Work Text:
Mother slips out the old, somewhat crumbling Victorian. The sun was just coming up over the surrounding houses. He was a fan of early morning runs, that's when he would do his thinking. God knows he had a lot to think about. Most days his head would ache, for so much was crammed inside it.
He had people he could share his thoughts with, sure, but he didn't want to burden them. The way he felt burdened. His thoughts were like little knives, cutting away at his soul. Though you wouldn’t know how he felt by looking at him. He had learned long before he became a spy how to hide his emotions. Mother started running, pushing himself faster and faster. Till it almost felt like he was flying away from everything.
He didn't know how long he had been running. When he had finally slowed to a stop, panting hard, he looked around. He was on a street with a few shops- A coffee store, a book shop and what looked like it was going to be a shoe store. He hears footsteps behind him, without turning around he knows who it is. “Are you following me?” He asks turning around, to come face to face with his wife.
She smirks, “Maybe.” She takes a step closer to him. Clementine has it easy, she doesn’t think of fire and pain every time she sees Mother. Flashes of the fire come to him, he has to bite his tongue so he doesn't react. “What are you doing here?” He asks, trying not to sound as annoyed as he feels. He loves Clemmie but ever since the fire he's grown to hate her. It started as a tiny crack in his heart, but now it feels like it will swallow him whole. His kids help to numb it and to show him that goodness still exists.
“I wanted to know how Annie and Robert are.”
“They’re good. Annie’s getting more comfortable with the kids.”
Clemmie sighs, she’s been twisting with her necklace. It’s a sign that the kids weren’t the reason she came. “But that's not why you came, is it? Whatever it is, you can tell me.”
She bites her lip before exhaling, “C came to see me,” Mother raises an eyebrow but doesn’t say anything. “We talked. It went.” She pauses, “okay, I mean the two of us are never going to be best friends. But we were civil.”
“Clemmie, why are you stalling?” Mother asks, a bit impatiently. His burns are starting to hurt, just like they always do. But this morning was worse because he forgot to take his medicine.
“C asked me if I wanted to join Project Neverland.” She says quickly all in one breath. Mother felt his entire,carefully constructed world on its axle.