymore,” she threatened.
It took only a second for Nico’s expression to shift. His smile melted into a wobbly frown and his little black eyes filled with tears. “Why not,” he demanded, choking back tiny sobs.
“Because you’re being a brat,” she said meanly.
“Susannah!” scolded Becca.
“But that’s not fair,” he cried. He ran to Steve and threw himself into his arms. He petted his hair and murmured platitudes in his ear, trying to calm the anxious child down while staring disapprovingly at Suzy. He had a clear favorite too. “That’s not fair, Steve,” he cried into his shoulder.
Nico looked at Suzy with his signature wide puppy eyes, combined with his tears and sad expression, and it only took a moment for her to melt. No one was immune to Nico’s puppy eyes.
“I’m sorry,” he said softly, purposely making his voice sound cuter. He crawled onto her chair and wrapped his arms around her. “Please don’t be mad at me.”
Becca didn’t know if she was amused at how easily he could manipulate his sister, or disappointed that that was his first instinct. With just a few tears and large eyes, that little boy could get away with murder. Not that she was in any place to judge her siblings for falling for it, she wasn’t immune to his adorable charms either.
“Oh, it’s okay Neeks,” Suzy told him, hugging him tight. Becca shook her head in wonder. “Don’t cry baby, I’m sorry. I’ll read you any story you want, okay? How does that sound?”
Nico nodded, choking back his last sob and smiled at Suzy brighter than a sunbeam. Even Becca’s heart melted, though she could clearly see through him. “ Ti amo , Suzy,” he said, and Becca couldn’t hold back the “awww” that slipped out.
No child had the right to be that cute.
“So, did anything else happen this week?” Bucky asked.
“Danny stole potatoes from Mr. Rossi’s garden,” Evelyn declared.
“Traitor!” Danny exclaimed. He turned to his older siblings with a desperate, pleading expression. “She was there too! And Bianca, it wasn’t just me! And Evelyn dared me to do it, it wasn’t even my fault. And the potatoes weren’t even that good, they were really small.”
“When Mr. Rossi spotted him and tried to chase after us,” Evelyn said gleefully, “Danny yelled over his shoulder that he should put more fertilizer. Old Rossi turned red as a cherry tomato.”
Becca couldn’t help it, she laughed. Just the image of how offended proud Mr. Rossi must have been. She could practically see his outraged expression.
Danny cut off in the middle of his defense to stare at her with wide, shocked eyes, jaw dropped and everything. The ridiculous expression on her brother's face just made her laugh more. Bucky and Steve started laughing too, and soon everyone was giggling.
“Then he yelled saying he recognized us,” Bianca continued the story when the laughter died down. “You’re Maria di Angelo’s brats, aren’t you,” she pitched her voice deeper and mimicked Mr. Rossi’s New Jersey accent.
“Maria’s Brats, huh,” Steve said. “I kinda like the sound of that.”
“That’s who we are,” said Bucky. “We’re Mother Maria’s Brats.”
Chapter Text
June 11, 1937 (Steve Rogers)
After months or hard work and sleepless nights, after months of juggling time and having far too much on her plate, the day had finally come. All of Becca’s blood sweat and tears paid off, and she was graduating high school.
Steve and Bucky watched proudly as she sat with the meager remains of her class for a group photo in their black robes and caps, clutching their diplomas rolled up in scrolls. The majority of Becca’s childhood classmates had dropped out, the longer the depression lasted, the fewer people stayed in school. Bucky himself had been forced to leave school to feed his siblings, and refused to let any of his siblings follow his path.
Steve knew Becca felt like she wasn’t doing enough, that her spending time at school was wasteful and she should be helping Steve and Bucky make more money. No matter how many times they told her she wasn’t being selfish, Steve could tell she never truly believed it. He knew she wouldn’t go any farther, but he was glad that she’d made it at least this far. And Bucky was ecstatic.
Once the class picture was taken and the students were free to mingle, Bucky was the first to run up and wrap her in a crushing bear hug.
“Congratulations, Becca!” he laughed, squeezing the air out of her. “I’m so proud of you.”
“Thanks,” Becca said, her cheeks flushing a bit at the compliment. Bucky didn’t often tell her how proud he was of her. He seemed to not realize that she also looked up to him, even now when they were the parents to their siblings.
“Well done Rebecca,” Maria said, hugging her after Bucky let her go. Becca flushed even more red, and an enormous grin took up most of her face.
Surrounded by her family and friends, Becca looked almost overwhelmed with all the love and attention, but still basked in it like a lizard in the sun (Steve knew this because Evelyn and Danny had adopted a gecko who had apparently played a part in some prank of theirs. They named him Blueberry Pie, for some reason he didn’t understand).
“Dang, Bex,” said Ryan O’Niell, her best friend. “You made it all the way to the end!”
“It should be your graduation day too,” Becca said sadly. Ryan had been forced to leave school to work in a print shop by his uncle. “You were always smarter than me, it feels unfair.”
Ryan shrugged, “C'est la vie, I guess. Can’t do anythin’ ‘bout it now, so there’s no point in wallowin’.”
“But you deserved this too,” she said, her eyes full of apology.
“None of that, mio caro ,” Maria said. “Today isn’t for sadness, it’s for celebration.”
Bucky nodded, “It’s your day Becca, and we have a surprise planned.”
“A surprise?” Danny asked. “Is it a present?”
“It’s a surprise for all of us,” Steve said mischievously. “It’s not a thing, but a place.”
“A place?”
Steve nodded, “Get changed out of that robe, Becca. We’re going to Coney Island!”
June 11, 1937 (Nico di Angello)
The thing Nico missed the most about Venice was the beach. Bianca missed the canals and the city full of life, but whenever Nico felt homesick, he thought about the beach.
Their family had a villa by the beach a day’s travel from the city, and Maria brought her children there often. Nico had always felt more comfortable there than he did in the crowded city. It was so calm and beautiful, the cool turquoise waves and the bright yellow sun.
So when Steve told them they were going to the beach, Nico was excited. And then Danny said there were rides, which he’d tried to explain but had just left Nico more confused. What was the point of a wooden horse?
The subway had been crowded and smelly, and Nico didn’t like it, though his sister seemed to find it exciting. She was running ahead with Danny and Evelyn, while Nico had been holding Steve’s hand tight, afraid that the crowd would swallow him up if he let go.
He heard his mother calling for Bianca and her friends to slow down, but they’d already seen the sign and were too excited to wait.
The beach was incredibly crowded. It seemed every square foot of sand was covered with a beach blanket and a family. The shoreline was dotted with people wading in the cool waves, too close together for comfort. This was nothing like the isolated beach in Italy.
His mother seemed to agree. “It’s very crowded, isn’t it,” she said.
Steve shrugged, “I guess? It’s the first weekend of summer, everyone wants to celebrate.”
“It was worse last year,” Becca added. “With the heat wave and all, there wasn’t an inch of beach that didn’t have a person on it. You could hardly move around.”
The family found a good spot on the beach, laying down their blanket and opening up the picnic basket. Nico slowly ate his sandwich, trying not to think about how crowded the beach was. By the time he was halfway through his lunch, Bianca, Evelyn, and Ryan’s little sister Minnie had run off to play in the water, Mama following behind to make sure they were careful.
Becca shrugged off her bathing coat and went swimming in her blue dressmaker swimsuit. Nico watched in wonder that she took to the water like a fish. He himself was too scared to go farther into the water than his shins. He felt like something bad would happen if he went any farther. Steve had offered to teach him to swim, but Nico would rather just stay on the shore, where he felt safe.
Eventually, Ryan dragged Becca off to play some shooting games, telling them she deserved some fun after all her hard work. Bucky said something about “that nice boy” and “asking her out,” but Nico wasn’t paying much attention. He was busy building a sandcastle with Danny. They even made a moat, like in the fairy stories Suzy read him. Just as Nico stuck a stick into the top of the tower, a flag for the castle, someone walked up to them.
“Why Danny Barnes, I thought it was you,” said a girl of Danny's age. She wore a red and white skirted bathing suit and a red ribboned straw hat over her blonde curls.
“Hey Dottie,” he said with a big smile. “Didn’t think I’d see you here.”
“Papa wanted to do a family outing,” she said. “Lola invited her beau, and they’re being insufferable. Then I saw you, and figured I could come say hi.”
