United [A Superhero AU] - Book Two

Chapter Forty - Brothers

When morning rolls around, Jack doesn't want to get up. Mark is warm and solid against him, one arm slung around the villain's waist and his nose tucked into the crook of Jack's neck.  The villain combs his fingers through the hero's hair, smiling lightly. He looks so peaceful when he sleeps, the scars on his arms and torso barely deterring from his contented appearance. Jack wants to stay here forever. He can't.

"See you tomorrow, Mark," he whispers, turning his head a little to press a kiss to his forehead.

With that, he gently extracts himself from Mark's arms and gets dressed in his green and black lycra suit. It's tight, but that's what makes it ideal for moving fast. He snatches his eyepatch off the side table and ties it on without needing to look and ruffles his hair so the green strands cover the straps. Then, with one last glance at Mark's sleepy form, Jack scribbles him a note and leaves the room. Most of the heroes are still asleep, which makes it easy for him to lace up his knee-high boots and slip out without anyone seeing him.

Sometimes, he wishes it took a longer time for him to reach the NAI building. The cool, damp, morning air works wonders in helping him wake up, and he finds himself wanting to just stand on a rooftop and soak it all in. His worry for his brothers, however, urges him into the lower levels of the NAI building. Jack's bedroom has obviously not been slept in in a while, with the bed made and the floor too tidy, and Cry's bedroom door is closed. Jack moves down the hall towards Matthew's office, where the unmistakeable sound of clicking keys echoes lightly into the hallway.

The Irishman knocks on the open door gently before leaning against the frame. "Hey."

Matthew jumps, but breathes a sigh of relief when he sees who it is. "Jack! You scared me."

"Sorry." He rubs the back of his neck a bit, the small smile that had donned his face falling away. "How's Cry?"

Matthew shrugs. "Physically he's getting better. It hurts less for him to walk around already and I've been making him sleep despite his constant protesting, but mentally? Uh... not so good. He's really torn, and he keeps beating himself up because of it."

"Yikes..."

"I've been helping him as much as I can," Matthew says, his voice growing softer. He hugs his arms around his own waist and drops his gaze. "I don't know if anything I'm doing is working."

"I'm sure you're doing your best," Jack replies, moving towards him and placing a hand on his shoulder. He tilts his head a bit at Matthew's sudden shyness, but shrugs it off the moment he glances at his computer screen. "What are you working on?"

"Oh, Matthias is trying to find a way to hack into our security system and shut off our cameras. I'm holding him off for now, but as soon as you tell me which day the heroes are planning on attacking, I'll let him in. If I let him in too soon, Cry won't be the only one getting beaten to a pulp by Mr. Vincent."

"Yeah... Sounds good. I'll let you know a few days in advance so you can prepare." Jack sends a side glance to Matthew and sighs. "If you don't mind me asking, what have you been doing to help him?"

The villain exhales shakily. "Um, it's kinda weird, but I've just been... uh, falling asleep with him because he needs the connection and I'm lonely cause I keep... like, seeing Steph's guns on the wall and it just reminds me of her and I can't get over it and he doesn't even realize that he's helping me as well, but it's weird cause we've known each other since we were ten years old and like, we're kinda brothers but there's this connection there cause our fathers were awful and we're both lonely and you have Mark and we're always here—"

"Matthew."

Matthew shuts his mouth instantly, his hands trembling at his sides. Jack nearly laughs as he places his hands on the villain's shoulders and steadies him. "Matt, it's okay. It is. There's no need to be scared or ashamed. It isn't that weird."

"Yeah, because low-key cuddling with your lifelong friend and someone who's like a brother to you but you aren't related in any way isn't weird at all," Matthew grumbles, although a light smile graces his face. Jack laughs and Matthew cocks his head to the side slightly. "You're happy. I feel like it's been forever since I've heard you laugh so easily."

Jack shrugs, still smiling easily. "I've been sleeping every single night, and having Mark around has done wonders for my overall anxiety and mood in general. Plus there's some added bonuses when you have a healthy relationship, but we don't need to talk about that."

Matthew rolls his eyes and slugs him playfully, earning a laugh from Jack. A small beep interrupts their horsing around, but Matthew fixes it quickly.

"Another hack attempt?" Jack asks.

"Yup."

The Irishman nods, leaning on the back of his chair. "Hey, I was gonna ask you. What days is Mr. Vincent actually here? I know he takes days off, but when?"

Matthew shrugs. "The only person who knows is Cry. You'd have to ask him."

"What do I know that nobody else knows?" Matthew and Jack turn to see Cry entering the office, his long-sleeved shirt and baggy sweats hiding his bruises but not his pained movements. He glances over at Jack, and the Irishman can almost see his grin from beneath the mask. "Jack! Good to see you! I knew I heard your voice."

"Hey! How are you holding up?" Jack replies, giving him as gentle of a hug as possible.

"Oh, you know, sore and bruised and everything hurts. Nothing too out of the ordinary." Cry shrugs. "What did you want to know?"

"What days Mr. Vincent takes off."

"Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. He apparently loves his weekends. Is that information for the heroes?"

Jack nods and Cry flashes him a single thumbs-up. His hand is black and purple and the Irishman's stomach churns. Matthew stands, concern evident in his brown eyes.

"You need to rest, Cry," he insists.

"I've been resting," the masked villain replies, crossing his arms over his chest. The visible parts of his jaw clench and his muscles stiffen, but he doesn't lower his arms again.

"Cry..."

"Okay, fine. I was pacing again."

"I told you not to pace!"

"I can't help it! I'm so used to you being—" Cry stops mid-sentence, his entire body freezing as he slowly looks over at Jack. Matthew stifles a laugh.

"He already knows, Cry. I may have started rambling."

Cry nods once. "Well, good. I can continue. I'm so used to you being there that sleeping alone is impossible. There. I said it. Now, I'm not going to have a nap. I'm going to go wander the halls. Have fun, you two. Keep blocking those hacks, Matt."

Jack watches him go before turning to look at Matthew. "Is he acting off or is it just me?"

"He's on a lot of painkillers. I gave him another dose about an hour ago, so he's a little bit loopy. He's a lot less upbeat when he's non-medicated," Matthew replies.

Jack chuckles, slinging an arm around the other villain's shoulders. "Man, I've missed you guys."