8. Ida II
Ida woke to the sun shining on her face. An unusual occurrence, considering it was early December, and she usually didn't sleep much. Automatically she let her hand slide over to Erik's side, but he wasn't there, so she groaned and slowly opened her eyes. Yes. That really was the sun. The clock on her nightstand read 11.43 am. What the… what?!
She swung her legs out of bed and stumbled back down. Still tired and a little dizzy. Had she honestly slept 12 hours?! She normally did double that in a whole week. Reaching for her fluffy winter bathrobe, she slowly made her way into the kitchen, where Erik was sitting at the table, peeling potatoes. He was bathed in sunlight, his slightly curly hair looking exceptionally red and just… my god, when he looked up at her and smiled, Ida once again congratulated herself on just how beautiful he was.
"Good morning, Sunshine.", he grinned wide, and she walked over to kiss him for far longer than she would have, if any of the kids had been home.
"You slept well then?", he asked, as she sat down in his lap and placed her head on his shoulder.
"Still tired.", she yawned.
"We have nothing going on today, you can go back to bed…", Erik rubbed her back, "I might even join you."
"Ohhhhh, you always know the right thing to say."
"It's a gift."
"I might need to shower first."
"Is that a proposition?"
"Always."
Sadly, they didn't make it to the shower. Instead, they were still standing in the foyer, making out like teenagers, when someone rang the doorbell. Erik immediately pushed her behind his back.
"Erik", she hissed, more exasperated than annoyed, "It's the doorbell. I doubt attackers would announce themselves."
Erik just raised an eyebrow at her, and she decided to humor him, returning to the kitchen to get out of sight. Erik opened the door, "Yes?"
"Hello? We are looking for… you. We are looking for you.", a man's voice answered.
"And you found me.", Erik, social as ever.
"My name is Daniels, this is... Toad, he goes by Toad. We served with Havok in Vietnam."
"Havok send you here?", Erik sounded taken aback.
"Not exactly.", another voice answered. That would have to be Toad, "We heard rumors about a powerful family of mutants living around here. Rich and powerful. I called Alex and asked if he knew anything, and he said The lady may give you a job, if she doesn't kill you, tell her I vouch for you. So we thought we might give it a try. Because we could use real jobs."
Ah, so they probably had visible mutations. That could make it tough.
"And I look like a lady?", Erik asked.
Loaded silence.
"No.", Daniels again, "But we recognized you the moment you opened that door and… well, Havok knows you. I just thought it was meant as a joke."
"Erik, please stop harassing our guests.", Ida decided to finally step back into their line of sight, pulling her bathrobe closer. She'd been right, both men had visible mutations. One wearing goggles and a hat to hide his face or shield his eyes. The other had spikes instead of hair.
Erik just sighed, but stepped aside.
"Do come in. It's getting cold."
Obediently, they followed Ida into the kitchen, so Erik could close the door behind them.
"Tea?", she asked, "I was about to make myself a cup anyway."
Well, kinda.
"Yes, Ma'am, that would be great.", Daniels said and Toad nodded in agreement.
"Erik?"
"No, thank you. I had coffee. Sit.", he gestured to the table, where there was still a pot full of peeled potatoes and a heap yet to be done.
Both sat down. Daniels was trying not to look around too obviously, while Toad's gaze kept returning to her stomach. Yes, yes. It had been a good thing to tell the kids when they had, because about a week after her body had decided that loose clothes wouldn't be enough anymore.
"Are you the homicidal lady?", Toad asked, while Ida waited for her kettle. Erik stiffened, the knife he had used to peel the potatoes flying into his hand.
Toad threw up his arms.
"I meant the one Havok was talking about! No disrespect. None, man, really!"
Erik's eyes were still narrowed a little, but he let the knife fall down onto the table.
Ida put the tea leaves into her biggest teapot and added the water, then places four mugs on the table, just in case, and lit the candle inside her little glass warmer, before placing the teapot onto it.
It was all very mundane. The three men just watched her in silence. No small talk. No nothing. Maybe Peter was right, and they were antisocial assholes that just pretended otherwise on occasion.
"So you need jobs?", she said, finally sitting down.
"Yes, Ma'am. We are good workers, both of us.", Daniels replied, "It's just… tough to get hired."
"And you heard about us? Where?", Erik asked brusquely.
"Mutants talk.", Toad shrugged, "We didn't know it was you, though. We thought you were in deep hiding. Does the government just… let you be?"
Bad move, Toad, sore subject.
"So far they haven't dared to show up here.", Erik sounded more confident than she knew he felt.
