Work Text:
Nebula: The remnants of an old star that provides a birthplace for new stars…
The home was silent; the brothers were the only ones in it. Hugh and Simon came to have dinner with their sons and left to continue working; they were busy. A week after The Supernova, the city was a mess. But they still tried to spend time with their boys. It was exhausting to deal with people with powers and not knowing what to do with them, removing the idea that the anarchists were heartless villains, showing people to stop depending on renegades, and ceasing the segregation of who is considered valuable based on the powers and who isn’t. Chaotic didn’t begin to describe it; it was hell, however, at the end of the day, home was waiting for them, and they could have a little bit of peace by spending dinners with their two sons.
The dinner was pasta, which the family cooked together, teaching Max how to prepare the sauce, making the whole moment warm and cozy. During dinner, they talked about their day. Hugh and Simon initially tried not to say a lot about the city renovation project in front of their sons. However, Adrian wanted to be more involved in it, getting angry every time he was treated as a scared 7-year-old; he had so many ideas on how society could work better, and denied being pushed to the side. While Max was also intrigued to know more, he supported Adrian’s ideas, expressing his passion. It became, to a point, useless to try to ignore the topic, and they decided to welcome their sons to give their ideas. It was hard, of course, after years of wanting to manage everything by themselves; times have changed, and it forced them to start listening to younger voices, especially after the two of them were directly impacted by the whole event.
Once they were done, they left to continue working at HQ. It was a routine they were painfully getting used to: come back home, have dinner, go back to HQ, and return before midnight to wake up and have breakfast with their sons. No matter how busy they were, family time wasn’t optional, and they were waiting for the moment they could get back to a more chill routine instead of having to go back and forth.
Adrian was washing dishes and clutter while Max stored items, part of him wanted to go with his dads and check they were making the right choices. But he agreed to stay at home for the first week, as his dads asked. They wanted him to take some time to stop and focus on himself first. Which was hypocritical for him, as he knew his dads also needed time to stop acting as heroes and act as actual human beings. He got to see Nova occasionally, and they had a long conversation about secret identities and keeping secrets from each other if they wanted a relationship together. She agreed, promising she would be more open as she apologized for everything that had happened during the past months; however, she still seemed to be avoidant and a little bit hesitant, rejecting casual moments with him but showing so much care. It was a weird phase, but he had hope; as time passed, they were going to make their relationship work, he knew it.
He took a dirty spoon and started scrubbing it with one of the sponges when Max came closer and showed a fully clean ladle that Adrian had cleaned not too long ago. “Where does this go?” Max asked Adrian, he was trying to accommodate stuff in the storage compartments.
“Oh, Max, the ladle goes there,” he pointed at a cabinet between the fridge and the trash can, dripping some foam onto the floor.
“Cool, thanks!” Max replied in an enthusiastic tone. Adrian smiled. He was enjoying this adorable moment with his brother, after years of just seeing each other through a glass wall, they could finally enjoy domestic moments like this, as a family, as they were always meant to be. It reminded him of the time he used to store his art supplies with his mom after art class. His mom was always guiding him, being the absolute best…
“Adrian, baby, remember to fold your easel and tuck it behind the white table, okay?” Georgia’s loving voice sounded as she washed painting brushes in the kitchen; her voice was soothing and full of patience. “Yes, mom!” Adrian replied, he was too enthusiastic as he folded his easel. He struggled a little bit; his tiny hands were trying to push the easel and tuck it into the small space behind the table. He wanted to make his mom proud and show her he didn’t need help. Once he was done, he stood up and looked at the space. It smelled like paint, graphite, mixed with one of his mom’s lavender-scented candles and whatever she was cooking on the stove. He looked at his mom in the kitchen, who was humming a little tune of a song he heard on the radio in the early morning.
Georgia was focused on removing the last remnants of mint-colored paint on a paintbrush, part of Adrian’s session painting a landscape of a garden with his tutor. She could picture Adrian’s bright eyes as his teacher explained how to mix the colors to achieve that result. Until a tiny hand tugged at her purple sweater, she looked down to see Adrian holding a deformed pink flower, a drawing from his. He raised his hand and gave the flower to his mom, “For you, Mom!” Georgia kneeled in front of him and took the flower, smelled the paper and rose essence, and placed it in her hair. “Thanks, baby, you are getting better every day. I’m so proud of you,” she kissed Adrian’s little forehead, making Adrian giggle as his glasses fell from the bridge of his nose. Georgia adjusted them and raised her eyes to check on the frying pan on the stove; it was time for dinner. She smirked at his son, “Are you ready for dinner?” Adrian started nodding and his eyes shining as he got excited for dinner.
Georgia served nuggets with salad in front of Adrian’s side of the table as he wiggled his feet from excitement, making Georgia laugh. She was having some grilled chicken for herself as she placed her dish and sat in front of her son. During dinner, he couldn’t stop expressing his enthusiasm, sharing with his mom all he had learned about dinosaurs in a children’s book. Speaking with his mouth full, which caused his mom to remind him to close it, with kind gestures. Once dinner was over, she started picking up the dishes, till the alarm of the home clock sounded. She looked over for her son, who was flipping through the same dinosaur’s book with his glasses falling again from his nose. She needed to leave for patrol. Georgia cleared her voice and called for Adrian, “Baby, let’s go to bed, ok?”. Adrian immediately raised his head; he looked concerned; knowing his mom was about to leave, but he followed her to his room, hoping this time was different.
