Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Molly was desperate. Really desperate

When she woke up she started looking for Rocket, her stuffed toy. Unfortunately, she hadn't found it in its usual place

At first she thought it was Edd's prank, but when she saw him with a confused expression while searching under his bed, she realized it wasn't him

"Guys, don't you think you're exaggerating?" Sophie said, looking at them with her arms crossed on the edge of the door

Edd had entered the closet and was taking out all their clothes in a flurry, Molly was opening zippers and buttons to see if Rocket was in there; later, they did the same thing but with pillow covers and blankets

"Come on, it's just a toy, nothing more"

The two gasped loudly, theatrically even, but Molly was actually shocked. Edd huffed and walked out of the closet, crossing his arms as well

"You're just saying that because you're jealous"

"Jealous? Me? Of what?"

"About how Mom and Dad gave us something because we're the favorites. In fact, I bet you stole Rocket!"

"Excuse me!? I've been with them way longer than both of you, I'M the favorite"

"Oh really? Where's your toy then?"

The two growled at each other. Molly was starting to cry as she dejectedly arranged their beds and her side of clothes

Suddenly, from the corridor, familiar footsteps appeared: in front of them appeared Felix, with Rocket in his hand. Molly's eyes lit up and she immediately ran to get it

"My Rocket!" She said cheerfully, twirling it in the air "Why did you stole it, Uncle Felix?"

"I didn't mean to steal it, my dear" Felix smiled warmly "You see, your father told me that it was a bit broken, so I decided to take care of it myself"

"Broken? Oh yes, its eyes!" Rocket's eyes had been rolling around like uncontrollable beads for a couple of days and this was really bothering Molly

Molly hugged Rocket and smiled, then looked up and lunged for Felix's leg, squeezing it. The man smiled and picked her up

"Uncle Felix!" Sophie and Edd screamed

"Yes, kids?"

"Who is mom and dad's favorite?"

"Why, me of course"

Chapter Text

"How long have they been like this?" Felix asked, as soon as he arrived

In front of them, Molly was screaming her lungs out, Edd was stomping his feet as if creating a earthquake and Sophie was "blah blah blah"ing them

"Around uh... How long, darling?" Jack said, squeezing his eyes with his hand

"Half an hour" Rosemary replied

"Did we do the same at their age?"

"Not sure, Felix. I was a pretty quite girl"

"So... In half an hour, you couldn't manage to stop them?"

"Not even a bit" Jack replied

Felix sighed. He was used, from personal experience, to this kind of argument. Slowly, he approached the children

As soon as they noticed him, Molly stopped screaming and smiled at him, receiving the same in return. Edd looked down and Sophie crossed her arms

"What happened?" Felix asked

All three of them started talking at a rapid pace, and the man tried not to laugh about it. Slowly, he signaled them to be quiet and take turns. The children looked at each other, and decided it was Edd's turn

"I was minding my own business when Sophie threw Rocket at me"

"Hey I wasn't-" Felix signaled her to wait. Sophie snorted

It was Molly's turn

"Rocket and I wanted to play, but Sophie had already taken the trampoline. Then we had a fight and she threw my Rocket away"

Felix nodded. They all turned to Sophie. She lowered her head

"I was nervous"

"For what reason?" Felix asked

"School. The teacher is stupid. I wanted to let off some steam on the trampoline because Mom told me I could, and then Molly came to bother me"

"I didn't know that!" Molly defended herself

"Well it's obvious, you couldn't, but it was still frustrating"

"What about me? Why did you throw Rocket at me?"

"I didn't mean to, it just... Slipped from my hands and the trampoline send it fly"

The two children remained silent, then let out a long "oh". Easy, checkmate

The three looked at each other, slightly embarrassed. Molly played with her hair

"So... Truce?" Asked Edd

"Yes" Sophie answered

"Yes!" Molly replied

"Why don't we try to set some goals? Promise not to do something to avoid further arguments" Felix hypothesized

"Mmmh... I promise I won't scream anymore when I want to play!" Molly said playfully

"I promise to watch where I walk, I suppose" Edd grumbled

"And I promise... That I'll tell you guys when I'm not okay, so that you know what to do" Sophie said

The three looked at each other again for a few seconds, then Molly threw herself on the two to hug them. They laughed a lot. Done

Felix smiled and saw the children come out into the garden. He turned to Rosemary and Jack

"So, how did I do?" He asked, proud

"I've seen better-"

Rosemary smacked Jack in the nape

"You did great Felix!"

Chapter Text

Bon's Burgers was opening soon, and there were still some things that needed fixing. so Felix and Jack had decided to stay at the office all night to sort out the last things

It's easy to say that it was a bad idea

Before long, Jack was already getting nervous. He wasn't the type to go to sleep early, no, but spending a whole night on texts and contracts would have been difficult even for him

Felix knocked gently on Jack's office door. Without waiting for an answer, he entered with a cup of coffee and handed it to him. Jack smiled

"How's it going?"

"The usual. Why do we need so much of this stuff anyway?"

"Just in case"

Case???

