Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Synopsis

- geoff is just minding his damn business bein a dad in ohio when suddenly BAM awsten shows up on his doorstep with a whole ass baby

- when did he get there? where did he get the baby? AWSTEN WHOSE BABY IS THAT? don't ask questions

- basically awsten is half seelie fae and the baby is a changeling. changelings are super rare so somehow this kid ended up being taken by unseelie fae

- awsten snuck in and stole back the baby and now he's on the run from the unseelie court

- that's about as far as i got but rest assured awsten ropes geoff into all this and shenanigans ensue

- they get the baby back where she's supposed to be (the seelie court maybe? who knows) but not before going thru all sorts of crazy stuff while on the road

- i did virtually no research for this fic and based it half off a fob fic and just made the rest up. if you actually know about fair folk legends i am so sorry

- but shae aren't some guitar strings made of steel. isn't steel an iron alloy wouldn't it burn fairieasnfjsfekkn SHUT UP

Story

Geoff's not entirely sure how he got here. 

Granted, he finds himself feeling that way a lot when Awsten is involved. He has to admit that Awsten's antics have never gone quite this far. He'll take running from the cops any day over wherever the hell he's at now.

It had all started with the phone call.

----------

Incoming call: Awsten

Geoff glances over at his phone buzzing on the table. This should be interesting. 

"Hello?"

"Geoff, hey!" Awsten sounds out of breath. "What's up, man, what are you up to?"

"Um... not much?" Geoff says. "Why, what's going on?"

“Funny you should ask! So, Chloe's not home, is she?”

“No, she's at work,” Geoff says. “Why?”

“And Rory?” Awsten prompts.

“At school…?” Geoff frowns. “Awsten, what—”

“Cool, great!” Awsten says. “So, you know how kids work, right?”

Geoff blinks in confusion, momentarily unable to process what he was just asked. 

“I… what?”

“Kids. Children. Small humans,” Awsten supplies, as if the definition of kids was the hardest part of the question. “You can keep one alive for a few hours, yeah?”

“Well, I mean, I should hope so, considering I am a father—”

“Nice! Okay, so I'll be at your place in, like, ten minutes,” Awsten says. “I'll explain when I get there."

“What?” Geoff stands from the couch. “You're in Ohio?”

“Yeah! Long story, like I said, I'll tell you later.” 

“Awsten!” Geoff protests. “When did you—”

“Okay awesome, see you later bye!” Awsten says quickly.

A quiet click signifies that he's gone before Geoff can respond.

----------

As promised, the doorbell rings approximately eight minutes after Geoff's very confusing phone call. Half of him is still convinced this is either some oddly-conceived joke or a possible mental breakdown on Awsten's part. Neither of those would be entirely surprising. But sure enough, when Geoff opens the front door, there's Awsten.

Holding a baby.

“Uh—”

“Hey,” Awsten says easily, pushing past Geoff and hurrying inside. “Glad you're home, I’m not really sure what I would've done if you hadn't picked up. I kinda just got spit out in Cincinnati, I really have to get better at navigating those passages…”

Awsten starts making his way to the kitchen uninvited, leaving Geoff still staring at him from the doorway. Geoff's brain is about ten seconds behind reality, trying desperately to process what's happening. Awsten was in LA tweeting about puzzles just yesterday. Now he's here, talking nonsense, with a kid. 

Geoff genuinely considers the possibility that Awsten has finally thrown years of sobriety out the window and just gotten absolutely trashed. But from what little interaction they've had so far, he doesn't seem drunk or high. He just seems a little… distracted. Maybe it's the presence of an actual living child in his arms that's distracting him. Just a wild guess.

“Yo, do you have applesauce or something?” Awsten has busied himself with raiding the fridge while Geoff was lost in his thoughts. “I don't think she eats solid food yet. I mean, I don't know, you probably—”

“Awsten.” 

Geoff finally has the sense to close the door and turn to face his friend. Awsten casually glances back at him.

“Yeah?”

“What the hell is going on?”

Awsten sighs. “It's kind of complicated. Can I explain after—”

“No.” Geoff cuts him off. “No, I’d really rather have you explain it to me now, actually, because yesterday you were in California and today you're here, which I guess is possible but makes no fucking sense, and you also have a baby, which— is she… is she yours?”

“You think she's mine?” Awsten snorts. “She's— what, six months? I appreciate the fact that you think my sex life was active enough last year that I could've impregnated someone. Also, don't you think you would've noticed if I'd had a whole ass baby?”

“It's not like we see each other every day,” Geoff points out.

“Well, whatever. No, she's not my kid.”

Geoff can’t quite decide whether that’s better or worse than the alternative. It’s a bit of a relief that Awsten has not secretly been a father for months now. On the other hand, if it’s not his…

“Then… whose kid is she?” Geoff demands.

“It’s complicated,” Awsten insists.

“That shouldn’t be a complicated question!” Geoff narrows his eyes. “Look, if you’re about to get me involved in some kidnapping case, then I do not—”

“No!” Awsten protests, looking offended. “No, I’m not— okay, let me start over. She’s a changeling.”

Geoff frowns. “A… what?”

“A changeling?” Awsten repeats.

He doesn't elaborate further, and Geoff lets out a frustrated sigh. “I don't know what that means, Awsten.”

