Chapter Text
Reed has moved on.
From failure to Mr. Fantastic. He has Sue by his side, and soon they would be official. Life was finally - finally - looking up for him.
He had mourned Victor's death of course, spent many a night hating himself for his part in it, the guilt never quite leaving. Even now, two years later. What he and Victor had was... complicated, to say the least. Neither of them bothered to make it official, no, it was all late night meetings and well...
No, Reed wouldn't think about that right now. He was meant to be making a speech for his upcoming wedding, and the thought of Susan finally becoming one with him was nice.
Just nice? That couldn't be right...
The blank piece of paper before him remained that way, because his damn mind would not focus. Instead of his feelings for Sue dominating Reed's thoughts, it was Victor.
He remembered one night, before it all went to shit, when—no! Do not go down that path, Reed!
"How's it going?"
The voice startled Reed and the images of him and Victor getting down and dirty were quickly pushed aside. Think of Susan, not Victor, S-u-s-a-n.
Johnny peered over his shoulder, saw the untouched paper, and proceeded to pat Reed on said shoulder sympathetically. "You know the wedding's in a week, right?"
Reed frowned. "Of course I do. I-" Scratching at his cheek, he didn't quite know how to finish that sentence. "Has Sue done hers?"
"Mmhmm! Weeks ago." Johnny teased, "And it's a little bit longer than the wonderful one you've done!"
But he hadn't done anything yet... oh. That little shit! Before Reed could smack Johnny for being a sarcastic bastard, the latter was gone with the wind, and laughing the entire time.
———
The whole situation with the Silver Surfer naturally pushed the wedding back, and Reed was... struggling.
Struggling because he had already messed up and the General was bringing in reinforcements... more people to needlessly die.
And it was all his fault...
He and the other three were sat together, with the General watching them from the other side of the room.
"I'm bringing in extra help."
Reed gritted his teeth together in frustration. "I don't need extra help! I just need another chance to prove I can do this."
"Can you though?"
But it wasn't the General talking. The voice was too smooth, too haunting and too familiar. Reed snapped his head around so fast that it almost broke his neck, because no way, no way in Hell could that be...
Victor.
The other man stood in the doorway and stared back, but his eyes barely lingered on Reed. Instead he turned to Susan.
"I hear congratulations are in order." He jerked his head towards her hand, where a pretty engagement ring was just chilling on her finger. "Who's the lucky man?"
No one spoke for a moment, before Reed said—
"Me."
Something flashed across Victor's face. Pain? Regret? Longing? But it was gone almost as quickly as it appeared, to be replaced with a stoic expression. His eyes met Reed's now, and it was as if no one else in the room mattered anymore.
"I thought you were dead." Reed breathed, his voice barely a whisper.
Victor's gaze dropped to the ring again, "But you seem to have moved on. Do I get an invitation to the wedding? I promise to be on my best behavior."
He sounded off, wrong, and Reed hated it. He wanted nothing more than to drag Victor into a quiet room and explain everything, like how he mourned for two years, how even now — just seeing the other man made his heart constrict and his head hurt. Victor was alive all this time and he didn't tell him? Reed would be lying to himself if he said that didn't sting just a little.
"Von Doom will be helping us." The General said, completely ignoring the tension in the room. "So get to it. All of you."
———
Reed lingered around outside the room, just waiting for Victor to emerge. When he did, Reed pounced.
"Victor, can we talk?"
Victor paused in his stride. "What's there to talk about?"
His voice was still different. Strained in a way, as though he didn't have the time or energy to deal with Reed any longer. Reed could feel himself getting emotional, what did he do to deserve this?
"You were alive all this time... and you didn't tell me?"
"Why would I tell you? You and your band of freaks were the reason I almost died in the first place."
Reed felt as though he had just been punched in the gut, the balls even.
"And you know what hurts," Victor continued, "I expected it from the others... but you? I guess all those nights meant nothing to you, right? Just a way to get inside information out of me."
"No, I would nev—"
Victor held up a hand. "Save it, Reed. I've moved on as well." Although his expression said otherwise. "Oh, and congratulations. I guess."