"We… we would be added protection.", Toad hurried, "If you have a place for us, we'd… we'd be grateful. You'd be our boss. If anyone came after you or… your lady, we'd fight for you."
"Ida. My name is Ida.", she sighed, "And I don't need…"
Erik threw her a glare.
"I don't need protection. But we can talk to the farm's manager. You can have a home here, I am sure. And we will take your help if offered. For our children in the very least."
"You have more?", Daniels asked.
"Yes."
"Are they mutants, too?"
"All three of them.", Ida smiled and poured tea for everyone.
"And people here know? They go to school and stuff?", Daniels and Toad were looking at each other.
"They do, yes. If you need a place for mutant kids, there is a school up in…", Erik started, but Daniels interrupted him.
"We know about the school. But there are parents that don't want to send their kids somewhere else, is all."
This time it was Erik's and Ida's turn to look at each other.
"Are you asking us if we can take in more mutants?", Erik asked carefully.
"Yeah, I am."
"That's… not something we had considered.", Ida admitted.
"You are powerful. We've all seen you. What you can do… No one would just come to your home and take us. You said it yourself.", Toad urged.
"That's not exactly what I…"
"Erik", Ida looked at him, "Maybe we should get those two settled and then talk about this some more, later, just us?"
Erik looked ready to argue and yeah, Ida wasn't exactly thrilled, either. Right now, it was them. One family. A couple of people. What would the inhabitants of Ulvheim think, if the town gained a lot more mutants? She hated herself for even thinking it. These people needed help. She might not be a mutant herself, but they were her people now, too. Still, the idea of more attention on them scared her to death.
"We'll think about it.", Erik stated, "And I'll take you to the farm now. We'll talk to the manager, get you settled in. Then we'll see. And I want to make one thing very clear: This is our home. Our town. If I hear ANYTHING about any kind of trouble, I'll take it personally."
Damn, he did threatening well. Ida really hoped he'd make it back, before the kids got home.
"You can finish your tea first.", Ida insisted, "But Erik is right. I've lived here for a long time. I don't plan on moving."
"No, Ma'am, we won't let you down.", Toad assured her, and Ida felt a little placated by his tone, taking a sip of her tea.
They sat together in awkward silence for a bit and Ida knew, she should have offered them something to eat. And tried to talk to them. But she was too deep into her own thoughts. Was this it? Were they going to open their home to a bunch of strangers and hope for the best?
Added protection, Toad had called it. Was it, though? Or would they open themselves up for more prosecution and danger?
Ten minutes later, Erik packed the two newcomers into their truck. Apparently they had walked all the way from the bus stop in town. Which meant that they'd been walking for hours, Ida REALLY should have offered them food and the whole town would know about them already. So she hurried to their pantry and grabbed a loaf of fresh bread, some butter, cheese and tomatoes, put it into a basket and hurried outside in bathrobe and slippers, just as Erik turned the car to drive down the road. He stopped right next to her and opened the window, taking the basket and handing it to Toad.
"Welcome to Ulvheim.", she tried to smile at them reassuringly, "If there is ever any trouble, you know where to find me."
The kids returned from school before Erik made it back home. Pity. By that time Ida had taken a hot bath, finished the potatoes for dinner and lit the fire place in the living room. She had migrated to one of the couches, and snuggled up in a blanket to watch Star Trek.
"Hey children!", she smiled, as the three came inside in a big flurry of motion, accompanied by Fenrir, who Ida hadn't seen all day. She strongly suspected he shape-shifted into something smaller to stay close to the children during the day now. A stark contrast to him mostly lying by the lake and doing nothing, "How was your day?"
"Normal.", Peter told her, and pressed a kiss to her cheek, before sitting down on the floor next to her and leaning his back onto the couch. Such a sweet boy. He was so affectionate, Ida wanted to cry. It always made her think about how Wanda had said their mother hadn't been very kind to either of them. And how he'd looked so surprised and unsure in the beginning, when either Erik or her had shown him any physical affection. Now he seemed to revel in it. Wanda slumped down into one of the chairs and groaned, "Long day."
"Anything unusual or just people in general?", Ida asked, handing Peter one of her cookies.
"People in general.", Wanda replied. Lorna, meanwhile, was on the floor, too, scratching Fenrir's belly, "Where's Dad?"
"He went over to the farm. We have hired two workers."
"You hire people? I didn't think you got involved in any of that."
"They came here, because they thought there might be jobs for mutants."
"More mutants?", Lorna asked, excited, "Are they nice?"
