New AoV art! Go check the angel of vengeance tag on betasuppe's page on tumblr and you'll see the first official art of Booker! I love him. Everyone should love him.


"So you're dating my daughter and Seth? All three of you are dating?" Philip Lynch was having a hard time wrapping his head around this information.

"Yes sir," Booker said, feeling more nervous than he usually did around new people. He didn't have the best track record with dads so he was on his toes.

"Interesting, interesting. And what do you do for a living?"

"I'm a bartender. I'd like to start a podcast, though, in addition to that."

Philip nodded, not sure what to say to that.

"I'm a lawyer," he said after an awkward minute.

"Cool." Booker cleared his throat then, trying to find common ground, "I'm also a dad."

"Geez, really? At your age?"

"I'm 25, sir."

"Ah. It's not… It's not Morgan's or Seth's, is it?"

"No, sir. As of now, I have one daughter, Maya, with my ex-girlfriend, Nadia. We co-parent."

"Oh, interesting." Philip was acutely aware that he had said the word interesting three times now.

Seth came out of the kitchen with a loaf of banana bread and sat down, much to Booker's relief.

"Morning, Philip, glad you could join us for breakfast. My sister and her fiances will be here soon, my brother couldn't join us today." Simon hadn't actually been invited, but Seth didn't feel like mentioning that. Family breakfast was for people who didn't regularly commit crimes, and Seth.

"Morgan and the others will be out in a minute," Seth added when they realized that Philip still seemed a little uncomfortable sitting at the breakfast table with his estranged daughter's partners.

"Oh, good, good. How are you doing, Seth?"

"I'm doing well, all things considered. Hate that I've had to sue two different employers but I sure love those settlement checks."

"I understand, I'm glad my friend was able to help you."

"Yeah, me too, I didn't even know you kept in touch with anyone from San Fransokyo."

Philip laughed a little, not feeling any less awkward.

"It's awful, what happened to you, but I must admit the wings are certainly in- intriguing."

"Ah, yes. If I ever worried about fading into the background that's not a concern of mine anymore. Everyone in the city knows who I am."

Booker offered them a smile and squeezed their hand under the table.

"Booker actually helped Morgan rescue me from the lab and unmutate me," Seth commented.

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah. I work with Sadie, Seth's twin sister, and when Morgan came to tell Sadie that Seth was missing she and I started talking and I offered to help."

Philip was more than a little impressed.

"So you're a hero. I appreciate you helping my daughter. Seth has always been important to her, now more than ever. Oh, Seth, did you mention what you were doing nowadays? Or are you still looking for a job that won't end in a lawsuit?"

"I'm working for a local musician, I run the pyrotechnics for her shows and just generally help make sure each show is a little better than the last."

"That's very cool. Do you enjoy it?"

"Yeah, I really do. I'm hoping for fewer lawsuits this time, but I think I've found someplace I truly fit. I still keep in touch with the other engineers from Sycorax, too, and so sometimes I help them with a project if they need an extra pair of hands."

"I'm glad to hear you've found something you enjoy. Holly is still trying to figure out what she wants to do with her life now that she's about to graduate."

"Well, it's a hard decision," Booker chimed in, "I majored in psychology and I don't even use it."

"Yeah, I'm not trying to rush her. I just can't believe that both my girls are graduating."

Seth personally didn't think Philip deserved the privilege of calling Morgan his daughter or his girl, but it would be hypocritical of them to point that out when they still let shitty parent Connor Drake call them his youngest child just because he had the decency to gender them correctly.

The doorbell rang.

"I'll get it," Booker offered, hopping up and heading over to let Sadie, Bennet, and Dalton in.

Dalton smiled and held up the breakfast casserole he'd made.

Bennet grinned and held up his hand, which sported a simple silver band that matched the rings Sadie and Dalton also wore.

"Congratulations, dude. Er, dudes. Sadie did an incredible job picking the rings."

"Took us completely by surprise," Bennet said.

"Well, I knew you boys were clambering over each other to be the first one to propose, so I thought it would be fun to make the first move."

Dalton leaned over and kissed her cheek. "I'm glad you did."

"Me too."

