A/N: Hello again! This story is part of the ongoing 714 universe, so I'd suggest checking my profile for the reading order. ;)
Chapter 1: Holiday Road Trip
As soon as Ariel started playing with Daken — and as soon as Noh found out about it — the entire Lee-Varr clan ended up on the Marvel bound for Hala for the holidays. Noh was quietly fuming, still not entirely convinced that Daken was on the side of the angels, but Jubilee kept smiling to herself watching him mutter under his breath. He was overly protective as a grandfather, and it was kind of adorable.
Krissy thought the whole thing was hilarious, especially because her adorable baby girl had no idea why they were going to a different planet for Christmas. As far as Ariel had been concerned, she had just been trying to play with Lily's stepbrother with her. She didn't know Daken as anything but the occasional visitor; he wasn't the same man as he had been when Noh met him, even if Noh couldn't see that change happening when it had been so subtle and had taken so very, very long.
In fact, Krissy couldn't stop smiling as she watched Ariel run around the Marvel, stopping every time the Marvel shifted form to open up another window so she could see out into space. The old ship doted on Ariel just as badly as Noh did, and Krissy loved to see it — even if the grandmotherly ship wasn't what had her chuckling to herself at the moment.
"You're in a good mood," Sying said as he came into their room from the bridge. He leaned in the doorway to watch Krissy and Ariel playing, though as soon as his daughter saw him, she tore away from her mother and rushed for him. He crouched down and held his arms out to her, and she buried herself in his hug, giggling and babbling using all the words she knew in her small vocabulary to tell him about the ship playing with her.
Krissy gestured with one hand to their happy daughter and then broke into a grin. "Your dad's being hilarious, Ariel is being adorable, and your sisters are pretending they aren't thrilled for personal reasons about the change in Christmas plans. Yeah, I'm in a good mood."
"My sisters aren't nearly as subtle as they think they are, and they're lucky Dad's still mad about Daken, or he'd figure out why they love space trips so much." Sying chuckled as he picked Ariel up and crossed the room to sit with his wife, tickling Ariel absently as he spoke.
"My mom says Daken's trying," Krissy pointed out.
"And he is," Sying agreed, not about to argue with his wife. "But that doesn't mean he's not still a creep who likes to screw with my dad for fun."
"True," Krissy agreed.
"I mean, he's on our side — mostly," Sying continued. "But… yeah. There's an epic personality clash there that I don't want to get involved in, especially since Dad's philosophy is that he at least had the excuse of being lied to by Norman Osborne, whereas Daken went into the Dark Avengers knowing full well what the story was."
"That was way before you and I were even born, you know."
"Yeah, well, Dad has a long memory."
"Probably got some elephant DNA thrown into the cocktail they gave him to make him all super soldier-y," Krissy teased.
"If he did, he'd never tell anyone. Grandpa Wolvie still calls him 'Bug Boy' when he's annoyed with him. Can you imagine what he would do with 'Elephant Man'?"
Krissy giggled, but before she could properly respond, Ariel reached up and took her mother by the chin and the top of her head, turning her whole face toward her so that Krissy had no choice but to pay attention to Ariel and not Sying. "Yes, baby, I'm sorry I got distracted," Krissy said, smiling even though her daughter's hands were now on her cheeks.
Ariel nodded sharply and then let go of Krissy's face. "Play?" she offered, gesturing toward the hallway.
Krissy broke into a wide grin and then teleported ahead of Ariel, already starting the race she knew her daughter wanted. And that, of course, prompted squeals of laughter as well as "No fair!" accusations as Ariel took off running as fast as she could, sprinting down the halls of the Marvel.
Sying shook his head as he leaned back on the couch in their room. He would never say as much to Krissy out loud, but Ariel was just like he remembered Krissy being when they were little. And he'd overheard Kate telling Krissy exactly that and insisting that God was giving her a taste of what it had been like to raise her, tail and sass and all.
He loved to watch Krissy play with their daughter, because he saw how much being a mother meant to her. He still remembered when they were thirteen and she had explained why she wanted to be an X-Man: because she wanted to help people. But as soon as Ariel was born, he had seen her entire purpose shift.
She loved being a mom. She loved having someone to care for so completely. And he'd never seen her so happy.
That was why he kept redirecting people, especially anyone on the team, when they asked when Krissy would come back to the X-Men. Sure, the mansion had plenty of people just itching for a chance to babysit for them, but they didn't see what he did. They didn't see how much Krissy loved everything about motherhood.
He totally understood where the questions were coming from, though, especially from Alyssa. Thus far, none of the women on the team had quit after having kids. Even Annie kept teaching. They had plenty of support. Krissy could come back anytime.
And truth be told, as Ariel got older, Krissy did more training. She did more in the Danger Room. She wanted to be available for emergencies or if the team was ever short an exceptionally sneaky teleporter.
