This is it, the actual last chapter. Enjoy~ 3
He didn't even realize where his feet had brought him until his hand touched the door.
Stan flinched back and looked up at the old, flickering neon sign. The curves of the Coors can it depicted threw a cast of yellow light over his face.
It had been nearly a year since this happened last.
Stan winced, backing away from the brick building. He hoped no one he knew saw him through the wide frosted windows. The last thing he needed was a rumor that he'd fallen off the wagon floating around.
Leo did more damage than he thought.
Leo…
Shaking his head, Stan turned on his heels and quickly walked away. He focused on the sound of his shoes against the sidewalk.
No, no, this wasn't Stan's fault. All he did was ask a simple question. Leo was the one who flipped out on him. Why should Stan even try to help him if he didn't want to help himself? Why waste his time?
His stomach clenched. He knew why.
It was the same reason Kenny wasted his time trying to help Stan.
He saw all he could be if he learned to let go of the anchor dragging him down.
With a groan, Stan marched to a bench outside an abandoned store and sat.
After he left Leo's, it had taken nearly three hours to get home. The whole way, cars illegally lined the roadside after the drivers decided to just give up and walked.
The car ride home had done nothing to soothe his anger, and the thought of being cooped up in his house seemed wholly unappealing, so instead, he turned and walked.
He even took his guitar with him without thinking.
Pulling the instrument into his lap, he ran his fingers over the zipper of the case. These last months had been a work out for the old Gibson. It wasn't that he didn't play it at all before meeting Leo, but it had been the same songs over and over. Since he started giving Leo lessons, the motivation to learn new songs returned.
He leaned his head back to stare at the sky. The light pollution made it impossible to see the stars, so instead, he followed they helicopters as the zigzagged across the sky. More than a few of them had to be life flights from all the accidents.
It was hard to believe that all of this happened because one person felt spat and wanted to get revenge. It wasn't fair, but then, how was it fair Leo was late because of some irresponsible driver parked in a no parking zone?
His eyes slipped shut.
He still couldn't wrap his mind around Leo's apparent duality. Chaos couldn't be Leo, but he was; vice versa Leo couldn't be Chaos, but he was. They were the same person, no matter what anyone says. It didn't make sense.
A pair of warm lips on his forehead pulled him out of his thoughts. His eyes flashed open. He bolted up, nearly colliding forehead to forehead with his mystery kisser.
Mysterion looked at him with an amused expression, lips turning up a fraction.
"Hey there, handsome. You looked like you needed a pick-me-up." He purred then jumped gracefully over the back of the bench to sit beside him.
Stan looked over his shoulder then around behind Mysterion.
"Don't worry, no one's around." Mysterion scooted closer, placing a hand on his knee. "I checked when I started following you."
"Following me?" Stan frowned.
"Payback for last time." Mysterion pushed his shoulder playfully. "Just kidding. I saw you walked towards the old bar and got worried. Is something wrong? Are you feeling ok?"
Mysterion's look was probing and concerned. Of course, he had every right to be.
Stan shook his head. "It's fine. Old habits. I just…Leo and I got into a…fight? I think it was a fight? He started shouting like it was."
"What happened?"
"Nothing much. I went over to his house, we jammed for a while, then I-I—" Stan blew a breath out. "I kissed him."
"Kissed him?" Mysterion tilted his head to the side.
"Yeah, and, wow, dude, it was good." He ran his hands through his hair, the memory of the kiss playing on his lips.
The kiss had sent his brain to cloud nine for the few seconds of contact. When Leo touched his face during it, Stan wanted to melt into him then and there.
Looking back, maybe he should have given into his desires. None of this would have happened if they just made out. He would definitely be having a better night than this, that's for sure.
"If it was good, then why are you outside looking blue?" Mysterion sighed. "Is it because you feel guilty?"
Stan jerked back. "How did you—"
"That's how I felt the first time," Mysterion admitted with a shrug. "I thought to myself, 'he's a supervillain. He's evil, but I like kissing him. I shouldn't be enjoying doing this!'"
Stan looked away. Those were exactly his thoughts during that moment.
"Yeah, and I told him that. Well, that I felt bad about liking him. I asked him if he would ever be able to stop being Chaos." Stan set his guitar against the seat of the bench. "Then he said that he couldn't get rid of Chaos, that he needed him to feel safe and strong. I told him that he didn't need Chaos if he had me— us — with him, and he just kind of imploded. I don't get what I did wrong."
Mysterion's expression turned unreadable.
Great, he had Mysterion and Leo mad at him.
No, not Mysterion. Kenny. He was sick of thinking of any of them as two different people.
Stan held his gaze, half hoping to find some explanation to Leo's anger there. After a long silence, Kenny leaned forward, resting his head on Stan's shoulder, then wrapped his arms around him. He could feel the thickness of his gloves through the fabric of his shirt.
