Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The first time Skye saw her, she knew she had to have her. She was way out of Zoey’s league as she was a prep and Skye was what others would call overly energetic and full of curiosity about the world around her. She was always seen talking to her beanie, Ollie, throughout the school day. She spent time in the library at lunch, sketching maps of imaginary places and making plans with her beanie on where she would go on an adventure to next. Skye was way too shy to talk to the green-haired girl she often passed by in the halls throughout the school day and had a class with at some point. That didn’t stop her from expressing her feelings for Zoey in other ways, however.

                It started with her leaving notes on Zoey’s desk. Harmless notes that consisted of her asking Zoey about what she liked and telling her about herself as well. Despite being in the same class and seeing each other in passing, Zoey was way too popular to talk to Skye. The clique she spent time with weren’t the nicest people and Skye avoided them like the plague. At first, Zoey would ignore the notes when she sat down at her desk, but over time she began to keep them, hiding them in her notebook. Skye would very rarely get a note back from her.

The notes moved to her locker. Skye added photos of her and her adventures into each note, hoping that Zoey would be interested in what she had to say. It seemed to work, as she would catch Zoey smiling as she read whatever note she left in her locker that day. She would watch nearby, usually with her head down to not draw attention to herself. Eventually, Zoey started to write back.

Things progressed between the two girls, with Skye sending more notes detailing her adventures. Eventually, Zoey invited the young girl to sit at her lunch table. At first, Skye denied the request, not wanting to be bullied by her friends but Zoey reassures her that she won’t allow anyone to tease her. So she sits with them at lunch and things were a lot better than the young girl expected. Zoey's friends were friendly and accepting of her instead of what she had been expecting. Some would ask Skye about her adventures with Ollie, even going so far as to ask to pet the hat creature, which she allowed. A few of them even playfully tease the girls about how close they were sitting, making both girls blush and look away from one another.

A friendship between the two blossomed first. Zoey was quite hesitant about getting close to Skye because of how her past relationships ended. She did not want to lose Skye so she kept her close as a friend. Skye accepted this, though she was sad when Zoey began to date Drift. Drift was another popular person at their school, captain of the school’s football team, and another jock that enjoyed bullying people. Still, however, Skye stuck around.

The two girls begin to drift apart when Skye’s adventures became more frequent and she spent more time away than at home. Zoey grows lonely but keeps it to herself. Skye longs for the green-haired girl who could make her smile by existing.

I’d give just about anything to know she’s waiting for me.

Skye shows her recent shots of a trip she took at The Rig to her amazed friends. Oh, how some of them wish they could be adventurers like her. They hear a loud chuckle.

“Oh please nerd, no one cares that you travel to another place on the island. We’ve all seen it before.” Drift spits as he leans against the wall with his hands in his pockets. Zoey ends up nudging him with a look of “what the fuck” painted on her face.

Skye sighs and ignores the jock, turning her back on the couple as she proceeds to show the photos to the ones who are interested. Drift comes up behind her and snatches them out of her hands, laughing as she tries to get them back. She is too short to get them back as she jumps to try to get them out of his hands. Drift begins to rip up the photos, earning yells of protest from Skye and the others, including his girlfriend Zoey.

Something snaps within Skye and seconds later, Drift hits the ground and the small girl starts punching him in the face.

Between you and me, I think it’s really sad how we’re singing the same songs, humming the same songs…

Skye is pulled off of Drift by campus security before being dragged towards the principal’s office by her arm. She isn’t ashamed. She looks back at Zoey with a small smile. Zoey is tending to Drift, but can’t help but to look back at Skye and smile back.

Don’t you see what this means to me?

Chapter Text

Midas had no recollection of how he ended up with a banjo, but he had no complaints. He sat in the rocking chair that was in the back of an old beaten up green truck as a GHOST henchmen drove on a dirt road, strumming the instrument and rocking back and forth. His voice was heavily distorted, but still held the same charm it did when he was still alive.

                He found the right tune and started to hum to the beat he was producing.

                And I say, love

come run away with me.

Sweet, falling remedy

come run away with me.