"Anyway, come inside. Morgan, her mom, Holly, and Holly's boyfriend Nic are in the bedroom discussing what Morgan's gonna wear for graduation, they'll be out in a bit."

"So it's just you, Seth, and Philip?" Sadie assessed, pulling a face.

"Ah, yeah, it's a little awkward but he has good intentions. That's better than you could say about some dads."

Dalton gave a knowing nod but said nothing. Bennet squeezed his hand before pushing forward, intrigued by what kind of guy could make even the effortlessly charismatic Booker uneasy. Bennet was almost glad he basically didn't have to deal with either of his fathers-in-law.

Booker took a deep breath and led them into the dining room.

"Sadie, nice to see you again. I don't believe I've met your partners," Philip said, trying to maintain a level of respectful professionalism.

"This is Bennet and this is Dalton."

"Nice to meet you, sir," Bennet said.

"We brought casserole," Dalton said.

"It smells delicious. Are you a cook, Dalton?"

"I'm the cook in our family, but it's not my profession, just my passion. I see you made my banana bread, Seth."

Seth shrugged, "It's probably not as good as yours. Thanks for bringing the casserole. Adrianna brought fruit salad."

"I'm hungry," Sadie decided. "I'm starting without them if the others don't get here soon."

"I'll go get them," Seth said, getting up and heading into the bedroom.

"Hey, Sadie, didn't you help Morgan and Seth decorate this place when they moved in?" Booker asked.

"Yeah, why?"

"Because we're turning the guestroom into Maya's bedroom and we could use your artistic vision."

"I'd be happy to help."

"It'd be later in the summer," Booker said, "since so much is happening in the next few weeks."

"Oh, that reminds me," Philip said, mustering his courage, "Will you and Seth be joining Morgan for the graduation?"

"I wasn't sure if I was invited, sir."

"Of course you're invited. You're both part of the family now."

"Thank you, sir. I know Seth was planning to go. I'll see if I can get those nights off at work, and I'd have to check to make sure Nadia could watch Maya for the weekend…"

Once things settled down, Booker fully intended to approach Nadia about renegotiating custody. He had two wonderful partners who Maya adored and Maya was about to have her own room, he was confident he could take on more of the parenting responsibilities than just most weekends. He didn't say any of that now, though. For now, they had enough on their plates.

Seth came back with the gang, with Adrianna taking her spot on the opposite side of the table from Philip, about as far apart as they could be. Morgan sat on the other side of Booker, closer to Philip with the buffer of Holly in between. Everyone else sat where there were open spots, with Nicolas and Dalton ending up next to each other.

Morgan wasn't paying too much attention to Nicolas and Dalton's conversation, but she tuned in when she noticed Dalton's stunned expression.

"What're you guys chatting about? You okay, Dalton?"

"I'm not bisexual," Dalton mumbled, his eyes wide.

"Uh, what was that, hon? Something you want to tell your partners?" Bennet asked, also just now tuning into the conversation.

"We were talking about how he met Holly and how he realized he was in love with her and then- then he said that was how he realized he was demisexual. How have I never heard about being demi before?"

Morgan, Seth, and Bennet exchanged a knowing look. Dalton's dazed expression was the look of someone whose identity finally made sense. It was a fairly common experience for anyone on the aroace spectrum who grew up either thinking their experiences were the norm or that they were somehow broken.

"You two are the only people I have ever loved, I should have known it was more complicated than just bi." Actually, for a few years, Dalton had thought he was just gay because he'd fallen for Bennet first and then he'd been pleasantly surprised by his attraction to Sadie. So maybe his sexuality had always been less straightforward than he realized.

"I'm proud of you for figuring yourself out," Sadie said, blowing Dalton a kiss from across the table.

"Thanks, but I owe most of it to Nicolas."

"I'm happy I could help," Nic replied, smirking at Holly as if to say he was winning family breakfast, too.

Holly ignored him and turned to her dad.

"Tonight Nic and I are hanging out with Morgan and them, so you're on your own for dinner."

"Oh, okay. A, is that sushi place we used to go to all the time still open?"

"No, but there's a new place that opened last year that's pretty good. I could get you the address."