Stan glanced around once more before he raised his hand and rubbed his back.
"Stan, you understand Chaos is a crutch for him, right? He needs him to feel safe and in control, in a way," Kenny mumbled into his neck.
"Yeah, I'm kind of getting that." Stan leaned his cheek against his hood. "But does he need the crutch forever?"
"I…I don't know." Kenny sighed. "But, I think — fuck, Stan," He pushed himself away enough to looked up at his boyfriend, "do you think I'm selfish? Do you think me treating Leo and Chaos like two different sides is actually helping him? He's doing better, but what if he plateaued?"
Stan pressed his lips into a line. What could he possibly say to that? A yes wouldn't feel like the whole truth but a no would crush Kenny's heart.
He kissed his temple.
"I don't know, man. I'm not a psychologist, and I can't tell the future. I think you are good for him. This whole erasing the street signs thing was the worst he's done in a while, and I don't think he meant it to get this bad."
Kenny mulled over that a moment before pulling him into a bone crushing hug.
He moved back then rolled off the bench to his feet in a much more dramatic style than necessary. Stan snorted a laugh at his antics.
"I think I'm going to go find Leo and talk to him. Make sure he's ok." Kenny readjusted his hood and mask. "If you'll be alright, that is."
Stan stood as well. "I'm fine. I should head back now anyway."
Shouldering his case on, Stan took a breath so he could ask, "Kenny, do me a favor. When you see Leo, tell him…" Here he pause to think about his words before continuing, "tell him I'm sorry for whatever I said that upset him. I want to see him again and talk this out. I'm a little too deep into this relationship with him to let it go like this."
Kenny smiled. "I will. Text me when you get to your place."
"Text? You're on patrol. We're not allowed to have our normal phones." Stan raised an eyebrow. Of everyone, Kenny was one of the few heroes most able to follow that rule, having never really owned a smartphone growing up.
"Not for long." Kenny smiled slyly, then patted his stomach. "I think I'm coming down with something. Stomach flu, probably. Maybe some bad takeout. Been puking my guts out all night. Guess my back up for tonight is going to have to cover for me." He doubled over to the side and fake gagged.
Stan wracked his brain a moment, making sure he wasn't the backup, before remembering that tonight the duty fell on Mosquito. The insect hero would probably complain tomorrow about having his sleep interrupted to take on patrol. Luckily, Stan wasn't assigned with Mosquito anytime soon, so that wasn't his problem.
"Don't worry, I know an old family secret to cure a stomach bug," Stan stepped closer. "A kiss on the cheek and a bottle of flat sprite. I'll make sure to pick you up some on my way."
"Well, can I have the kiss now? I think that's really all I need." Kenny set his hands on Stan's hips. Stan chuckled before pressing his lips on his warm freckled cheek.
"There." Stan rested their foreheads together.
"Thanks, I'm already feeling better."
Mysterion was not at all surprised to find Chaos in the back of the abandoned factory, standing in front of a large whiteboard. Multi-Colored notes and doodles covered the board's surface. Many of the notes and drawings had been crossed out or had arrows leading to new ideas.
Chaos didn't notice Mysterion was there, so the hero took advantage of his inventiveness to stand on the edge of the light. He watched him pace back and forth.
Chaos muttered to himself about car wax before spinning to the board. He crossed out a red note with a black marker before drawing an arrow to an illustration of a roller coaster.
Mysterion couldn't make hide nor hair of any of it.
"Hamburgers, that ain't gonna work either…" Chaos grumbled, throwing the marker to the ground. The marker rolled right to Mysterion, who stepped out and intercepted it with his boot.
Chaos furrowed his brow and looked up from the marker towards the boot's owner. Mysterion raised an eyebrow.
"You're a busy bee tonight, Chaos." Mysterion bent down to take the marker in his hand.
He held it out, and Chaos snatched it from his grasp. "Go away. I don't want to deal with you right now, Kenny." He spun back towards the whiteboard.
Mysterion set his lips into a line. Chaos never called him 'Kenny' when he was in the uniform. That just wasn't done. Chaos was letting the lines cross, and that made him nervous.
Had Stan actually gotten to him that badly? On the one hand, that meant Leo thought highly of Stan. On the other, that meant this conversation was going to be a bit more difficult.
"Chaos, we need to talk." Mysterion kept an unusual amount of authority in his voice. He never came off this demanding when they were alone. Usually, it was light banter and jabs.
Chaos paused a moment and then looked over his shoulder. "No." He replied in a deadpan.
"Unless you want a fight, leave me alone. I can call the police and tell them you're trespassing." Without waiting for a reply back he continued on his work.
Well, if the Mysterion way wasn't going to work…
Mysterion reached up and pushed back his hood, shaking his hair back into place, then pulled off his mask.
