Oh my god...I am literally an emotional wreck right now for about five reasons. The sad part about that is four out of those five reasons have to do with fictional things.

One of those reasons is also that this is the last chapter of Daniel's novella and it's quite the fluffy one :)


Chapter Seven: Warmth

As I got dressed in my normal clothes to leave, I never asked how long I was here for. Any answer that would be from three days to three weeks would frighten me. As I walk through the hospital wing, I wave goodbye to some of the doctors and nurses and all they do is smile and wish me the best. How touching.

I meet my mom at the elevator and we ride down together. Once we reach the ground floor, I'm face-to-face with Director Fury. He stares me down and I know that he means no harm (towards me, at least), but this man is just naturally intimidating. Every time I see him, he never seems to change his strict expression. My mom starts talking to him and I must stand there awkwardly, looking at my shoes. This must be how little children feel in the supermarket when their parents run into an old friend: restless and wanting to leave.

"How are you?" Director Fury asks.

It takes me a few seconds to actually process that he's talking to me.

"Oh..." I mutter awkwardly. "I'm fine."

"That's good."

He gives me a nod and then my mom and I leave SHIELD. When I step outside and place my feet in the snow, I can feel the chill enter my body as I wrap my arms around myself. My mom looks over and almost panics.

"Oh no, Daniel..." My mom says. "I forgot to get you a jacket. Here, take mine."

"Mom," I stop her right when she starts unzipping her jacket, "it's okay. I like the cold breeze since my hospital room felt like a sauna. This is refreshing."

My mom hesitates on my statement but I nod my head, reassuring my point. She keeps her eyes on me as she zips her jacket back up. She eyes me for a bit longer before turning around and walking ahead of me to get to the car.

That wasn't exactly a lie. Sure, it's cold but I can tolerate it with just a sweater. It's just that my mom has already done so much for me during this time and my whole life. I can manage myself. Also, her coat is way too feminine for my preference and I don't need Director Fury seeing me wear it.

-o-

Once we're back home, Mom gets out of the car and I just sit there for a moment longer. She peeks inside and when my eyes meet hers, she gives me a small smile. It was probably the happiest I've seen her in a while which makes my insides warm in the cold snow.

"C'mon," Mom encourages, "they're inside. Are you sure you're ready?"

"Mom..." I reply, getting out of the car. "I'm positive."

The cold breeze makes my eyes open wide once it hits me. I wrap my arms around myself as I walk up to the front door behind my mom. As she looks for her keys in her purse, I realize that she said 'they're' inside. Why plural? Isn't it just my dad? Once I'm back in the comfort of my own home, I see my dad who hugs me and then my eyes see Emily and her parents.

My eyes never leave Emily. I haven't seen her in what's felt like years.

She stands up and looks at me with her beautiful hazel eyes. No, 'look' isn't the right word to describe the intensity her eyes are giving me. Try, gaze or even stare. The longer she stares at me, I see the redness rimming her eyes in a dark shade that almost matches her lipstick. Her hands grip the ends of her sweater sleeves which she brings up to her chest, joining her hands.

"Hi..." She says softly, biting her bottom lip.

"Hi..." I reply the same way, still staring right at her.

Emily stares at me for a bit longer, probably trying to process what she's seeing compared to how she last saw me. She suddenly smiles brightly and I open my arms, allowing her to jump in. Once I'm embracing her, she begins crying tears of what I believe to be joy into my shoulder. I hold her head close to mine and can feel her heart racing spastically against mine. I hold her in a way that allows me to look into her now-happy eyes.

"Emily," I say, "can I ask you something?"

"Yeah," she replies, "sure, go ahead."

Emily places her warm hands on my cheeks. I didn't know my face was so cold until it started tingling. Same goes for my hands when I put them on top of her warm ones.

"I froze on the way back here," I tell her. "Can I have my jacket back?"

Emily laughs loudly, almost as if she was surprised have that reaction. Something about her laugh this time tells me that she hasn't laughed in a while. More tears fall out of her eyes, unintentionally, but of joy.

Then she kisses me. Emily Stark is kissing me. And our parents are right in the room. That should make it weird but I'm so warm right now that I'm not thinking much about that.

What matters is that Emily is kissing me and it's not one of those insignificant kisses that we've had in the past. Those kisses were juvenile and this one is different. This isn't puppy-love or a high school flame. Call me young and inexperienced but this is how I would define the word love. Emily is the only person who can warm me up in a way that no jacket could. I'm happy that she finally realized that. When we part, her hazel eyes glow with passion and joy.

"You have no idea how much I've missed you," she tells me.

"Actually, I do," I reply. Because I felt the same way.

-o-

"Dude," Merida states. I can tell she wants to yell at me but her loud curls do what her mouth cannot. "You scared the living shit out of me and that's saying something since I don't scare easily - or at all."

Some welcome.

"I missed you too, Merida," I reply flatly.

"No, you didn't."

I roll my eyes. That girl can never take a compliment, can she? Merida is just, well, Merida. James is content and that's all I would ever want to analyze about that boy. Xavier seems tense and Angela still looks worried. If only they were like Merida right now. Or better yet, like Apollo and Britney who are in Asgard or Iqadi in Wakanda.

"I'll have you know that I'm happy to see you," James says.

"Who says that we aren't?" Angela asks on behalf of herself and her twin.

"Your faces," Merida bluntly tells them.

Angela and Xavier quickly look at each other. They both change their faces into comforting smiles just for me.

"C'mon," Xavier encourages, "you were gone for a while so let's have some fun."

-o-

In stories, heroes have been written with the monomyth cycle. That means that every typical hero in literature goes through the same series of events before saving the day. There's the call to adventure, the trials, the antagonist, the love interest, and the final resolution. In these stories, writers justify their falling heroes. The trouble is, I have had no glory - or at least what I've seen so far. Instead, I have just been through what most have considered as anti-glory: fear, rage, and disappointment; all in myself. All the good things of my monomyth cycle came eventually. Some, I would like to believe are still on their way.

It's just like what everyone, including myself, has been telling me all along: it's just something I'll eventually get used to.

Then again, maybe the reason why I never needed a writer to back up my actions is because I am my own writer.


Daniel, dear, please...I am your writer.

Emily's Counterpart - Chapter 123 (Longest Wait of My Life)

This story was actually hard to write and title mostly because I didn't know how to approach it. I didn't think it was going to happen but look: it's here and it's finished. Daniel is a precious character and I'm glad I wrote this (even though I mostly wrote this for myself). Thank you all for reading this! If you want to read more Daniel or any of the other kids, then check out the other stories in the Project: New Generation series!

~ MysteryGal5