Things may seem a bit slow right now but if you've read Texas Time and Hero Time, I'm sure you're well aware of what that means for the upcoming chapters ; )
Special thanks to secretlystephaniebrown, freshzombiewriter, a-taller-tale, icefrozenover, analiarvb, washingtonstub, Yin, ashleystlawrence, thepheonixqueen, nooryes127, whimsical-writer, notatroll7, and Vixenlovesninjago on AO3 and tumblr for the wonderful feed back! I truly appreciate it more than you know.
Double Time
Chapter Five: When You Have It All
"You said yes!?"
Washington wasn't exactly sure why Church seemed to practically manifest himself during circumstances that would make him completely unhelpful, but it was a talent that he ultimately had to acknowledge.
It was difficult to gauge what Tucker's exact reaction might have been without Church's input, but since it was there, Wash found himself being stared down by his partner, arms crossed and dissatisfaction radiating from him.
"Did you at least figure out how much info they have on me? On Junior?" Tucker asked critically. "You're the one that said that we couldn't let anyone ever know about Junior's origins. If they know–"
"Junior will be fine," Wash assured him. "I'll keep him by me at all times."
At first, Tucker's look was nothing short of blank confusion.
Then it was outrage.
"What the fuck does that mean!?" he cried out.
"Tucker, dude, if he sold you guys out, I can build something to vaporize him. Like a giant blender or something," Church assured Tucker. It was only half sarcasm, which probably should have alarmed Washington more than he was currently allowing it to.
"Can I talk to you alone?" Wash asked pointedly to Tucker.
"Why?" Tucker asked critically.
"Because this is a…" Wash pinched between his eyes and sighed. "There's just something about Church that gives me a headache. Alright? I said it."
"Hey, fuck you, buddy," Church said waggling a finger in Wash's direction. "I'm the best friend. I literally passed up on eternal life and heaven and all that shit to return to these stupid bastards and lead them through their grief and sorrow."
"You're not a ghost!" Wash snapped for what felt like the hundredth time in the last six months. "There is no such thing as ghosts–"
"Dude, how can you say that there's no such thing as ghosts when you're a cat-person, I gave birth to a not-alien, and you just signed yourself up to be a drill sergeant for a superhero boot camp?" Tucker demanded. "I feel like there's not much shit left off the table at this point!"
"Ghosts that can only possess electrical objects are off the table because it doesn't make sense! Technology and the paranormal don't function together in that way," Wash declared. "There's rules!"
Tucker waved his hand and rolled his eyes. "Rules suck."
"Yeah, fuck rules," Church snickered.
"It's about Junior!" Wash finally blurted out, all but silencing Tucker and Church all at once.
Church glanced between the two of them a few times before raising his hands and turning to walk the rest of the way out of the room. "Right, officially not involved with this one, guys. I'll grace you with my presence later."
For his part, Tucker didn't immediately start screaming. He just looked horrified – and the fact that he was the cause of such an expression, even incidentally, rocked Washington to his core. It nearly made him sick.
"What do you mean it's about Junior?" Tucker asked darkly.
"It's part of the arrangement I made, for my services to the mayors," he explained with some restraint. He was trying his level best to chose each and every word carefully, meaningfully.
But that, of course, would never stop Tucker from being Tucker. "Dude, that makes it sound like you're some sort of prostitute for the mayors."
"What?" Wash asked, baffled. "No – no it doesn't. No one would hear that and think 'prostitution' except you."
"Me and anyone who has watched pornography," Tucker commented with some relaxation working its way back into his shoulders. The bantering seemed to be getting him back into his zone. "But, no, really. If this has been an open arrangement and you haven't told me this whole time–"
"As glad as I am that you're not freaking out still," Wash said slowly, "let's move this conversation and concern back to Junior."
Tucker stared at him for a moment before shaking his head and letting out a huff of laughter. "Fuck, Wash. You still don't get it, do you?" he asked.
"Get what?" Wash asked.