"Would you like to join me? We haven't caught up in a long time."

"Sure, why not? A lot has happened in 17 years."

Morgan snorted and Holly tried not to laugh. Adrianna was accepting the extended olive branch, but she would get in the last word. It was one of the things Morgan had always admired about her mother, how she could be so kind and open while staying so firm with her own boundaries. Morgan strived to be like that every day.

"Have fun you two. Don't get remarried," Morgan joked.

"You have nothing to worry about there," Adrianna promised.

Philip looked a little embarrassed, but he nodded in agreement.

"I have no interest in ever getting remarried. We could get matching tattoos though, A." He said it so casually it was hard to tell he was joking.

"Absolutely not," Holly and Morgan said in unison.

Philip chuckled and turned to Morgan.

"Did you pick what you're going to wear to graduation?"

"I think I'm gonna wear my black jumpsuit."

"The one with the gold flecks?" Seth asked.

"Mm-hm."

"You look so good in that. Oh, Booker, we should wear suits to the graduation to support Morgan."

"Aww, that would be fun," Booker said. "I wish we had time to get matching ones but dressing up with you will still be nice."

"Seth and I have matching suits," Bennet said casually.

"Why?" Philip asked.

"Because we both look fucking hot in suits," Bennet said with a laugh.

Philip shrugged, "Fair enough."

The conversation continued to drift and eventually, Sadie, Bennet, and Dalton had to leave.

"I'm going to go as well," Philip said, "I'm meeting with my friend Dakota. I want to properly thank him for helping Morgan and Seth with those lawsuits."

"Oh, Mr. Evans! I love that guy, tell him hi for me," Seth said.

"Will do."

"Well, I have errands to run, so I'll be leaving too. See you later, dears," Adrianna said, wrapping Morgan, Holly, Seth, and Booker in a hug in turn. Nic wasn't super comfortable with affection from strangers, so she just gave him a respectful nod before taking her leave. Philip got neither a hug nor a nod, which was about what he expected and more than he deserved.

Once the 'rents were gone, Morgan turned on Holly and Nic with a mischievous grin, "We have hours before the potluck, you wanna meet my other parents?"

The answer, of course, was yes.

Kei was grinning from ear to ear when she saw Morgan, Booker, and Seth.

"Kids! You're just in time, Bob and I actually have something to tell you."

"Oh, uh, this isn't a normal visit," Morgan said, jerking her thumb at Holly and Nic.

Kei just grinned wider, "The more the merrier. Bob! The kids are here, grab Trina!"

"Trina is present," Trina muttered, wearing Hello Kitty pajamas and holding a custom cup that said, "Don't talk to me until I've had my mug of hot water."

"Can we at least do introductions first?" Morgan pleaded.

"I for one would like to know who the strangers in my apartment are," Obake agreed.

"Fine. But this is really big news."

Booker had a feeling he knew what news it was, dad instincts and all that, but he kept his mouth shut while Morgan did quick introductions.

"This is my half-sister Holly and her boyfriend Nicolas. They're from Nevada."

"Thinking about moving up here for school though," Holly said casually. Nic gave her a look since this was the first time he was hearing about that, but he said nothing.

Kei smiled and nodded at Holly and Nic in turn.

"Nice to meet you, Holly, Nicolas. I'm Kei, this is my husband Bob and our daughter Trina."

"Nice to meet you, Kei, I like your…" Nic pointed at his own vitiligo and Kei's eyes flickered with recognition. She had purple splotches due to Di's mutations but some people had been born with the differences that marked them.

"I like yours too."

"I like your music," Holly said, a little starstruck.

"Oh! Most people don't notice me outside of the get-up. Other than your sister, of course. Thank you! Now, about our news-"

"Wait, first, would you like some refreshments? We have muffins, tea, lemonade…" Obake said, relishing the chance to tease his wife.

Kei swatted him.

"This is important!"

"So is being hospitable to our guests," Obake said.

"You have never been hospitable to me once," Morgan pointed out.

"Well, I said guest, not pest, didn't I?"

"All of you shut up and sit down before mom starts crying," Trina snapped.

Everyone sat down and shut up, with Kei beaming at Trina.