He held up his hands in defeat. "Alright, alright, gonna leave the irony of that last comment alone." Kenny pocketed his mask then walked idly around in front of Chaos. With a grin, he set his forearms over his shoulders.
Chaos blinked and moved his head back a fraction in surprise.
While Mysterion would have shrugged and left Chaos to himself, Kenny wasn't about to leave him alone when he knew he felt like shit.
"You know what? If you were a candy, you'd be a Hershey's kiss. Because your sweet and," Kenny pecked a kiss to his nose, "I like kissing you."
"What are you doing?" Chaos demanded. "Get off!" He shoved him back. Kenny stumbled back with a frown.
"Generally, when your boyfriend is upset, you try to make him feel better. That's what I'm doing, Leo."
And with that, the line was crossed by both of them. Actually, he was starting to get the feeling that the line wasn't there at all anymore.
"I'm fine, Ken. Leave me alone to my evil deeds." Leo stepped around him back to the whiteboard.
Kenny sighed. He stepped forward to wrap his arms around Leo's waist and rest his head on his shoulder. He would have liked to stand on his tiptoes to nuzzle against his cheek, but Leo's helmet blocked that possibility.
"I like your cape. Always have. It's way softer than mine but more durable." Kenny muttered.
Leo groaned. "You ain't gonna stop, are you?"
"I'm like an affectionate cat. If you don't give me attention, I'll crawl all over you." Kenny squeezed him. "And the only way to get rid of me is to physically throw me out."
Leo pinched the bridge of his nose. The open tip of his felt marker left a streak of black across his visor. He capped the marker and dropped it to the ground before removing his helmet and giving it the same discarded fate.
With a sigh, Leo turned in his arms. He slipped his hands down his back to rest on his rear. With a jerk, he forced Kenny closer to his body.
He kissed him, catching Kenny off guard. He caught Kenny's lower lip between his teeth as his hands slipped around to fiddle with his belt.
This wasn't the path Kenny expected this to go down. They'd had what Kenny thought of as 'hate sex' in uniform before, usually when they were both still tense after a battle of good and evil. It was a way for 'Mysterion' and ''Chaos' to let off a little steam that would have otherwise seeped into Kenny and Leo's relationship.
Kenny knew how the lead up to that felt, but this was different.
He didn't feel that raw anger or contempt in Leo's touch. This was annoyance. As if pacifying Kenny like this was nothing more than an obstacle in the way of his work.
"Stop." Kenny pulled back, holding his lips between his own teeth.
Leo growled, "You said you wanted attention; I'm giving it to you."
"Not that kind of attention." Kenny grabbed Leo's wrist and held it tight. "We need to talk, Leo. This is important."
They held each other's gaze, both daring the other to make a move. In the end, Kenny lost the battle of wits by dropping Leo's wrist. He stepped out from his grasp.
"Look, Leo, Stan told me what happened," Kenny admitted.
Leo tensed, his teeth grinding together.
"Oh, did he? Fucking snitch." Leo spat. "Of course he'd run to you to tattle on me."
Kenny shook his head. "He didn't 'run to me'. I found him wandering around town looking dejected and upset."
Leo's hands moved to bump his knuckles in front of his body but froze halfway there. Clenching them, he dropped his fists to his sides.
Kenny continued. "He told me to tell you he's sorry. He didn't mean to upset you."
At that, Leo scoffed. "Yeah, sure, he's only sayin' that because he doesn't want me to spill his secret, right? Well, tell him I don't plan on it as long as he doesn't tell anyone mine." He went to retrieve his discarded marker.
"That never once came up as an issue." Kenny frowned. "He really doesn't want to lose you. He likes you. He's just like me. Neither of us can leave you now."
Leo stayed half bent to the floor for a few heartbeats before his shoulders began to shake. Kenny let out a breath and stepped closer to stoop down. He dropped an arm around his shoulder then looped his other around his front to hug him.
"It's alright. What's wrong. We'll work together to fix it, promise." He cooed.
"What is the problem!" Leo shouted. He snapped his head up. Tears welled up in his eyes, but he blinked them away.
"You two shouldn't even bother with me! I'm not a good person, and I never will be!" His body shook. "I'm bad. I'll always be bad. Nothing can change that. Not you, not Stan, not anything."
Red painted his face. His lips quivered. Leo blinked more tears away, even harder than before.
"That's not true. Anyone can be a good person and make up for what they did." Kenny rocked them gently. "That includes you."
Leo pushed back. This time, Kenny held his ground so that the force made Leo toppled back, landing on his rear. Leo's breath escaped his mouth in quick, shallow gasps.
"Stop. Stop it now. I don't deserve it." Leo's chest heaved. He struggled to force the words out. "I made Chaos because I wanted to make people feel as scared and out of control as I did. I am not a good person. I'm an agent of Chaos and change! Fate didn't make me to be 'good'. I can't ever change that."