"I'm joking and being myself because being a parent? I have a baseline of terrified, twenty-four-seven. That's just how you learn to exist," Tucker explained flatly. "I only joke about shit I really care about."
Washington couldn't help the frown that tugged at the corners of his mouth at that statement. It was so against his own philosophy in life, but he knew he had to respect it on some level – or at least put it on the back burner to question Tucker more thoroughly on later.
"I'm just trying to explain that when I struck that deal with the mayors about training these young superheroes, I was sure to let them know that I was only going to do it if I had permission to add to the team," Wash explained.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Tucker asked, just being obtuse at that point.
"It means that I can add Junior to the roster," Wash explained. "Keep him by my side, keep him safe–"
Tucker held up a hand to silence Wash. Wash's mouth closed with an audible click.
"Hold the fuck up," Tucker gritted out, eyes burning into Wash. "You… You volunteered my son for a government program without consulting me first!?"
Surprised at the outburst, Washington looked at Tucker in confusion. "No, not–"
"You can't.. I can't believe you'd…" Tucker pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a groan like he was about to have a full migraine. He then glared at Washington with everything in him. "Wash, this is overstepping. We've been together for six months!"
Shaking his head, Wash was confused. "How is this overstepping? And how is that any small increment of time?"
"Because you don't get to make decisions for Junior!" Tucker near yelled. "He's my son, Wash! And you're the one who scared the shit out of me about people finding out about him when I didn't care before! Now you're handing him over to the Man!?"
Throwing up his hands, Wash was literally lost on how they got to the current point. "Okay, first off, local government is more than a few steps removed from the Man, Tucker–"
"God, you really don't get it, I think I'm going to be sick," Tucker wheezed, putting his hands on his knees and wheezing. "Oh my god. We'll have to move states. Need new names–"
"Tucker, calm down! I didn't even tell them who I wanted on the team yet!" Wash cried out. "And I definitely didn't reveal what relation my future additions were going to have to me. I do understand how to maintain private identities, believe it or not."
Tucker's grip on his knees tightened and he looked up, full glare on. "What?" he asked. "Why the fuck are you breaking news to me like this? Just to be dramatic? Oh my fucking god, that's not how you break news to people, you asshole!"
"I genuinely have no idea what these reactions I'm getting from you are, Tucker," Wash explained.
"You are so sucked into the superhero mindset you don't pause for a second and think 'hey, how do I not give my boyfriend a goddamn heart attack?'" Tucker accused.
"I do not," Wash replied. "And I'm still confused about what exactly I did wrong here–"
"You're the absolute worst, oh my god," Tucker groaned. "So you were going to ask me permission for signing Junior up for this extremely bad idea all along."
Wash blinked. "Based on your reaction, I'm thinking that's…. the right answer," he said plainly.
"You weren't!" Tucker cried out again.
"I can't take this emotional flip flopping," Washington warned him.
"Well it's not like we're in a car you can roll out of!" Tucker snapped.
"Okay, okay, I should not make decisions like this without family input," Wash replied. "I get it. I'm learning my boundaries – I just was thinking from the superhero side of things and what would be best for getting Junior for whatever comes in the future for him–"
"Bow chicka bow wow."
Washington gave Tucker a highly unimpressed look. "That's your own son."
"I know, I felt dirty the second it came out of my mouth," Tucker said with a wave of his hand. "But yes. Good. I can get past this if you've learned to promise to not make these kinds of sweeping decisions without my input again."
"I won't," Wash promised.
"Especially since I have some amazing, kickass, awesome ideas to help this situation that will make you kick yourself for not having brought me in sooner," Tucker announced.
Curious, Wash tilted his head. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, I have some extra suggestions on who you should add to this team, and as resident Dad, I think my opinion weighs pretty heavily in all of this."
"Suggestions?" Wash asked. "Like who?"
Tucker smirked. "When's the last time you asked Tex for a favor?"
Washington immediately regretted everything.