"They were very polite. They have visible mutations, so it's a bit tough for them out there."
"That's so cool, Mom! We have the work and the money to help others! And so much space! Wanda, can you imagine what it would be like to have more mutants around? If we weren't the odd ones out?"
"Even if", Peter shrugged, "We'd always be the odd ones out. Our Dad is Magneto."
"I'm with Lorna. It would be nice. I know, our friends took it pretty well and all that, but… you know… not having to explain to people what it's like? That would be nice, too.", Wanda sighed, and Ida wanted to hit her head against the wall. That had not been where she had wanted this discussion to go. At all. She shouldn't have said anything, before talking to Erik and coming to an agreement.
Speaking of which…
"Afternoon, Northmen, how are you all?"
"Is it true? Are there more mutants moving here?
"Uh…"
"Sorry", Ida sighed, "they asked where you were."
"Lorna, I don't know if more are coming."
"But… there must be more that need a home!"
"I'm sure there are."
"We have the space! Right?"
"We do, yeah…"
"You said no more hiding.", Wanda sounded accusatory, "That's all fine and dandy for us, but not everyone has that luxury."
"Wanda, that was before I had you guys to protect."
"There is strength in numbers!"
"There is, yes. We'd draw a lot of attention to ourselves, too. And the town may not like it.", Ida noted.
"So we get to be ourselves and enjoy life and everyone without millions in their bank account is fucked?!"
"Wanda…"
"No! Seriously? I expected more from you. Both of you.", and she stormed off.
Heavy silence.
"I think Wanda is right. Before you took me in, no one wanted me. That's a horrible feeling.", Lorna sniffed.
"Charles has a school for students now. I'm sure he's…", Erik started.
"Adults shouldn't have to feel like this, either!", and just like that, Lorna followed Wanda. Probably so they could complain about their parents together. Erik sat down on Ida's couch and took her legs into his lap.
"That could have gone better. Peter, do you want to run off, too?"
"No, I'm good here."
"What do you think about this, Honey?", Ida coaxed.
"I don't know."
"Peter, you can always speak your mind. You know that, right? We won't think less of you. Or get mad. We want to know what you think.", Erik tried again.
"I like our life. And I know we are on thin ice. But the others are right: It sucks being alone and different. I can't really hide my mutation. Neither can Wanda. We aren't THAT obvious, but people always knew. I don't want to imagine what it is like for those that can't even really defend themselves. Can you imagine just having a tail? Or be red or something? Everyone knows you're different, but you don't even get anything cool out of it? Ida, you said you were always different, too. Don't you see why the girls are upset?"
"I understand why they are upset. I just worry more about you than people I don't know."
"It's not their fault they aren't as lucky."
"I know that, Peter… I'm not saying it's nice or fair. It's just… you are my family. My main priority."
"And when everybody thinks like that, people end up in camps and no one sees a thing."
Erik took a shocked breath so deep, Ida thought he might start choking. She felt like Peter had punched her.
"Peter…", she didn't even know what to say.
"Am I wrong?"
Erik got up from the couch. He looked pale and shaky and… he walked up and down the room twice, before leaving. There was an audible thud, when he closed their bedroom door.
"Oh.", Peter looked horrified.
"I think he might need a minute."
"Maybe I should… I didn't mean to hurt him, Ida. I promise."
"I know that, Honey."
"Does he? Because I really, really didn't want this, okay? I just thought about all the things I read about, you know, Nazi Germany, and I just… I didn't mean to, Ida."
"I know. I'll check on him. Just… sometimes being…" But she didn't know what to say. What to do. What… Oh man.
Groaning lightly, she got off the couch and ruffled Peter's hair in the process, trying to assure him that she really wasn't mad at him. The bedroom was empty, but Ida could hear the shower in their bathroom.
"Erik?", she asked, carefully, but he didn't respond. Slowly she opened the door, the shower had already filled up with steam. Erik was sitting on the floor, naked, with hot water pouring over him. Shit.
"Erik, Love?"
Nothing.
So she undressed and walked inside, closing the door behind herself and sitting down next to him. The water was almost scalding, but she didn't mind, instead pressing her face to his shoulder and taking his left hand. They sat like that for a bit, silent and warm, with steam all around them.
"This is not what I envisioned when you said we should take a shower together."
Erik made a strange wheezing sound, but didn't respond.
"Children are a very humbling experience."
"We told him he could always speak his mind.", Erik finally said, his voice hoarse and weirdly tinny.
"I think it's a compliment, really, that he trusts us enough to do it. That they all do."
"Doesn't feel like a compliment."
