Summary: brother bonding
Stories That Must Be Read Before Reading This One-Shot: Hermes's Struggle (absolutely crucial)
…
Priya's POV
When I reach my office cubicle in the morning, I find two of my children in the middle of a rare, heated argument. I frown and keep out of sight as I watch the two blow up at each other.
"I don't get why you keep ignoring and avoiding me!" Hermes is shouting angrily. "I've done nothing to you!"
"If you don't see why I avoid you, then you definitely didn't inherit Mom's intelligence," Teddy snaps.
Hermes doesn't seem wounded by this. "Then I didn't inherit Mom's intelligence. Pretend I'm the thickest person on Earth and lay it out for me!"
"Why don't you get Anke or one of our sisters to explain it to you?" snaps Teddy. "Even they know."
"Do you know how much it hurts to be ignored by your only brother?" Hermes yells. "Even Hazel and Quinn talk to me and actually act like I'm even there! Why can't you?"
"Hmm, perhaps it's the fact that you could literally kill anybody you wanted, when you wanted to!"
This wounds Hermes. His paws cover his beak in shock as he stares at his brother. Then his hands leave his mouth, he snaps, "I can't believe you just said that," and he races out of the office, past me.
I storm into my office and grab Teddy's wrist, making him yelp in pain. "You are going to go after your brother and you are going to apologise," I order him. "Now."
Teddy's POV
Even I can recognise that what I said was wrong. I quickly run out of Mom's office and catch up to Hermes by the elevator. He has just stepped inside, and that's how I know that he's desperate to get away from me: both Hermes and I are claustrophobic, and we hate elevators for fear of getting trapped inside them. However, I think he's more claustrophobic than me.
I dart into the elevator just as the doors close. "Go away," my little brother snaps.
I'm about to say something back when the elevator suddenly shudders as it breaks down.
Hermes's POV
"Oh no…" I can feel my breathing speeding up as my heart rate increases. Sweat trickles down my face as I bash on the doors. "No, no, no!"
I quickly slam the panic button. "Get me out of here!" I yell desperately.
"Hermes, calm down."
Teddy places his hand on my shoulder.
"Stay away from me!" I shriek, pushing him away.
Without touching him.
I flinch in horror as I see Teddy hit the side of the elevator a lot harder than he would have if I had pushed him with only my hands.
"No, no, no, this can't be happening!" I shrink against the wall as Teddy looks at me. "Leave me alone!"
Then I see Teddy's facial expression.
He's scared of me.
And no wonder. I just used my powers against him. Something I vowed I would never do, not even accidentally.
I sink to the ground and cover my eyes as tears flow from them. Now my brother hates me, I'm stuck in an elevator with him, and my claustrophobia is kicking in. Through my blurry vision, I see Teddy approach me. "Stay away from me!" I yell hurriedly "I don't have any control!"
But Teddy keeps coming. I think of holding out my hand to stop him but I know that's a risky idea, with my powers being as out of control as they are right now. Besides, my claustrophobia isn't letting me think rationally.
He sits down next to me and puts his arms around me. I struggle initially, but the risk of me accidentally using my powers again just increases so I give in and let him hug me.
"Just breathe," he instructs. "Breathe slow."
Even though all I want to do is scream in terror, I do as my brother says. I rhythmically breathe in and out.
"How come you're not being affected by claustrophobia?" I ask.
"Oh, I am." Teddy, unintentionally I'm sure, lets some fear into his voice. "Trust me, I am." His voice is almost a squeak at that point. He clears his throat and says, "But my little brother needs me."
Teddy's POV
I see Hermes look distrustfully up at me. "Are you sure you don't want to stay away?" he asks bitterly. "After all, I could kill you whenever I wanted to."
Hearing my own harsh words reflected back at me makes me flinch. "I-I didn't mean it…"
"Oh really?" His voice is full of scorn. "That's why you've been avoiding and ignoring me, isn't it? You think I'll lose control and kill you."
It wasn't a question but I still feel like I have to provide an answer. "All right, yes."
He stares at me. "What?"
"Ever since you came home, I've had this horrible feeling in the back of my chest. Whenever you walk past me, I feel a nervous twinge. I know I wouldn't be feeling like this if you didn't have your powers. Whenever I even see you, I feel a sudden urge to rush to my children to protect them, which makes me feel awful. You've been nothing but amazing and talented and kind and generally an all-round good guy, yet I still feel a hint of distrust towards you. I hate it so much."
I don't dare look at my brother's face for fear of seeing what he's thinking.
"That's why I hate talking or thinking about your past, mostly because of the selfish reason that if I do, I start comparing what I've been through with what you've been through, and my past troubles seem extremely dull compared to yours." I squeeze my eyes shut, feeling a few tears fall down my face. My voice dies to a whisper. "I hate everything in my mind and heart that fears you but I-I-I can't control it any more than you can control your powers in a stuck elevator. I-I'm so sorry. If I could control the way I feel, I would make myself not fear you but I can't not fear what I can't understand. I'm…I'm sorry…"
Hermes's POV
I fall silent as I digest this information. It makes a lot of sense and explains a lot of things but it also hurts, hearing my own brother admit that he's afraid of me. I wish I could control the way he feels too, but neither of us can, and that's something I need to take into account when I'm deciding whether to hate my brother or not.
Teddy's POV
I wait anxiously for Hermes to speak. I hope he forgives me, even though I don't deserve it.
When he does speak, it's clear that the words he uses are very carefully thought through. "I know we couldn't be more different," he says slowly. "It's clear that we're both a mixture of Mom and Dad's genes but we've inherited a different mixture. That would make it difficult for us to see eye-to-eye even if I didn't have these powers. But the fact remains that I have them and there's nothing I can or want to do about that. And I know that there will always be people who fear my powers, which I know is natural. People will always fear what they can't understand or control. I-."
Hermes's POV
All of a sudden, searing pain wracks my body. I let out a scream and wrench away from Teddy, who scrambles backwards in horror and alarm. "Hermes?"
I curl up in a ball with my eyes tightly shut, trying to bear the pain. It's happened before and I barely survived that time.
And this time, I don't have my medicine. I left it in Mom's office accidentally.
I hear Teddy's voice: "Hermes, you gotta stay with me! Stay with me! Just focus on my voice, okay? Y-you're gonna be fine! You're gonna b-be fine…!"
He's clutching my hand but I can't feel it very well. All my senses are going numb and I feel like I'm about to explode.
Teddy's POV
I reach up and slam the panic button over and over and over again, needing someone to come now. This must have loosened something; the elevator rumbles to life. It goes down to the ground floor and the doors open. Waiting for us is a team of medics, including my sister Quinn.
"Get him to Apollo!" I order them, picking my shaking brother up. "He has the medicine."
Quinn helps me put Hermes onto a stretcher, before the medics quickly race him towards the medical bay.
Even though I'm very worried about my brother, I'm actually glad. I'm glad I was able to say all the things that had been on my mind for years and years.
I think our relationship just improved more in a ten minute chat while stuck in an elevator than in three and a half years.
…
Don't worry guys, Hermes will be fine :) I love him too much to kill him off in a one-shot XD