“Yeah, I was afraid you were gonna say that,” Awsten mutters. He turns back around and begins searching the fridge again. “I knew I should've told you guys about everything earlier.”

“Okay, if you're not going to explain, you can't stay here,” Geoff says. “I need to know— Christ, look on the third shelf in the door— I need to know what's going on.”

“Oh, sick!” Awsten exclaims, taking the cup of applesauce from the fridge. “And relax, I'm getting there. It's just been a really long time since I had to break it all down for a mundane.”

Geoff opens his mouth to speak, but ultimately decides that things will go faster if he stops asking questions. He's not entirely sure if he's just been insulted or not, but he supposes the knowledge of what the hell is going on is marginally more important than his pride.

“So… changelings. I guess we can start there,” Awsten says, leaning his hip against the kitchen counter. “They're faerie children. Really rare faerie children. And—”

“Fairy children?” Geoff repeats incredulously.

“Nope, you're thinking of the wrong thing, I can tell.” Awsten shakes his head. “We’re not talking tiny people with butterfly wings. I'm talking about fair folk. Like in Irish folklore? They… okay, it's really hard for me to explain when you're looking at me like that, so I need you to at least act like you believe me a tiny bit.”

“You are halfway across the country from where you should be, talking about fairies,” Geoff deadpans.

“Faeries.”

“That's what I said!”

“Okay! Sure, whatever,” Awsten waves the hand holding the applesauce. “So back in like, the olden days, changelings used to be a lot more common. At least I think they were. Honestly, it's kind of hard to tell, because back then people used to blame shit like autism on fae ‘replacing’ their kids, which is, like, super fucked up and shitty— right, not the point. Anyway, now they're not so easy to come by.”

“This feels like it's leading to human trafficking.”

“It's not!” Awsten says indignantly. “She's not even human! But… I guess that's not too far off. But I swear, I'm not down with all that shit. That's why I'm here.”

He sets the applesauce cup down on the counter and shifts the little girl to his other hip.

”I don’t know where she came from, but she was taken by the Unseelie Court— those are the bad guys,” Awsten explains. “I mean, you don’t wanna get involved with the fair folk if you can help it. But if you have to, you don’t wanna fuck with the Unseelie.”

“Let me take a wild guess,” Geoff says. “You fucked with the Unseelie.”

”I seriously fucked with the Unseelie,” Awsten admits. “But what was I supposed to do? They were gonna do who-knows-what to her, and I… what if it was your kid, y’know?”

Geoff sighs, rubbing at his temple. “Okay. Alright. So if— if— this is all real, why are you involved in all of it?”

Awsten hesitates. He seems, for once, unwilling to explain. 

“Because I'm a half-blood.”

“You're what?! ”

Awsten grimaces and nods. “Seelie court.”

”That makes no sense, Aws. I’ve met your parents.”

”Yeah, and you’re not Sighted,” Awsten says. “You see supernatural creatures every day and you don’t even know it. You think Jet was just a regular cat?”

”Uh… yes?”

”Ha. Alright. Anyway, yeah, I got all this bullshit from my mom’s side.”

”Your mom,” Geoff repeats. “Your mom, the PE teacher. She’s a fairy.”

”You’re still thinking about it wrong, I can just tell by the way you say it.”

”I don’t know how else to think about it!” Geoff snaps. “Okay, okay. So you have this kid, now what’s the plan?”

“Well, some Unseelie fae are definitely coming to kill me,” Awsten said. “They should be along in about… eh, 20 minutes? So—“

A loud knock at the front door interrupts him, more like a banging. Like someone pounding their fist against the wood.

”Or, like, right now,” Awsten finishes. He shoves the applesauce into Geoff’s hand and grabs his arm. “You have a back door, right?”

”Uh—“

The banging gets more incessant, and someone begins yelling unintelligible words outside.

”Okay, time to go!” Awsten bolts, dragging Geoff toward the back of the house as they go.

this was as far as i got for the opening scene. the entrance to the seelie court would’ve been in orlando, and even though the fae have magical underground passages that make travel a lot faster, there’s still a long way to go, especially when the boys have the Unseelie fae on their tail. the only part left i have written is when they get a chance to rest, maybe at a friend’s house or in a motel room. part of changeling legend is that they can change their appearance to look like the child they replaced, so i took some liberties :)

Geoff gently cradles the baby as her eyes start to droop lower and lower. It reminds him a lot of when Rory was born, back when watching her fall asleep felt like such a victory. And though he can barely see her eyes anymore, he can just catch them through her slotted lids. Although he can't remember what color they were before, it's quite distinct now. One green eye, one blue.

“Awsten?” He says, quietly as not to startle her.

“Hm?”

“She, uh…” How the hell is he supposed to put this? “She has your eyes.”

“Shit, she does?” Awsten hurries to Geoff's side, where he can just catch a glimpse of the baby's irises before her eyes fall shut. “Whoa.”

“Is that… normal?” Geoff asks tentatively.

“I, uh… I think so,” Awsten whispers. “They're meant to replace human kids, so when they're newborns they can change their appearance really fast to look like the parents. I didn't think she'd be able to do it still.”

 Geoff glances up at Awsten. His face looks so soft, an expression he’d only seen a handful of times when Awsten met Rory.

”Wow,” he whispers.

