Chapter Text
It’s been a few weeks since.. Everything. Since teenagers were the ones to save the world, just as most popular YA books predicted. They never really got into the aftermath from that, the sleepless nights and suspicions that come with the sun and moon existing again after growing up without it. All of the teens have made a comment or two at some point about that. Terry supposed they were getting used to it now, squabbling in the living room instead of the awed or wary silence while they watched the sun set. They’d all gotten so hesitant that first time, Linc going silent, Scary and Normal talking over each other questioning what was happening, Scary trying to sound angry and Normal openly concerned, Taylor trying to brush off any desire for the sun. The past weeks had been calmer, but still tinged with that fear during dusk that turned to relief at dawn.
It made him worry. If the Doodler wasn’t truly gone, Terry was convinced that they would be on the same path he and his friends were on. Their fear, their anger.. He was glad that it could all be channeled into a truly normal childhood now. Mostly normal. Somewhat.
Terry broke out of his train of thought when there was a louder squawk in the living room than there was before. Shit. He’d gotten too used to the sound of fighting to know if he was meant to cut it off earlier. He hurried into the living room and, yeah, that would explain it. Taylor was pinned to the floor, arms behind his back, Scary weighing him down and trying to reach the remote while keeping him down. Normal was standing and hovering, pacing like he wasn’t sure what he wanted to do about it. Linc was still on the couch, watching quietly like he was also trying to figure out how they got so serious so fast.
“Get the remote already, Norm! I’m not watching his anime picks again !” Scary snapped, while Taylor started muttering unintelligibly under her.
“Oh-! Uh, yeah,” Normal snatched the remote, Taylor groaning dramatically and going limp. The standing teen looked up, his eyes widening when he saw Terry watching. “Scary, your dad- step-dad? Dad? Ter- Mr… Stampler..?” Terry winced at his complete fumble of an announcement.
“You can just call me Terry if you want, Normal.”
His daughter looked at him quickly, rolling her eyes and getting off Taylor. Terry was glad, as he was pretty sure if that went on for much longer it would count as bullying. “Don’t call him my dad, only I get to call my dad! And right now he’s being the fun police.” She had faced Normal at first, turning to Terry again with the ‘fun police’ comment.
Terry didn’t know how to process that at the moment. He was used to Scary being callous, but not her actually calling him dad. Even if that was with a weird protectiveness of refusing to let someone else call him her dad. He resigned to save it for later, when Veronica was back. She’d at least like the update on how Scary was feeling. “I’m not policing fun just by making sure none of you are getting seriously hurt.”
She rolled her eyes and huffed, as if the idea of not being able to injure her friends was some heavy burden. Terry couldn’t help but smile at it, though. It was still endearing. Taylor was getting up from the floor now, resting on a knee and looking up at Scary.
“Heh, fool… Never turn your back on an enemy you aren’t sure is fully defeated!” He jumped up, aimed perfectly for where Scary’s shoulders had been, but she turned to the side in time and watched as he just landed back on the floor.
“Stop monologuing before you attack!” Her arms waved at Taylor as yelled. Terry was fairly sure her anger was more at the fact his attack failed than him trying in the first place. The teen jumped up from the floor again, scoffing and brushing himself off. “You'd actually start winning fights if you didn't spend half your time describing what you were doing!”
“You just don't understand the true art of battles, unlike- Wait, really?”
“Oh my god- Yes. Like every time you force us to watch a monologued fight in all your stupid animes. There’s so many opportunities to attack in the middle of those speeches!”
“Hey! Don’t call them stupid animes! You just need to say anime, you don’t add anything to make it plural!”
Scary sighed heavily, then looked between Normal and Linc. “Are you sure I can’t kill him?”
Her question was met with exasperated “No,” a disappointed shake of a head, and Taylor’s indignant complaint that he’d definitely win in a fight. Terry laughed to himself. He felt ridiculous at feeling nostalgic, but they all were so much like his friends when they were teens, three carbon copies of their fathers and Scary. He couldn’t pretend, as much as he wished, that she was anything like him. But she was so similar to Lark it still felt familiar. He didn’t think this more lighthearted part of the group could’ve survived, but it did. He was satisfied with witnessing it.
