Work Text:
(1)
You weren’t ready for this.
They called you one of the brightest minds of your generation, they said that you were going to do things (amazing things), you had so many scholarships that you never had to worry about tuition.
You were eighteen and you weren’t even dating anyone and suddenly you had to make sure this tiny little kid stayed alive. You had trouble keeping yourself alive at times; how were you supposed to care for two people?
“Most people bring home dogs or cats,” your roommate said. “Why don’t you just bring the kid to the police or something?"
And you thought about that, but… her eyes. They were so, so lavender that you couldn’t help but wonder if she was supposed to be your daughter. And she laughed when you pretended to be a wizard, and sometimes she just stared at you like Are you actually real?
Years later when she is too grown-up for bedtime stories and she is “reasonably certain that no eldritch horror lurks beneath my bed, mother,” you check on her in the middle of the night because she tends to kick her blankets off, and tuck her back in, and kiss her forehead like it’s a promise.
(2)
There are a million things you could say to Roxy Lalonde.
You'll be amazing.
I love you.
I'm so sorry.
You guess it doesn't matter though. You were too late to tell her when it actually mattered; why should you repeat it when the words would fall flat?
(3)
Roxy Lalonde has your mother's eyes, her hair, her laugh, her name, her everything. She walks with the same off-kilter gait and even does the thing where she hums under her breath while she drinks.
But she's not your mother, you know.
You don't know how to connect with her, which shouldn't surprise you. You never knew how to connect with her. Even in the reset timeline. Especially in the reset timeline. She doesn't even want to drink anything stronger than coffee now. The coffee here is terrible, so you end up with two Tabs. Fantastic.
You're a lot different than what she expected, she says, and you ask how. She shrugs. Just different.
How illuminating. She's not quite the same as the person who raised you, you tell her, it's like she's a teenager instead of a full-grown adult.
She snorts at that (lmfao shut up) and shoves you lightly.
You ask if she actually likes wizards.
She says hell fucking yes she likes wizards.
You smile.