"If our children don't get to call us on our bullshit, then who will?"
"So what? Are we going to convert some of the fields into building land? Zoning and all? We can't just stick people into the workers' building."
"I guess so. I mean, there is a reason I keep paying for things like the library. Maybe the town could use a new fire engine?"
Erik turned to her, a mixture of shock and awe on his face.
"Are you… bribing the town?"
"Of course not! It's all anonymous!"
"Ida…"
"Did you know that someone paid for new Lacrosse equipment last year?"
"No, I did not."
"I hear the gym might need a new roof soon."
"Un. Fucking. Believable."
"Why do you think Gordon Miller is so understanding about Peter knitting in class?"
"How am I STILL surprised by you?"
"Hey, this world is run by money. I didn't set this system up, okay? I just live in it."
Dinner was a bit more subdued that night. Erik still looked a little shaky, Peter guilty and the girls pissed off. Ida told them they had decided to invite mutants to come join them, but they were still a little… disappointed they had even had to think about it. Ida was sure they'd calm down in a bit. Still, disappointing your kids was a pretty horrible feeling.
Erik's nightmares were pretty bad that night. He didn't sleep much. Instead, they both decided to take a hot bath together. Warmth helped. Even if they had both spend so much time in water that day, they felt pruney.
They made breakfast for the kids, who looked a little weary. They had probably heard Erik wake up, but at least no one had come down. Peter looked ready to cry. So when they moved to leave for school, Erik walked up to him and pulled him into a tight hug. Peter stiffened a little, then buried his face in Erik's shoulder.
"It's okay, son. I promise you. It's okay."
"You aren't, and it's my fault."
"No, Peter. It's not. My… trauma is not your responsibility. Okay? I meant it: You can always say everything to me. I don't need to be managed by my son, okay?"
"It's not that. I'm just sorry I hurt you."
"You didn't. Others did that long before you were ever even born. And you are right. It's my responsibility now to make sure the same thing doesn't happen to others."
"You're a pretty good guy, Dad, even if you don't like to admit it."
"It means a lot that you think so."
Always affectionate with the kids, Erik pressed a kiss to Peter's forehead.
"Now off with you, before your sisters drive off without you."
"Bye, love you both!", Peter yelled and ran off, throwing the door closed behind him.
"I promised you peace and quiet when you moved here. A relaxing life. I don't think I can deliver.", Ida sighed, hugging Erik from behind. At least as far as her stomach would let her.
"I don't know… this will give me something to do. There is a title for that in German. Bauherr. Basically the guy that hires the architect and constructor, pays the bills and runs around in work clothes, looking important, while the actual constructor does all the work. I think it suits me."
"Like an owner?"
"Yeah, but it's not the same. I don't think there is a good term for it in English."
"Bauherr it is."
"Wanna come with to see Daniels and Toad? To tell them to put the word out? We still have some rooms open, before we get in trouble."
"No, I'll drive into town. I'm trying to make myself look more approachable. And, you know, maybe spend some money locally. Might drop in on the Mayor. Randomly, of course. But I draw the line at going to Church."
Erik laughed and poured himself another cup of coffee. Ida meanwhile decided to change her clothes. She hadn't been in town for a bit. Maybe it was time to stop trying to hide in loose clothing outside of home, too. Not that she could really still hide anything. So she went for a relatively stylish dress, leggings and boots. Was this fashionable right now? No idea. She could never really keep track. But by the time she'd get back home, the whole town would know that there would be another little Northman running around soon.
"No super speed, no super speed, no super speed", she told her belly and walked out to see an appreciative looking Erik waiting for her.
"You look gorgeous.", he smiled and pulled her in for a kiss.
"Do I look like a slightly eccentric rich lady?"
"I don't know about the slightly part."
She swatted him on the chest, "No more kissing for you, Mister."
Another kiss was still what she got, though.
"Are you sure about this?", Erik asked, as he pulled back, his arms still firmly around her, "Building houses, giving money to the town, feeding a bunch of strangers… I know you said you had money, but I don't want you to wake up one day and realize me and my drama took all of it."
"I doubt you could, if you tried. Erik, I have this money to do exactly what we are planning, okay? I can get more. I have lived through a parallel version of this world. Believe me, I know what we need to invest in. Technology has stayed mostly the same."
"That's so weird."
"I lived in a world without mutants. It was so boring! Believe me, this is much better."
"You like boring."
"I like you more. Now tell those two boys that they can call their friends, so I can go and tell the Mayor this year's Christmas Toy Drive is going to be a hit."
