The Lightning that Jumps Between

Forty Six

Ethan banished himself to the parlor sofa, and had a speech prepared for Karl if the latter came to complain about being alone. However, Karl never appeared. As Ethan drifted off to sleep to the sound of rain on the windows, he wondered what the engineer was doing. With eyes closed, his powers allowed him to easily see into the faraway room; there, seeing simultaneously through reality and the liminal space, he could see Heisenberg sitting at the desk. The radio was playing the same scratchy, low-toned classical music Heisenberg preferred to listen to at night. Cigar was in his mouth, tools were in his hands.

Seeing through the liminal space, where lines blurred and colors glitched, Ethan was also able to see something else for the first time. As Karl leaned forward on his stool, his face drawn into an uncharacteristically serious yet serene expression, his twin leaned over the desk behind him. He looked on at Karl's work as if to encourage him, but also seemed to be learning while watching.

Jochen's hair was longer than Karl's, Ethan noticed. It was also the same deep auburn Karl's had been many years earlier. Without a beard to hide them, his features stood out in the dim oil light–plump lips bent into a frown, square jawline, the most artist-friendly masculine chin in the world. The bruises and cuts across Jochen's face were fresh and new, tinged with black blood instead of red. Ethan figured the twin was probably out of favor with Miranda for the moment. The father finally dropped into a restless sleep, the image of one brother watching over another burned into his mind.

—

There were many surprising firsts that next morning. The journey was mostly painless; road to the train station, then a train to the metro station, then a short metro ride into the heart of Brașov. It was one of the first cities Ethan visited after moving to Romania. The first surprise was that the American ended up leading the group; he pointed out the directions of different areas, gave a quick lesson on public transit, handed out cash, and gave everyone their meeting spot and time to return.

The second surprise was the feeling Ethan got as he watched the group plot and plan how to divide amongst themselves. Donna, Eva, and Moreau were giddy, speaking their native language rapidly, while Heisenberg and Dimitrescu stood idly by, the true embodiment of "too important to be bothered" Lords, casual and relaxed about the day. Though Ethan knew from the very painful hug he'd given Heisenberg that morning that the other had carried the retrieved crystal along in his coat, taking no chances.

Evie and Rose were chasing each other around one of the fountains in the town square while the adults talked amongst themselves. Ethan felt his heart both swell, and felt a tightness of anxiety around his deep emotion. He cared about them, he realized–all of them. What a bizarre, ridiculous twist of fate.

Not only did he care about them, but out here in the world, away from the quiet solitude of the village's remains, he realized they were truly capable of living . That included himself, and the children.

The future was going to happen around all of them. The stuck-in-time way of living that Miranda had cultivated around her village for a century was done. Once she was gone for good, they would continue to rebuild. For the first time, it felt like he had a future. Ethan hadn't missed all of the adverts on the metro for nearby spas, mountain and castle tours, resorts. He had so many ideas, and they all seemed just as ridiculous and fantastic as the idea that he was a fairytale creature with magic powers...but it was all real .

He'd had a similar surreal moment while training with Chris, years ago. Surrounded by agents at the shooting range, getting fitted for a bulletproof vest, filling out paperwork for doctors (the irony, in hindsight, that they worried about his health while undertaking training.) When Ethan was given the standard issue rifle and signed the paperwork for its care, Redfield had beamed at him. He remembered his own disbelief-how had he ever moved from systems engineer to that ? It felt strange, uncertain, but he decided he would make the best of it.

This feeling was similar. He would make the best of it. But unlike his BSAA training and the strangeness and stress of the soldiering world, this world felt.... right . It felt like the family Ethan had always intended to have. Maybe not the specific members of the family...maybe not a precisely human family, which was what he'd always thought he'd have, but did all of that matter?

The mold may have skewed his emotions, but he found himself silently agreeing with Eva's judgment of the findings. It enhanced what he felt in his heart. He wanted a family. He wanted to open up to these people, build something together. A life worth living for all of them.

Alcina begged for Rose's stroller, which Ethan was happy to oblige her with. He'd never seen the tall woman look quite as happy as she did pushing the beautiful antique stroller in the overcast sun. Whether for habit's sake or style's sake, she wore a large hat. After their slow walk took them out of the shade of the metro station, she tilted her face up to the cloudy sky and inhaled.

It was only a slight surprise that Karl was acting more like an older brother than Moreau; he had no qualms about staying with Moreau, who was nervous about being seen, terrified to speak to others. The men agreed on a hardware store first, and a store that sold fishing supplies immediately after. Eva, Alcina, Donna, and Rose had made similar methodical plans, but the stores were instead entire shopping malls. Ethan was relieved he wouldn't be expected to tag along, and the women acted insulted when he asked if they really wanted to spend time buying toddler clothing.

The next surprise was Karl himself; though he refused to change from his arguably intimidating and confusing wardrobe, he garnered plenty of positive stares from others. He and Alcina had multitudes of admirers from the weekend crowd pouring out of the metro station behind them–some people even took photos, others blushed and whispered. It had been this way on the train and the metro too. The pair of them seemed to captivate others. Karl was completely immune to this attention; Alcina seemed to bask in it. She even flashed a few dazzling smiles at those bold enough to raise their cameras or phones.

What had Ethan missed in the first place? Clearly, he wasn't affected by charisma, or strange fashion. It was likely the whole 'missing daughter' fiasco took his attention from the Lords in the moment. He still found himself annoyed at the attention the siblings drew from tourists and townsfolk. He wished, stubbornly, that he had a ring to wrestle onto Heisenberg's finger if anybody had any question about his status-which would have been pointless, as the engineer wore his electrical gloves even here.

Eva nodded at the black-haired child, who was still giddy with excitement. "Should she come with us?"

"I made an ice cream promise," Ethan reminded her, and checked his watch. "It's pretty early. What if I go pick up the phones and computer, and then meet you guys at Emma La Dulce at one?"

Alcina tsked. "You really think we will take only two hours to go through the first shopping center?"

"What if we split up, and I bring Evie to you, Ethan?" Donna offered.

"Works for me. Work for you?" Ethan asked the child directly. She was bouncing on the balls of her feet. "Okay!"

And just like any other large, somewhat normal family, they dispersed at the town center. Ethan made his way down the stone street alone, feeling strange about the entire emotional roller coaster of the past two days. He felt strange, but satisfied.

This feeling continued when he was able to stutter in some limited Romanian upon his arrival to the computer store. He purchased a laptop and put a desktop on order for pickup. Ethan felt strangely at home as he navigated the walls of accessories and monitors. The shopkeeper was thrilled with talking tech to the American, and so Ethan's spirits were further lifted after he left the store.

He looked at his watch again. He'd finished more quickly than anticipated, and still had over an hour before it would be time to double back toward the main streets. The blond sauntered down the cobblestone walk, contemplating shopping for clothing, when a tall shadow fell into step next to him. Just as he turned, he felt a strong hand grip his bicep.

"Shut up, don't say anything, follow me. And don't yell," the last part was added almost jokingly. Ethan was stumbling, frozen, his feet trying to keep up with the taller, black-clad man. He knew the voice but couldn't bring himself to believe it, until he finally caught a glimpse of the other's face.

"Chris?!"