I found this in my drafts and only vaguely remember writing it. I thought I might as well post it, so here it is. Hope you enjoy this random lil one-shot I apparently felt inspired to write.
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The Horsemen had just returned from dinner, their stomachs full and their guards down. The house The Eye had set them up with on the outskirts of London was big enough for all of them. And though none of them would actually admit it, living together wasn't so bad.
It helped that the place was massive and they could basically pretend they were all alone if they wanted to. At the moment they were all enjoying each other's company, none of them noticing the shadowy figure sitting in one of the armchairs as they entered the room.
Merritt flipped on the lights and they all immediately froze. Their voices trailed off and their footsteps paused. Four pairs of eyes stared, shocked, at the intruder. The man stood up as though nothing was out of place. As though he was at home and the four of them were the ones intruding.
"Jackson Lee Wilder," he declared, advancing on the youngest Horseman. "You son of a bitch. You're nearly impossible to find, ya know that?"
Jack stared at the man in front of him, a myriad of emotions going through him. This wasn't possible... it couldn't be real... he was dreaming. Right?
"Y-you..." he stuttered. "You're s-sup-pposed to be dead..."
His brown eyes widened in shock, the others watching the exchange carefully. They were not frozen anymore, unlike Jack, who suddenly felt like he was being crushed by the oxygen around him. They all exchanged cautious glances, conmunicating silently.
The man grinned, lifting one shoulder up in a shrug. "So were you, it seems. Guess it runs in the family."
The others remained silent, though Daniel desperately wanted to demand what was going on. But he sensed that something cataclysmic was happening for Jack and he bit his tongue. Jack himself simply continued to stare in disbelief. How was this happening?
"I don't mean to interupt, but can we talk? Somewhere a little more private, perhaps?"
"I..uhm, yeah...we can...there's a balcony out there. " Jack pointed out the way and the man followed behind.
What do we do? Merritt asked the others wordlessly. Daniel shook his head, looking bewildered. Lula simply shrugged. Merritt rolled his eyes and stepped closer to the balcony, concerned for Jack. Who was the man and what did he want?
Outside on the balcony, Jack stared at the man beside him. The man who made him who he was; who told him never to give up on his dreams, no matter what others said. He'd bought Jack his first deck of cards and showed him the first trick. It was child's play, really. But Jack still remembered that trick. He still did it sometimes, when he felt lonely.
"What are you doing here? How are you here? I don't understand."
"What--a guy can't visit his kid brother every once in a while?"
"They told me you were dead, Nathan. I went to your funeral, saw you lowered into the ground. They gave me your fucking flag!" He was suddenly angry. Why now? Why after eight years did he show up now?
Nate sighed and looked down at his feet for a moment. "For all intents and purposes, I was dead, Jack. Nathan Wilder no longer exists. Not technically."
"What the hell does that mean?"
"I was recruited, you could say. I guess you'd know all about that one too, huh?"