"Okay, Bob and I have something huge to tell you," Kei said.

"We're all ears," Seth encouraged.

"We're pregnant. Well, I'm pregnant. Baby Aken coming soon."

"Congratulations!" Booker said instantly, "You're going to be such good parents."

"They already are," Trina said, secretly excited to be an older sister. Well, she had NBB but Noodle Burger Boy was a glitched product of his programming and still spent most of his time committing condiment-themed crimes.

"We'd be happy to babysit whenever," Seth said.

"Oh, we would?" Morgan teased, but she was excited too, wrapping Kei up in a hug. Then she turned to Obake and offered him a warm embrace.

Obake rolled his eyes and accepted the hug.

"You're such a dad," Morgan teased.

"I'm literally a dad. That's not an insult."

"Are you coming to my graduation, dad?" Morgan asked.

"Isn't your real father going to be there?"

"Yeah but he's a dork. Even more of a dork than you."

"Impossible," Kei said, "No one is even more of a dork than Bob."

"Unfortunately, I will not be able to make it to your graduation, on account of being dead." Obake didn't sound all that broken up about not getting to go see Morgan graduate.

"I'll be in the back though," Kei said.

"Thank you all for coming and letting us share our big news, but there's a lot to do so… Morgan, you know the drill, get out of my apartment," Obake said.

"Oh come on, we didn't even get any of that hospitality you promised," Morgan argued.

"Maybe next time." With that, Morgan and her compatriots were shuffled out of the apartment. Then, a moment later, the door re-opened and Nic was also deposited outside, as he'd been so quiet Obake had forgotten he was there.

"What was that whole, 'I'm dead' thing about?" Holly asked.

"Just an inside joke," Morgan said with a chuckle.

"Weird. But they seem pretty cool. I'm glad you have a good support system, Morgan."

"Yeah. They've really been there for us since the mutation," Morgan said, glancing at Seth and Booker who had broken off to argue about which one of them would be a better babysitter when Baby Aken was finally born.

"Hey, Hols?" Nicolas said, "Can we talk for a minute?"

"Yeah, sure. You guys go on ahead, we'll meet you back at the house a little later."

"Okay, be safe. Stay away from Good Luck Alley," Morgan said, a little worried about her little sister but forcing herself to remember that Holly was a whole-ass adult.

"I wonder what that's about," Seth mentioned.

"Probably Holly saying she wanted to go to school here," Booker said. He'd seen Nic's face when she'd said that.

"I don't know if she's serious about that," Morgan said. She didn't want to get her hopes up only to be disappointed when she went back to only seeing Holly twice a year.

"I don't know. Why wouldn't she want to go to SFIT? SFIT is great."

"Or SFAI," Morgan said, mostly wanting to trigger Seth's rivalry response.

Seth scowled.

"SFAI is stupid."

"Didn't Sadie go to SFAI?" Booker asked.

"Exactly. That's why it's so stupid."

"She could also go to San Fransokyo State. You don't hate San Fransokyo State, do you?" Booker said innocently.

"Of course not, Doc, I could never," Seth said.

Morgan laughed.

"You're both such dorks. Holly can handle herself, let's go home and get a nap in before we have to socialize again."

"Don't we have to make food for tonight?" Seth asked.

Morgan waved her hand dismissively, "Crockpot mac and cheese. It's already basically done."

"A nap sounds really nice," Booker agreed, still a bit worn out from trying to be accepted by Philip Lynch.

Seth shrugged.

"If that's what you guys want."

They hadn't gotten their king-sized bed yet, but they didn't really need one. Seth slept on their stomach in either Morgan or Booker's arms, which meant there was room enough for everyone while they dozed. Morgan had left a note for Holly, and so for an hour or so she was able to just drift off, without the stress and excitement of graduation weighing her down.

Morgan was not the only one stressed about graduation.

"Aunt Cass?" Hiro asked.

"What's up, Hiro?" They were assembling little sandwiches for the potluck.

"What if it isn't good enough?"

"What if what isn't good enough? The sandwiches?"

"No, the sandwiches are great. I'm more worried about my speech tomorrow."

