March 19, 1943
When Carter woke up, he found out he and Douxie were being discharged for the next month. He was told it was due to their injuries, but he suspected there may have been another reason. Still, he wasn't going to complain.
The whole way back to New York, they were pretty much silent. Douxie's cat- Douxie's familiar, Archie, was sitting under the train seat behind Douxie's legs. Finding out the cat could talk was somehow even more of a shock than finding out magic existed.
Carter stared out the window at the passing countryside, his leg bouncing with anxiety. He was so close. Maybe now… he could get some answers. He didn't want to press his mom for answers, but now that he knew the truth about magic, maybe she'd be willing to tell him about his father. Maybe his dad wasn't human, maybe he had been a wizard too? The thought felt odd, but somehow closer to the truth than what he'd been told all his life.
"You anxious, Queens?" Douxie asked, looking at him with something akin to concern.
Carter shrugged, fingers tapping on the window sill. "A little. I'm just… I guess it's a lot to take in, you know?"
Douxie nodded. "I get it." He tilted his head, raising a brow. "But?"
Carter sighed, turning away from the window to face him. "But what?"
Douxie shook his head. "The letter, dumbass. From your mom? I swear the only thing you do is worry about her."
Carter pursed his lips. "She's sick, Doux. Really sick. It's… it was why I was so anxious to come home in the first place but now… with new things brought to light, I'm hoping she can give me some real answers."
Douxie tried to ignore the way his chest constricted. "About…?"
"My dad." Carter said simply. It was the first time he'd ever mentioned his father without getting angry or putting his walls up. "She said he left but I'm starting to think that's not true. Not really, at least."
Douxie nodded slowly. "Okay." He shook off the nagging feeling and smiled. "I hope you get some answers, Carter. I really do."
Carter frowned, brows furrowing. "Why do you always do that?
Douxie blinked. "Do what?"
"You always get this weird look on your face whenever I mention my dad."
"Oh." Douxie looked away, trying to think of a way to explain it. "It's nothing-"
"Bullshit." Carter laid a gentle hand on his shoulder. "No more secrets, Douxie. Tell me what it is."
Douxie pursed his lips and then looked back at him. "I really don't know, Carter. I'm not sure what it is, but whenever you talk about your dad I get this feeling like…" he sighed. "You know that feeling you get when you're alone but you feel like someone is watching you and it makes you paranoid and anxious?"
"Yeah?"
"That's it." Douxie shook his head. "And I don't know why. It's weird and I don't like it."
"Hm." Carter pursed his lips, thinking. "So… do you think… my dad could be, erm, not human?"
"It's possible." Douxie admitted. "You just have this sort of… aura around you that just screams magic but I can't pinpoint what exactly it is."
"Oh." Carter didn't exactly seem shocked, but he also looked like he didn't know how to react to it.
"You don't look surprised." Douxie pointed out.
He shrugged, turning away again. "Douxie, do most people react as calmly to your magic as I did?"
"Eh…" Douxie see-sawed his hand.
Carter nodded. "Yeah…" he sucked in a breath. "Look, the scariest part about this is that it makes sense to me. When you told me magic is real, it's like I had a big chunk of the world's most complicated jigsaw puzzle put into place."
Douxie regarded him for a moment. "Really?"
"Yeah." Carter sighed and leaned his head against the back of the seat. "It scared me that it made sense. It's… it's why I want to know about my dad so badly. Maybe if I know the truth, everything will come together."
Douxie nodded slowly. "Carter." He waited for him to look at him. "I don't think you're human. No human I've ever met has the kind of magic signature you have."
"So, what? I'm a wizard?"
"I don't think so." Douxie shook his head. "Yeah, you're magic alright but not in the way I am. Thing is, I've never…" he trailed off. Carter put a hand on his, prompting him to go on with curious eyes. "I'm not sure. I don't want to say anything until I'm absolutely positive."
"About what?"
"I think you should talk to your mom first."