Leo grabbed the whiteboard to shakily haul himself to his feet. He took a step towards his helmet, then shook his head. Abandoning it and Kenny, Leo headed towards the darkness.
Emotions fought each other in Kenny's stomach: anger at himself for not getting through to Leo, regret for enabling Chaos, and lastly, amusement.
If the Mysterion way didn't work, and the Kenny way didn't work, then there was always the Netherborn way.
He didn't like to rely on that often, but maybe this time…
"Heh…"
The amusement outgrew the other two. It bubbled up out of his stomach in a series of uncontrollable snickers.
Leo paused at the edge of the light and looked over his shoulder.
Roaring laughter replaced the snickers. Kenny leaned back, holding his stomach. He kicked out his legs as tears streamed down his face.
"Oh, oh, God, Leo—AHAHAHAHAHA!" he pushed himself up, still quaking from laughter.
Leo turned to face him. His body readied him for a fight, fists raising and legs bending.
"Do you think my suffering is funny?" He demanded.
Kenny shook his head. "Naaaaah, it's not." He raised his face to Leo, and Leo froze.
A smile that was just a bit too wide to fit comfortably on his face stretched across Kenny's features.
"What's funny is that you think you're the one Fate would choose to be an agent of change." Kenny snickered into his hand. "Really? Chaos, you're just a human. While you're really special to me, in the grand scheme of things you're just a normal guy. Now, me? Not so much."
The darkness began to lap away at the edges of the pool of light. Leo gasped and jumped forward. The darkness flowed around him until he and Kenny stood in small puddles of light. Even the light bulb on the wall had been drowned.
"If some force of nature wanted to change Fate, they wouldn't choose a normal human." Kenny shrugged lazily. "They'd choose something with powers beyond the natural world. A being with powers granted to him by a god that is bigger than the mind can comprehend. Someone with the power to break the rules of nature and reality at will."
"Kenny, what's going on?" Leo almost took a step forward but stopped.
"Heeeeey, Leo, I ever tell you I believe in fatalism?" Kenny asked idly as he clasped his hands behind his back and rocked on his heels, like a child with a secret.
"No, I don't think you ever have," Leo said. His voice had a quiver to it. Kenny should have probably felt bad about that, but he didn't. This was too much fun, and, unlike the other ways, this way seemed to be getting through to Leo.
"I didn't? Well, do you know what fatalism is?" He didn't give him time to reply. "It's the belief that everything is destined to happen and we can't change it no matter what we do."
Kenny skipped back into the darkness. "It's funny, right? We can fight against Fate all we want, but even that struggle is all part of the plan!" He walked around Leo, silent as death, before reaching out and brushing his fingers over his back, right about where his heart would be.
Leo spun around, but Kenny had already moved on.
"Kenny, this ain't funny. Why are you doing this?"
"Why? Because I don't have a choice." Kenny sighed dramatically to Leo's left. "No one does. Choice isn't real." He walked around to Leo's back again then stepped into the light. Leo stiffened as Kenny wrapped his arms around his shoulders and rested his chin on the top of Leo's head.
"But, you know what?" He moved his head down to purr into Leo's ear. "It's so much fun to pretend. It's a fucking hoot to think that what we do is actively changing the path Fate has for us."
He pressed his lips against Leo's jaw then mumbled, "So, play pretend with me, Leo. Pretend that Fate didn't decide you're a bad person and fight it."
Kenny continued to mutter against his skin, giving in a little bit more to the Netherborn. He wasn't sure what exactly he was saying. It wasn't English, but whatever it was, at least it seemed like kind, loving words.
Kenny had forgotten how great it felt to let the Netherborn have equal control over his actions when he wasn't in life or death danger. Being able to bend the rules of reality around him like this felt so good. Being bound by the natural laws all the time was dull. This, on the other hand, was like a high, but at the same time, he'd never been more grounded.
Why didn't he do this more often again?
Leo shuddered under his mumbling lips and whimpered, and Kenny remembered exactly why.
With a gasped, Kenny forced the netherborn back down. His boot soles landed against the concrete floor with a loud slap. The light returned to normal, blinding him for a second.
"Shit, Leo, I'm sorry!" Kenny rubbed his eyes. "I don't know why I did that!"
Fuck! Why did he do that? He knew that side of himself was a coy, tactless, blunt asshole. If rivalry and love didn't work, did he really think affectionate indifference would?
How stupid!
Kenny blinked the stars from his vision then looked to Leo. His heart pounded and stomach twisted.
No way Leo wasn't going to be scared. No, no, no! He couldn't lose Leo because of this!
Leo had seen, at least from a distance, Kenny's power go all out before. This time, however, wasn't the same. This wasn't a ruthless display in a heated battle. This wasn't an instinctual reaction to protect his life or the lives of the ones he cared about.