"Oh, sweetie, you're going to do amazing. You've practiced so much."

"I just… I want to know he'd be proud of me. I want to know I'm living up to his legacy."

"Oh Hiro, you are. But you don't need to put all that pressure on yourself. Tadashi was always proud of you, and I know he's proud of you now."

"Thanks, Aunt Cass," Hiro said, wrapping her up in an impromptu hug.

The bell over the door rang.

"Oh! Our guests are arriving! Go greet your friends."

Hiro headed out of the kitchen and waved at Wasabi and Wasabi's plus ones.

"Okay, I've met Khary but you're going to have to introduce your partner," Hiro said, after fist-bumping Wasabi's younger brother Khary.

"This is Rafael. I met them at dance class."

"Cool. It's nice to meet you, Rafael."

"Thank you for allowing me to crash your potluck. I brought lumpia."

"Awesome, the food table is this way."

"Khary and I baked some cookies," Wasabi added.

"I decorated them," Khary said proudly.

"Oh, they're adorable," Aunt Cass came in and gushed over the wonky little cat cookies Khary had decorated before pulling Wasabi and Khary into a hug.

"Khary, I never see you around here anymore," Cass chastised.

"Sorry, Aunt Cass. I just started working at Joe's Diner. And I'm going to be Puck for Shakespeare in the Park this summer, so I've just been really busy."

"Oh we should go to that," Cass said.

"Megan's already getting us tickets," Hiro said. He, Megan, and Khary were also using this play as an excuse to try and set up Diego and Cass, a scheme that would give all three of them an extra reason to hang out this summer.

"Oh, I didn't know you knew the Cruz family, Khary."

"Megan and I go to the same school," Khary explained.

Cass beamed and turned to Wasabi, "Look at Hiro, making so many friends his own age. It's a shame Karmi couldn't be here."

Fortunately, the door swung open again before Hiro could completely and utterly die of embarrassment.

"Hiro! Come meet my sister and her boyfriend."

If Nic and Holly had been arguing earlier, it was clear they'd put it aside for now.

"Why's your hoodie say 'Spase' with an s instead of a c?" Hiro asked, laughing a little at Morgan's shirt.

"Do you like it? I got it from a gas station when I was looking for bootleg NASA merch."

"You never cease to amaze me. Khary! This is Morgan, she's like my older sister."

"Hi! I'm Khary. I'm like Wesley's younger brother."

"He is my younger brother," Wasabi said with an eye roll.

"I like your eye makeup," Khary said earnestly to Morgan.

"Thank you! Oh and uh, everyone, this is my sister Holly and her boyfriend Nic, and I know some of you already know them but these are my partners, Seth and Booker."

Morgan went right back to talking about makeup with Khary and Seth struck up a conversation with Wasabi and Rafael, who they knew from dance class, so Hiro was left alone with Booker, who he had never met before now.

"I'm so glad to finally meet you," Booker said, "I'm sorry it took so long."

"No, it's okay, things have just been busy."

"Morgan talks about all the stuff you're doing at SFIT and Krei Tech. She's so proud of you," Booker commented.

"Really?"

"Really. She told me she feels lucky that you see her as a sister."

"Well," Hiro said, loud enough for Morgan to overhear, "I feel lucky that she sees me as a brother."

"I guess that makes us siblings," Holly said, sticking out her hand for Hiro.

Hiro laughed, "It's nice to meet you too. And you, Nic."

Nicolas nodded, still a little distracted by his conversation with Holly earlier.

All at once, the others began to show up, Fred and then Megan and then finally GoGo and Honey Lemon.

Megan got dragged into a conversation with Morgan and Hiro, the latter owing both of them snacks as per the agreement of their previous bet, and Fred went to go introduce himself to Wasabi's new partner while Khary and Booker talked about True Crime podcasts.

So Holly and Nic ended up, separate from each other, talking to GoGo and Honey Lemon respectively.

Holly practically gravitated to GoGo, who was the exact amount of edgy and fierce that Holly aspired to be at any given moment.

"I love your highlights," Holly said.

"Thanks, Holly, right? I'm Go-Go, and I like your hair too."