He knew the other fathers didn't have the same luck. Linc was still terse with Grant, and all three followed suit without question. Terry felt bad that it partially had to do with when he died, but he didn't know how to fix that outside of being alive again, which didn't seem to change their opinion much. It was a similar case with Sparrow, Normal didn't want to talk to him and his friends agreed with his decision, choosing to stand with him in solidarity. It's made worse with Lark attempting to mediate by relentlessly choosing Sparrow's side. Terry needed to try to get him to back off. Nick was doing fine, as far as Terry was aware of it, with weekly hangout sessions with Taylor that he was slowly getting longer without Taylor running away or demanding to be brought back.
Terry's.. fairly sure that the next one was tomorrow, and is the reason for the sleepover today. Shit. Hopefully Nick wouldn't come here to pick Taylor up. He didn't want to risk souring the mood, an unwanted reminder to how he lost his arm. His old friend definitely deserved the retribution, but not while the kids were watching. He’d get that scheduled too, hopefully within the same week so he can rest assured it’d just be one bad one. But that was all for later.
Scary was all-but pouting now that her plans for homicide were dashed, focusing on Normal when it was clear her request was denied. “Fine.. just give me the remote, Norm. I’m still not letting Taylor choose anything.” Predictably, Taylor started arguing again before Normal could hand the remote over, and he held on to it tighter while hesitating.
“Can’t we just find some sort of compromise..?” Normal had gone from anxious to just sounding tired. Terry was sure it was a common occurrence. His words had the intended effect of quieting both parties as they considered. “Like maybe a.. sporty.. anime.. Or I can-”
“I’m not watching anime!”
“I don’t want to see ANY sports! None!”
Terry winced in sympathy for Normal having to deal with that. “Then you kids need to find something you’d both enjoy, which means no anime or sports.” He got two betrayed looks for that, which he was desperately ignored because he had no way of rescinding that decision without at least one upset teen, and he didn’t want to deal with the consequence of picking favorites. Thankfully, Scary and Taylor returned to arguing about second best now that their top picks were off the table, now including Normal who was giving his own options, who’d have speaking power as long as he held on to the remote.
Linc was still sitting quietly on the couch, and Terry turned his attention to him as the debate of what to watch was sorting itself out less violently. He hadn’t really spoken at all today, completely at odds with the current chaos. He’d gotten here early, not that it’d be the first time Linc came before everyone else, but judging by Scary’s surprise when he entered and the lack of any car outside, it was a snap decision on his part to come when he did. Terry, of course, let Grant know immediately, and he seemed relieved at the confirmation. Apparently Grant had been trying to talk with him and he just walked out. It made some sad sense, openness was never a Wilson strong suit.
Scary had, of course, let him come in with no complaint. She’d just shrugged and told Terry to shut up when he tried asking questions. He couldn’t be that mad- both used to her attitude, and because the two had stayed quiet in the living room. Until Taylor came over and they started fighting about what to watch. “Linc, do you want to help me in the kitchen while they get sorted out?”
Linc looked surprised at being named, glancing at his friends than the rest of the room, like there was someone else he could be talking to. Then he searched for something nearby himself, not finding anything and eventually nodding. The kid got up from the couch, skirting the group and following Terry back to the kitchen.
Terry directed him to the vegetables that just needed dicing while he focused the onions and tomato sauce. He looked relieved that his job wasn’t that intensive, smiling slightly as he got to work. It felt nice to just focus on cooking for several minutes while listening to the living room. It had, at one point, been all he wanted in life. Cooking simple food and hearing his children in a different room, safe and free to be noisy, without any worry of what would come tomorrow. It had still been a wish throughout everything, admittedly one on the back burner as he juggled with more pressing issues, and one that became so unlikely he’d stopped believing it was possible.
He was grateful it became true after everything, remorseful that he’d barely helped in making it true. Terry took a deep breath, focusing on caramelizing the onions and taking the diced vegetables from Linc to roast in the oven. “It’s still going to be a while to cook, maybe help find a movie you guys can watch in the meantime? Normal probably needs the help.” Though the loud arguing seemed to die down into quiet debating. He hoped that didn’t mean they were returning to physical violence.