Nico tugged on Danny’s pant leg, wanting his attention and being already mad at this girl who stole it away from him.
“Who’s this little darling,” Dottie asked, smiling down at Nico. He thought her smile was too big and it felt off putting. No one could be that happy. Nico hid behind Danny’s legs, nervous around this new person.
“This is Nico di Angello,” Danny said. He gently shoved Nico forward, making him stand before Dottie. “Nico, this is my friend, Dottie Kennedy.”
“Oh, is this your new brother?” Dottie’s smile somehow became warmer as she knelt down to shake Nico’s hand. “Pleasure to meet you, Nico?”
Nico didn’t respond for a moment, not realizing that they were waiting for a response until Danny nudged him.
“Thank you, Ms. Dottie,” he said. Dottie cooed at that, though Nico couldn’t explain why. He’d just answered the question. “How do you do?”
“And he’s so sweet! Your brother told me so much about you, but he didn’t say how cute you are.”
“He did?” Something about Danny talking about him to others made him feel strangely proud.
Dottie nodded. “He was so happy to finally have a little brother. He talks about you and Bianca all the time, I’ve just been dying to meet you.”
Nico finally smiled. He knew he wasn’t Danny’s favorite, that was Bianca, but he cared enough to tell his best friend all about him.
“Want to go to the boardwalk,” Danny asked. “I got a dollar for helping Old Mr. Smith move into his new appartment last week.”
“Sure,” Dottie said. “Want to go on the carousel, Nico?”
“I meant-”
“Shhh,” Dottie cut him off, “we’re bringing Nico.”
“That’s a great idea,” Steve said. “Why don’t you take Suzy with you.”
“I’m good,” said the girl in question, nose still buried in her book. “I’d rather stay here.”
“You’re a real wet blanket sis, you know that,” Danny rolled his eyes.
“I know,” she said simply. “But now you don’t have to pay for me, so perhaps you should be grateful. Or are you too imbecilic to understand the concept of saving money. Maybe that’s why you don't even have a dollar in your piggy bank.”
“Jeez, what ten-year-old talks like this,” Danny retorted, gesturing at his sister. “Did ya swallow a dictionary?”
“Danny,” Dottie scolded her friend. Nico was happy someone stepped in, he didn’t want them to start fighting again. Maybe this Dottie girl wasn’t so bad. “Are you sure you don’t want to come, Suzy?”
She nodded and turned her attention back to the book. Dottie shrugged and shepherded the boys off the beach and onto the boardwalk.
Nico held Danny’s hand as they walked to the carousel, marveling at the colorful booths and the interesting food. It was so exciting and yet overwhelming. Nico could see why Danny and his other siblings loved it here. It felt almost magic, like another world.
They got a bucket of popcorn to share, and Nico even got a bottle of Coca-Cola. Danny got a candy apple and bought his friend an ice cream. Nico noticed she blushed when he handed it to her and their fingers brushed.
It took him a while to figure out why she acted so oddly, and then he understood. It was just like those stories Suzy read him. Dottie was the Princess, and Danny must be the Knight. Only, Danny didn’t act like a Knight would.
Sure, he bought her an ice cream and was polite and talked to her excessively, but he seemed to be distant in a way. Not uncomfortable, but not nearly as comfortable as she wanted. One of the greatest traits of a knight was sincerity, and when Danny spoke in flowery language, it felt like he was making jokes. Nico just did not understand.
Eventually, they made their way to the Carousel, which had wooden horses. Nico still didn’t fully understand, and tried to pet the horse when he finally got there. Because it wasn’t alive, it didn’t shy away from him like the horses the di Angelos had had back home.
Nico patted the wooden mane of the black horse, “Hello there. I’m Nico, what’s your name?”
Danny chuckled as he lifted Nico up onto the wooden saddle and wrapped the belt around his waist. “Why don’t you give her one Neeks.”
Nico considered for a moment, and then declared “Nightmare. Because she’s black and a mare.”
“That’s real clever,” Dottie said. “Hmmm, I think I’ll name mine Snowy.” She was sitting on a white horse. “What about you, Danny?”
“Do I have to?”
“Yes,” said Nico.
“Alright,” Danny said. “Mine can be named…. Alexander the Great.”
“Creative,” said Dottie dryly, raising a brow. “Do you get all your inspiration from your history book?”
“I panicked,” Danny defended. “You’re the one who told me to name it.”
“Him,” Nico corrected.
“Yes, yes. Him,” Danny amended. “And it’s a perfectly acceptable name for a horse.”
“Of course,” Dottie agreed, but she laughed while saying it, making Nico think she was making fun of Danny. Danny made a face at her as the music began.
The platform began to move in a circle, which Nico had expected. He’d seen it moving from the line. But what he hadn’t expected was for the horse to start moving up and down. His eyes widened with wonder as he looked up at the mechanism that moved the horse up and down.
“It’s moving like a real horse!” Nico squealed excitedly. Danny and Dottie laughed at his amazement.
“Didn’t I tell you you’d love this,” Danny laughed.
After they’d gotten off, they caught up with everyone else. Dottie had to go back to her family, and said goodbye to both Danny and Nico. She ruffled his hair, which Nico didn’t like, and said she hoped to see him again soon. Despite his earlier hesitation, he hoped so too.
Everyone was laughing when Nico and Danny got back to the picnic. Apparently, Becca and Bucky had convinced Steve to ride the Cyclone, the really scary ride that was full of screaming people, and he’d gotten sick. Nico’s Mama was petting Steve’s head gently as the rest of the kids made fun of him.
“I hate all of you,” Steve grumbled. “Specifically Bucky. This is all Bucky’s fault.”
“It was Becca’s idea,” Bucky protested.
“Technically,” said Becca’s friend Ryan. “It was mine.”
“See,” Bucky said. “Not my fault.”
Steve considered for a moment, but then shook his head. "Still your fault."
Notes:
This was probably my least favorite chapter so far, but the next chapter should be better. Next time, we're going to Camp Half Blood.
Some Notes:
1. Graduation rates were really low in the 1930s, and many students had to drop out to work. All of Becca's school friends dropped out and she was the only one left.
2. Nico doesn't realize that the reason the di Angelos went to the beach villa so often was to hide Maria and her illegitamate children from the public eye. He just remembers it as a place he loves.
3. Coney Island at this time was called "The Nickel Emipire," because nearly everything (except the rides) cost 5 cents. The rides were fifteen cents. People in this time came more for the beach than for the rides, which is why most of the family stays on the beach and hardly went on any rides.
4. Becca's bathing suit is a "dressmaker" suit, which is like our modern swim dresses. Dottie's skirted bathing suit looks kinda like a regular bathing suit but longer and without seperation between the legs. Link to article: https://vintagedancer.com/1930s/1930s-swimsuits-pictures-history/
5. In The First Avenger, Bucky mentioned an incident where he convinced Steve to ride the Cyclone at Coney Island and it got him sick. I figured I might as well include that in this chapter.This also just took so long to research, and I'm pretty sure that even though I tried to figure what Coney Island was like back then, I still made many mistakes. I've never been to Coney Island (or even New York), and I wanted to make it as accurate as possible, but it was hard. Honestly, after all the bother, once we get to the point where half the story takes place in San Francisco, I'm half-tempted to add a chapter where everyone goes to Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk just to make up for this headache.
Can't wait for the next chapter, it's already half written.
Chapter 6: Welcome to Camp Half Blood: 1937
Notes:
Oops, genuinely thought I'd posted this chapter weeks ago. I took a break from writing to focus on school and just didn't notice that this wasn't up.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
June 14, 1937 (Hal Madison)
The beginning of summer meant two things for Hal.
One, all the summer campers would be coming, and he would be reunited with many of his friends who he hadn’t seen all year. And two, quest season.
Hal often wondered if the gods sent half-bloods on quests just for their own amusements. Sure, some quests were important, like slaying a beast or fulfilling a prophecy, but others were completely nonsensical. The dangers he’d had to face two summers ago just to bring Aphrodite a bracelet she had lost. It was hard to believe it was worth it.
“Hullo Madison,” a voice boomed from behind him. Hal didn’t even get a second to react before he was tackled from behind by the owner of the voice. He fell gracelessly to the ground, groaning in pain.
“Dammit Baz,” he grumbled, shoving the British boy off of him. “Watch where you are going.”
