𝐆𝐋𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐃𝐀𝐘𝐒 | ❝At the end of the day, when we look back at this trainwreck, even I'll have to admit that these are the glory days.❞
In which I write a bunch of one-shots for my stories set in my Marvel series: Glory Days. Or, alternatively...
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RILEY STARK IS YOUNG when she first meets Death.
She's two years old, flailing through her mother and father's laboratory as the explosion ricochets. A strange energy warbles through the air, seeping through her skin until it infects her bones, her blood, the center of who she is. The Grim Reaper watches closely. He passes through the house so soundlessly that Riley wouldn't have noticed him if she tried. But she does feel frost creep over her burning home as he draws nearer. Death extends a hand for her, then halts. He senses what the sun has given the child, so he scoops her mother in his arms instead. And when Riley opens her mouth to cry, Death shakes his head. Next time, he promises.
He keeps his promise, though he doesn't clarify what next time means. He says it every time he comes to visit, every time Riley watches the people she knows, the few she loves, die. Riley does not grow up without witnessing Death at every corner. Every milestone, every birthday, every changing season. Riley doesn't understand what Death is for many years, only that he takes what makes her warm and leaves frost in his wake.
Next time. There's always a next time, but it's never for her.
It becomes a game of waiting, of cat and mouse. Every day, Riley walks the tightrope, and every day, Death waits for her to plummet, if only to catch her and take her away. He stands with his arms wide, scythe glistening in the hellfire that keeps Riley alive. When the aliens come, when the state crumbles, when everything that could go wrong goes wrong, Death waits for his chance to snatch Riley up.
But Riley is quick. She learns not to fear what he might do to her, but rather, she comes to fear what he will take from her instead. When her loved ones begin to die over and over again, one after the other, Riley grows furious. Why them? Always the same question. Why not me?
She knows Death is waiting to take her. She sees him everywhere she goes, stalking the corners filled with the most laughter and joy. He's a virus, that Grim Reaper. Riley only ever thinks of him when she is surrounded by the people she loves, the people she protects. The thought of losing them plagues even the happiest of hours. Next time, Riley remembers. There may not be a next time for them.