When he turned around again Linc was still with him in the kitchen, standing near the entrance and looking hesitant to actually leave. He opened his mouth and closed it, pausing like he wanted to say something but losing the words. Terry watched as he shifted on his feet, not leaving the kitchen and fighting to not stay silent. After a few seconds he took pity on the kid.
“Do you want to try finding a dessert to make too? Something vegan, so that Normal isn't left out.” Linc immediately looked more relieved, pulling out his phone and scrolling through it. Terry waited, tidying up and checking what they had available. During the break, he poked his head in the living room to check on the kids. It almost looked like Normal was monitoring an actual debate between Scary and Taylor, standing between them and getting them to speak one at a time while the other waited impatiently.
After a few minutes, Linc tapped his shoulder to get his attention. He showed his phone screen, but it wasn't a recipe like he expected. He'd written in some notes app.
Sorry for not speaking. I dont have a voice rn.
Terry shrugged after reading. “You've been helpful without needing to speak. Did you find a recipe?” Linc nodded after a moment, pulling up a new screen. It looked simple, and thankfully didn’t require the oven. Chocolate and peanut butter, can’t really go wrong with that. He paused before starting, giving Linc a more serious look. “Not having a voice, that doesn’t have to do with any leftover monsters around, does it?” He looked confused at the question, thankfully, furrowing his brows and shaking his head. “Good. Just making sure.”
Terry let Linc take more of a lead this time. The recipe was on his phone, so he felt bad taking it to look at the recipe in the first place, let alone commandeer it entirely when he was the one who found it. As well as the fact that he wasn’t as good with baking or desserts as he was with cooking. So he mainly provided company and navigation… the second one being something Linc didn’t actually need. Just company, then. He decided on telling stories about being younger, the best ones of the other dads he could think of.
“... I still don’t know how we messed up cookies that much! Lark still tried eating them, so Sparrow joined in with Grant in reprimanding us.” Linc scoffed, shaking his head as he filled a tray with the peanut butter mixture, but he was smiling enough that Terry knew he was still entertained. “Last I checked, Lark is still banned from cooking anything alone, because Sparrow thinks he’s the mastermind, even though I’m the one who swapped the sugar and flour.” He laughed, encouraged by Linc’s face being a mixture of disgust and disappointment. “I haven’t baked anything since either. It took an hour to clean and I just know the next time I try again Grant will find out and hunt me down for that.”
Linc huffed a quiet laugh, then paused and the smile dropped. He tapped the counter for a moment, hesitating before communicating something with his hands. Terry didn’t know what he was trying to say, but he knew a question when he saw one.
“What was that, Linc?”
Linc wiped his hands off and grabbed his phone, showing it to Terry again after a minute.
What about Nick?
Oh, right. Terry had almost forgotten how inquisitive the kids were, and how aware they had become of how often people left out information. Linc watched his face, frowning, going back to type a follow up question. He didn’t need him to finish to know what it was. “We were still friends then, he just wasn’t there for that. He was off in Hell at the time, some kind of visit. But when he got back he teased me and Lark for weeks after, trying to convince us to bake again. Even though he’s fully capable of filling a house with smoke by himself if he wanted.”
Linc nodded and relaxed as Terry got into another old story, this time about Nick. Having to help Ron for a few hours and coming back to a scorched fireplace with a singed living room, and a Grant hanging around to make sure an apology got delivered. Nick eventually admitted to lighting fireworks in the fireplace out of curiosity and boredom.
“He tried defending himself, too! He argued that he could have cleaned it up before I got back if it wasn’t for Grant. Your dad always had that kind of sixth sense, being able to catch us as we were in trouble. It helped a lot when he got into tough spots fighting… Not as much when we wanted to hide from him.” Linc huffed air again, a soft laugh as he spread the chocolate over the peanut butter. Terry checked the refrigerator, moving some containers to make room for the tray.