Jack sighed and rubbed his eyes, sipping his coffee. It didn't have any effect at all. Noticing it, Felix took a chair and sat down next to him

"Maybe it's better if we stop" Felix said

The other man nodded slowly and put a hand on his head, it was as if he was trying with all his might not to fall asleep. Felix chuckled slightly

Then, suddenly, Jack's head shot up onto Felix's shoulder. When the man tried to call the other, he realized he was already asleep

Felix sighed softly and ran a hand through his hair before leaving it on his shoulder. A little nap wouldn't have hurt him, so, slowly he fell asleep too

Chapter Text

The work shift had just ended. For Felix, at least. He thought that a drink wouldn't hurt him, after all, what could two or three glasses be?

"Felix, what did you drink?" Jack asked with his arms crossed

Felix was half-lying on a bench outside Bon's Burgers, holding a bottle. To the left of the bench were some glasses and some broken glass. Jack knew this was going to happen, he should have expected it, but he had work to do and a part of him really hoped that this time his friend would be able to control himself. But he was wrong. Again

"Gin-Gin!" Felix chuckled, one of his feet fluttering on the top of the bench

"What's that?"

"Gin... ger tea!"

Jack sighed. Of course, Gin... ger tea. How creative, though

The man made his way onto the bench, finding himself with Felix's head close to his arm. When he got drunk, he was in such a pitiful state. Or at least, not right away, but he would soon become so

As if Felix had heard his thoughts, the man sat down properly on the bench, his head down. Jack put an arm around his shoulders and pulled him close to him

Alcohol made him so active, then so fragile. He knew what that stuff did to him, so why did he continue? Why did he even like that crap? Please, Jack drank too, but... Drinking alcohol so frequently? It was unbearable for him

"Jack..."

Jack turned his gaze towards him

"Yes?"

Felix looked at his hands

"My hands are cold. My lips are cold"

"I can help you warm them up"

The man's eyes widened and then blushed. Jack stared at him for a few seconds, and when he realized what Felix was thinking, he chuckled

"I'm referring to your hands, you dummy"

"Oh! Yes, yes... Please, and thanks, Jack"

Jack took Felix's hands and rubbed them, breathing lightly on them. It was cold in a way, but it was typical. Summer was coming, and the air was still cold in the late hours, nothing special. But if Felix was cold and needed help, Jack would have given it to him. Every time

"Do you think they'll be mad at me?" Felix suddently asked

"Who?" Jack replied

"You know... The others"

Jack smiled slightly. Not everyone was happy to see him get drunk, actually no one. Susan was the first to complain about it, she wasn't the easiest of women, and for good reason. Charles was doing his best, but he didn't like to see him like that either, maybe because he was an extremely empathetic person. Jack was just... There. He didn't like it, but it didn't stop him from helping him. They had known each other for years, they had had their ups and downs, but they had never abandoned each other

"I'm not mad at you, Felix"

"I'm sorry"

"I said, I'm not mad at you"

"Yeah, but... I'm still sorry"

"I know that"

Felix sighed and put a hand in his mouth, his back arching. Jack had more or less foreseen it. He helped him up and placed him in front of a dumpster. The man vomited while the other held him, waiting for him to stop

Jack took a handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped his friend's face. Maybe it was better to go home now

Felix preferred to walk home, but in those conditions it was better not to do so, so Jack accompanied him with his car. During the journey the man seemed to recover, although he was rather down in spirits

When they arrived at the house, Felix came out almost immediately, adjusting his tie

"Take care, friend" Jack smiled

"Thanks Jack. Take care too"

Jack was about to start the car again, when Felix arrived and knocked on his car door. The man came out and the other hugged him tightly, hiding his face in his chest. Jack was surprised at first, but then he let himself be hugged

"Feeling emotional?" Jack chuckled

"Oh shut up" Felix smiled

Chapter Text

Everything was going well until Molly woke up with a start and burst into tears

Felix woke up immediately and headed to the guest room, where he saw Molly whimpering with Edd and Sophie at her side

"What's the matter, darling?" Felix asked

"I... I had a nightmare! I died!" Molly sobbed

The man sat on the bed and hugged Molly. Edd looked troubled, and Sophie didn't seem to understand the situation. Felix put Molly on his lap and wiped her face

"How did you die?"

"W-why would you want to know?"

"To make you know that in reality it will never happen"

Molly was silent, then nodded "We were in your car... Edd and I. You were talking weird, and... And then we crashed" Molly sobbed again

Sophie looked down and Edd looked scared. Felix picked Molly up, telling the other two children to try to go back to sleep

The two went into the garden, the moon and stars lit up the night sky. Felix and Molly sat on the ground

"Do you know why you had that dream, Molly?"

"No, Uncle Felix, I don't. Do you?"

"You know, sometimes the mind plays tricks on us. Some less kind than others. They all arise from a common fear, present at every age"

"The fear of... Death?" Molly whispered the last word, as if afraid to be heard by the others

Felix nodded "It's more common than you think, my dear. It happens to me too"

"Really? And what do you do if you're scared?"

"I look around, count my fingers, and... I realize it was all a dream. Our mind can't hurt us, no matter how much it wants to. You are your own boss, Molly"

Molly's eyes lit up. She nodded

The two returned to the guest room. Felix tucked her in, kissed her goodnight, and left

That night Molly had another nightmare. She looked around and saw Sophie and Edd sleeping, counted all of her 10 fingers, and lay down again. It was all a dream. Her mind couldn't hurt her, no matter how much it wanted to

She was her own boss