Carter's mother was probably the sweetest person Douxie had ever met. As soon as they stepped into the little apartment, Lily Howard was there to greet her son with a hug. She was a small and petite woman with large green eyes and short blonde hair that was thin and graying. She had fading freckles scattered along her cheeks and the bridge of her nose. Dark circles weighed under her eyes, her cheeks pale and sunken. Douxie could immediately tell she was sick, but she still hugged her son with enough strength to leave him wheezing and complaining about the tight hug.
"I missed you too." Carter had said, hugging her back loosely, a soft smile on his face.
"Getting into trouble out there?" She chided, peering at the bandages that were just visible under Carter's shirt.
"Nothing I can't handle, Mom." He smiled at her and Douxie had never seen him more happy than when he was looking at his mother. He looked to Douxie, beckoning him forward with a hand. "And this is Douxie. He saved my life."
Lily grinned at him and Douxie was painfully reminded of his own mother. "Thank you." She said, taking his hands in her own. They were small and calloused, evidence of her years of hard work. "For saving him, and making sure he got back home to me."
Douxie smiled at her. "Anything for Carter."
Her smile got wider and she looked back at Carter. "Keep this one, Carter. He's got a good heart."
Both their faces flushed.
"Mom!" Carter protested.
Lily laughed and walked towards the kitchen. "Can't get anything past me, love."
Carter groaned, shutting the apartment door. "Sorry." He whispered to Douxie who was having trouble not smiling.
"Don't be." Douxie leaned forward and lowered his voice. "In the end it just means I have her blessing."
Carter blushed a little more and punched Douxie in the shoulder. "Stop. We've literally only kissed once."
"Yes." Douxie agreed, smiling a little wider. "A kiss in which you promptly told me you were in love with me."
"You're the worst."
"Glad you think so." Douxie laughed. He looked over to the kitchen, smile softening when he saw Lily was smiling at them.
"Just be careful." She called and went on with what she was doing.
Carter brushed off any lingering embarrassment and went to the kitchen to help her. "Should you be doing this?"
Lily turned and wagged her finger in his face, though she had to stand on a stool to even be marginally close to Carter's height. "The last thing I'm going to do is sit around while there's work to be done. I'm not going to let a little illness get the better of me."
Carter's face tightened with anxiety. "It's not little, Mom. And I don't want you to hurt yourself."
Lily gave him a once over and crossed her arms. "Says the boy who blew up a building and got a concussion."
Carter didn't seem to have much of an argument for that. "At least let me help you."
Lily considered it for a moment before nodding, letting her son take up the space next to her. Douxie watched them from the living room, smiling softly at them.
Carter glanced at Douxie before giving his mother his full attention. "Hey," he said, beginning to wash the dishes that had begun to pile up in the sink. "Can I ask you a question?"
"Of course." Lily went about preparing dinner. "Anything."
"I want to know the truth about my dad."
She stopped, frozen in place. "What's there to tell?" She slowly looked at him. "You've never cared before. Why now?"
Carter pursed his lips. "Mom, did you… know everything about him? I-I know you two never got married, but he must've told you things."
"Things like what?" Lily leaned against the counter, wiping her hands on her apron.
Carter gestured vaguely. "Who was he? What he-" he stopped. He was making absolutely no sense. "Mom," he said carefully. "We both know I'm not… normal. I never have been. I just want to know if it's because I'm… I'm like him."
Lily sighed and gently took her son's hands. "I can't tell you much, my love. I wish I could, but the truth is I never knew much about your father. But I could tell he was special." She smiled. "Just like you." She turned back to the unprepared dinner and continued cooking like nothing had happened.
They didn't bring it up again. Carter didn't have the heart to ask her again, and he'd left that conversation having more questions than answers. That night, the two young men were up late, Carter voicing his frustrations about his mother's unhelpful answers, and Douxie listening with gentle patience.
"I don't think she's telling me everything." Carter said, picking at the bedsheets with a sour expression. "She's always dodged my questions about him whenever I brought him up but-" he growled with frustration and flopped back onto the bed. "Literally nothing helped."