But Sying wasn't going to rush her. Not when he hadn't seen her this happy in a long time. She had spent so long through her pregnancy and through Ariel's first milestones keeping half an eye on him and his nightmares and flashbacks, and he knew it. Ariel had been nine months old before Sying stopped waking up at least every other night. Krissy had bent over backward to take care of him, and he wanted to return the favor.
And if that meant keeping busybodies away from pressuring her back onto the team, so be it.
Especially busybody sisters, he projected when he realized he wasn't entirely alone with his thoughts.
You were thinking loudly, Sying. Not my fault, Melody replied immediately, and Sying noticed that she had used "my" and not "our." As the twins got older, they were finally starting to separate, especially since they'd both started chasing long-distance relationships with space boys, as their mom put it. They didn't want mental ride-alongs when they were with their guys.
It is if you can't keep your telepathy to yourself, Sying replied. Where's Celeste?
Writing an email to Jayce. She's frustrated that he's home for Christmas and we're going to Hala, but she didn't say anything because Dad's in a mood and Mom would totally veto the idea of her staying home for a boy.
You never know, Sying started to say, but Melody cut him off.
Um, yes. Yes, I do know. And Mom picked up on Celeste's thoughts and was distinctly projecting about how Grandpa Wolvie would have totally put her to work and kept her and Jayce apart like he did with E'tann after Apocalypse. Not like we can try to sneak around our grandfather, you know, and he'd make sure Celeste didn't try to take advantage of Mom and Dad not being around to get some alone time with Jayce.
Knowing those two? Yeah, they'd try.
Oh, like you and Krissy are any better. Remind me who got married the day after he became a legal adult? And remind me who got his wife pregnant while still technically a teenager?
You and Celeste would be moving just as fast with yours if they didn't live in space, Sying shot back.
Maybe Celeste would, but mine is always surrounded by royal guards, and you can bet if our relationship was a problem politically, he'd at least consider breaking things off, Melody said, and Sying didn't miss the tone of bitter disappointment in her admission.
Sying let his shoulders drop. See, this is why I prefer talking in person. This is the part where I'd give you a hug and remind you that you can totally drop him if you think he's not going to prioritize you like he should.
No, he's wonderful, really. It's just hard to date someone who has the weight of an entire planet on their shoulders.
Have you tried talking to Krissy? Sying offered. I know it's not quite the same, but she was there for me after I was War, and I definitely had a lot of things on my mind that weren't her.
Yeah, I overheard Mom after you told her you were considering arrangements for Krissy and Ariel if you were carted off to jail. She was a mess worried about you, you know. She wasn't even trying to hide her thoughts from me and Celeste.
Sying winced. Sorry, he said and fell silent. He might have been doing much better when it came to dealing with the fallout from his time serving under Apocalypse, but that didn't mean he didn't still carry plenty of guilt. Every time he heard some new story about someone he loved going out of their mind with fear or worry on his behalf, he wished he had fought harder. Sure, he had the excuse of controls built into his mind, that didn't mean he couldn't have tried.
He hadn't wanted anyone outside of Hope to know how Apocalypse had installed himself in his mind, so he had asked his parents to help him deal with the hole Apocalypse had left behind when Hope chased him out. Sometimes, in unguarded moments, he still remembered how good it felt to listen to orders, and the simple fact that he sometimes craved that direction legitimately terrified him.
And yet, even though his mom had helped him build his defenses, nothing they did could permanently get rid of the Kree control he had inherited from his dad. Her mom had even tried to get it out of his dad in the hopes that, since he'd had experience rerouting himself after a takeover, he might have some clue as to how to keep the Kree out, but… no dice.
So, every time Sying was reminded of being War, he was always left with a nagging feeling that he was a ticking time bomb. That he was going to worry everyone all over again. That someone else was going to show up to grab hold of the choke chain.
Sying, you're fine, Melody said, breaking into his quickly-spiralling thoughts. Focus, okay? No one wants to see that happen to you again. We'll call Rachel in if we have to, but we will keep you safe.
I'm not the one I'm worried about, Sying pointed out. He still had nightmares about being ordered to go after Krissy or Ariel or anyone else in his family. And in his worst moments, he could remember how it felt to have his own father's heart at his fingertips, to have his hands deep inside him with every intention of blowing him to pieces.
In a way, he was glad Krissy loved motherhood so much that she wasn't in a hurry to get back to the team. He didn't know what he'd do with himself if she was in danger, not now that she was the mother of his child, not now that he'd already put her through so much.
You're spiraling again, Melody said, pulling him out of his thoughts once again. Do you want me to get Krissy and Ariel or something? Would that help?
Yeah, maybe.
Melody took off at a sprint, cutting off telepathic contact, and Sying flopped back onto the bed in his family's suite. He'd started off in such a good mood, too, but then he'd once again been reminded of War. He had to wonder when he'd stop getting lost in his own frustrations and anger and hurt and fear.
He knew he wasn't the only one still struggling. Even though all the other Horsemen had moved on and even started dating and getting married and such, he knew the PTSD wasn't going to just magically go away. The weirdest things would set him off; he was sure the same was true of the others.