Chapter Text

Synopsis

- five children with special powers (not born at the same time) are adopted by a pair of wealthy twins (do they have powers? who knows. not me. i didn't get that far) and raised at a special school where they are taught to use their powers and sent out to fight crime

- at 18, these children are given the choice of either leaving the academy (and subsequently, the world of superheroes) or staying in hopes of helping the Madden brothers build the academy into a place where all mutant children can learn to harness their gifts

- sounds great doesn't it? yeah too bad the maddens are fucking cunts

- awsten nopes the fuck out of there on his 18th birthday, causing a divide between him and those who decided to stay behind (namely geoff, otto, and travis)

- that divide is even further widened when awsten agrees to an interview describing his experience being raised by the maddens (spoiler alert: it sucked and he does not hide that), and travis is killed during a mission three years later. things are not going great. awsten is more or less entirely ostracized from his former friends

- until he gets a call from geoff 10 years after he left home, that is. surprise! the maddens have gone missing, leaving geoff and otto to run the academy (which has now grown to house hundreds of students) alone

oh noooo what happened to them? i have no idea. this was said plot point i talked about in the author's note

- geoff wants all of the original members of the "inaugural class" (the living ones, anyway) back at the academy. they need all hands on deck, and in the case that the maddens are dead, that comes with its own set of problems

- awsten's back home for the first time in 10 years, with people he hasn't spoken a word to in five of those years. what could go wrong!

- lots of things, dear reader. lots of things could go wrong.

- as previously stated this is a blatant UA rip. awsten is sort of a mix of klaus and vanya, travis is allison and ben. you'll see how :)

- awsten can commune with the dead, travis can mind control people, jawn is a pyrokinetic, otto has super strength, and geoff is undecided. something important enough to make him the "leader" lol

Story

Los Angeles, California

August 7th, 2020

  Awsten Knight is a normal, functioning member of society.

He is , dammit, no matter how much the universe seems to so desperately want otherwise. He's got a normal person job and goes to normal person stores and does hot yoga, for fuck’s sake. 

Maybe he didn’t have a normal childhood. But hell, lots of people don’t have normal childhoods and turn out just fine! There are probably thousands of people who got left alone in cemeteries for hours to “strengthen their bond with the dead”.

… Right?

Okay, maybe not. Maybe his boarding school experience was… slightly different from others. And maybe the whole forced-séance thing wasn’t exactly normal.

Oh, right. Awsten can see dead people.

Not in a cool way. He'll be the first to tell you that The Sixth Sense is bullshit, thank you very much. That kid only got cool ghosts— totally not how it works. Ghosts are obnoxious assholes that think they're entitled to his fucking time just because he can see them, as if he doesn't have his own goddamn life—

He's getting ahead of himself. After all, they did kind of used to be entitled to his time. It's not his fault some people never got the memo. Besides, the dead ones honestly aren’t the big problem. That’s kind of funny when Awsten thinks about it. The dead can follow him anywhere, any time, forever. But somehow, the living are so, so much worse.

“That’ll be $33.46, cash or— hey, I know you!”

Awsten barely stops himself from groaning. He has never met the kid behind the cash register at this grocery store in his life, he knows that for certain. Which means there’s only one thing this guy knows him from.

“No, I don't think you do,” Awsten tries. Maybe he’ll get lucky today.

“No, I totally— you’re one of the Academy kids, right? The Séance?” the kid prompts. “Dude, I used to have all your action figures when I was a kid! Oh my god, this is the coolest.”

The kid luckily doesn't seem to notice the grimace that flashes across Awsten's face before he manages to paste on a tight smile.

“That's nice, man,” he says, clinging to any sense of politeness he can grasp. Goddamn, he just wanted to have a normal day. “Thanks for the support.”

“And I have all the comic books,” the boy continues. He's no longer punching things into his register but instead just standing there. “Every single one— even the limited edition shit! Oh, man, if I'd known you were coming I would've bought my Séance exclusive issue—”

“Can I have my orange juice, please?” Awsten asks, hoping the annoyance doesn’t seep into his tone too much.

He’s buying other stuff too. But really, the orange juice is all that matters, and this boy clearly can’t take a hint. He hears the man behind him in line let out a heavy sigh and knows he only has a few seconds before things get critical.

“Yeah, sure, just a sec,” the kid says. “Hey, listen, uh… my grandpa passed a couple weeks ago, and…”  

“I’m sorry, but no,” Awsten says quickly. He already knows where this is going.

The kid frowns. “What do you—”

“‘Scuse me, could we move this along?” the man behind Awsten says loudly. “Some of us have things to do today.”

“Relax, bro, do you know who this guy is?” the kid demands of the man. “Anyway, look, if you could just ask him—”

“The answer’s no. I’m not a phone service.” Awsten digs his wallet out of his pocket and pulls out two $20 bills. “Keep the change. Can I please have the shit I came for?”

The guy’s jaw drops almost comically. “Hey, you don’t have to be such a dick about it! I was just asking!”

“Uh-huh,” Awsten mutters. He’s been through this a thousand times. He takes his bagged items from the counter, since the cashier clearly isn’t going to do it, and slaps the bills down next to the PIN pad. “Have a nice day.”