“It’s been so long,” said Baz with a grin. “You must be losing your edge if I was able to take you by surprise, Salty.”
Now, Hal’s fatal flaw might not have been hubris, but even he wouldn’t take such a grievous insult from his friend lying down. He pounced on Baz, catching him off guard. In just moments, the two were wrestling in the dirt.
“Honestly, you two,” someone scolded. Hal turned his head towards the voice, finding a pair of red and white walking oxfords an inch away from his nose. He looked up to see a very unimpressed Peggy Carter. “Barely a minute and you’re already fighting like dogs.”
“Peggy!” Baz jumped to his feet to hug her too, getting dust all over her cream-colored blouse. The daughter of Zeus grumbled, but returned the embrace. “I missed you too!”
“Basil,” she said, rolling her eyes, “We saw each other a month ago in London.”
“But we hardly got a chance to talk before your big brother dragged you away,” he said. “It’s not the same as when we meet at camp.”
He was right, Hal thought. Things were different at camp, demigods were able to speak and act freely without the constraints of society or having to hide their eccentricities. The few times he’d met fellow demigods in the mortal world, there had been a level of awkwardness.
“Speaking of big brothers,” he said, brushing the dirt off of his shirt, “Look who it is!” He pointed at the lanky blond headed their way.
“He’s not my big brother,” Peggy protested. “We’re the same age.”
“Now Margie,” said the boy in question. The son of Zeus had a cocky grin on his face, which Hal knew was just going to annoy Peggy more. . "You know I’ve got three months on you.”
“And you know my name is Peggy, Jack Thompson” she retorted, “and yet you insist on calling me the wrong name. And what the devil did you do to your arm,” she demanded, glaring at the sling it was in.
“There was a Lydian Drakon,” he shrugged. “Lifted me up and snapped my arm like a twig when I stabbed it.”
“You took on a Lydian Drakon?” Peggy said in disbelief. “You complete imbecile, only a child of Ares can defeat it! What were you thinking?”
“Hey, blame Rachel! She told me to act as the distraction so Daphne could sneak up and deliver the killing blow. And her plan worked perfectly, I just made a small misstep.”
Hal couldn’t help but grin at their familiar bickering. Jack was always too uptight without Peggy there to balance him. Though they would argue if he ever said it to them, everyone knew that the siblings truly brought out the best in each other. They needed someone to challenge them, someone to compete with.
As someone who stayed at camp with Jack year-round, Hal could attest that he just didn’t have the same spark as he did when he bickered with Peggy. They were equal opposites, his sister Jade had once likened them to a Chinese symbol of light and dark.
“A small misstep could be a matter of life and death,” Peggy continued. “Gods, I can’t believe you would be so careless. You know, actually I can believe it.”
“I wasn’t being careless,” he refuted. “I made a calculated decision. And it’s not like you don’t make mistakes all the time.”
“None that could get me killed.”
“That is such a lie, Meg, and you know it. But whatever you say,” Jack gave up. “So, where are y’all headed?”
“I was going to stop by the archery range before unpacking,” Peggy answered.
“Oh, I wouldn’t go anywhere near the archery range if I were you. The equipment closet is…. occupied.”
“Blanche and Jerome?” Baz asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Who else?”
“Di immortales ,” he grumbled, rolling his eyes at his sister and her lover, “Can they not control themselves?”
“To be fair,” Peggy jumped to the defense of their friends, “they have been controlling themselves for an entire year.”
Blanche and Jerome lived in the South, and her family was an old and rich one, and extremely old fashioned. Jerome could be lynched for seeing any white girl, but one of the richest and most darling debutantes in Savannah? He’d be as good as dead if anyone knew.
So the two would bury their affection for each other during the year, pretending to be strangers, to not care for each other at all. This was especially difficult because Jerome’s family worked for Blanche’s neighbors, so she ran into him often, and had to pretend to be cruel and indifferent. Blanche called their situation “more tantalizing and torturous than Tantalus’s punishment in Tartarus.” (Hal thinks she was trying her hand at poetry or something with that line.)
So Hal understood, he really did. And he loved his friends, he really did.
But even he had to admit that the two of them getting a year's worth of… passions out of their systems in the first weeks of camp every year was honestly pretty uncomfortable. Hal had walked in on them going at it like animals far more times than he was comfortable with (the amount he’d be comfortable with was zero, by the way). So he couldn’t blame Baz and Jack’s exasperation and disgust.
“Have you seen who else has arrived?” Hal asked Jack, changing the subject away from their friends' promiscuity.
“Daphne said she saw your sister Elsa a few hours ago, and Ava and her little boyfriend just arrived-”
“Don’t call him that,” Hal interrupted, slightly annoyed at the thought of his basically little sister being romantically involved with anyone. She was just a little kid!
“Right,” Jack rolled his eyes and continued, “Margery and Bernhard reunited, though far more chastely than our dear friends, Roland and the Belleforte sisters just reached shore, Loretta and Rudolf are already feuding like cats and dogs, and pulling their cabins along with them, I’d expect another prank war in the days to come, Alrich has been trying to gather the children of Hades in the fairy circle in the woods- oh, he was searching for you, Baz.”
“Oh, I guess I’ll go find him then. Thanks,” Baz said, leaving to find his older brother.
“And go separate your sister from her beau,” Jack added. “Alrich was asking for her too.”
“No, no, no, no,” he begged, shaking his head violently. “You can’t make me experience that. Not again! That’s cruel and unusual punishment. It’s against my Eighth Amendment rights!”
“You’re British,” Jack said flatly.
“How do you even know what that is?” asked Hal.
“Stop being such a coward, Baz,” Peggy said. “It's nothing all of us haven’t faced before.”
“Yes, but it's far worse for me than it is for you,” he protested. “That’s my sister! I don’t want to see my sister do…. that! Not again!”
“Basil,” Peggy said sharply, giving him one of her patented Peggy Carter death glares. Gods, she could be scary when she wanted to.
“Alright, alright,” Baz grumbled, walking towards the archery range. “I hope you all suffocate in your sleep.”
After he’d disappeared from view, the three remaining demigods talked for a bit longer, walking towards Cabin One so Peggy could settle in.
“By the way, Jack,” Peggy said suddenly, something slightly wicked in her voice. “You never mentioned Alisa earlier. Is she here yet?”
“Shut your trap Maggie,” he glared at her, turning a bit red. Why, Hal had no idea. It was just a simple question wasn’t it?
“What? It’s just a question. You know I haven’t seen my dear friend in so long.”
“She’s probably wrangling her fifty siblings,” Hal suggested. “There hasn’t been a fire yet, so Zoya must be under control.”
“The fact that you think a fire would more likely come from Zoya Pavlova than any of the fire-wielding children of Hephaestus,” Peggy laughed.
“She’s a budding anarchist, that one,” he said. “How Alisa manages all of them is a true wonder.”
“She is amazing like that,” Peggy agreed, looking straight at Jack. “Practically perfect, wouldn’t you agree, Jack?”
He mumbled something under his breath, turning more red. Hal couldn’t see why he was getting angry-
Oh, was he blushing ?
“Wait,” Hal stopped walking and stared at his friend. “Do you care for her?”
“Of course I care for her,” Jack said, his demeanor becoming more nervous. Oh, he was definitely blushing. “She’s one of our closest friends.”
“You know that’s not what he meant,” Peggy said, trying and failing to bury her laugh. “He's asking if you carry a torch for her.”
Jack didn't respond, his silence more damning than if he had spoken.
“You do,” Hal realized, getting excited. “You’re in love with Alisa!”
“Shhh,” Jack practically tackled him in his rush to cover his mouth with his hand, muffling his voice. “Do you want everyone to hear you?”
“Well, yeah. Do you not want everyone to know?”
“No!”
“Why not?” Hal asked. “If I was in love, I’d shout it from the rooftops.”
“For one thing, her brother would kill me.”
“Which one?”
“Exactly,” he said, waving his good arm wildly in the air. “She has three brothers who would murder me for even looking at her!”
“I thought she had four brothers,” Hal said. “And don’t forget the sister straight from Chaos.”
“Hal, you are not helping,” Peggy said, swatting his shoulder. “And Jack, you know her siblings love you. You're one of the greatest warriors of our generation, after Hal and me, that is.”Jack scoffed at that, but Peggy continued. “Vladimir respects and trusts you, and her younger siblings all look up to you, especially Nik.”
