Work Text:
8:00 am EST
Player almost didn’t believe the turn of events. Red found out about his awful step-father and instead of putting him in foster care like he thought, she offered him a home at their headquarters. Obviously, he accepted this with great joy.
Now, he was inside his apartment with Carmen, the two of them packing up his things. His step father worked very early and had left around six in the morning. Player and Carmen had the place to themselves thankfully. Player didn’t know what Carmen would do if she was face to face with his step-father, but it wouldn’t be good.
“Hey, Player,” Carmen called from his bedroom, “How do you want all your fancy gadgets put away?”
Player came over to his desk, looking at the mess of tangled cables beneath it. He rubbed the back of his neck and just said, “Yeah, I think I’ll handle packing all this stuff up. I would feel too bad making you deal with all that.”
Carmen smiled, saying, “That’s probably for the best anyway. I don’t even know what half the wires are for.”
She walked over to his closet to pack up his clothes for him, folding them each individually and placing them neatly in a cardboard box.
They both worked in silence for a while until Player stood up and said, “I’m all done here, Carmen.”
Carmen turned to him with a mixed expression. “I had an idea, but I’m not sure if you’ll want to do it.”
“Shoot.”
“Do you want to leave a note for your step-dad? You don’t have to but I don’t want him to report you as a missing person or anything.”
Player thought it over. On the one hand, he wanted the satisfaction of knowing that his step-father would come home to an empty apartment. He would panic, thinking Player had been taken, but slowly realize - because of all the missing stuff - that he had left instead. Left the toxic situation forever, and it was all his fault.
On the other hand, if Player was reported as a missing person, there would be investigations into his life. Since his step-father was a cop, he would make it a big deal; it might even make it on the news. Player didn’t want that kind of anxiety following him, the thought that anyone could recognize him and easily report him.
“You’re right, Red. I should write him a note so he doesn’t go crazy and try to chase after me.”
Carmen walked over to where he was standing. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pulled him in. She quietly spoke to him in the hug. “I know this day has been a lot, but I’m so proud of you. I can’t wait to have you living with us at HQ and being in a safe place.”
They stood hugging for a minute before Player pulled away, rubbing the mist out of his eyes. Carmen said, “Now go write that letter. I’ll be packing up your toiletries.”
“Thanks, Carmen.”
Player walked out to the small kitchen, grabbing a pen and paper and sitting at one of the stools. He stared at the blank paper for a minute, before beginning to write.
I know you’re gonna be panicked when you see all my stuff gone, but I promise I haven’t been kidnapped or anything. I’m leaving. For good. Don’t worry about me and please don’t try to get the police to bring me back. I don’t wanna be in this home anymore and I can’t take any more of your abuse. In case you’re still concerned, I’m staying with a friend. She has always been family to me, honestly more than you ever were. I hope you reflect on your choices but I’m never going to come back and we probably won’t ever see each other again. Don’t try to find me because I’m somewhere they would never look. Bye.
Player couldn’t believe he had just written that. In a way it was therapeutic, but writing it felt more bittersweet than anything. Yes he was leaving an abusive situation, but he was also permanently leaving his only real family. More than that, he was leaving the place he had made so many good memories in. Part of his mom’s essence still felt like it was in the home, and leaving felt like ending that happy part of his life.
But he knew that her love wasn’t in the home. It was with him, no matter where he went. He would just have to bring her spirit with him to San Diego.
Smiling a sad smile, Player grabbed the old picture frames of him and his mom, packing them delicately into one of the boxes.
Player went back into his room and saw that it was mostly empty now. All the important things had been packed and he was ready to move on.
“Alright, Red. I’m ready to see the sun of California.”
–
12:00 pm PST
The plane ride over was mostly quiet. Carmen looked over at some point and Player had fallen asleep. He had expended a lot of emotional energy, he deserved the rest.
The plane landed and they shifted their things into a car to make the journey to headquarters. Carmen noticed that on the drive over, Player kept shifting in his seat. Keeping her eyes on the road, she asked, “What’s up, Player? You seem nervous.”
He looked over to her. “I guess I’m just kinda nervous to see everyone’s reactions. You said they don’t know anything about what happened, right?”
“All I told them was that I was visiting you. I didn’t give them a reason or anything, but they didn’t need one.”
“They don’t even know that I’m gonna live with them yet. I mean, I’ve never even met Shadowsan before! And I’ve only met Ivy and Zack once and it was kind of a tricky situation.”
They reached a red light and Carmen glanced over at him. “Player, it’s going to be okay. Zack and Ivy love you. And Shadowsan does too, even if he pretends to be annoyed. I promise everyone is going to be excited that you’re living at HQ now.”
Player still looked worried, but he wasn’t vibrating anxiously anymore so Carmen took that as a win. As the light turned green, Carmen added, “I don’t know if you want to tell the others about your situation, but they’re going to be curious. If I tell them that you’re not ready to say anything yet, they'll back off.”
Carmen saw Player’s head turning to her in her peripheral vision. “It’s ok, Red. I want them to know.”
