A/N::: Haven't updated in awhile, but I was bored. Enjoy!
Sue is a strong woman or at the very least that's what she tells herself. Sure, she's a "super hero" of sorts and yeah she kicks ass on a daily basis, but there was one thing that always humbled her and always reminded her just how human and fragile she really is: grief.
Grief is a funny thing. No one person experiences grief the same as another. Sure, there's the crying and heart break that everyone generally goes through, but grief affects each person differently. When Johnny died, Sue had been in denial for almost two months. She would tell Reed and Ben that Johnny was staying the night at a girl's place or that he was on vacation or that he moved. Anything that would explain why he wasn't around that didn't involve his death because to Sue Richards it was impossible for her brother to die.
It was nearly two month, a month and 27 days to be exact, when denial ran off and grief smacked her. It wasn't a gradual thing, no, it was sudden. She had been cleaning the dishes and found an old mug of Johnny's that he got at some BMX convention a few years ago. She held it in her hands, shaking, like if she dropped it then she could no longer deny that he's gone. She clutched the mug for dear life, sliding down the sink to the floor. She cried for what was probably only an hour or two but felt like days. That heavy burden on her heart exploded. Her brother is dead.
Life went on and so did Sue. Although she felt like she wasn't alive the fact remained that she was and is very much alive. So she went through her days trying to keep herself distracted from her grief. Then a year came and went but in its wake left Matt. Good ole Matt. Young, athletic, he resembled Johnny in not only hobbies but in looks as well. Sue saw an opportunity when she looked at Matt. She saw an opportunity to get her brother back.
Flawed. Outrageous. Ridiculous. Crazy. Sure, the words entered her mind more than once but she didn't really care. No one knows what she has to go through or how she feels. She can justify it in her mind so therefore it's alright.
Reed caught on rather early. He is a genius after all. Sue could only hope he knows her well enough to catch on. He kept a close eye on them. He watched as Matt dressed as Johnny, drove his cars, spent quality time with Sue, and even helped Sue put pictures of the two of them in a frame and on the wall. It was horrifying to watch your wife fall into such despair that you can't even get through to her. Every night he woke up as the bed dipped and Sue slid in after a night of watching movies with Matt. Every morning he watched Matt drink out of Johnny's mug. Every day he watched Matt become Johnny. Reed is a genius, yes, he can invent things and he knows Science better than any person known to date. Reed, however, is not a therapist. As he watches Sue fall deeper into her own denial, he doesn't know what kind of invention will help her. If he can even help her. She may be too far gone. It's thoughts like these that have separated Reed and Sue. Reed is so scared of losing Sue that he buries himself in his projects. Sue, so overwhelmed with the idea of having Johnny back, moves away from people like Reed and Ben who can talk her straight.
The house is no longer a home. Ben? Well Ben doesn't even come around anymore. He lives with Alicia and if it were up to him he would never visit his old home. Every time he looks at Sue it breaks his heart and every time he looks at Matt it makes him mad. How could Matt take advantage of Sue's vulnerability? How could Sue try and replace Johnny? He didn't get it. He grieved over Johnny too, but this? No, this was taking it too far. He doesn't understand it and he doesn't like it, so he avoids the house as long as he can.
Matt, well, he loves it. Nice and new clothes, hot cars to drive, someone who loves and cares about him, how could he refuse that. He knew, to a degree, what was going on with Sue. When it had first started he had told himself that he would break it off. He would move out and he would let her live her life. Then he remembered a little bit about what it was like to be him. He remembered what it was like to be unloved and alone. He may be selfish, but he needs some love every now and then and hey, if Sue was going to give it then Matt was going to take it. That humble, meek guy everyone first met isn't so humble and meek anymore. Yeah, he may be powerless, but that doesn't mean he can't be part of the family. As much as Ben runs from it and Reed ignores it, he's their brother now.
Seven months. Seven months of Reed and Sue pushing each other away. Seven months of Matt turning into Johnny. Seven months of Ben avoiding the house. Seven months of Sue trying to cope. Seven months have come and pass and Reed has finally had enough.
Maybe it was the way Matt seemed to be taking over or the way he had no respect for Johnny's memory, but at some point on a stormy Thursday afternoon, Reed had enough. He stormed into Ben and Alicia's place fuming with accusations and threats and calling Matt every name in the book. Ben stood up, something Reed hasn't seen in awhile caught in Ben's eyes. "So, let's have an intervention! Let's tell Susie what's really going on! Let's snap her out of it!" Ben raved on, clearly excited at getting things back to normal, or as normal as they could be without Johnny.
Alicia tsk'd, staring forward towards Ben. "Boys, remember that Sue has been through a really hard time. You need to be gentle with her. She's not some bad guy you need to straighten out."
Ben's raised fist lowered to his side. He cleared his husky throat. "O-Of course, Alicia. We know that. We just, uh, we just need to get Susie back. That's all that matters. We just need our Susie back."
Reed's eyes lift to meet Ben's. "I need to be strong for her. I need to stop hiding in my lab and hiding from our problems. From now on I'm going to be a man, and a husband, and I'm going to make her understand she can lean on me. She doesn't need Matt when she has me," he said, nodding once to confirm what he had just said. Yeah, sounds good to him. "I'm going to start right now. I'm going to go in there and sit her down and I'm going to say 'Sue, honey, this needs to end. I love you but this has to stop'. Then I will hug her and show her she has a man willing to be there for her. I'm going to do that right now!" he marched over to the door, opened it, and nodded at Alicia and Ben, then left. Ben blinked and the door opened again. Strong, manly Reed was now back to his usual self, peeking his head in to look at Ben.
"You are coming right?" he swallowed, eyes a little shifty.
Ben let out a rough laugh. "Yeah, Reed. I'm coming."