“They liked me as her friend, not as anything more. I doubt that Vladimir would approve of her stepping out with an American.”
“He’d get over it if it made Alisa happy, and you know it. So what is the real problem Jack?”
“It’s just,” Jack sighed. “What if she doesn’t feel the same? What if I lay my heart out to her, and she hates me, and then our friendship is destroyed and she’ll never speak to me again. I’d rather be her friend than nothing to her.”
“Gods, how are you this stupid,” Peggy shook her head at her brother’s words. “That is not going to happen. She likes you, Jack. Trust me, anyone with eyes can tell what you mean to her.”
“She does?” This was news for Hal.
Peggy rolled her eyes. “Anyone with eyes and a brain,” she amended.
“Hey,” he protested. But then again, Peggy had known about Jack’s feelings long before he did, and he lived with the boy year round.
“You really think so?” Jack asked with wonder.
“Would I lie to you?”
Jack just gave her a look.
“That’s fair,” Peggy shrugged. “But I wouldn’t lie about this. Just promise that you’ll tell her while we’re on a quest. Consider it a maybe-dying wish.”
“We don’t know you’ll get a quest,” Jack started.
“Yes we do,” Peggy scoffed. “We always get a quest. And if your arm heals soon…”
“The healers said that it will be better in a week.”
“Then you’ll also get a quest. You haven’t led one in two years, and we all know how the gods get bored of repetition.” Peggy’s words were logical, but they held an undertone of resentment.
Hal knew she was just as tired of these frivolous quests as he was, but he wished she was more careful of her words. It just took one god to feel offended for Peggy to get smited. Zeus won’t always favor her, she won’t always have his protection.
“If you get a quest,” Hal suggested. “You could ask Alisa to come with you. You could confess then. What’s more romantic than imminent death?”
“Zeus help the girl you try to romance.” Jack said.
“That’s not a terrible idea, apart from the dying,” Peggy said. “You’d be alone and away from camp, perfect for a romantic declaration.”
“I’ll think about it,” Jack said finally. “We don’t even know if I’ll get a quest–”
“We do.”
“And I don’t want to count my chickens before they hatch. Let’s cross that bridge when we get to it.”
June 14, 1937 (Jack Thompson)
Though he’d never say it, Jack loved campfires so much more during the summer. Sure, they were still entertaining during the year, but that was more from watching all the drama that goes on between the year round campers.
But during summer, everyone is reunited with their friends and siblings. There’s more energy, from both the newcomers and the people who’d been stuck there all the time. One just had to look at the campfire to see how much their presence improved the general mood of the camp.
Jack followed the rest of the children of Cabin One out to the amphitheater, making the bickering version of small talk with Peggy as they walked side-by-side. He’d never admit it, not even to himself, but he had missed her.
Once they got to the bonfire, everyone scattered to sit with their friends. Since campers had to sit with their cabins during meals, campfires were often the only chance they could just sit and talk with their friends like this.
Cabins 3, 5, and 6 had already arrived, and Hal was sitting on a stone step with Rachel and Daphne. When Daphne spotted them, she waved them over. Once they sat down, Peggy and Rachel started talking about some book they’d both read (how lucky that she was one of few demigods who could read without trouble), but Jack wasn’t really paying attention.
How could he, when Cabin 10 suddenly appeared and he couldn’t tear his eyes away from the girl of his dreams. He hadn’t seen her in person since the end of last summer, and Iris Messages and letters just weren't the same. Damn, he really was hopeless, wasn’t he.
Alisa looked up and caught his eye. He felt his face burn up as her cheeks flushed a dusty rose color. Gods above, she even looked beautiful when she was embarrassed. Alisa said something to her older brother and peeled off from the group and made her way to where Jack was sitting.
Too late, Jack noticed that Peggy had moved from beside him to behind him, leaving the only open space right next to him.
“Alisa!” Hal grinned. “Long time no see!”
“Hello Hal,” she said, smiling. “And the rest of you too. It’s good to be back.”
Gods, every word she said made his heart stutter as if bewitched.
“Why don’t you sit down so we can catch up on all the latest gossip,” Peggy suggested. “Rachel was just telling me about how Jack here broke his arm.”
“No I wa-” Rachel started to protest, before getting rudely elbowed in the ribs by his sister.
“You’re hurt?” Alisa gasped. “Oh, you poor thing! How are you doing?”
“I– I’m fine, really,” he insisted as she sat beside him and gently took his broken arm in her hand. He tried desperately to fight back the heat rushing to his cheeks, but one glance at his sister told him he’d lost the battle. “It’ll be healed in a week.”
“How did this happen?”
“How else? He was being stupid,” Peggy said.
“You weren’t even –”
“That’s basically the gist of it,” Daphne laughed. Jack glared at her with all the fury he could muster, which admittedly wasn’t much. It was hard to be angry when Alisa was so close.
“Was it a monster attack?” Alisa asked.
Rachel nodded. “Drakon. Snapped the bone right in two. Daphne slayed it.”
“Well done,” Alisa told the daughter of Ares. Jack felt a small flash of jealousy, before berating himself in his mind. Get a grip, Thompson!
Daphne shrugged, as if to say it was nothing. “I could show you the horns if you like,” she said casually, as if she wasn’t dying to show off her newest spoil of war. The group all knew her too well though.
Before anything else could be said, Cabin 11 walked in. The largest cabin, full of children of Hermes, the unclaimed, children of minor gods, and the Children of Hades. There were nearly 40 of them, including two new children who Jack didn’t recognize.
The first member to break for the group was a young girl. Violet, Jack remembered. She ran to sit next to her adoptive brother from Ares cabin and his friends, which included Alisa’s siblings. He accidentally caught Zoya’s eye, and she subtly drew her finger across her throat as a warning. He gulped. It seemed she knew he was interested in her sister, and didn’t approve.
Before he could beg Peggy or Hal for help, Loretta James, Cabin 11’s head counselor, practically shoved Blanche and Jerome at the group.
“Take them,” she grumbled, tossing them hard onto the group. “They’re your problem now.”
“What did you two do,” Hal asked the two of them after she’d left. Jerome sat up on the dirt floor of the amphitheater, using Hal’s knees as a backrest and Blanche cuddled up beside him, laying her head on his shoulder. The two lovebirds were so comfortable together, as if they had been built with each other in mind. As much as they drove him insane, Jack was always a bit jealous of how easily they clicked.
“What do you think they did,” Baz said, appearing out of literal nowhere besides Rachel. He smiled at her and pressed a small kiss on the back of her hand like a fairytale knight. “My lady,” he bowed, before sitting down. Jack rolled his eyes, but the daughter of Athena just looked amused.
“It’s been less than a day and you’ve already annoyed Loretta?” Alisa laughed. “I’m all for love, but this is ridiculous.”
“This whole situation is just proof that Hades needs his own Cabin,” Baz grumbled. “Whoever in his right mind thinks it's a good idea to keep these two,” he stuck a thumb out at lovers sitting on the ground, “in the same Cabin was out of his mind.”
There was a rule at Camp that no girl and boy of different Cabins could be alone in a cabin together, to prevent exactly the sorts of sordid things that his friends got up to. The only issue was that because they were both technically in the same Cabin, the rule doesn’t actually apply to them. Even Chiron’s hands were tired.
“Hello campers,” Paul called for everyone’s attention. The buzz of conversation lulled as everyone turned to face the boy with the guitar. “Welcome to another summer at Camp Half Blood!” Everyone cheered. “Now, before we start tonight’s campfire songs, a few announcements;
The first chariot races of the season will be held next Monday, so get your teams and chariots ready.” General excitement there. “Next, the arts and crafts center will be doing sculpture making tomorrow for anyone interested. The archery range will be closed for two days for… reasons, and swordplay lessons for young campers will be run by Hal Madison and Daphne Townsend for the summer.” Even more excitement from the little campers. “Also, please remember to–”
He never found out what Paul wanted them to remember. At that moment, a bright arch of light touched down next to Paul, who jumped back in surprise. A woman with olive skin and long black hair slid down the rainbow and looked down her nose at the campers. If her mode of transport hadn't made her godly nature obvious enough, she also sported golden butterfly-like wings.
Jack tried to hide his disappointment. He was hoping they’d have at least a few days of summer before the gods started their yearly demigod-killing shenanigans, also known as the quest cycle.