                His distorted voice falters at the end of that line, a sorrowful expression taking over his face as he stops strumming.

The GHOST henchmen noticed he had stopped playing. “Sir?” he asks, trying to get his boss's attention.

Midas glances over at him.

“Is everything okay?” the henchman asks him.

“Yes,” Midas answers.

“Are… are you sure?”

“Stop asking.”

“As you wish, sir.”

They make their way to the abandoned Authority without issue, Midas strumming his banjo periodically.

The shadow king gets out of the truck once they make it onto the small island surrounded by water, not thanking the henchman. On the dusty reception desk lies his drum gun, which turns purple when he picks it up. He chuckles to himself when he hears a distant gunshot and yelling.

“Just in time.”

Chapter Text

It was another busy day at Buckstars, the coffee shop you worked at that was located on the business block of Retail Row. It wasn’t a 5-star coffee shop, but the shop still received great patrons, positive vibes, and a lot of recognition for coffee brewing.
You were the coffee brewer. The main attraction of the shop. Every single day people would gather around and order coffee while they watch you make these liquid creations they so deeply loved. You were tipped very generously and no one complained about you.
You were perfect. So perfect that you were able to nail down the coffee order of the richest man on the island. Midas was a big coffee snob. He had his particular likes, dislikes, and desires when it came to his liquids, and he made sure to tip anyone who got his order correctly handsomely. You see, he would bring his golden coffee cup and straw with him every single day at around sunrise. He was usually the first patron in before morning rush hour, and it gave him an ample amount of time to hang out with you. Many baristas in the past have failed this man’s simple request for coffee.
Midas adored ice coffee. It was all he would order from you when he would stop by daily. He would sit at the small bar and watch as you brew it. He seemed hypnotized by you working. Perhaps it was the yellow apron you wore to represent your shop or your bubbly personality, but you would be lying if you didn’t like his attention. After all, he was a rich man and you were a twenty-something college student trying to make a living on this difficult island.
So it was no surprise when he stopped by on this early morning in particular. He orders the same as usual and you get right to work on the order. You bring it to the bar he sits at, making sure you kept eye contact as you give him his order. You couldn’t resist that golden orb that made you weak at the knees. He thanks you with his posh English accent and slides over the usual bills he pays you with. You thank him with a courteous bow and take the money, heading back behind the counter to sort out the cash register. Sorting through the money, a white piece of paper falls from between the bills. You bend down to pick it up and opened it.
“You know, darling…” that same posh accent you’ve grown accustomed to makes you jump. He stands in front of the counter, taking a sip of his coffee and looking you over. “You certainly know how to make a man happy by brewing coffee.”
His number is written on the slip of paper and you could feel yourself blush. “I left you my number if you want to go out sometime, love.” He tells you before he winks and leaves the shop, leaving you to smile and inevitably fan over what just happened.

Chapter Text

Everything seemed to fall in place for the young soldier. Ever since ALTERS downfall, Tek felt as though he had no purpose. He lived for battle, he practically craved it. So when EGO found him and offered him a position in their agency, he took it with pride. For once he felt wanted and even though he had no complaints about his time at ALTER, he can say with certainty that EGO treats him a lot better than ALTER ever did.

                He was the kind of person who would devote their life to their position and it showed when he started to work for EGO. Midas took notice of the young soldier’s progress, praising him in employee evaluations and bringing him up during early morning gossip with his henchmen. Still, Midas held some doubt. After all, he was the boss. He knew his employees more than they thought he knew. He knew that Tek had been a star soldier for ALTER, but did his skill hold up to the golden man's standards?

                Midas finds that out during a sparring evaluation he surprises his henchmen with every so often. The way Tek gracefully dodged the golden man's movements, the way he’d pick himself back up after he’d get knocked down by him, the strength of his robotic arm when it came to protecting him from lethal attacks, he was impressed.

                “Incredible,” the golden man pants as he regains his strength. “I have to say I doubted you in the beginning, Tek.”

                Tek grunted, stepping over to the bench to get his towel and dab his face of any sweat. “My last employer reacted in the same way.”