Georgia opened the door and pulled the blankets of his bed as she sat on top of it and patted the mattress so he could follow along. But Adrian stood in front of her, blinking fast, about to cry. Georgia bit the inside of her cheek, hating seeing her son cry. “Mom has to go now, okay?” Georgia said to Adrian as she brushed her hands in his hair. Adrian stared at his mom with tears and glassy eyes. “No,” that was all he managed to say as he cleaned his eyes with his tiny, shaky hands.
Georgia smiled, “Baby, you know I have to, I’ll be back before you know it, okay?” she said as she bopped his nose and gently placed him in his bed, tucking him in the blankets. “You know who will be here to check on you later, right?” Adrian nodded, “Uncles Hugh and Simon.”
Georgia smiled, “Right! There you go, you are really smart, my son, and so brave, you know it?” Adrian didn’t reply as his mom took his glasses and cleaned his damp cheeks with her palms, her hands so soft and warm. She left his glasses on the nightstand while Adrian stared at his mother; her smell was familiar and so relaxing, almost making him forget about the fear that his mom's leaving brought. Georgia leaned and whispered a sweet “I love you” to his ear, giving him one last kiss on his forehead, without knowing that was going to be the last time he would ever hear her voice.
Georgia stood up, turned the lights off, leaving his night-light on, and closed the door as she blew a kiss to her son, who was closing his eyes.
An hour passed before Adrian woke up again and turned on the lights in his room, with difficulty standing on his tiptoes. His eyes were letting tears out again as he ran to his little desk and opened one of his drawing sketchbooks as fast as possible, he opened it on an empty page, the sketchbook full of black and grey drawings of a dark silhouette, he took a black crayon and started drawing the same figure, full of scribbles as little tears smudged the paper, he had to warn his mom, mom as out there, mom could be in danger.
His hand trembled as he tried to remember the words of his mom, “It’s your imagination, it’s in your head, it can’t hurt you, it won’t hurt me, everything will be okay.” Her voice was so sweet, even in his head.
Some minutes passed, and he heard steps approaching in the hallway. Simon opened the door to find the little boy seated on his little chair, drawing furiously. The man carried him back to his bed, who started kicking his feet to be let go; however, he relaxed in his embrace. That night, he didn’t know why Uncle Simon looked so…concerned…as he had just seen something horrible happen. Hugh and Simon always came to visit him at night for a few hours when his mom was away, but that time was different in the way he hugged him. Yet Adrian didn’t ask why and fell asleep as his now father was seated next to him, softly brushing his hair. Little did he know, he would find out why the next day.
How was that even possible? His own fear, what he feared the most, was what caused the death of his mother. His drawings could become real; everything he could think of, he could create, even his fears. And he bought life for the one who murdered his mother, years wondering who?
Phobia, a creation of his.
If only he hadn’t drawn Phobia that night, or any other night, if he had stopped his thoughts for once, if he could have been braver and stayed on his bed, if only he could have just closed his eyes and slept, if only he had trusted his own mother to stop thinking something horrible would happen.
And…could he accidentally cause it again? Hurt the people he loves, once more? Could he destroy everything: his family, his friends, his girlfriend, the entire city, just with a single drawing? He was older now, meaning he was in control of his emotions, so he could stop it if he wanted…That seemed logical, but what if that wasn’t the case?
What if he couldn’t control it? What if this exact fear and anxiety he is feeling right now causes the same mistake again? What if he being this worried just gave life to Phobia again? What if….
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“I think the plate is clean enough, Adrian,” Max said with a sarcastic tone. “What?” That snapped him out of his mind, the water running stopped just as his thoughts, realizing he had been scrubbing the same plate for almost ten minutes, and his little brother had been staring at him with a concerned look. “Right…sorry, Max, I was just thinking,” he let the plate down and dried his hands. Max looked interested but quickly seemed to understand why “Is about your mom, right?” Adrian looked down so fast, speechless, nothing got out of his mouth.
“You were a kid, younger than me,” Max only said. He was tense, uncomfortable even; it was his first week living at the family’s Mansion, and everyone was either busy or worried. Max himself was worried too, and Adrian wasn’t the exception; it wasn’t fair, Max was just a kid too and didn’t deserve to carry this weight.
Adrian kneeled in front of him, just like his mom used to do. “I know, it's just hard to accept, but I’ll try, okay?” he said, hoping his tears were not seen by Max, who obviously could see them, because his glasses were now fogged up. Max seemed to understand and flashed a small smile at him and nodded, “It’s fine, take your time, but don’t take all the water with you,” he joked, making Adrian laugh. He could do this; he knew what had happened last time, he was stronger, and he was going to protect his family, friends, partner, and especially himself.