Terry put the tray in the fridge as Linc washed his hands, humming faintly enough Terry wasn't sure if he was imagining it. When he turned back around, Linc was looking at him again, drying his hands. “Uhm..” He was so quiet he barely heard it, taking a deep breath and trying again. “Do you.. Have one.. About. Grant?”
Terry softened. The question must have meant a lot, if it got him to speak again. He had plenty, but a fair amount less while avoiding the sad or bad ones. “Well, one time he got so tired of everyone trying to surprise him he decided to get back at all of us, individually…” He went on to explain the one sided prank war Grant pulled, making sure to include the part where Nick dragged Grant out of Hell, harried and annoyed, and the mystery of how he’d gotten there in the first place without dying. As he did the two of them cleaned up the kitchen, Terry checking on the cooking sauce and adjusting the roasting vegetables.
When he turned back around from the oven his gaze immediately went to Normal, who was standing in the doorway now. Normal shifted on his feet for a moment, realizing that Terry had stopped speaking and rushed to get out what he was going to. “I was just, uh, coming to see how everything was going!... And if Linc wanted to come back! Not that we’d think you keep him here if he didn’t want to be…? Just- just checking.” He had a strained grin, bordering on suspicious, but Terry didn’t feel the need to read into it any further. The living room had gone quiet, but it didn’t feel like a way he needed to be concerned about.
“Oh, don't worry! Dinner will still take a while. Linc is fine, I think we both just lost track of time. Were you able to work out what to watch with Scary and Taylor?”
“Oh, yeah!” Normal smiled, then sighed after a moment, “They decided on sports anime… one of the soccer ones? I wasn’t aware of there being multiple.. Apparently there’s plenty.”
Linc tilted his head at Normal’s words, looking at Normal and giving him a questioning thumbs up after a moment. He gave one back hesitantly, and Linc left the room. It almost felt like him and Normal were trading off. Normal looked like he immediately regretted that and started fidgeting after a moment, looking between where Linc had gone and to Terry. “Normal, you don’t have to stay.”
“No! No, um- well… I’ve just got a question? You don’t have to answer it if you don’t want to-”
“I’m not doing anything other than waiting. What’s your question?”
“It’s just- You’ve been around our dads a lot- especially before we were born and I was just curious how my dad was before I was born- or everything? I’ve already tried asking him! He avoids any questions, and always just insists that he loves me no matter what which I know and I know that he regrets what’s happened but it’s not even why I’m asking- ”
Normal was speaking faster, and his hands were starting to swing more the longer he went on, so Terry put his hand up before he got too much steam. “Take a breath, before you pass out. You don’t have to explain the questions you ask when it’s not anything bad.”
Normal froze, his hands hovering in the air for a few seconds before dropping again. He took a slow, deep breath in, and nodded. “So? How was he like before?” Terry hoped he planned on breathing out again sometime soon…
“Well, you’re a lot like he was as a teenager. Especially since it was when the- when Dood was released. He was still obsessed with the idea of being a lovewolf, solving problems through love first and violence second. It got us into trouble, actually…” Normal looked more relaxed as Terry talked, breathing out thankfully and nodding along. He looked relieved, honestly, learning about Sparrow trying to juggle saving the world and supporting Lark, close to breaking down constantly and falling apart if anyone tried to help.
Sparrow hadn’t actually changed that much, from being a teenager. He got better at hiding it, not as much at taking it slower. Terry couldn’t pretend to be better than that, though. He didn’t say that part aloud. “So them- him and Uncle Lark- being really defensive is normal? It’s not because of- It’s not something recent?” Normal sounded aching hopeful with that question. Terry started planning getting everyone together to deal with this, they needed to compare notes or something to help these kids.
“Of course not. Lark and Sparrow are too flexible for any one thing to mess with them that much.” Normal nodded slowly, though Terry couldn’t be sure how much he really believed that. “Do you have any other questions?”
“No. Thanks a lot, um, Mr. Terry. Do you.. Need any more help in the kitchen?”
“Thanks for the offer, but I tried to kick Linc out a while ago and he refused. You’re free to go.”