“Lady Iris,” Paul gasped, falling to his knees. The rest of the camp followed suit. Even a minor goddess could still smite you, it was better to be safe than sorry.
“I have three quest orders here from the Big Twelve,” Iris went right to business. And so it begins.
“Who are Charles Grey, Roy Keller and Alrich Stroman?” She demanded. That was a surprise, all three of the eldest sons of the eldest gods. The three boys stood up, each looking eager. It had been a while since they’d been called up. Iris handed Roy, the one who was closest to her, a slip of paper. “There are reports of a rogue Empousa killing hikers in the mountains. The three of you will dispose of her at once.”
“The three of us,” Charles asked. “As in, all three of us? We have to work with him?” he pointed at Alrich, who looked like he was doing his best not to draw his sword right then and there.
“This was ordered by Zeus himself,” Iris said. “Your petty squabbles don’t matter to him.”
Jack choked back an incredulous snort. Likely, Zeus had chosen them specifically because they didn’t get along. More entertaining that way. Still, three of the most powerful demigods at camp for just one Empousa? Something felt off about that.
“Next, Henry Madison,” she handed the note right to him. With all the quests they’d been going on, she could recognize him immediately. “A den of Basilisks are terrorizing Kansas. Choose two demigods to accompany you.”
“Baz n’ Peggy,” he said at once. Iris gave him a disapproving look. He cleared his throat and corrected himself, “I mean Basil Bennet and Margaret Carter.”
“Very well. And lastly, Aphrodite has finally located the cursed diamond gifted to her on her wedding by Persephone. Jack Thompson, you will steal it back and replace it with this exact copy,” she held up a diamond chain with a large blue pendant surrounded by a circle of even more diamonds.
“Is that the Hope Diamond?” one of the children of Aphrodite gasped. The name sounded a bit familiar, but looking at it Jack knew where he'd seen it before. Damn it.
“It is the Tear of Persephone,” Iris corrected. “But yes, the mortals tend to call it that. It is currently in the possesion of a Mrs. Evalyn Walsh McLean in Washington DC.”
“I’m supposed to steal the Hope Diamond?” Jack clarified, confused and internally panicking. Stupid gods and their stupid frivolous quests.
“It is cursed,” Iris explained. “Every owner has befallen some grave misfortune, only a goddess can withstand the curse, and Aphrodite wants her diamond back.”
“But Lady Iris,” Alisa suddenly spoke up. “Jack’s arm has still not healed. How can he go on a quest?”
Iris shrugged, “He’ll just have to take his medic with him. Who has been treating Mr. Thompson?” Iris addressed the camp.
The children of Apollo shoved a young teenager to the front of the crowd. Jack recognized him as the kid who’d been tending to his arm. Mike or something.
“I am Marc Beaufort, my Lady,” the boy said. Right, his name was Marc, not Mike. Jack was surprised to hear his French accent. Had he never even heard this kid talk? A quest with a total stranger, this could only go poorly.
“Wonderful. Marc Beaufort shall accompany Jack Thompson on his quest.” she turned to address him. “Who will be your third?”
Peggy started elbowing him in the ribs. At first, Jack was confused. She was already going on Hal’s quest, she can’t go on his too. She tilted her head in the direction of Alisa. Oh, right.
Jack knew he’d probably regret this, but he decided to listen to his sister.
“Alisa Pavlova, if she’s willing.”
From where she sat, Zoya Pavlova’s eyes narrowed, but Alisa grinned that grin that lit up every room with sunlight. “I am.”
Notes:
A couple notes
1. In case it was unclear: Hal is a son of Poseidon, Peggy and Jack are children of Zeus, Baz and Blanche are children of Hades, Alisa is the daughter of Aphrodite, Jerome is a son of Hermes, Daphne is the daughter of Ares, Rachel is a daughter of Athena, and Marc is a son of Apollo.
2. Yes, I know both Peggy and Jack are very out of character. This is because right now they are both teenagers, and haven't gone through war yet. Also, I made them siblings. They just gave off bickering sibling vibes throughout Agent Carter.
3. When I do WW2 for the demigods, I'm not doing the thing where all of the people in power like Churchill, Roosevelt and Hitler are demigods. Instead, there will be a separate conflict that becomes tied to the main conflict of the war.
4. On Blanche and Jerome, I always thought that rule about no two campers of different cabins being allowed to be alone in a cabin would be so easily misused by the Hermes Cabin, because they have children of many different gods and are all still under one cabin. It's a loophole I haven't really seen anyone talk about, which is especially surprising given that this is the cabin full of theives and pranksters, who love exploiting loopholes.Sorry again that this took so long. Happy Diwali everyone!
Chapter 7: On The Way to the Quest
Summary:
Peggy, Hal and Baz head out on their quest.
Notes:
Massive thank you to MissPotatoManatee for beta reading.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
June 15, 1937 (Peggy Carter)
There are many things one must do to prepare for a quest. Packing and preparations, gathering weapons and drachmas and nectar. A fresh set of clothes as well, Peggy had learned over the years how important that was.
At least this quest wouldn’t be as frivolous as her last one, bringing Ares a sword of gold. Peggy hated when the gods sent them on errands. Quests should be about heroic deeds, how could she earn glory if all she did was fetch the gods whatever they want like a page.
But this time was different. Unlike Jack’s quest (poor him), she would be slaying monsters and saving lives. But he did get to pull a heist, and that seemed far more fun.
“Are you almost ready?” Ada asked. “Did you remember the nectar and drachmas?”
“Yes Ada,” Peggy said.
“What about your knives? Don’t forget to keep at least two on your person, in case of an ambush.”
“I already have a mother to mother me you know.”
“She’s not here, is she?” Ada laughed. “That makes you my responsibility.”
Ada may not have been the Head Counselor, but she was the big sister of Cabin 1, and everyone knew she was just as much in charge as Charles.
“I’ve got everything I need,” Peggy told her. “We’ll be alright.”
“Just be careful out there Pegs,” Charles said from where he was packing his own bag.
“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. Besides, I’ve got Hal and Baz to watch my back.”
“That’s what I’m worried about,” he muttered.
“Pardon?”
Charles shook his head, “Never mind. Just be careful.”
“I always am. If anything, you should be worried about Jack.”
“Jack? Oh, his arm. At least he’s bringing a medic with him. Hopefully they won’t encounter too many monsters on their way.”
Peggy closed the snap on her bag, giving her bunk a once over to make sure she didn’t forget anything. Once she was certain she had everything she needed, she slung the satchel over her shoulder.
“Well, I’m all ready,” she said. “I think I’ll go find the boys.”
“Best of luck Peggy,” Ada called as she walked through the door and into the sunlight.
Peggy found Hal in the stables, making smalltalk with the pegasi while feeding them from a sack of carrots. He laughed at something the silver one had said and held out a sugar cube in his palm. The pegasus whinnied with delight and licked the cube right out of his hand.
“It’s a shame you can’t take them with you,” said another voice from inside another stall. It was only then that Peggy realized that Hal’s older brother Roy was also there. “Nothing as reliable as a good old-fashioned pegasus to get you where you need to go.”
“I believe a car can easily outpace a horse, even a magic one,” she said. Both boys turned around in surprise.
“Hey Peg,” Hal waved with that same big goofy Hal smile he always wore.
“A car is also liable to break down on you in the middle of the road.” Roy answered back. “Miles away from any mechanic. What do you do then?”
“As if a horse wouldn’t lose a shoe in an inconvenient place. At least cars don’t get tired.”
“I’d rather take my chances with a horse than those oil-guzzling machines.”
“You must be the only person in the world to think so. Look around, old man, no one uses horse-driven carriages anymore. They haven’t for years.”
“Old man?” Hal chuckled at his brother’s expense. “That’s a new one. It doesn’t matter either way, the pegasi are too skittish around Baz.”
“Wonder why,” Roy muttered.
“What was that?” Hal asked.
“Just that in my hometown, we have a saying. Don’t trust a man who your horse doesn’t trust. Horses have great instincts about a person’s character.”
Hal laughed awkwardly, “Thanks for the advice. We should start moving along, see you when we get back.”
“Take care of yourself, squirt,” Roy patted his brother’s shoulder. “Watch your back out there, both of you.”
“Will do,” Hal said with a smile, though it wasn’t exactly a Hal smile. This one was strained as he nodded to his brother.
