So this fanfic takes place in this sort of nebulous AU that I've been talking about for years in which Thad accepts Max's offer to stay with them, instead of running off into the speedforce. It's one AU I keep going back to, my friends and I all agree that Thad had a lot of potential and I like exploring that.
Very much inspired by how upset Bart's VR Childhood makes me. Seriously I could talk for days about dozens of details on the VR stuff that just get me man. it gets me.
Particularly Dox and how heart wrenching that whole mini-arc was. So I wanted to write Bart getting his best and only childhood friend back while also exploring how Bart and Thad would interact.
The title comes from the name of a VR head-mounted display currently in development by Oculus VR. (I also thought it made a funny reference to a main theme here; that reality, visuals & understanding don't always connect the way we'd like. and how this can lead to miscommunication.)
Edited by my friend Dee, who has had incalculable input in the development of this AU and how I understand these characters too.
I hope you enjoy!
"Hey."
Bart was sprawled out in the living room like usual, a ring of games and comics and homework around him as he flickers from one to the other. This was his spot most weekday afternoons, when he wasn't hanging out with is friends at least. The sunlight streaming in through the window cast a yellow glow over the room. He was doing some grinding on his latest game when Thad joined him. His hands in pockets and shoulders slumped as he addressed Bart sullenly.
"Hey." Thad repeats, and Bart can practically hear the glare. Bart makes him wait just a little longer while he saves as slow as he can.
Turning his head with a roll of his eyes Bart finally addresses Thad, "What do you want?"
"I was looking through my computer." Thad took a long pause. "I found some things."
Bart stares at him. Thad is without a doubt the slowest storyteller Bart's ever heard and seems to delight in getting to the point by the most convoluted path. He couldn't figure out if he did this specifically to annoy Bart or if thats just how he naturally spoke. He didn't bother asking what this had to do with him because he knew from experience Thad would get to the point.
Eventually.
Bart raises his eyebrows hoping to speed the process along.
Thad raises a matching brow, "Some things that might interest you." He said, as if that offered any clarification. Rifling through his pocket he produced a small device. Similar to a memory chip, but much smaller than could feasibly be made in this era. Bart vaguely recognised it, and could see it was obviously future tech. Thad threw the chip at Bart, who caught it easily with his speed. He stared at the thing in his hands, wondering what was stored on the device.
"Like I said. I was going through my computer. Found some programs." Thad had shoved his hands back into his pockets. His shoulders were curling progressively inwards as he stared at the floor. Not that Bart noticed his abysmal posture, focused as he was on the chip in his hands. "Its the program they used to make your VR."
Bart's head shot up, eyes pinned on Thad as the shock of his statement made waves through him. It felt like static was suddenly filling his brain. Not in a good way like when he ran, but like his whole body was being shut down. He couldn't move, couldn't think. Couldn't process the entire impossibility this was. He thought he'd lost this, his childhood, forever. Not once, but twice. But here it was in the palm of his hand.
Dox was in the palm of his hand.
He gasped loudly, shocking Thad who jumped backwards at the sound, staring at Bart. The sobbing started shortly after. Tears fell and his diaphragm spasmed as he haphazardly attempted to control his breathing. It physically hurt and Bart wished it would stop.
"Bart." He distantly heard Helen call from the doorway, apparently he had been making more noise than he'd thought. "Bart?"
Helen rushed forward and hovered for a second unsure of what to do. She looked to Thad for an explanation but he startled again. "I didn't do anything!" He yelled defensively before sprinting upstairs, ignoring the no super speed rule as he did so. This left a frazzled Helen alone with Bart, who was no longer sobbing. The emotions drying up as quick as they had come. Helen knelt down and gathered him up in her arms whispering calming words.
He breathed heavily, his body trembling from the stress it had been under only a few minutes ago. Helen asked, "Bart. Honey, are you okay?"
Bart wiped his eyes on his sleeve and tried to smile a little bit, "Yeah… Y-yeah Helen I'm fine. I… I just…" His speech was stilted but he pushed through, "I don't know.. I'm just a bit-. I'm fine."
Helen held Bart by his shoulders and looked at him with warm eyes. Speaking slowly she said, "Bart you don't need to shrug this off. Something happened, you can tell me about it."
"Yeah. I'm sure. I'm fine. Don't worry okay?" He said simply. His eyes were dry, staring at the staircase obviously desperate to get away. "Sorry Helen, I need to get something" And he was gone, clutching something tightly in his hand. Helen could only hope he wasn't trying to follow Thad. Whatever had happened she knew another confrontation wouldn't do either of them any good.
Helen raised to her feet and stared at the staircase. The whole thing was surreal and she didn't want to push Bart before having more information, especially when he'd seemed so upset. It wouldn't be constructive to force anything out of him anyway. Helen decided to leave it for now, talk about it with Max when he got back home. Bart was pretty emotionally mature most of the time anyway. She hoped he'd come to her, or another of his mentors, when he was ready. She was concerned though, this certainly wasn't the first altercation those two had had.
Meanwhile Bart was rooting around his closet for one of the protective cases he'd gotten as a gift for his games. Liberating one, he carefully placed the chip inside. He sighed with relief, knowing his best friend was safe now, and carefully placed the case in his pocket. Still trembling slightly, exhausted physically and emotionally. He sat on the floor, taking refuge in his room for a little while longer. He didn't particularly feel like confronting Helen at the moment, but his homework was downstairs and he couldn't avoid her forever. He went back to his spot in the lounge room and was left to his homework for the rest of the afternoon. He didn't see the other boy until the next day. He wouldn't hear from Helen or Max about the incident for a week.
Thad never said sorry, and Bart never said thank you.