This was a concentrated use and the aloof confidence that came with it. This was the snake in the Garden. This was the monster that wanted to pull and push the laws of nature. This was the controlled madness that the human mind could never comprehend. This was—
"Horse shit!"
"What?" Kenny whispered as his head whirled with more worries and self-deprecation.
After what seemed like eons, Leo turned slowly to face him, and Kenny flinched back.
"That's a load of horse shit." Leo marched over. He loomed over Kenny with his mouth set in a line. "Complete and total horse shit!"
Great, instead of scared, Leo went to angry. Kenny didn't know if that was better or worse.
"I'm sorry!" Kenny croaked. "I just—"
"Fate ain't some unchanging force, Ken! It ain't fair to say so." Leo crossed his arms like an indignant child. "Fate's the most chaotic, cruel, beautiful and ever-changing thing there is! And I'll be damned if I'd let you go talking bad about her like that!"
Kenny blinked. "What?"
"You heard me!" He jabbed a finger at his nose. "Fate is not set in stone, and, no offense, it's silly to think so! Just plain silly!"
Kenny looked cross-eyed at his finger before reaching up to swipe it down. "Then—then prove it!" He stepped until they were chest to chest. "Prove it! Prove to me Fate can be changed. Decide you're not destined to be a bad person!"
"I will!" Leo shouted. He tried to hold his stern expression, but it melted away seconds later. His shoulders slumped and legs shook. Kenny swooped forward to support him.
"You ok?" Kenny asked, helping him to his knees.
Leo let out a noisy, shaking breath. "No. My brain hurts. That was too weird."
"I'm sorry, baby. That wasn't my best idea." He rubbed his back comfortingly then kissed his forehead. Leo hummed in response and fell against his shoulder.
"Hey, Kenny? When my head stops spinning from all the weirdness, do you think we can go talk to Stan? I feel bad for yelling at him now."
Kenny squeezed him to his chest. "Yeah, we can do that."
"And can we stop for something to drink?"
"'Course. I'll buy." He stroked the back of his head before resting his own cheek against him.
Well, the Netherborn way worked, though not as expected.
Then again, when did anything to do with it ever work as expected?
A shower had helped more than he thought it would. Just standing under the stream of hot water forced his head to clear, at least a little. If he had tried to go straight to bed, Stan knew he would stew on everything that happened with Leo all night long.
Stan strolled out of his bathroom and made his way towards the kitchen. A shower and microwaved corn dogs and he could sleep the rest of the night.
What Stan hadn't expected when wandering into his kitchen, however, was to find a superhero and supervillain sitting at his table drinking chocolates shakes.
"Ok, what the hell?" Stan threw his hands out at them, allowing his towel to fall from his hair to around his shoulders.
Leo and Kenny looked up from their drinks.
"Oh, golly…." The lower half of Leo's cheeks colored. He glanced back down at his shake while Kenny whistled.
In his normal voice, Kenny flirted, "What's up, hot stuff?" He propped his arm on the table and eyed Stan up and down. "You know you don't got any pants on, right?"
A blush crept up Stan's cheeks as he realized save for the towel on his shoulders, he had nothing on. Stan scrambled to whip the towel off his shoulders and tie it around his hips.
"First of all, screw you," He pointed at Kenny, "second of all, how the hell did you get into my house?" His finger slid sideways towards Leo.
"Well, Stan, I've broken into a lot of places over my career. Your lock was really easy to pick." Leo sucked a drink of his shake before continuing, "We got you a shake too if you want it. Kenny put it in the freezer for you."
Stan opened his mouth to protest the break in — especially since Kenny had a key — when his stomach growled.
"Stay," Stan ordered, falling into his dog training voice. He spun around and hurried to his room to throw pajama pants and a shirt on before heading back to the kitchen. He marched up to the freezer and confirmed there was indeed a shake inside for him.
"I told you he wouldn't be asleep," Kenny said, pushing back his hood, as Stan fished the shake out. "He brews on his emotions after fights."
"Fuck off," Stan snapped, slamming the freezer shut. "What are you two doing here–and in full uniform no less." He took the maraschino cherry from the top of the shake. "Am I under arrest or being kidnapped?"
Stan dropped the whole cherry in his mouth.
Kenny shot finger guns at him. "Arrested for being an outstandingly fine man. Eh? Eh?"
Stan rolled his eyes. "Seven out of ten, because the pun was not actually terrible," he said around the cherry. He tried to tie the stem into a knot, but accidentally bit it in half instead.
"Thank you." Kenny bowed forward. His smile slipped from his face. He took his mask off and set it on the table. "Ok, joking aside, we're here because Leo wants to talk to you."
Stan raised an eyebrow. "So not 'Chaos'?" He took a drink of his shake. It was good, though the freezer had done little to combat the melting.
"No," Leo shook his head, "not Chaos. Chaos is, uh," he rubbed his knuckles together, "taking a break. Along one. I don't know if he'll ever come back."
