Chapter 1
Several years later
Lance was at a café, sipping his coffee. This was becoming usual for him.
He sipped his coffee, sighing, lost in a moment of self-absorption. Ever since Pietro had left the Brotherhood, for some reason, his mind seemed less focused, and more inclined to wander. Just like it's doing now, Lance thought.
Briefly, he thought about Kitty, and Todd and Freddy back at the 'Hood House. And then Pietro. Of course; it always came back to Pietro.
Again, like so many times before, he wondered why Pietro had even left in the first place. There was no real reason why, and that confused Lance. Maybe he had a secret? Or did he leave to go after Wanda, who had also left the Brotherhood months before her brother?
Lance sipped his coffee, his brain considering possibilities it had considered before, with each possibility getting more and more wilder and the reasoning flimsier. His eyes started to travel around the café, not really registering what they were seeing.
And then his eyes landed on something that nearly made Lance spit out his coffee in complete shock.
There was Pietro, sitting several tables away from Lance. Lance blinked and rubbed his eyes, thinking that they were playing tricks on him. Nope, Pietro was there all right, and there was no mistaking him. The same snow-white hair, the same blue eyes with the same energetic spark in them, and of course that same arrogant look on his face. But there was something interesting too; Pietro was with two little kids. They were both little boys, but looked very different. One of the kids had white hair like Pietro's, while the other was a brunette. The three were laughing and smiling, as if enjoying a private joke.
Lance wanted to just run up to Pietro's table and confront him, but he didn't. First of all, it would just be weird, and there was no telling what Pietro's reaction to seeing Lance after all these years would be. The last thing Lance wanted was a scene.
So, he waited it out, and when Pietro got up to leave with the kids, Lance got up as well and followed him.