As Roy walked out of the stables, Baz was right at the door, wearing an equally fake smile masking feelings of hurt. Instantly, Peggy knew he’d heard the whole thing.
“Hey guys, Roy.”
“Hello Baz,” Roy said with a false cheeriness. “Y’all gonna head out soon?”
He nodded, “Just about. How about you lot? I know my brother’s already packed.”
For a split second, Roy’s expression soured when Baz mentioned Aldrich, but he quickly put his polite mask back on.
“We’ve been waiting on him,” Roy told Baz. “I guess I should go find him.”
Baz nodded, “He’s up at the dock.”
“Best of luck,” Peggy called out after him.
“We’ll need it,” Roy muttered. “Maybe we’ll get lucky and some monster will get him.”
“Roy,” Peggy hissed.
Roy seemed to realize who he’d just said that too and winced. “Uh, no offense Baz.”
“No, no, it’s alright. Why would I take offense to you wishing death on my brother?” Baz’s eyes flashed with a dark anger for a split second. So quickly that Peggy almost wondered if she imagined it. She’d never seen him so angry before.
Throughout the exchange, Hal had been standing there, frozen, as if unsure what to say or who to side with.
“Well, we better be heading off,” Hal exclaimed with a cheerful smile, desperately trying to break through the ice that had suddenly formed in the room. “Good luck on your quest Roy. Tell Charlie and Aldrich I said so.”
“Will do. Stay safe you two, okay?”
Two? There were three of them, but evidently, her cousin hadn’t felt the need to wish Basil well. He didn’t even count him at all. And Baz, he just looked resigned and defeated. He was used to this, Peggy realized, it wasn’t even worth the fight anymore. She could feel a righteous anger burn through her veins, and she suddenly felt the impulse to punch Roy clear across the face.
But she didn’t. She knew she couldn’t. Instead, Peggy took a couple deep breaths until the red receded from her vision.
“So,” Hal said eventually, “we should get going if we don’t want to miss the train.”
“Actually, that’s just what I wanted to tell you,” Baz said, his expression already brightening. “Instead of taking the train, Rudy wants us to test drive his newest invention.”
“Oh no,” Peggy laughed. “What is it this time?”
“It’s like one of those hot air balloon contraptions, but much faster. It’s powered by a bronze rocket. Isn’t that swell? He said it needs a team working together to operate, which is why he’s giving it to us instead of Aldrich for their quest.”
“I guess that makes sense. If nothing else, this’ll make the trip more exciting.”
“More likely to explode more like,” Peggy said. "Let's not forget the Hindenburg."
“Come on Pegs, where’s your sense of adventure?”
“Somewhere underneath my common sense and desire to live.”
“So you don’t want to take the balloon?” Baz raised an incredulous brow.
“Now just a moment,” Peggy denied, wearing an excited grin. “I never said that .”
June 18, 1937 (Baz Bennet)
It had been three days since, and he still hadn’t said anything. Baz wasn’t sure what he’d expected, an apology for Roy maybe, reassurance that Hal didn’t want him dead, or even (in the deep recesses of his mind where his fears ran wild) confirmation that his best friend hated him as much as Roy did. Just something, anything. But Hal hadn’t said anything at all, he was still pretending that nothing happened.
Well, if Hal wasn’t going to talk about it, Baz wouldn’t either. In fact, he wouldn’t talk to him at all, that’ll show him.
When he’d told Peggy this, she’d just given him a look as if he was the world’s biggest idiot, a look he’d been getting used to these last couple days. Which, if you ask him, was completely unfair. It wasn’t his fault Notus, the South Wind, didn’t have a sense of humor and blew them wildly off course at the smallest of offenses.
Currently, they were somewhere down south, Baz didn’t know much about American geography. Somewhere hot and humid and full of mosquitoes, that’s all he knew.
Thankfully, the pests didn’t bother him much, a silver lining to the death in his blood he supposed. On the other hand, they had basically sucked Hal dry, leaving him covered in itchy red bumps and cursing whichever god had created mosquitoes’s name. Baz couldn’t help but feel a twinge of satisfaction at his friend's suffering.
“Do you guys hear that?” Peggy said suddenly, breaking Baz out of his thoughts. He was about to ask what she meant when he heard it too. A horrible screeching noise on the horizon.
“What the Devil is that?” he asked, grabbing the telescope to see. The screech sounded again, closer this time. Baz finally caught a glance at the monster heading straight for them.
“What is it?” Hal demanded, scrambling for his sword.
“Harpy! A giant goddamn harpy!”
Suddenly, the creature was right in front of them, talons already extended, ready to grab them and carry them away. She was much larger than the harpies at camp, with a pitch black sharp beak as long as Baz’s arm and bright red eyes that seemed to be looking right through his very soul.
She let out a loud, blood curdling screech, which up close felt like it was echoing inside Baz’s heart. Peggy immediately loosed four arrows at her, which just bounced harmlessly off of her feathers.
“What the Hell?” she screamed. Baz had to agree, that would normally be enough to turn a harpy to dust. Since when were they arrow-proof?
Enraged, the monster threw out her large wings, hitting Baz right in the stomach and knocking him backwards over the edge of the basket and into the open air underneath.
Oh gods, he was going to die. He stretched out his arm, trying desperately to grab something, anything to keep him from falling to his death. Father, have mercy, he thought hopelessly. Baz closed his eyes, preparing to meet his fate.
All of a sudden, he felt something jerk him upwards. He realized something had caught him by his wrist. Baz peeled open his eyes and looked up to see his savior. Hal Madison looked back down at him. With one hand, he was holding Baz, and with the other he gripped a rope that dangled him from the balloon.
“Hold on, Baz,” Hal said, his voice strained from exhaustion. “Whatever you do, don’t let go.”
“I wasn’t planning on it,” he yelled back.
Above them, Peggy was still trying to fend off the harpy. She seemed to have given up trying to kill her, and was trying to scare her off with a flaming torch. Where she’d gotten a torch, Baz did not know. Her tactic seemed to be working though, and the beast shied away from the flame.
But this only made the harpy more angry. If she couldn’t get Peggy, she could still get the boys. She swooped down and started grabbing at Hal, her sharp talons cut his shirt into ribbons, leaving lines of blood behind. Hal screamed in pain, his grip on Baz’s wrist tightening so much it would probably leave a bruise. Baz could feel Hal’s blood dripping down when their hands were entwined, snaking down his arm and body, before dripping down to water the Earth beneath them.
“Hal!” Baz screamed, kicking his legs wildly, trying to hit the monstrous bird-woman. “Leave him alone!”
The monster screeched again, but continued its attack.
“Basil,” Peggy cried, and Baz looked up to where she stood in the basket. She locked eyes with him and yelled, “Catch!” as loud as she could. A metallic something fell down towards him quickly, all Baz could see was a silvery blur. Instinctively, Baz reached out his free hand and caught it, his fingers wrapping around the leather wrapped hilt of his sword.
Anyone else might have cut their hand open trying to catch a sword hurtling towards them, but Baz had had years of practice safely catching the knives his sister Amalia often threw at him whenever he was being annoying, which (according to her) was often. He’d long ago master the skill of catching a blade by the handle while barely looking.
He turned Ebony in his hand until he was gripping it properly and waited for the right moment. The harpy, still slashing at his best friend, turned just enough for him to get a clear shot. With a cry, and every last bit of his strength, he thrust the blade into her heart.
The creature screamed in pain and anger, and thrashed as she died. Her talons managed to grab the silk of the balloon right as she burst into golden dust. The balloon lurched forwards, and Baz realized with sudden dread that the balloon had been pierced.
"Hold on," Peggy screamed. "we're going down!"
"Oh fuck," was the last thing Baz thought before all he could see was the a blur of green and brown as the trees rushing towards him, and then nothing but black.
Notes:
Historical Notes:
1. At this point in time, cars are 100% prefered over horses. Roy is just a farm boy with "old values."
2. This is taking place about a month after the Hindenburg disaster, so people still think of hot-air balloons and dirigibles as a viable transportation device of the future. (plus Rudy's been working on this airship for many months, and is not going to waste the invention just because one blew up.)Sorry for the short chapter. My finals are almost done, so I should be able to post again soon (knock on wood)
Chapter 8: Conversations on a Train
Notes:
As always, any non-English languages are from Google Translate. Please, please, please correct me in the comments if you know Russian or French. I may have taken French in high school, but I don't really trust what I remember.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
June 15, 1937 (Jack Thompson)
“All aboard,” the conductor shouted above the loud scream of the train’s whistle. Before them stood a large freight train, and hopefully, their ticket out of Long Island and to New York City.