                “How are you able to dodge my movements without gaining a scratch?” Midas asks him.

                “This robotic arm is capable of dodging a lot of things, sir.” He shows off his arm.

                Midas looks his arm over in interest, noting the different designs of it compared to his soldiers' robotic arms. “Was this developed by SHADOW?” he asks.

                “Yes sir. But I do not work for them anymore. You can trust me to be loyal to you.” Tek answers, making sure to look at his boss as he replies.

                “Well then.” Midas steps back, straightening himself out and smiling at Tek. “I believe you, and that’s rare coming from me. Do show our engineers your arm when you have the time to do so, I’m sure they can extract valuable information to help the agency improve on their army. I don’t know if I’ve said this before, but I’m happy to have you on my team.”

                With that, the golden man leaves, leaving Tek behind to grin and fist pump in excitement.

Chapter Text

“Midas I am telling you—“ Peely starts before the front door collapses on him, causing him to scream. Midas flinches at the sudden action, looking through squinted eyes to see Meowscles standing on top of the door that was squishing the banana, and a young Skye in detective clothing stepping over the mess.

                “Skye, darling… is it really necessary for Meowscles to damage things? This is the third time this month I’ve had to replace that door—“ the golden man inquires.

“Sorry boss man, you called me about your missing pen and I’m here to find it. Now move your butt so I can do my job!” the young girl replies, Meowscles meowing at Midas like he was agreeing with her. The man shakes his head, fighting the smirk that grew on his face.

The young girl sets off to ask questions. She started with the henchmen and received very little information. Nobody saw anything suspicious, nor did anyone see anybody around Midas’ office around the time the pen went missing. She interviews the agents in a variety of ways: blackmail, tickle threats, bribery, even mind games. She tried to bribe TNTina with her favorite KitKat candy after barging into her room uninvited.

“Kid, I told you I have no idea where that fuckin’ pen is. If you don’t leave me alone honey, I’ll knock you out.” The older woman threatens her.

Skye notes this with a nervous smile. “Ri… right. Sorry, Tina, you have a good day!”

Then she tried to talk to Brutus, who was busy in the comm room.

“Midas’ famous diamond point pen? Haven’t seen it.” Brutus tells Skye as he looks over the poorly made wanted poster of the office supply.

“How do you know that it’s a diamond point pen?!” she asks the bulky man.

“You just told me it was!” the man exclaims.

“Okay, touché.” The teenager huffs as she puffs on the prop pipe Midas had reluctantly given her days earlier. Brutus raises a brow when bubbles come out of it. “Hush it, Brutus!” she pouts.

She tries to talk to Maya to clear her as a potential suspect, only to have the office door slammed in her face. The young girl sighs and stomps her foot. “Meow meow, how hard is this case? It’s been like all day and we still haven’t found the stupid pen!” she whines.

“Meow!” Meowscles replies as he pulls her into a tight hug. Skye holds onto him while he purrs. She looks up at him with a small pout.

“What do we do, meow meow? That pen means a lot to boss man!” she asks.

“Mrrr! Meow meow!” Meowscles answers as he licks his paw.

Skye taps her chin at his response. “You’re right, kitty! We need to retrace boss man's steps! Surely he could have dropped his pen, right?”

By dinner time, Skye had searched The Agency inside and out, resigning to a scream of frustration that startles Meowscles out of his nap.

“Mrrrow?” the cat man groggily asks.

“We’ll never find this stupid pen! Boss mans going to be so mad at us!” she complains. “What kind of detectives are we when we can’t even find a simple thing!” Skye begins to tear up, only to stop when she hears distant voices coming from down the hall.

“Okay Deadpool, I just need you to sign your paperwork here, here, and here.” Rook instructs the red antihero. Once he does so, she stamps the folder as classified. Rook takes notice of the shiny pen he is holding. “That’s a nice pen. Did Midas give you that?” she asks him.