“Alright, but if you need help, please don’t be afraid to ask for it.”
Player replied sarcastically, “Nope. I’m just gonna struggle in silence actually, just because you said that.”
Carmen rolled her eyes. “Oh shush.”
1:00 pm PST
When they reached headquarters, Carmen and Player grabbed his things. All in all, it was only three cardboard boxes, and one of them had all of his tech things. Player wasn’t a minimalist, but he didn’t tend to keep things he didn’t use.
Carmen was nervous about this. She hadn’t told the rest of the team anything, so when she walked inside with Player in tow, they would probably have some questions. But if Player said he was ready, then she had to be ready too.
“Alright, when we go inside, prepare for loud noises,” Carmen warned.
Player tilted his head to the side, “Loud noises?”
Carmen smiled dryly, “Zack and Ivy are probably going to scream when they see you.”
Player laughed, “Yeah, that’s true.”
The two walked inside with the boxes. As Carmen was closing the door behind them, she heard Ivy call, “Carm, is that you?”
She shouted back, “Yep. And I’ve got a surprise with me.”
Zack’s excited voice came from the same area as Ivy’s. “A surprise! Maybe she got us some fancy Canada food!”
After Carmen and Player finished taking off their shoes, Carmen told Player to set the boxes down. “We can deal with them later. For now, I think Ivy and Zack are going to want hugs.”
Carmen and Player walked towards the living room and kitchen area. Carmen took the lead when she noticed Player was walking more hesitantly. As she stepped into the room, she saw Zack and Ivy playing an F1 racing game while Shadowsan sat off to the side with a book. Glancing up as their game finished, Ivy exclaimed, “Hey, Carm!”
Carmen looked behind her exasperated and made a ‘come here’ gesture to Player. He slowly shuffled into the room.
Ivy’s jaw dropped; Zack’s eyes widened; Shadowsan looked mildly confused. Zack exploded, “Player! What are you doing here?”
“Heh. Hey guys. Surprise?”
Ivy sprang up from her seat and wrapped her arms around Player in a tight hug. He seemed to relax into her hold as he returned the hug. Zack, still seated on the couch in shock, asked, “No, but seriously. What’re you doing here?”
Ivy shot him a look and interjected, “Not that we’re not thrilled you’re here,” she paused and her face shifted to one of concern with her next words, “but, did something happen?”
Shadowsan set down his book and surveyed Carmen and Player. “You both seem tense. I would like to know what’s going on here.”
Carmen was nervous Player would take his statement the wrong way, but as she glanced over she saw a small smile on his face. He replied to their concerns, “I think we should all sit down and I can explain everything.”
Everyone settled into the couch and Carmen saw Player take a deep breath.
“So as you all know, me and Red have known each other for a long time. But there was something that I was hiding from her for just about the same amount of time. To summarize my lore: my dad left when I was really little, so it was just me and my mom for a while. But then she started dating this guy when I was like ten and they got married when I was twelve. Um, what I didn’t tell Carmen was that a year after he became my step-father, my mom got really sick and died. This was at the same time Red had her phone taken away at VILE island, and I just never told her when we reconnected. Basically, after my mom died, my step-father was really grieving and became abusive towards me. Carmen found out a couple days ago and came to talk to me about it and we decided that it’s best for me to live here now.”
There was a long pause of silence before anyone spoke. Ivy spoke first, saying, “Player, I’m so sorry. I hope you know that we love you and you’re always welcome here.”
Zack added on, “We know how hard it is to lose a parent, and it sucks that the only one you had left turned out to be such a dick.”
Player cracked a small smile at that. There were a few more moments of silence before Shadowsan asked, “You said Carmen ‘found out’ about your situation. What do you mean by that?”
Carmen felt the need to intervene here. “Basically, he thought that if he told anyone, he would go into foster care and wouldn’t be able to help us anymore. Which, just so you know, Player, is not something I will ever let happen to you unless you ask.”
Player smiled with guilt. He protested a little bit. “I wasn’t gonna stay forever. It was just until I turned eighteen and could leave.”
Ivy gave him a look, clearly saying that’s still two more years.
Shadowsan looked to Carmen. “So, if he did not tell you, how did you find out?”
Carmen replied gently, “Thankfully, when he was on a call with Jules, something happened and she saw it. She told me when we saw each other in Egypt.”
Shadowsan nodded. Turning to Player, he stiffly said, “I know we are not close team members, but you should know you always have a place here. We will protect you, whether it is from VILE or from your own troubles. I am glad to know you left that terrible man.”
Player smiled. “Thanks, Shadowsan! That means a lot.”
There was only a few seconds of peaceful silence before Zack said, “aw c’mere, Player. Group hug!”
Carmen and Ivy quickly joined the hug, squishing Player in between them. Ivy grabbed Shadowsan’s arm and pulled him into the embrace.
Player was still nervous for the future. He was squished between people he had hardly ever seen before. He was in a new country for the first time. But he’d never felt more at home. This was his new family.