Stan choked on his drink. "W-What?" Stan gasped.
Leo couldn't actually be implying he was giving up Professor Chaos, could he? After all, he'd said earlier about needing the villainous persona, it only took one talk to make him give him up?
"Yeah, I, um, I thought about what you said and what Kenny here said and —oh boy, this is embarrassin'—but you two were right," Leo admitted. A sigh escaped his lips as he reached up to take the helmet off.
He continued, "I guess I got to thinking that Chaos was the only way I could change anything, if I can change it at all." He glanced at Kenny, who glanced down. "He was the only way I could really feel safe, but, well, I don't think that's right anymore."
"You don't?" Stan slid into the final chair at the table, shake in hand.
"When you told me that I had another way of dealing with stuff and feeling safe with you all, I kind of panicked." Leo's shoulders slumped. "I know it's silly, but I didn't think there was any other way. I had to have Chaos around, even just a little bit. I couldn't feel safe otherwise. I think, maybe, I even thought at this point there was no goin' back without him, you know?"
Stan bit his lip then rested his hand on Leo's knuckles. "That's not silly. Not at all." He took a stealing breath. "I get that. I get that completely. I know sometimes it feels like it's easier to write off there is no fixing yourself. It's hard to shake off that thinking that…that you don't deserve to be fixed." Stan pulled Leo's hand off the shake and held it. He squeezed, just as much for his own emotional support as Leo's.
Kenny scooted closer and set a hand on Stan's knee. He smiled reassuringly.
"I can promise," Kenny announced with full confidence, "that l everyone in this room can be fixed — well, not 'fixed'. Helped. Everyone in this room can be helped since no one here is broken."
Both Stan and Leo snorted a laugh at that, but neither tried to argue.
"So, if you're not going to be Chaos anymore, what's your plan?" Stan asked.
Leo twiddled his thumbs. "I was, um, planning to turn myself in, actually."
Stan choked on his milkshake for the second time. He beat his chest before sputtering out, "W-what?!" Stan shoved the shake aside. "Leo, you know you'll be arrested on the spot, right? Just because Kenny and I know you're willing to change, doesn't mean—"
Kenny put a hand on Stan's arm. "Stan, calm down. You and I both know that if you have enough money and lawyers, anyone can get out of any crime — no offense, Leo."
Leo shrugged. "None taken, since it's true. I have lawyers who can give a rock solid case for insanity for a few years now, if it comes to that, but I'd rather not go to court at all. Though, I don't know how likely that is at this point. "
"How?" Stan frowned. His head felt heavy with both worry and sleep. This really wasn't a late night conversation.
"Well," Leo grinned, "I was thinking I could get a plea bargain for a lesser sentence." He nodded proudly. "I got information on all kinds of villainous activities that I'd be willing to part with."
Stan glanced at Kenny. Stan had never bothered to learn more than he had to about how the law worked. His job wasn't to try the lawbreakers; it was to catch them.
Kenny raised his shoulder. "I told him I would take him to talk to Timmy. If you and I are both on his side, maybe we can help work something out."
"But Timmy's going to see this as a conflict—" He yawned, reaching for the shake again, "—of interest since we're all kind of dating? Or I think we all are. Are we?" He looked to Leo for confirmation. With a blush, Leo nodded.
Kenny stood suddenly. "I don't know, but for now I'm tired as fuck." He strolled around the table in between Stan and Leo, then looped his arms around theirs.
With an effortless pull, stronger than a man of his size should be able to accomplish, Kenny hauled them to their feet.
"Milkshakes away. It's bedtime for everyone!" Kenny announced.
"Wait a sec, there," Leo said. Snaking his arm free. "Stan didn't say he was ok with me stayin' too!"
"Of course he is, right, Stan?"
Stan blinked, trying to think clearly through the fog of sleepiness. He shoved his milkshake into Kenny's hand. Kenny made a move to take Leo's, but Leo shook his head, leaving his shake abandoned on the table next to Kenny's empty cup. Kenny took a step back to put the shake in the freezer as Stan answered.
"I think there's room for everyone, yeah." Stan nodded groggily. "Not enough pillows though."
Kenny scoffed. "Stan, we don't need pillows. Leo's chest is a pillow. Believe me, I know."
Leo blushed. "Is this really ok? I only got these clothes." He held out his cape.
Kenny took his own cape from his shoulders and draped it around Stan's. It was warm and had Kenny's comforting scent to it. It took all of Stan's willpower not to curl up in the cape to sleep then and there.
"Just do what I do: Sleep naked." He winked. "It's only fair at this point. You saw Stan's dick. He has the right to see yours."
"Oh, uh, if that's how it is in the Marsh household." Leo fiddled with the hem of his cape, covering most of his body with it.