Deadpool chuckles. “Yeah, you can say that. I am one of his more valuable agents after all—“

Skye gasps. “There's the pen! Meow meow, we need to get it!” Her comment was so loud that Deadpools head snaps over to the duo, an expression of shock on his mask.

“Ah—this is my cue to leave! Later toots!” he blows a kiss to Rook before running away, the duo on his tail only moments later.

Deadpool reaches the main corridor with the duo following close behind. He laughs between heavy breathing. “You won’t catch me! No one can I am—OOF!” he is cut off by a golden fist colliding with his face. He falls to the ground with a groan, cradling his masked face.

Midas stands above the masked antihero, a look of anger plastered on his face.

“No running in my agency.”

After retrieving the stolen pen from Deadpool, Midas had to come up with a suitable punishment for the antihero. Nothing deadly or horrifying, but rather… an eye-opener.

“No! Come on, I want some tacos too! You can’t do this to me!” Deadpool yells as he struggles in his restraints. His cries for freedom are ignored by the laughter of Midas, Skye, and Meowscles as they pick up their taco order from the Fork Knife truck and sit down at a table.

“Good work on solving the case you two.” Midas praises the duo sitting across from him.

Skye scoffs playfully, “But bossman, you’re the one who hit him!”

“Well darling, had you not been chasing him, we wouldn’t be sitting here eating tacos.”

Meowscles digs into his fish tacos with a content purr as Skye and Midas chuckle at him.

“I guess we’re good detectives after all, meow meow!”

“Mrow!”

Chapter Text

If Midas had known life would become much more difficult, perhaps he would have been more prepared. But with the passing of their parents, Midas being only 19 and having responsibilities thrown at him like the speed of light was overwhelming, to say the least. Jules was only 10 years old and did not have a full understanding that their parents weren’t in the picture anymore, and Midas having to take her with him to work because he didn’t trust his parent’s house staff to take care of her, scared the poor girl as many scary figures spoke of things her child mind couldn’t comprehend. Chaos Agent was highly against this arrangement, as he did not want to be tasked with ‘babysitting’ and though Midas did see his sister as annoying at times, he simply shut down his bosses protesting by stating he wouldn’t have to watch her.

“Miiiidaaaasss!” Jules whines as she spins around in his chair for the 20th time in an hour. She was affectionately clutching her stuffed animal, an owl named Ohm.

“What?” he asks as he sets a book down on the shelf, careful in making sure it was in the right spot, as Chaos Agent was a rather particular entity. He turns to look at the child who continued to spin around, her braids following in a way similar to helicopter propellers.

“I’m bored! There’s nothing to do and Chaos says I can’t play with Meowscles anymore because we break stuff!” she complains.

Midas raises a brow at her. “That’s the first time I’ve heard that. Why did he say that?”

“Because he said I was the one who broke the big vase near his office but it was Meowscles because he saw a mouse and had to chase it!” she pouts, crossing her arms as her grip on Ohm tightens into a hug.

Midas sighs internally. Of course. “Did you get your homework done?”

Jules nods, picking up the small owl-decorated folder. “All in here!” she chirps.

“Then go play. If he has anything to say he will speak to me about it, okay?” he tells her. The little girl nods before giggling and running out of the room to look for her feline friends. Midas sighs, shaking his head. Bonding with Jules wasn’t easy for him. The age gap they shared was a big reason. Jules always wanted to hang out with him and his friends and even though some of his friends didn’t mind having her around when they weren’t up to no good, Midas did mind it. Perhaps it was his image he held highly that made him react so negatively to her. All Midas knew was he needed help with this child. There was no way he could raise a 10-year-old on his own. Not without losing the remainder of his sanity, at least.

His mind was focused on messily developed ideas as he made his way to the break room to get his 5th cup of coffee of the day. Chaos Agent had tasked him with the responsibility of coming up with a plan on how to proceed with spying on the newer organization, GHOST, for whatever reason the entity wanted him to do this remained a mystery to him. Chaos never really explained his plans or methods to him. He would just hear that he had to do as he was told.