Douxie hummed thoughtfully, gently running a hand through Carter's hair. "She's trying to protect you."
Carter huffed. "I don't need her to. Not anymore. What I need is the truth."
Douxie pursed his lips. "Sometimes… the truth isn't what you need." He looked out the window. "You can't force it, though people like to think they can. The truth reveals itself when the time is right, never before." He looked down at Carter who was looking at him skeptically. "Fate and destiny are very real things, darling. You can't rush them, and they're tied to our lives in every aspect."
Carter snorted a laugh, sitting up. "You sound like my old history teacher."
Douxie rolled his eyes as a smile pulled at the corners of his mouth. "I'm trying to explain how things work, dumbass."
"And it's all very mystical, and interesting." Carter said, kissing Douxie's cheek. "And I appreciate you trying to help, but I just…" he sighed." I don't know. It's kind of irritating. I'll find out when I find out, is a really frustrating answer."
"I know." Douxie agreed. "And it is. Trust me, when I heard this for the first time I thought it was a bunch of bullshit."
"Isn't it?" Carter teased.
Douxie promptly smacked him with a pillow. Carter retaliated and soon they were having a full on pillow fight. Carter laughed as Douxie pushed his pillow against his face, knocking him against the bed.
"Hey!" Carter shoved Douxie's hands away, grinning up at him. "Not fair!"
Douxie laughed, leaning over him. "Fair enough, Queens. You're pretty strong."
Carter's smile softened. He lifted his hand and gently cupped Douxie's cheek. "Kiss me."
Douxie's face flushed. "Really?"
Carter pulled him down, brushing their noses together. "Yeah, really. Kiss me."
Douxie leaned in the rest of the way and kissed him gently. Their lips moved together and Carter hummed into the kiss, burying his hand into Douxie's hair. When Douxie broke the kiss, he leaned their foreheads together, eyes closed as he soaked in this moment with this boy he loved so much.
Carter sighed happily, a smile tugging at his lips. "Thanks."
Douxie laughed and kissed him again. "You're welcome, Sunshine."
He raised a brow, smile growing. "Sunshine? That's a new one. Why Sunshine?"
Douxie smiled. "You're the light of my life."
Carter laughed, wrapping his arms around Douxie's neck. "You're so goddamn cheesy." He kissed Douxie again, pulling him closer. "But I like it."
"Better than 'Queens'?" Douxie asked, pecking his lips.
"Hmm, maybe." Carter said before pulling him in for another kiss.
When they woke up the next morning cuddled in eachother's arms, it was like the world was standing still. The only thing that mattered was the fact that they were able to be together like this, wrapped in one another's embrace, sleep still lingering in the back of their minds as they pulled eachother closer.
"Morning, Sunshine." Douxie whispered, pressing a kiss to the top of Carter's head.
Carter hummed, smiling against Douxie's chest. "Morning."
Douxie tucked his arms around Carter's back a little tighter, pulling him closer. "Didn't think I'd ever get to do this with you."
Carter chuckled, squirming out of Douxie's grip just enough to look him in the eye. "What do you mean?"
Douxie smiled softly at him. "This. Cuddling? Waking up in eachother's arms? It's amazing."
Carter smiled, leaning forward and gently pressing their foreheads together. "God, I've never been so happy. You make me happy, Douxie." He kissed him lightly. "It almost makes me forget we're in the middle of a war."
"Well, don't forget too quickly, darling." Douxie said, gently stroking his cheek with his thumb. "We still have to fight it."
Carter sighed. "Is it too much to ask you to just stay here with me for a moment? That out there?" He inclined his head toward the window. "The battles? The fighting? I want to forget it. Even if just for the month." He pressed a kiss to Douxie's jaw, nuzzling against his neck. "The war can't touch us in here, Doux." He murmured, voice lowering as he moved closer to him. "And I just want you to hold me for now." His lips pressed against Douxie's neck softly. "Please?"
Douxie sighed, eyes closing as Carter pressed another kiss to his neck. "Anything you want, Sunshine."