"Just use something of mine if you're embarrassed. I have extra shorts." Stan yawned again. "Now, let's go or I'm sleeping on the floor."
He grabbed Kenny' hand then held his own out for Leo. Leo eyed his palm a moment, then took a breath. After dropping his cape, he pulled off his gloves and set them on the table.
Before Stan could comment on that, Leo set his hand in Stan's with a smile and Stan led them towards the bedroom for a well-deserved sleep.
The leaves danced as the wind shook them from their trees. Autumn chill hung in the golden mid-morning air. It wouldn't be much longer before Stan had to start wearing a thermal shirt under his uniform.
Luckily for him, today he watched the world wrap itself in oranges and reds from the warmth of a waiting room. He looked at the clock hanging over the receptionist desk.
Leo's appointment would be over soon.
It took Leo only a month and a half to completely disband his minions and destroy all evidence of their connection to Professor Chaos. Stan would have found it an impressive feat, had Leo not told him that he had prepared for this well in advance.
He was determined not to drag any of his minions down with him. That was something Stan found incredibly honorable.
"They don't deserve it. Most of them were just trying to make ends meet." Leo had explained.
He even allowed Stan and Kenny to read over his speech for the announcement to the minions. Every word showed both his determination to make himself a better person and his sorrow at disbanding something he'd worked on since he was a teenager. Leaving Chaos behind was hard for Leo to do. If not for Stan and Kenny on call to help, he probably would have relapsed and come back more evil than ever.
Once those weeks had ended and the minions' involvement erased, Leo did exactly what he said he would and turned himself into Freedom Pals without a fight or struggle. He made his offer to give valuable information in exchange for a lighter punishment with a cool, aloof expression on his face.
Looking back, even if Doctor Timothy hadn't agreed to his demands, Stan had a feeling Leo would have gotten off anyway. He said his lawyers could get him out of trouble, after all, and that was not a lie.
His lawyers used loopholes and pointed outlaws that had been forgotten about for decades. They called all sorts of people to the stand to testify on Leo's behalf. They struck down almost all of the opposition's attacks on Leo's character. Stan even remembered one of them bringing up Star Wars and Wookies for some reason.
They're efforts paid off in the end. Instead of incarceration in prison, Leo was to stay under house arrest, wear an ankle monitor at all times, and pay a hefty fine, along with various other stipulations.
One of those stipulations being routine therapy sessions like this one.
Stan readjusted his goggles. While plenty of normal people had been in a roar about Leo's sentencing, it was the other villains who were the most upset. Given that Leo had, in one way or another, sold them all out, none of the heroes were all that surprised when the first death threats came.
So, Mysterion and ToolShed 'volunteered' to be his guards, either watching over his house or escorting him to and from home when he left. It took a day or two of convincing Doctor Timothy that them doing so was not a conflict of interest, but in the end, the boyfriends won out with their leader signing dramatically, "Fine, but he is your responsibility. He fucks up. You fuck up."
That was a risk Stan found himself more than willing to take for his new boyfriend.
Stan shut his eyes.
It felt strange still to call Leo his boyfriend, especially after everything came out to the public. He knew once everything settled down some more, he would have quite a few friendships he would need to repair. Plenty of his friends didn't care what the psychologists or lawyers said. Leo was Chaos, and Chaos was bad, so Stan was bad by association.
Honestly, Stan couldn't blame them for thinking that. Sometimes, when he remembered what Leo had done in the past, he felt it too. He felt like he was betraying his values as a hero. A few times the guilt squeezed his insides so tight, he got physically sick.
Then he remembered what he read in Leo's speech. He remembered how Leo had personally taken Disarray — Dougie — aside and swore Dougie would never have to deal with the repercussions of his involvement if he didn't want to and that Leo would make sure he still made enough money to get through school. He remembered the guilt in Leo's voice as he apologized from the stand.
Stan just had to keep reminding himself that Leo was trying to be better. Believing in someone's ability to change and grow was a heroic action in and of itself.
"ToolShed."
Stan opened his eyes and turned his head. Leo's eyes were red and puffy from crying, but he looked happy, overall.
"Mr. Stotch," Stan greeted with a curt nod. They had to keep up appearances outside. It was a bit annoying to routinely fight down the urge to comfort Leo with a hug or hand touch, but he didn't have much if a choice.
"Ready to go?"
"Yes, just a second." Leo took a tissue from the secretary's desk to wipe his eyes again. "Ok, ready."
Stan kept himself composed and professional the whole car ride back to Leo's home. He let out a sigh of relief when they made it back safely with no assassination attempts this time.
That was three for three this month.
Stan nodded to the driver that her job was done and she could go, before following Leo up the steps to his front door.
He stood idly a moment, debating. It was his and Kenny's job to protect Leo and his home so he had to a perimeter check or come in and check all the doors and locks before letting himself relax any farther.