Midas is pulled from his thoughts when he bumps into somebody, causing the person to squeak in surprise as he immediately grabs them to stop them from falling back. They make eye contact with one another, his gold eye meeting big brown eyes that Midas swore he would get lost in if he continued to look into them.

“I am so sorry--” the girl starts, immediately backing out of his hold. “I wasn’t paying attention--” she starts to ramble, though Midas doesn’t hear the rest as he continues to look her over. The girl must have been new here, perhaps a rookie or someone Chaos hired as a maid. Her black hair stopped at her shoulders and complimented her light brown skin that he now sees is decorated with soft freckles. She must have been his age as most of the people who worked for Chaos were young. Chaos always believed it was easier to train young people to be spies as they pick up on information quickly and can bounce back from any risky situation. The outfit she wore made him think of his coworker TNTina, with a yellow tank top and black leggings that clung to every curve along with boots.

After what seemed to be forever, the girl clears her throat. “Are you just going to stare? I apologized--” she asks.

Midas shakes his head, pulled from his thoughts. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t paying attention either,” he speaks quickly, slapping himself mentally for speaking louder than normal.

The girl nervously giggles. “I’m Yellowjacket. I’m new here,” she holds her hand out to him. Midas takes her hand and shakes it, noting how soft her small hand was.

“Yellowjacket?” he asks, smirking. “I don’t see a jacket on you.”

She rolls her eyes playfully. “It’s the middle of summer. I’m not going to risk my health to live by my name, that’s so silly!”

Midas ends up smiling at that. A little humor went a long way for him. Noticing he hadn’t let go of her hand yet, he pulls his hand back, clearing his throat. “I’m Midas,” he says.

“Midas? THE Midas? The one who turns things to gold?” she asks him, her eyes lighting up with interest.

“Yeah. That’s me. I guess I’m popular.”

“I thought my hand was supposed to turn gold when you touched it!” Yellow looks from her hand to him, making Midas laugh heartily.

“No, darling. I have control of my power.”

Yellow opens her mouth to say something before her phone alarm goes off, making her huff. “That’s neat! Hey, I gotta go!” she tells him. “I hope I see you around, Midas,” she gives him a small smile as she passes by him. Their hands brush one another, causing Midas to shudder. He did hope to see her again.

Over the next few months, their encounters became more frequent, so much that Midas felt it was safe to introduce her to Jules. Jules was shy at first, unsure of whether Yellowjacket was kind or another one of her brothers' mean associates. It wasn’t until Midas had asked Yellow to watch over Jules while he went on a week-long mission that Jules began to like the older girl. They spent time playing games and Yellow always made sure to take time out of her day to help the girl with her homework. Yellow spent every morning for a week doing her hair, making sure to keep the braiding theme going as Jules insisted that's how Midas did her hair. The older girl would also make breakfast, lunch, and dinner for her though Midas told her she didn’t have to as there was premade stuff the staff left for her to eat. Jules would often spend time talking her ear off about anything and everything. Things like how her brother has golden hands and can turn things into gold, or about all the robot books she owns and how she wants to be an engineer when she’s older.

Midas returns at the end of the week as promised, tired and fed up with the world. The mission wasn’t a success and Chaos Agent was about to rid him of existence if he doesn’t find a solution soon. But he needed sleep urgently. There was a small relief when he saw the home was in one piece. He finds the girls sleeping on the floor in the living room, coloring books littered the area around them. Stepping over crayons and books, he picks Jules up, careful not to wake her, and carries her to her room. Upon returning to the living room, Yellow is already sitting up, grogginess winning the battle. “Midas…?” she asks quietly, yawning in the process.

“Hey doll.” he greets her quietly. “I already put Jules to bed. Thank you so much for doing this for me you have no idea how much you’ve helped me,” he gives her a small smile.

Yellow could feel her face heat up at the praise. “It’s no problem. I’m happy to help you and she’s a great kid. I enjoy spending time with her.”

Midas helps her up and when she's on her feet, her eyes widen when she feels his lips brush on her forehead. When he steps back he smiles at her reaction. “And I enjoy spending time with you,” he says, feeling his heart warm when she finally smiles.

She was his sunshine.