He can’t help but sit there stewing in his thoughts on the way back to the apartment. He honestly can’t believe this still happens. It’s been years since he left home— no, he reminds himself, not home; that place was never his home and never will be— since he left the Academy , and people still can’t seem to let it go. Let a guy move on.

Travis materializes in the passenger seat next to him. Awsten’s used to it enough now not to flinch when he appears. “You didn’t have to be so mean.”

“Oh, fuck off,” Awsten rolls his eyes. “You know I hate when people do that shit. And anyway, when did you start stalking me?”

“Years ago, you know that,” Travis says. “My day-to-day existence isn’t all that interesting. Gotta find something to do.”

Awsten scoffs. “I’m sure watching me get harassed at Whole Foods is so entertaining.”

“On days like this? Sure it is.”

“Yeah, you just love to see me suffer.”

“Such a tragic life you have,” Travis laments sarcastically. “Thousands of adoring fans. Meeting people who look up to you on a daily basis. It must be so hard for you.”

“Come on! I know you weren't in the spotlight for that long, but you know how it is,” Awsten argues. “I just wanna buy groceries like a normal human being! Is that really so selfish?”

“Y’know, if it were me—”

“Well, it’s not you. You’re dead,” Awsten deadpans.

He realizes it’s the wrong thing to say the second the words leave his mouth. Travis falls silent, and while Awsten’s still driving and can’t really look over at him, he knows that look on his face. Five years and he still despises being reminded of his non-corporeal status.

“Hey, I'm sorry,” Awsten mutters. “That was a shitty thing to say.”

“Yeah, it was,” Travis sighs. “Whatever. It's fine.”

Awsten’s grip on the wheel tightens. “Look, dude, I—”

The stereo screen suddenly lights up, and the sound Awsten’s phone ringtone fills the car.

Incoming call: XXX-XXX-XXXX

The number isn't registered in his contacts, but he’d recognize it anywhere. Geoff hasn’t called him in years . Awsten can’t even remember the last time they spoke.

That’s a lie. He remembers exactly when it was.

“Um…” He looks over at Travis, who seems equally lost. “I… gotta take this, I think.”

He taps the screen and the active call display pops up. What the hell is he supposed to say? Hey man, how’ve you been? What have you been up to these last five years?

“Hello…?”

Stunning. Eloquent. Brilliant.

“ Awsten? ” Geoff sounds the same as he did all those years ago, telling Awsten he never wanted to see him again. “ We need to talk .”

—————

Houston, Texas

August 7th, 2020

“Yeah, and tilt your head up a little— yes, right there! Good!” Jawn snaps a few more pictures of the girl in front of him. “Okay, smile for me? Perfect!”

His phone starts buzzing on the table next to him, lighting up and displaying the name Geoff :). He glances over briefly and lets it ring while he continues directing the girl on how to pose. When he gestures to change locations a few seconds later, the call has gone to voicemail. He picks up his phone and shoots off a quick text.

Jawn

im working

Geoff :)

call me asap

Jawn frowns. Something feels… off, though he can't quite pinpoint what or why. But Geoff never calls him, not really anyway. Their relationship exists pretty much exclusively through text nowadays, but that's the way Jawn likes it. Makes it all a little easier.

Jawn looks back up at the girl he's supposed to be shooting for. “Hey, you had a second outfit, right? There's a bathroom in the back if you wanna get changed.”

She nods and takes her bag, disappearing around the corner as Jawn sets his camera down. He promptly calls Geoff, his anxiety growing with each passing tone.

“ Hey. ”

“Geoff? What’s going on?”

Geoff sighs heavily into the receiver. “ You need to come home, man. Things aren’t good. ”

—————

Annapolis, Maryland

January 16th, 2010

Behind the Academy, maybe a 5-minute walk through the woods, there is a lake. It’s cold as shit in the winter, with paper-thin slivers of ice forming along the surface on the coldest days, and only mildly bearable in the summer. It’s the one Awsten was taught to swim in, as a matter of fact. Well, “taught” is a strong word. Benji was more of a toss-you-in-and-if-you-drown-then-you-drown kind of swim instructor, but Awsten learned just fine. 

Less-than-pleasant memories aside, Awsten’s always loved the lake. Which, in hindsight, is probably why Otto dragged him out here. Awsten doesn’t mind, the weather is bearable today, and it is nice to have a reprieve from school. Otto’s brought a blanket and god-knows-what-else in his backpack, and Awsten is content to enjoy himself here.

“Okay, close your eyes for a sec,” Otto says. “I brought something for you.”

“Is that what you’ve been hiding in that backpack you won’t let me touch?” Awsten asks.

“Uh-huh. It’s your birthday present.”

“It’s not my birthday.”

“It’s close enough, shut up,” Otto mutters. “Shut your eyes, asshole.”

Awsten laughs and does as he’s told. He can hear Otto rummaging through his backpack, and if he listens a bit closer, he can hear the gentle waves on the water too. 

“Okay, you can look.”

Awsten opens his eyes and looks over at Otto. In one hand, he has a cupcake in a plastic container; in the other, he’s holding a Walkman CD player.

“No way!” Awsten gasps, taking the Walkman and turning it over in his hands. “Where did you get these?”

Otto grins. “I may have snuck out last night and gone to Target.”

“You’re kidding.” Awsten looks up at Otto, smiling so hard it hurts his cheeks. “ You snuck out? I did it… I’ve turned you into a delinquent.”

