MHA # 2 | Sunday Evening

[knife_bender]

The whole family dinner thing had not been Diego's idea. In fact he made it abundantly clear that he thought it would be a disaster. But it was three against one, so Diego ordered a couple pizzas and invited Five and his abomination over to eat with them.

This was the weirdest goddamn weekend.

[For Hargreeves and Hargreeves adjacent]

Comments

[defenderofdesmoines]

After unsuccessfully trying to bribe either of the twins to set the table ("Mom, it's pizza, what setting is there to do?"), Annie gave up on trying to, like, parent them for the moment, and instead just left them to their own devices. Kind of literally, since they both had retreated into studying their phones. Which, like, seemed both very normal-teenagery, and also kind of ominous in these particular teenagers' case.

And you know what, Annie was just going to poke around in the kitchen and see what alcohol she could get together. Because really. It wasn't like the kids weren't probably used to seeing their parents drink, it was fine. "You know, when I heard about this, I kind of thought when they showed up they'd all be little?"

Though she actually kind of thought that might be worse, considering.

[knife_bender]

"I did too," Diego admitted. "But I kind of like it better this way. At least I don't need to freak out if they wander off on their own for a bit."

Because he had left home at their age and managed all right. Only had to sleep outside a couple of times!

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Yeah, we're kind of lucky. There's a lot of little kids running around," Annie noted, sticking her head out of the kitchen briefly to make sure they were both still sitting on the couch and hadn't quietly destroyed something. "Though at least if they were, like, kindergarteners, I could be confident I was smarter than them."

[knife_bender]

"Of course we're smarter than them," Diego said. "We're older, we have life experience."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"And that," Annie said, pointing at him, "is how you're gonna end up tricked into something by one of your kids if you don't watch it. Life experience is one thing, but those two are, like, clever in a way I wasn't at that age."

[knife_bender]

"Well they're siblings," he said. "Double the brain power."

He clearly did not realize that he and his siblings lost brain cells when they were around each other.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Is that a thing with siblings?" Annie wondered. "I always figured from what you said that there'd be more fighting, but they're like, collaborators." Maybe it was a twin thing?

[knife_bender]

"I'm sure they fight all the time," he said. "They're just holding back because they're afraid we'll change our minds and not have them."

[defenderofdesmoines]

Annie nodded as she considered that, leaning against the counter as she worked on opening a bottle of tequila she'd found. (That's right, Uncle Five was probably going to need a margarita and Annie was thinking ahead.)

"They seem happy," she offered, maybe a little shy about it. "Like, it sounds like they have a pretty nice life." Even if Annie had no idea how one got from where they were now to the future Autumn and Ben were describing, but there seemed to be, like, twenty intervening years, there.

[knife_bender]

"Yeah, they do," he said, leaning in for a quick kiss. "We did a good job."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"We did," Annie agreed, leaning up to meet him halfway. "It sounds like we have a lot of help from your family."

That was the absolute biggest disconnect for her, yep.

[knife_bender]

"Yeah, that's weird." It also wasn't good news about the impending apocalypse considering the only thing he knew was that the Hargreeves were reunited when it happened. But he felt like voicing that would probably bring down the family dinner.

"If they were raised by my family they are way more normal than they should be."

[defenderofdesmoines]

Well, obviously they survived the apocalypse and had these kids in that future, so it was fine. No reason to worry about the impending apocalypse at all, really.

"Well, I'm there," Annie pointed out. "And I'm pretty normal." Aside from the whole superhero thing.

[knife_bender]

"I'd argue that, but I also saw Five's...whatever the hell it is," Diego said. "So, yes, you are way more normal than the rest of us."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"I mean, it sounds like that thing is kind of throwing off the normal-ness average," Annie pointed out, wincing. "I'm gonna try to just, like, treat it like a normal kid. Him."

Seemed like the polite thing to do.

[knife_bender]

"Why?" Because she was Annie, Diego.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Maybe he can hear us and understand us!" Annie pointed out. "So we might as well be kind to him."

Especially since something that spooky might also totally be, like, vengeful if treated poorly.

[knife_bender]

"It's creepy," he said. "And I know it eats."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"That's so weird," Annie had to say, making a face. Get it out now before the little horror show got here. "Like, how. Why?"

[knife_bender]

"I don't think we're supposed to think too hard on it." Just don't think too hard on any of it.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Whatever. He's just a regular kid," Annie said like she was telling herself that as she got together some ice in a glass. "No different from our two."

Whose existence, admittedly, she probably shouldn't think too hard about, either, or she was going to get all weird and introspective about it all.

[knife_bender]

"You haven't met him yet," Diego said, going to the fridge for a beer. She had the right idea, alcohol would be needed.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"I'm psyching myself up," Annie replied, pouring her mixed margarita over the ice. "Practicing making normal faces for when I do meet him."

[knife_bender]

"I mean, you have to be better at it than Five," Diego said. "He was actively trying to run from this kid."

Run, teleport, same thing.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"See, that's kind of sad. That'll help me feel sorry for him through the creepiness," Annie decided, latching onto that.