He did a perimeter check before they left for his session, and Kenny should be around for his guard duty soon. Timmy probably wouldn't be too upset if Stan just checked the locks.
"Do you mind if I come in? I'd like to make sure none of the doors or windows have been…tampered with," Stan requested. His tone came out a little more flirty than he meant it to. Since no one was around, he didn't try to correct himself.
Leo chuckled, his professional persona melting away. "Well, sure! Come on in. Check away."
The moment Leo shut the door and twisted the lock, Stan had his arm around his waist, pulling him to his side and placing a kiss to his cheek.
"Are you feeling ok?" He asked. "How'd the session go?"
"I think it went well. We talked about my mom this time." Leo glanced to the side. "We talked about how it's alright for me to still feel like I should love her since she is my mom, even though I'm angry about what she did and let happen."
Stan didn't pry, instead pressing a kiss to his cheek then hugging him closer. He was proud that Leo had made so much progress with his feelings. When he first talked in detail about his mother in particular to Stan, he proclaimed he hated her just as much as he hated his father.
Stan was glad Leo was learning it's healthy to know emotions are complex and contradictory sometimes.
This was the growth that made Stan's heart swell with hope.
"Do you think you're feeling up to a lesson today?" Stan asked instead. "I think I left my guitar here last time."
"You did," Leo confirmed, "and, sure. I'd love that."
"Alright, let me check all the locks first, then get out of the uniform. Kenny should be around sooner or later." Stan took a step away before making his way towards the kitchen.
He'd search bottom upwards, like always. The checks wouldn't take much time. As long as nothing looked disturbed from the outside and none of the secret entrances to the old Chaos' bases looked used, Stan would chalk everything up as fine.
Fifteen minutes later, Stan started down the steps after he finished checking the last window lock at the top of the house. Not a door, window, or rotating bookcase out of place.
As he skipped down the last two steps, a sudden, sharp scream came from the living room.
Without missing a beat, Stan readied his weapons then dashed down the hall. He skidded to a stop in the living room entrance, ready to attack.
Leo sat with his knees against the carpet, face flushed and his hand to his face. He didn't look hurt. In fact, he looked embarrassed.
"That wasn't called for at all, Ken!" Leo snapped, as Stan finally took notice of the other figure in the room. A specter of purple smoke came into reality until it solidified.
Kenny chuckled, tongue hanging from his lips. "I just licked your face. You'll live."
Stan let out a breath and relaxed. Leo wasn't in danger; Kenny was just being a tease. This had become normal fare between them all. Without the need to hide behind personas, going from hero to civilian went seamlessly. Sometimes Kenny even forgot to switch back to his gruff voice after talking to Stan. Stan actually found it kind of cute when he had to remind him about that.
"You coulda warned me first," Leo grumbled, trying to rub the saliva from his cheek with his sleeve. Kenny fell down to his knees beside him then took the edge of his cape and spit on it.
"You missed a spot," He teased, rubbing Leo's other cheek.
Leo flinched back with a cringe, now rubbing both cheeks. Stan snorted a laugh, placing his screwdrivers back in their holsters.
"Stop it. That's pretty unprofessional of you, Mysterion," Stan chided as he walked towards them. "At least take the hood off first." Kenny rolled his eyes playfully as Stan knelt down with them. He didn't protest when Stan pushed his hood back from his face, though he didn't remove this mask.
"Now I can tease him?" Kenny asked, holding his hand out to lick it.
Before Stan could answer, Leo ran his tongue over his own palm then pressed it against Kenny's forehead. He ran it through Kenny's hair, leaving the blond lock sticking up. Stan couldn't help but laugh as Kenny jerked away, falling back to his side.
While Leo snickered, Kenny narrowed his eyes.
"That was a show of hostility towards a superhero. ToolShed, I need you to pin his arms down so I can give him a wet willy." His lips twisted up in a smirk.
"What? No! This is an abuse of power!" Leo cried playfully scooting away. "If you do this, I'll turn you in as lawbreakers!"
Kenny hummed, then scoffed, "I'll have you know my boyfriend knows some really good lawyers."
Leo chuckled, crawling behind Stan.
"He's trying to get me. It's your job to keep me safe."
Stan looked between Leo behind him and Kenny before him. An impish gleam showed in both their eyes.
"Technically, if he's here, I'm off the clock." Stan stood. "Buuuuut, a little overtime never hurt anyone."
Quicker than Kenny could react, Stan pushed him down and sat on his back.
They all knew Kenny could easily escape Stan, but they also knew he wouldn't. This wasn't a real battle between good and evil, heroes and villains. This was just playful teasing between good people.
:) and this is the end! Sorry,y you had to wait an extra three days before I could get this last chapter out. Should have scheduled my time better than I did.
Anyway, thanks all for sticking with this story and leaving all those kind reviews, kudos, likes, reblogs, and so forth!
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