“I’m an adult, you know,” Otto says, his cheeks tinged pink. “Happy birthday.”

Awsten turns the Walkman over in his hands, running his fingers over the buttons. Technology at the Academy is scarce, and even though he knows this kind of thing is practically ancient, it means so much. He’s never had something like this before.

“Oh my god,” he whispers, still transfixed. “Where did you get the money for this?”

“I have my ways,” Otto says. “It was nothing, really. I just— I know you have all those CDs and nothing to play them on, so…”

Awsten gently places the Walkman down on the picnic blanket so he can throw his arms over Otto’s shoulders. Otto huffs a little but relaxes into Awsten’s touch. For a moment, that’s how they stay: tangled in each other’s limbs without a care for what comes after.

“Thank you. So much,” Awsten murmurs into Otto’s shoulder.

He can’t see Otto’s face, but he can just imagine the redness spreading across it. He kind of wants to look but at the same time isn’t ready to let him go.

“‘S nothing, man. Happy birthday. Again.” Otto’s the one to push away. “Now eat your cupcake. Oh, wait!”

He turns back to his backpack as Awsten opens up the cupcake box, and eventually pulls out a pack of candles and a matchbook. He sticks a purple candle straight up in the cupcake frosting and strikes a match.

“I know it’s technically not your birthday yet,” Otto admits as he lights the candle. “But… I figure it’s okay to make a wish anyway.”

Awsten giggles as he lifts the cupcake out of the box and brings it close to his face. He shuts his eyes again and scrunches his nose, thinking hard on his wish. He’s not even sure he believes in birthday wishes, but then again, he can talk to dead people. Anything’s possible. He blows out the candle and opens his eyes.

“What’d you wish for?”

“I can’t tell you, or else it won’t come true,” Awsten says. “ Duh . That’s like, the only rule of birthdays!”

Otto laughs. “Whatever.”

Awsten picks the candle out of the cupcake and licks the frosting off of it. Then, he takes the cupcake and neatly breaks it in two. He offers the slightly smaller half to Otto with a coy smile.

“Aw, no, come on,” Otto shakes his head. “It’s your birthday, you get the whole cupcake.”

“No, take it,” Awsten argues. “You’re supposed to share your birthday cake with people. I haven’t had a real cake since I was little, so this is as close as it gets.”

Otto takes the cupcake half, somewhat begrudgingly. For a few moments, they sit in silence, eating their treats and looking out at the water. Otto picks up a stone and tosses it out onto the lake, and they both watch it skip across the surface of the water. When his hand comes back down near his side, it brushes against Awsten’s. He immediately jerks away, but Awsten grabs his hand almost without thinking. He realizes a little belatedly what he did, but he tries his best to act natural as he licks the frosting off the fingers of his other hand. He doesn't notice Otto looking over at him.

“Aws?”

“Hm?”

Otto squeezes his hand tight. “Don’t go.”

“What?”

“Don't leave tomorrow.”

 Awsten scoffs. “Come on, you know how long I’ve been waiting for this. Why the hell would I st—”

He can't even finish his question before Otto fists his hands in the lapels of Awsten’s uniform and pulls him into a kiss. And that, he supposes, is his answer.

Otto still tastes like chocolate frosting and something else that Awsten inevitably finds himself chasing. He won't pretend he hasn't quietly hoped for something like this. His hand finds the back of Otto's neck, and he holds him close like he’ll disappear if Awsten lets go.

Otto pulls back first and they stare at each other, faces flushed, until Otto reaches up to grab Awsten's hand still resting by the side of his neck.

“Stay. Please.”

Awsten swallows. A unique sense of dread is fighting past the butterflies in his stomach. He's waited so long to leave this place. To leave the supernatural behind. He had a plan. And here Otto is, begging him to abandon it all.

Would that be so bad?

“Otto…”

Awsten can't fathom a suitable answer, so he instead leans forward to kiss Otto again. It's more tentative this time, heavier somehow. If he was asked, Awsten would say he is definitely not stalling, but that would be a lie. When they break apart, Awsten doesn’t open his eyes. He keeps their foreheads pressed together and twists his wrist until he can take Otto’s hand.

“I can’t.”

Otto doesn’t speak, just tightens his grip on Awsten’s hand. Awsten waits for the inevitable moment when Otto will pull away, get angry, maybe even yell at him. Part of him thinks it’s what he deserves. But Otto just lets out a heavy sigh.

“I know.”

He turns away, back towards the water, and got a terrible moment Awsten fears he’s already lost him before he even leaves.

“Otto—”

“Shh,” Otto hushes him. “If I’m not gonna see you for a while, at least let me enjoy the time we have left, alright?”

And that, evidently, is that. They sit in silence for hours, their hands still clasped together. It’s only when the sun starts approaching the horizon and Awsten starts to shiver that they pack up their set-up and head back inside.

Awsten is long gone by the time Otto awakens the next morning. He didn’t say goodbye. He couldn’t. He couldn’t risk it. As much as he cares about Otto, he can’t be trapped at the Academy for the rest of his life.

Ten years later, he still regrets it.

—————

Los Angeles, California

June 24th, 2012

Awsten is twenty years old and he is angry. Not right this second, necessarily, it's the kind of anger that lingers, the kind in a child who was wronged. He's still just a kid (though he’ll vehemently protest if you try to tell him so). He does not yet know the impact of what he's doing. But he is angry.