He just hoped he could keep up his pattern of spending less and less time dwelling on the past and more and more time excited for the future, excited by the present. And eventually, he'd hardly think of being War at all except on bad days.
And today wasn't a bad day. It was just a bad moment. He could deal with that.
He had barely gotten his breathing under control when his wife teleported into their room with Ariel in hand. He should have known he wouldn't have time to make himself presentable; his sister had the family super speed, and Krissy had teleporting. Nothing happened slowly in their family.
"You alright?" Krissy asked, taking a tentative step forward, though that in and of itself had him frustrated with himself. When he was at his worst, he had a habit of physically pushing people away. He was getting better at his control and hadn't done a hard shove since a few months after Apocalypse, but again, this was just another dollop of guilt.
But then, Ariel practically threw herself out of Krissy's arms and held her hands out to Sying. As soon as he took her, she wrapped herself partway around his face and slobbered all over his cheek. "Love you, Daddy," Ariel sang out to him.
Sying smiled and then pulled her down so that he could give her a proper hug, wrapping her up so tightly that she started to giggle and try to escape, her tail wrapping around his upper arm as she tried to pull herself free, cackling the whole time.
"Oh, good. Situation resolved," Melody said, zipping over to join the party — partly, anyway. She had stopped in the doorway with her arms crossed and a crooked grin on her face. "I'm a hero. No need to thank me."
"Yeah, yeah, thanks, Mel," Sying laughed, finally releasing Ariel so that she could launch herself at him and try to get him back by tickling him. He fell back with the force of her tackle, overexaggerating her pounce just so he could see the huge grin on her face when she thought she'd managed to take her dad down. "Help, Krissy! She's too strong!"
Krissy laughed and even took a step back to join Melody in the doorway, so that both girls had matching postures and grins. "I don't know. That looks dangerous. She might be too strong for me too. I didn't get super strength, you know," she teased.
"Sooooooooper strong!" Ariel sang out the way Sying always did when he was praising her powers and teaching her to have fun with them even though she had to be careful with them. "Sooooooper stroooooong!"
"That's right you are," Sying said, grinning before he got his hands underneath her and launched her up toward the ceiling, laughing when she latched onto the ceiling and stayed there, her tail swaying behind her like a cat's. "And good at sticking to things."
"That's my side coming out," Krissy said.
"You act like I had nothing to do with the wallcrawling," Sying pointed out.
Krissy's tail was swaying behind her in exactly the same way Ariel's was, betraying her pure amusement. "You gave her super speed, white hair, and super strength."
"Right, right," Sying said. "And you gave her all the good looks and troublemaking."
"It has to come out sometimes," Krissy said automatically.
Melody laughed and held up both hands. "I think I should leave you two to it. Unless you want me to take Ariel so you can keep flirting without little eyes?"
Sying threw a pillow at his sister — and she, of course, ducked it. "You're such a pain sometimes, you know that?"
"It's in my job description. Annoying little sister," Melody sang back to him, sticking her tongue out and waving her hands up by her ears just so she could look as much like an annoying little kid as possible to make her point.
As Sying made a face back at Melody, Krissy tipped her head to the side. "You know," she said, "an offer of babysitting is tempting…"
"That's what I thought," Melody crowed, climbing the wall to get to the ceiling and to chase Ariel around until she snagged the little girl and pretended to eat her. By the time Ariel was gasping from peals of laughter, Melody was laughing herself. "Come on," she told the little girl. "You and I should go tell your grandpa all about your new friend Akihiro."
Sying and Krissy both started to laugh as Ariel enthusiastically started repeating Akihiro's name and babbling all about her friends and the tattoo drawing.
"She's going to get us a permanent second home in Hala by the time she's done torturing Dad," Sying laughed.
"She's probably hoping for exactly that," Krissy pointed out. "Closer to the boyfriend." She paused, tipped her head to the side, and added, "And closer to Celeste's."
"Yeah, I overheard Celeste telling Mom she wanted to do some more training but doesn't want to try out for our team." Sying raised both eyebrows suggestively. "What do you want to bet she's prepping to be a Guardian like Jayce is?"
"Considering she's been training with Tristan and trying to teach him how to be a better telepath, I'd say there might be two Guardians in a few years," Krissy pointed out. "After Tristan goes on a church mission, though. He's pretty set on at least trying to go, since he doesn't have his dad's problem with the family resemblance."
"Right," Sying said, nodding along. "I know he's been talking with your dad about that kind of thing."
"Yeah, well, when your father's the resident expert on faith in Westchester…" Krissy let the sentence drop, laughed, and shrugged off the topic. "But I'm pretty sure Melody didn't offer to babysit so we could talk about your sisters' love lives and the McCoy family missionary work."
Sying broke into a much more troublemaking grin. "No, she didn't," he agreed and then reached out to snag her by the arm and pull her to him for a long, hard kiss.