Normal smiled a little, letting out a half laugh. “He’s like that.” He left again to the living room. Terry listened to the shuffling for a bit, until a show started playing and drowning out the quieter noises. Probably that soccer anime they settled on.
The kids stayed quiet during the rest of the time the food was cooking, and instead of just calling them into the kitchen he looked into the living room. In case they had fallen asleep, or snuck off. Equally likely with them. They were all there, thankfully, Linc and Scary on opposite ends of the couch and- Shit, when did they get so many blankets? There was a deep pile of at least ten of them on the floor, that both Taylor and Normal had bundled into, and an additional two on the couch. Those weren’t out earlier, and he hadn’t even been aware they had that many.
As he watched, Scary snorted at something that was happening in the episode. Muttering some complaint about the inaccuracies, he guessed. Linc snorted in response, and Taylor swatted at her, whispering something back. Terry cleared his throat before they dissolved further, and earned four startled looks. “Dinner’s ready, kids. Do you want to eat in there?”
Scary tilted her head, looking away from Terry and at the show for a few moments. The three boys were watching her, waiting for her response. “Alright.” She stood on the couch, pausing before stepping off the side to avoid stepping on Normal or Taylor. She walked past him to the kitchen, the rest following, Normal and Linc quietly thanking him.
Scary grabbed bowls for the others, though Terry was sure they knew at this point where they were. Taylor grinned a little too wide, then Scary glared at him enough to shut him up before he said anything. Which was impressive, as Nick never had the ability to shut up before it was too late.
He shouldn’t be comparing him to Nick. It would only make it more apparent how different they were, how he wouldn’t be able to be close to him again. Dwelling on it would just make it worse. “What do you kids want to drink?”
He listened to their chorus of responses, made sure he heard Linc’s properly, and convinced Taylor to choose a more normal option that he actually had available. They served themselves as he got the drinks set out for them. Terry expected them to file back to the living room with their food and drinks, but no. Scary sat down at the table and her friends followed, all choosing the seats closest to her. He couldn’t tell if it was them being unused to being apart, or as an act of separating her from him. He sat down with them after a few moments, and saw Scary nod slightly in approval. He hadn’t expected her to actively choose the option that included him.
Terry smiled at the realization, and Scary’s head quickly ducked into her bowl to avoid seeing it for too long. As long as she wasn’t running off, it couldn’t make him upset. The meal was made up of compounding complaints of school, their loads of make-up work and homework or projects they took issues with, and talk of the anime they were watching, Scary bringing up issues and Taylor arguing against them with his own logic. Normal and Linc were included, Normal arguing both sides for anime and levying personal complaints against teachers, Linc contributed with hand signals Terry was beginning to suspect was a makeshift form of sign language. He’d learned some ASL, though he couldn’t make sense of anything. There were periods of silence, feeling comfortable and calm. Terry was glad to just listen along, appreciating the kids relaxing.
After they finished eating, they cleaned up their bowls. Terry stopped them before they left, Scary looking baffled and annoyed as she prepared to speak. He beat her to it, holding up a finger. “There’s desert. Linc, do you want to grab it?”
Linc looked confused at being singled out for a moment before brightening and going to the fridge. He pulled out the tray, almost showing it off to the others when he returned.
“Oh shit, it looks good!”
“It's gotta be delicious!”
“Is this what you were doing in here?”
Scary grabbed four forks from the drawer, pausing and looking at Terry. “Are you gonna want some too?”
He shook his head. “I’m full, Scare. Go enjoy it.”
She nodded, following after the group to go back to the living room. It was good to see her happy, though she'd probably never admit to the spring in her step.
He listened to their continued back and forth over the anime as it started playing again, while putting up the leftovers. It was now interspersed with compliments to Linc for making it. Terry just listened to them for a while, until he realized how late it had gotten.
He poked his head in and warned them he was heading off to bed. They'd changed positions from before dinner, Scary and Linc on the floor with Normal and Taylor sharing the couch. He got a chorus of ‘Night’s and a “Don’t die in your sleep,” courtesy of Scary, before leaving them for the rest of the night.