“So, Awsten…” The interviewer leans forward in her chair. Awsten's long since forgotten her name, just knows that she's from a big news network with a national audience. People will see this footage. “You were the first to leave the Madden Academy when you turned eighteen. But you were not the oldest, correct?”

“Right,” Awsten says. “Geoff, Otto and Travis were all older than me.”

“But they stayed at the Academy.”

“Yeah. Back then it was still just the five of us, but the Maddens were already talking about expanding,” Awsten explains. “They wanted a real school. So the plan was for all of us to start training to become teachers after we graduated. And, y’know, keep being supers.”

“But you didn't want to.”

“Hell no,” Awsten says. “Wait, can I swear?”

“We’ll have to edit it out,” the interviewer replies. “But if it helps you to stay natural, no need to censor yourself. We want to know about Awsten— the real Awsten.”

“O-oh. Okay.” 

Awsten suddenly feels very… observed. He's acutely aware of the cameras trained on him and the eyes of every person in the room boring into him. He swallows down the feeling of unease and regret.

“Anyway… I was so ready to get out of there. I was done with all the superhero bullshit. I never wanted any of it in the first place. And the Maddens were fucking crazy.”

“Crazy?” The reporter’s eyes light up, and she leans forward slightly in her seat. “What exactly do you mean by that?”

“Well, um…” He doesn’t like the hunger in her gaze. He brushes it off, though, because if there’s anything he can talk a lot about, it’s how much he hates the Madden brothers. “They just didn’t care about us. Not as people, anyway. We were just tools for them.”

The tattoo hidden under his sleeve prickles with phantom pain, and he winces. He’s still a bit apprehensive, yes. But all the memories are coming back to him now, of what a shitty childhood he was saddled with, and a lot of that reluctance goes out the window. Fuck the Madden Academy. The world deserves to know what went on in there in the beginning.

“All we were to them was our powers. If we couldn’t use them, or didn’t want to use them, we were useless,” Awsten explains. “They used to force us to use our powers in training. We’d get food taken from us, have to sleep in the attic with no heat in the winter, all this shit. Anything that didn’t leave a mark.”

The woman nods. “Would you say you were… abused?”

Awsten hesitates slightly. Abuse is a big word. He knows, to a certain extent, how these things work. If anything makes it into the final cut that the public will see, it’s this.

“I mean… that’s kind of hard to say,” he mutters. He could take the plunge, throw around words like abuse and neglect . “I just wanna set the record straight, y’know? Joel and Benji put this image forward for the media like the Inaugural Class were like some big happy family. That wasn’t what it was at all.”

“Interesting,” the interviewer says. “Now, we have old interviews where you all refer to yourselves as brothers. But now, you say this isn’t the case.”

“Uh-huh.”

“What changed?”

“Oh, nothing,” Awsten says. “They just told us to say that. We never saw each other that way. That'd be... weird.”

*I couldn't figure out how to bridge the gap here. The interview theoretically continues, with Awsten growing more and more uncomfortable as the conversation goes on. It's clear to him that this interviewer wants him to say something damning about his past, something juicy enough to air. He's starting to regret agreeing to this, but not enough to ask to stop.*

“Now, Awsten,” the interviewer begins, glancing at the cameras as if to check that they’re still on. “You’ve told us a lot today about the state of the Madden Academy at the very beginning. As we all know, the Academy has been rapidly expanding since the graduation of the Inaugural Class. Do you still keep in contact with your… classmates?”

Awsten doesn’t miss the way she pointedly does not say brothers or even old friends .

“Not really,” he admits. “Jawn and I kind of felt ostracized from the others after we left. I still talk to him, but no one else, really.”

“I see. So you’re not very familiar with the inner workings of the Academy today.”

“No.”

“Well, if you don’t mind, I’d like to ask you to speculate something,” the woman tells him. “From what you know of the Academy, do you think the incoming students are being treated in the same way you were?”

It hits him very fast, what she’s implying. What they want him to say. This could be the dirt on the Maddens that ends their careers. Everyone in the room knows that, Awsten most of all. The founders of the most prestigious mutant school in the country, mistreating every child that comes their way? Scandalous .

“I… I don’t really feel comfortable making assumptions,” Awsten hedges. “It’s been two years. I don’t know the place anymore.”

“Come on,” the interviewer pushes. “Surely you have a feeling. You wouldn’t want your abusers to continue getting away with it, would you?”

Awsten winces. She’s getting it all twisted, no doubt on purpose. He never said— he didn’t mean—

“Look, the Maddens barely run the place now, as far as I can tell,” Awsten says firmly. “Looks like it’s pretty much all Geoff, Otto and Travis, and I’m really grateful for that. I trust them. If they’re in charge, I have no doubt that these kids are getting the help they need.”

“Glad to hear it,” the reporter says, but there’s a hint of a scowl on her face. That wasn’t the answer she’d wanted.

“I mean, I will say,” Awsten continues, because he can’t help it, “It also seems like they’re still sending kids out to fight crime and shit. I think that’s fucked.”

“Really? And why is that?”

