Humans: Book IV

XIV

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It feels like peppermint when I see his brown eyes open, cool and fresh and like the air is so clean. Clean and natural and settling down at the bottom of my lungs. My fingers wrap around the bar of the infirmary bed, the white sheets rustling as his torso rises, spine cracking after spending so long lying there.

Peter rubs his eyes and the side of his face, his mind in a half-daze. "Hi," he mumbles, stretching his arms up over his head. He blinks when he realizes something and then smashes his lips to mine, kissing all over my face as he repeats, "Oh my god. Hi. Hi. You're okay. Hi."

I laugh and trace the side of his face, smoothing down the silver locks sticking up on the back of his head, "Hi, Quicksilver."

He buries his nose into the side of my neck, "How...how's the baby?"

"He's fine. He's okay."

Peter holds my shoulders, "He?"

"Yeah," I smile. "He."

His eyes close as he gives a breath and a wide goofy grin, head falling back onto his pillow as he stares at the ceiling, "That is so rad." His brows scrunch up. "Wait a second." He whips back up and holds my face, staring deeply as he tilts his head in confusion. "Your eyes are gold...and brighter."

"Yeah I, uh, got a little upgrade while you were out. They glow all the time now." I hold his hand. "Are they weird?"

"Yep." He kisses my nose. "Weird and beautiful. Just how I left you." This thumb drags across my bottom lip as he beams at me. I examine the old bruises and dried cuts along his face.

"Will you let me heal those for you?"

He smirks, "You can do that now?"

"I'm not just a light show anymore." I kiss him long and hard and let the energy wash over me, sparkling and lovely as I touch his wounds. When I open my eyes they're gone, his skin soft and restored. He smiles.

"You're so amazing." A thought crosses his mind, "What happened to Shaw?"

"He's gone. For good this time."

"Sorry."

"For what?"

Peter shrugs, "He was your dad."

I shake my head, tears stinging as I reply, "He wasn't my dad. Bo was my dad."

Peter let's his own tears fall, holding me close as he whispers, "I'm sorry I wasn't there. I wish I could've said goodbye."

I clutch his back and place a kiss on his forehead, his skin glowing a soft pink from the contact. "It's okay, Peter. We'll visit him. He asked to be buried ten minutes from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame."

Peter laughs and wipes more of his tears away, "Jesus, he was so cool."

I sniffle and nod, "The coolest." I wrap my arms around him again and lay my head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat. We stay like that a good long while, until I sense something beyond the door and whisper, "Someone's about to come in."

The metal door the the infirmary slowly drifts open. I feel Peter's energy tense up and I grab his hand, squeezing it for reassurance.

Erik walks up to the foot of the bed.

"Hello, Peter."

Peter squeezes my hand back, "Uh, hey. What's up?"

He rests his hands on the cold metal of the footboard, "How are you feeling?"

Peter clears his throat, "Me? Oh, yeah. Pft. I'm cool. I'm cool. Just a scratch. Nothing to worry about."

"You were in a coma."

There's an awkward pause. Peter swallows and stutters, "So...you, uh...you kill anyone lately?"

My face heats up and I look at the floor. Erik looks off and then lets go of the bed frame, stretching the collar of his blue turtleneck as he says, "Peter, I know I'm your father."

There's a longer pause, a blank expression eating away at Peter's face as he stares at Erik. "Oh," he eventually states.

I sense a deep pain well up in Erik's chest as he tells him, "I'm not a hero. I've tried being a father before. It didn't work out all that well." He looks up and looks directly into Peter's eyes as he adds, "I'm not going to play catch with you or anything but you have my word: no harm will come to you nor your family in the slightest, understood?"

Peter smirks, "So can I call you 'Dad?'"

Erik sighs, "God no."

"Old Man?"

"No."

"Pappy?"

Erik rolls his eyes, "I'm leaving before I regret coming here." He pauses one last time before leaving the room, to watch as I hold Peter's hand to my cheek, placing small kisses along his knuckles. "Hey, Peter," Erik adds, pointing at me, "She's extraordinary, you know that?"

Peter just grins, devours me with his eyes as he replies, "Trust me. I know."

Author's Note:

90% of my Wattpad comment notifications: there's no shmexy scenes w Quicksilver, da hell. Could u imagine if author wrote shmexy scenes?

Me: 😶