The three demigods watched as the train began to depart. Just as the last car began to leave the station, Jack broke out into a run. He knew without looking that his companions were right behind him.
He grabbed the ladder next to the open door of the freight car and hauled himself inside with practiced ease. His mother would’ve been scandalized at how good he’d gotten at riding the rails. Her little railroad prince, now no better than a hobo. He took a second to laugh to himself at the irony. This was even a Greyton rail line.
Gripping the edge of the doorway, Jack leaned down and extended an arm to help Alisa board the train. Her hand felt soft and warm clasped in his, and if he held on a moment too long, well that was between him and the gods. Once she was safely inside, Jack repeated the motion for Marc.
“I still don’t understand why we couldn’t just buy a ticket,” Alisa said, dusting herself off. “Chiron gave us plenty of money.”
“He only gave us twenty dollars.”
“ Only twenty dollars?” Alisa repeated incredulously. “That’s enough to buy first class tickets there and back five times.”
“But who knows how much we’re going to need once we get there,” Jack explained. “We need to blend into society, and I know you’ve got the manners to fit in, but you didn’t bring over your best evening dress from Moscow, now did you. I haven’t owned a dinner jacket since I was seven, and I don’t know much about him,” Jack gestured at the silent Marc, “but he’s not exactly screaming privilege.”
Marc shrugged a confirmation, but Alisa narrowed her eyes, as if offended on Marc’s behalf. “Your point?”
“My point is we're gonna need new clothes, a taxi, and a room in a nice hotel. We need to conserve the money we have.”
“Will anyone really care about all that?” Marc asked. Jack had been right on the money about his status in life. Lucky him.
“Sadly, the answer is yes,” Alisa answered him. “High society is full of people who are trying to find something you’re doing wrong. It’s why all our families are unhappy.”
“Rich people are very judgemental,” Jack agreed. “If we want to blend in, we’re gonna need to look the part.”
Marc nodded seriously. “Would it not be… comment dit-on, soupçon ?”
“Suspicion,” Alisa corrected gently.
“ Oui , suspicion. Wouldn’t it be suspicion if we arrive and no one knows who we are?”
“I wouldn’t worry about that,” Jack muttered.
“Why not?”
“Uh… nevermind. Let’s just enjoy the ride, okay?” He turned away and watched the trees running past outside the open door.
“Jack?” Alisa called after him. He could hear worry in her voice, but he was too distracted to care.
The moment he’d dreaded for years was almost upon him, and he had no idea how to face it. But he couldn’t avoid it now. Jack Thompson was going home.
June 15, 1937 (Alisa Pavlova)
Jack had been sitting there in silence for three hours. Three whole hours. The three of them were almost at their destination now, but he still hasn’t said anything. The majority of this forsaken train ride, in complete silence.
Now, given how colorful and rambunctious her siblings were, one would be forgiven for assuming Alisa Pavlova was the sweet and kind sister, the soft spoken shy one. But the truth was she had opinions just as loud as the rest of the Pavlov siblings, she’d just learned to hide it under layers of expected grace.
But now, even her carefully practiced patience was wearing thin. She’d agreed to go on this quest to spend time with Jack, yet he’d barely spoken a word to her. He was just sitting in a corner sulking. Sulking!
And that wouldn’t be too bad, if she only knew why. Was he mad at her? Maybe he’d talked to her brother? No, Vladimir may be upset with her right now, but he wouldn’t do that. Not when he knew she loved Jack. But what if he did?
Would Jack love her if he knew what she’d done? Would he even want to still be her friend? What if she’d ruined all of her relationships at camp in the same moment she destroyed them at home?
Everyone was angry at her right now. Her father had raged for hours when he’d learned what she’d done, saying she’d ruined any value she’d had for him and his plans. He’d thrown things and her around. It had gotten so bad that there were multiple moments that night where she’d been afraid he’d kill her. And the morning after that, he had refused to speak to her, wouldn’t even look at her. It took all her willpower not to use her charmspeak to make him acknowledge her.
Vladimir was almost worse. He wasn’t angry, but he just looked at her with disappointment in his eyes. No matter what she said, it was clear he didn’t understand her choices, and would never approve. All he’d said on the subject was “What’s done is done,” and “It can’t be helped now.” Alisa was on the verge of slapping him.
Then there was her Babushka, who just pitied her, like she was some kitten on the street with broken legs. Which was completely ridiculous for a woman who couldn’t even walk around the room, much less out of the house. She’d made and raised five terrible sons who’d gone on to make the world miserable. Who was she to look at Alisa like she was some sort of disgrace?
“Mademoiselle?” a voice broke her out of her thoughts. “Mlle. Pavlova?”
“Yes Marc? And you can just call me Alisa.”
“ D’accord, Mlle. Alisa.”The boy shifted back and forth on his feet nervously. “Well, I was going through our supplies, and I noticed…well…”
“What? Are we missing something?”
“Uh, yes. I noticed you didn’t have any…. Ummm…” he struggled to come up with the word, turning bright red as he stammered.
“Oh, just out with it,” Alisa said, a little too snappishly, if Marc’s shift in expression was anything to go by.
“We don’t have any lady’s products,” he said, pointedly looking at the floor in embarrassment.
For a moment, Alisa was so taken off guard by the change of topic that she didn’t say anything. She just stared at him like she was frozen. She finally thawed as Marc started to further clarify.
“Umm, for your règles ,” he mumbled. Alisa looked at him confused, she’d never encountered that phrase before. He clarified, his complexion turning somewhat red, “I mean, your– uh …monthly–”
“Yes, yes! I understand.” Alisa jumped in before he could say anything else. The poor boy had turned red as a strawberry. “You don’t need to worry about that. It won’t be an issue.”
“Are you sure? We don’t know how long we will be on this quest.”
Alisa laughed a bit of a dry laugh. “Trust me, that will not be a problem.”
“I- d’accord . As long as you’re sure.” Marc still looked massively uncomfortable. Alisa decided to give the poor boy some reprieve.
“I’m going to sit with Jack now, alright?” Marc nodded to the floor, and she couldn’t help but smile at how sweet and innocent he was. She didn’t really know the triplets’ friend well, but this boy can only be a good influence on Zoya.
She sat down next to Jack, who turned to look at her. She smiled softly at him, but he didn’t seem to have any reaction. Seriously?
“Hey,” she said. “We’re almost there.”
“Hmm..” Jack sighed. What was going on with him?
“Do you want to talk?”
“Hmm…”
Alisa decided to just give up on subtly. Her mother was right when she’d said that men were stupid. If you want to say something, you’ve just got to come out and say it. “Even then, your results may vary,” Nina Pavlov had told her. “Some men are physically unable to pick up on social cues if you hit them over the head with them.”
“Are you alright?” Alisa asked him. “I- are you upset with me?”
“What?” that finally got a reaction out of him. “Why would I be mad at you?”
“You asked me on this quest and have barely said two things to me. Is something the matter? Has Vladimir told you something?”
“Vladimir? Why would he- Nevermind,” Jack sighed again. “I swear, it has nothing to do with you.”
“Then what is it?” she asked. “You’re clearly in some kind of pain, and I want to help. But how can I if you don’t tell me what is wrong?”
He was silent for a moment, but Alisa knew him well enough to know he wouldn’t shut her out now. His defenses were crumbling. It was only a matter of time until he told her what was burdening his mind.
“You know how I’ve never really talked about my family?” Jack began slowly. “You never asked, but you must have wondered.”
“I didn’t care,” Alisa shook her head. “If you didn’t want to tell me, I didn’t want to pry.” They were demigods, all of them had some open wound they didn’t want to talk about.
“And I’ll always be thankful for that,” he said. “For everyone at camp. It didn’t matter where I was from, I was just another one of the half-bloods.”
“So what changed now?”
“I– My mother. Aurora Greyton of railroad heiress fame.” He gave a small forlorn smile. “I was born extremely rich, if you can believe it.”
“I can. To be completely honest, we’ve all assumed so.” Alisa thought back to his practiced manners and how he seemed to know so much about the exploits of the rich. “You haven’t exactly been subtle about your upbringing.”