"Yep, thanks! I'm thinking about going a bit darker on the blue before college, though."

"I'm sure that would look nice. Are you thinking about going to SFIT?"

"Maybe SFAI, actually."

"Oh, my girlfriend took classes at SFAI. The rivalry between SFAI and SFIT can get a little intense, but they're both good schools."

"Yeah, that's what Morgan told me. But I'm a little worried about leaving Nevada."

"I've lived in San Fransokyo my whole life, but I know it was hard for Honey Lemon when she left home to come here. At least you'd have your sister and her family, though."

"It's not that. I'm worried about leaving my boyfriend behind. I don't know if we could do long distance."

"Oh. Yeah, I get that too."

"You do?"

"Yeah. I'm graduating tomorrow, and then I'll be looking for jobs, some of which might take me away from my city, my partner, and my friends. It scares me too."

"I didn't think someone like you would be afraid of anything."

"Well, everyone is afraid of something. For me, it's losing the people I love and leprechauns. But so far, as hard as it's been, I've survived both of those things."

"So what are you going to do? If you have to move away from your girlfriend?"

"I'll do what I have to. It'll be hard, but I know we're strong enough to handle it. And if you and your boyfriend are solid, you'll be able to handle it, too."

"Yeah. I guess I just need to talk to him more."

"Is that him, in the floral shirt?"

"Yup. That's my Nic."

"He's talking to Honey Lemon. And if they're talking about what we're talking about, trust me when I say he's going to get some really good advice."

GoGo was right, Nic and Honey Lemon were talking about the same thing.

Nicolas had seen a little SFAI pin on Honey Lemon's bag and soon they were deep in conversation about Nic's current dilemma.

"Obviously I'm going to support Holly no matter what, but I have a full ride to a school back home and I just worry that if we go to school in different states we'll drift apart."

Honey Lemon nodded sympathetically.

"Have you told her that?"

"Well, we talked about it for a bit earlier, over lunch, but I didn't… I haven't told her how scared I am." Nic admitted.

"Well, there you go. The best thing you can do now is communicate so that you're on the same page. And once you've talked feelings, you can start talking action."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. I was living with my girlfriend before we started dating, and I was about to move out, if she hadn't told me how she really felt we wouldn't have been able to act on those feelings. Now we're happier than ever."

"But I don't want Holly thinking I don't support her dreams, because I do."

"Of course you do. Your support is just as valid as your fear. You'll just have to find out ways to strengthen your relationship despite the distance. And you can only do that if you do it together."

"Right. I need to communicate better. Thank you, Honey Lemon. I have a feeling Holly and I will be fine. We just need a bit more time to work through this."

"Well, all relationships take work. But I can tell you really care about her and I'm sure she feels the same about you. Good luck."

"Thanks."

Nicolas caught Holly's eye from across the cafe and they gravitated towards each other, with GoGo and Honey Lemon linking up and watching the pair with a sense of pride.

"The kids are gonna be alright," GoGo said.

"Yup," Honey Lemon agreed, wrapping her arms around Gogo's shoulders.

After chatting with Wasabi and Rafael for a bit, Fred settled down next to Seth just in time for food. Seeing everyone here, it felt weird that once upon a time, Seth had only been Fred's friend and now they were close with everyone in the group and they had brought in Morgan and Booker, too.

"I can't believe everyone's graduating tomorrow," Fred mentioned to Seth.

"Yeah, it's crazy."

"It feels like something else should have happened. Some big disaster or something."

"Gee, I'm super bummed we don't have any more disasters to deal with, sorry me getting mutated wasn't enough for you."

Fred laughed nervously, "Sorry, I didn't mean it like that. It's just… It's been quiet lately."

"I like it. I like quiet. Things are finally going okay for me, I don't need any more catastrophes. Can't we just have a quiet epilogue?"

Fred smiled a little. "I suppose. Yeah… We deserve it."

The two friends continued to chat as the potluck went on around them, enjoying the odd amalgamation of people around them and the quiet close to what had otherwise been a quite chaotic year.


One more chapter after this and then on to the sequels!

Question of the week- What would you want to see happen for Morgan, Seth, Booker, and friends in a sequel?