“Well, god, we almost got ourselves killed sometimes when some of us were adults ,” he says. “Kids aren’t meant for that. Honestly, we’re not either. The Mad Acad isn’t law enforcement, and it’s kind of weird that everyone just lets them act like they are.”

“Interesting,” the reporter murmurs. “So you’re of the opinion that even the Inaugural Class isn’t qualified to be fighting crime?”

Awsten nods. “Exactly. I mean, it's only a matter of time before one of them dies. Then what?”

Every news station will replay that line over and over in three years. Awsten will be haunted by that phrase, staring at Travis’ grinning face on the TV screen while his own words are spat back at him. He hadn't meant it, he was just a kid, just so angry… but he will never be able to take it back.

Jawn will be the one to invite him to the funeral, because Geoff and Otto will refuse to speak to him. It will not be his fault that Travis is gone, but they will assume that he doesn't care. That he quietly wanted something like this to happen. That couldn't be further from the truth, but Awsten won't know how to tell them that.

But Awsten doesn’t know about all of that yet. For now, Travis is alive, the Inaugural Class are at least civil with one another, and for all Awsten knows, half of this footage won’t even make the cut.

So he keeps talking. About growing up, about leaving, about all of it. No use in shying away from the gory details now.

Awsten thought that perhaps doing this interview would make him feel better. Like he could move on with his life now, and fade into obscurity for good. And yet, when the woman stands to thank him and shake his hand, if anything, he feels heavier , and he can’t for the life of him fathom why.

—————

Annapolis, Maryland

March 28th, 2015

Awsten fucking hates it here.

The Maddens couldn’t have given Travis a normal funeral. Couldn’t have just shipped him off to a funeral home and buried him in the local cemetery, no. He was special . Which is how Awsten finds himself here, behind the Academy he swore never to come back to, stuffed into an itchy suit, staring up at a bronze statue in Travis’ likeness.

It looks like shit. It doesn’t even look like him. It just looks like any old hero. He doesn’t even get to die as Travis. He has to die as The Storyteller . 

Awsten’s surrounded by kids he doesn’t know, no doubt Academy students. They sure know him , if the sidelong glances are anything to go by. Whatever. They’re not what he’s worried about. It’s only a matter of time before—

“What do you think you’re doing here?” Otto hisses, catching Awsten’s arm and yanking him back a step.

Before that.

Awsten narrows his eyes, adjusting the cuff of his jacket once he’s released. “I was invited.”

“By who? ”

A hand falls on Awsten’s shoulder, and he looks over to see Jawn.

“By me,” Jawn says curtly. He glances at Awsten. “Glad you could make it.”

Otto’s jaw clenches so hard that Awsten can see a muscle twitch. Awsten would much prefer to do this with Geoff, he’s always been a better mediator, but Geoff’s nowhere to be seen.

“You’re not welcome here,” Otto says. “Hope you enjoy your visit home, but you need to leave.”

Awsten swallows. “I’m not leaving, Otto. He was my friend too.”

That, apparently, is the wrong thing to say. Otto’s face contorts in rage, and his hands curl into fists.

“You— are you fucking kidding me? ” He demands. His voice grows louder, and several people glance in their direction. “You have no fucking right to say that after what you did! You abandoned us and sold the press a load of dirty fucking lies, but now you wanna act like you give a shit?”

“Otto—” Awsten tries.

“You said it yourself. It was only a matter of time before one of us died, right?” Otto marches forward, jabbing a finger into Awsten’s chest. “Well, congratulations, asshole, you were right. Are you happy now?”

“I-I—”

“Otto, that’s enough.” Geoff seems to materialize behind Otto, taking his arm and gently pulling him back.

Otto, much to Awsten’s surprise, does not continue shouting, but instead fixes him with a harsh glare. If looks could… hm. Awsten winces. Maybe that particular turn of phrase is a bit too soon. It’s not long before Geoff turns to him as well.

“Awsten, I really think it would be for the best if you left,” Geoff says, painfully polite. It’s the first words he’s spoken to him in three years since that awful phone call, and it’s so carefully distant that it hurts.

Awsten thought he might be beyond hurt by now. He isn’t.

“I’m—”

“You can’t just do that,” Jawn pipes up before Awsten can continue. “Travis would want him here. You know that.”

“Funerals are not entirely about what the deceased person wants,” Geoff says stiffly. “They’re also for those that were close to them.”

Jawn squeezes Awsten’s shoulder.

“Well, Awsten was close to him,” Jawn argues, powering forward when Geoff opens his mouth to protest. “And I was close to him, and I want Awsten here.”

They all fall silent for a moment. Awsten’s about five seconds from volunteering to leave regardless. This is all far too much trouble than it’s worth. He’d thought… he doesn’t know what he thought. But it’s clear that whatever he’d been hoping to mend with this trip is broken beyond repair.

Otto’s mouth twists into a scowl. “You—”

“Okay,” Geoff says. “Fine. This doesn’t have to be… it’s just for Travis.”

“It’s just for Travis,” Jawn agrees.

He tugs lightly on Awsten’s shoulder, leading him presumably towards the seats he claimed for the services. As they walk away, Awsten can hear Otto huff out an exasperated breath.

“You’re such a fucking pushover ,” he spits, no doubt to Geoff.

Awsten hates it here.