“I haven’t?”
Alisa leveled him with a look, “You literally mentioned having a dinner jacket at seven not two hours ago.”
“Oh.” Jack said simply.
“You were saying,” Alisa prompted him. For some reason, demigods in particular were prone to losing track of their conversations, going off on tangents. Normally, Alisa would just see where the conversation took them, but damn her, she was curious. Nothing he said could change her opinion of him, she knew that in her heart, but that didn’t mean she didn’t want to learn more about him.
“Yes, my rich mother. She was married to my… I guess I can’t call him father now, can I? I don’t have any of his blood.” Jack laughed bitterly.
“If he raised you and loved you as a father, that’s all that matters,” Alisa said softly. “Blood doesn’t matter, not that much.”
“But it does!” Jack burst out. “He was my everything, my whole world. And my mother was his. He loved her so much, Alisa, and she just threw that away! Finding out that he wasn’t my father, that she wasn’t faithful to him? Mere hours after she died? That was one of the worst moments of my life. Nothing I knew was real, my whole world crumbled in seconds.”
“Oh Jack,” she gasped. “That's awful.”
“I never told him,” he said softly. “I just left, didn’t tell him where I went or why I left. He’s probably worried sick, maybe he’s even accepted that I’m dead. He still thinks I’m his son, not some imposter bastard of his cheating wife. I kept his name, I couldn’t bring myself to give it up. Someday, my children will have that name. Doesn’t that make me just as much of a liar.”
“No,” Alisa said firmly. “We are not responsible for what our parents do. Their sins may affect us, but they are not ours. We just make the best of the hand we’ve been dealt.”
“Do you really believe that?” Jack asked her, eyes full of hope.
“I have to,” Alisa said. “Otherwise, I’d be a horrible person, with the weight of both their sins hanging over me.”
“What do you mean?” Jack asked, before quickly saying, "You don't need to tell me if you don't want to."
“Just like I never pried, you never did either. I know everyone wonders about us, how there are so many of us.”
“They don’t,” Jack tried to assure her.
“I have eyes, and ears, Jack” she laughed. “If you think I don’t know that people are constantly gossiping about who this man was who captured my mother’s attention five times, having seven children with her, then you are even dumber than I thought you were.”
“Alright then, they are,” Jack sighed. “I’m sorry you know, I was hoping the speculation wouldn’t reach you. I can’t really blame people for being curious, it is a surprising thing, but I wish they didn’t bother you about it.”
“It doesn’t,” she said. “I knew as soon as we got here that we were a unique case. I always expected it. The speculation is all wrong though, my father isn’t some kind of Adonis. He’s a monster.
“My mother and her husband were at a dinner on Olympus when she made a comment about her happy endings for the couples in love, calling specific attention to two mortals who had just gotten married. The God of the Forge made a jape about how terrible of a wife she was, and how could she say she was leading by example. This argument eventually ended with a bet, that my mother couldn’t live as a dutiful housewife for a decade, much less a lifetime. She split her consciousness, one of her remained in Olympus, while the other part of her was left alone to face mundane life. He chose my father to make her as miserable as possible. He mistreated her, beat her, forced child after child on her, and she had to face it all with a smile on her face and dinner on the table every night.”
“Gods, I didn’t realize,” Jack looked aghast. “I’ve never felt sorry for a goddess before.”
“You shouldn’t,” Alisa said darkly. “We never knew about any of this. To us, she was just Nina Pavlova, our mother. She was kind and sweet and always made time for us. She was my whole world, as you put it. But when her ten years were up, she left us in the worst possible way. The whole time she was pregnant with the triplets, she kept saying something didn’t feel right. When she went into labor, it was in the middle of a snowstorm. Otets (father) and Vladimir were away, and we were trapped in our home. It was just me and Nikolai and baby Pyotr.”
“That must have been terrifying.”
“I found out later that she’d gone into labor that day on purpose. She just didn’t want to see my father again, with no thought to what we would think. Mama died giving birth to the triplets, with only me and Nik in the room. It was brutal, graphic, and so, so painful. Mama died in so much pain, she sounded so scared. It was horrible Jack, those screams still echo in my dreams. Nik had nightmares for years. Then, three years later we arrive at Camp and are told it was all fake. Mama didn’t die, she didn’t love us to her death. She had us to win a pointless bet, left us with a monstrous father, and traumatized her children for a dramatic exit. She might say we’re her favorites, but really, how does any of this sound like she cares about us at all?”
Alisa was starting to cry. She hated it, it made her feel like that powerless little girl again, covered in her mother’s blood and begging her to open her eyes.
She suddenly felt a warm weight on her. It took her a moment to realize that Jack was hugging her. In any other moment, Alisa would be losing her mind because Holy Hera, Jack Thompson was hugging her but just then, all she felt was tired and sad and comforted in his arms. She reached up her arms and hugged him back, as tightly as she could.
“I’m so sorry that happened to you,” Jack muttered into her hair.
“I’m sorry for what you had to go through too,” she sniffled. Alisa laughed a sort of half sob, “Don’t we make quite a pair.”
“I wonder what Marc thinks of us now?” Jack said with that smirk that she loved so much.
Dermo , Alisa had completely forgotten about Marc. She glanced over to where he was sitting awkwardly in a corner. He gave a small, shy wave, and Alisa couldn’t help but wave back. What a sweet boy.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to écouter aux portes (eavesdrop), but it is a small train car.”
“No, we’re sorry,” Alisa said. “We shouldn’t have unloaded all our troubles onto you, not when you hardly know us.”
“So, what do you think of the great Jack Thompson and Alisa Pavlova now? Still think we’re great heroes?”
“Of course,” Marc said without hesitating, clearly surprising Jack. “Every Half-Blood has a tragedy behind them. We’re like bones, we come back stronger after we’re broken.”
“What a beautiful way to put it,” Alisa said. “You're quite the poet, aren’t you? Honestly, speaking about it has made me feel much better.”
“Me too,” Jack grinned. “C’mon Frenchie, it’s your turn.”
“Jack!” Alisa exclaimed. She turned to Marc and said, “You needn't say anything if you don’t want to.”
“Maybe later,” Marc said.
“What, you scared?” Jack asked. "Embarrased?"
Alisa elbowed him in the ribs and gave him a hopefully scathing look. Jack grunted in pain and rubbed his side where she’d struck, trying to look as much like a wounded puppy as he could. Alisa couldn’t help but smile.
“Non, it’s just that we’re here.” Marc answered.
“Here where?” Jack said.
“At our destination. We’ve arrived in Washington.”
Notes:
History notes:
1. Frieght Hopping was very common, especially among the homeless population during the Great Depression. Personally, I think it's a skill many demigods would develop, with all the quests and general delinquenting they do.
2. 20 dollars would be about $438.21 today. Things were also cheaper back then than they are today (thanks inflation) In TLT, Chiron gave Percy and Annabeth a big bag of money, so logic says he'd be giving demigods lots of money for their quests in the past too.
3. In mythology, the gods often made bets and created drama for no reason. No reason to believe they stopped. Especially two as petty as Aphrodite and Hephaestus.This was meant to end somewhere else, but Jack and Alisa's trauma dumping came out and took so much space that I decided to spilt the chapter in half. Next chapter will be the Hope Diamond plot. I promise, we'll get back to Maria's Brats soon.
Sorry for this being so late. I've been so stuck on planning this fic that I've been forgetting to actually write it (I'm on draft 3 of the master timeline). I'm gonna try to update every two weeks, but it may not work out (I'm currently taking 10 college classes and working on college apps to transfer).
Anyway, have a nice day! And Happy Navratri to all who celebrate!
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elfqueen13 on Chapter 1 Sun 07 May 2023 04:00AM UTC
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Ambookish on Chapter 1 Sat 05 Aug 2023 03:52AM UTC
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Greyladyy on Chapter 2 Sun 18 Jun 2023 01:46PM UTC
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PenelopeOfIthaca on Chapter 5 Mon 14 Oct 2024 12:48PM UTC
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Pluto_likes_PANcakes on Chapter 6 Mon 04 Dec 2023 12:43PM UTC
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KittyOfChess on Chapter 6 Thu 09 May 2024 10:42PM UTC
Last Edited Thu 09 May 2024 10:43PM UTC
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