—————

*Set several days after Awsten and Jawn have returned to the Academy. The search for the Madden brothers is still on, but it's looking grim. Awsten and Geoff finally have a real conversation.*

“We never got to be kids ,” Awsten whispers. “We were just… heroes. Just characters for people to look up to. Doesn't that ever bother you?”

“We saved lives,” Geoff says firmly. “Isn't that more important?”

“What about our lives?” Awsten demands. “I mean, think about it, dude! We literally had to be legally signed over to Joel and Benji, like… like property —”

“Or like kids who got adopted,” Geoff mutters. “Which we were.”

“Oh, fuck off . We were not their kids,” Awsten argues. “They tattooed us. And then we didn't even fucking go to real school— I know you don't, like, live in the real world, but our GEDs are bullshit, by the way— and we were barely allowed to play. We just trained. Normal kids don't do that.”

“Well, we weren't normal kids!” Geoff snaps. “Look, I know you have this… vendetta against Joel and Benji— you've made that abundantly clear— but they're the only fucking family I have , okay? So if you could please shove down your victim complex for five goddamn minutes, that would be fantastic.”

Awsten falls silent. He hadn't thought of it that way. He was adopted young, but not too young to forget his family. The Maddens were never his parents simply because he already knew his parents. Geoff didn't have that luxury. It’s not the same for him.

“I'm sorry,” Awsten says quietly.

Geoff sighs. “No, it's just… they're kind of all I have, y’know? And I guess it's been assumed for a few years now that me and Otto would take over the Academy when they stepped down. But fuck, man, I didn’t think it’d be like this.”

He presses his fingers against his temple, his face pulled tight into a frown.

"They're not like us, y'know. The kids here," he says quietly. "Otto and I made sure of that. No tattoos, no skipped meals, none of that shit. We're out here doing our best to raise these kids with love, to give them better than what we had. But... fuck, man, it was so much easier when I had Joel and Benji to talk to."

“We’ll find them,” Awsten says. “We will.”

Geoff tilts his head.

“Don’t say stuff you don’t believe, Aws,” he mutters. “You’re a bad liar.”

Awsten has no response to that.

—————

*Similar time frame. Awsten and Jawn were never on bad terms, but it's been a while since they talked too.*

“Does it still…?” Awsten asks tentatively.

“Hm?”

“When you use your powers,” he says. “Does it still hurt?”

Jawn’s skin may remain unscathed by the fire that lives inside him, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t feel the heat. Awsten remembers it all too well, watching Benji train him. Watching the tears stream down Jawn’s face and listening to him cry that it burns , he doesn’t want to. He would always give in to Benji’s badgering eventually. He wouldn’t get dinner for the night if he didn’t.

Jawn looks over at him pensively. He brings up his hand and opens his palm, watching the small flame dance across it.

“Always.” He doesn’t even flinch as the fire jumps between his fingers. “I got used to it.”

Awsten tilts his head. “Did you?”

Jawn’s hand closes into a fist, and the flame sputters out. “No. Not really.”

—————

*This part would come somewhat close to the end. The part everyone would, in theory, be waiting for if this were a fully fledged fic. The part where awtto finally, FINALLY talk about when Awsten left the Academy. They are both in Awsten and Jawn's old room, sitting on his bunk bed.*

“You never said goodbye.”

Awsten turns his head to look at him, his brow furrowed. “… What?”

“On your birthday. When you left,” Otto says. “You… I woke up and you were just gone. I never forgot that.”

Awsten swallows. The truth is, he hadn’t either.

“And you know what? It pissed me off. I let it piss me off for a long time,” Otto admits. “I gave you my heart, and you just… left and took it with you.”

Awsten stares straight ahead, fisting a hand in the sheets under him.

“Why’d you do it?”

“Because,” Awsten says, his voice thick with emotion. “I knew that if you’d asked me to stay again, I would’ve. I couldn’t say no to you a second time.”

Otto’s hand comes up to cradle Awsten’s jaw, gently angling his face and forcing him to meet his eyes. 

”Be honest with me, just this once,” Otto whispers. “Did you regret it?”

Awsten swallows. Otto wants honest? He can give him honest. “Every fucking day.”

Otto’s thumb brushes over his cheek. “Why?”

He is 18 and he is ready to leave and never look back. He is 20 and he is angry. He is 23 and he is alone. He is 28 and he is right back where he started.

“Because I never stopped loving you.”

The hand on his face goes still, and Otto’s breath hitches. And then Otto’s lips are on Awsten’s and he’s pulling him closer and… time seems to slow down.

He is 18 and nothing is harder than leaving. He is 20 and he is hurt. He is 23 and he is lost. He is 28 and he might just be where he’s meant to be.

In that kiss hold ten years of lost time, of stolen kisses and intertwined fingers and tender moments. Ten years that Awsten could’ve had. He doesn’t regret leaving the Academy, he never will, but… he might just regret what happened in between then and now. Now it no longer matters. Awsten and Otto have hurt each other, and Awsten still loves him. He left Otto, he spent years trying to forget him, and he still loves him.

“I love you too,” Otto whispers when they part. “I always have, even when it fucking hurt, I loved you so much.”

His hands come up to cradle Awsten’s face, one thumb gently brushing across his face.

“Don’t leave me,” Otto says. “Not again.”

“Never again,” Awsten murmurs. “We do this together.”

“Together.” Otto smiles. “I like the sound of that.”