32: Confessions of the Heart

Around the same time as the King's birthday celebration, another one was taking place. However, this was back on Earth.

"Dawson."

He refused to even return home. Not because he argued with Jo. Actually…

"It's your birthday," Jo argued as he sat on top of a water filter in the city, overlooking the creation they made, and he didn't bother acknowledging that sentiment. "And you planned something?"

"Me? No. I actually know you," she hopped up with ease and looked at him, "Zac, however, still believes he can win you over." She chuckled and Dawson shook his head before sighing as he looked to his wife who had a small smile on her face. "Come on. Every year you're like this Dawson." Jo argued and the fire user sighed and laid down. She hopped beside him and noticed how he looked at the sky, the clouds moving as time passed.

"It's not a reminder you shouldn't be alive," Jo abruptly said, "Rylan didn't die for you to feel all guilty about it. We have a code Dawson, we fight and protect our home. Rylan knew this. His family know that. And stand by that code every day."

She jumped off and pulled him down with her and dragged him into the car. Even when he was being tossed into vehicles by her while dating and now, their marriage, their lives being forever intertwined, he couldn't help but wonder how he ever lived without her. It was her, her words, her presence, and some days just the knowledge she existed, that helped him survive to the next day. Always on missions, he found what Rylan and Zac always talked about. Home.

*

[17 YEARS AGO]

"Huh?" Rylan and Zac just stared at Dawson as he watched Kai blow up his failed project at the annoyance of Jo. Josette Verlaine. She didn't join until much later, after Rylan and Evermore established themselves as a couple and even put in a file for it at the Agency.

"Wait wait wait wait..." Zac shook him and Dawson swatted him off like a flea on dogs, wondering why he even admitted this to his friends. "You. Like. Jo?" Rylan asked. Almost like this was a foreign concept. It was. Dawson didn't like feelings. Always said they were a distraction from working properly, so for him to accept these feelings, and acknowledge they weren't going away… wasn't just shocking but a miracle. This feeling, to Dawson, was special. Why?

Because he liked this one.

"I'm sorry I feel like we are teens again talking about crushes--"

"We are teens. We are 19." Zac argued.

"Dawson is 20," Rylan argued back and Dawson regretted ever saying anything again.

"Dawson. Do you hear yourself?" Rylan questioned. "You said feelings were signs of weakness. And weaknesses are exploited--"

"You two are the worst people to be telling anything to." He groaned, ruffling his hair as Kai's yells could be heard while Jo was hiding behind Anne.

…

10 months and one established relationship later, Dawson watched as his best friend was laid to rest in a coffin and Evermore held the crying baby he risked his life to save. But he couldn't live with it. The burden of he could have saved Rylan. But instead was bound by him, and forced to watch his death.

Zac kept Anne and Kai calm during the procession run by Evermore and Jo held baby Machi in her arms and hushed the quiet baby and made sure he was as comfy as his mother was... saying some words about him.

*

[PRESENT DAY]

"Do you regret not having kids?" Dawson asked. The question stumbled Jo, going wide-eyed at his question, wondering where it came from and why he even asked, but Dawson just met her eyes and looked at his wife. "I dunno," Jo answered. "I just know that my bloodline isn't something I want to pass on." She admitted and Dawson knew that and respected that. But in his case, the question was not bound to biological children, but adopting ones too.

They both were on the fence about children and either way, yes or no, they knew that it wouldn't affect their relationship. They would manage, talk, and figure a way out.

She drove back to their home and Dawson sighed. "Do you?" Jo asked. The conversation was important to them. Despite the world being in disarray and their lives being highly valued, they still were their own people. Wanting a family, if that was their want. Their dream.

"No," Dawson answered, "my mind changed after Rylan died. Then and now, I'm always on missions, on death's doorstep. I couldn't... shouldn't have to do that to my kid, leave them fatherless. It's not like we wilfully put ourselves there--"

"Yeah, I get you." Jo smiled. "It's not something we want."

Dawson leaned back and sighed, he knew that children were a life that was filled with stress with the life he led. Missions left right and centre with barely any breaks up until late. Jo was always working so, honestly, their workaholic asses wouldn't be able to raise a kid anyways without extreme amounts of help.

"We can adopt a cat." He suggested. "Get Jesse a roommate. She's a cat-like dog anyways." Jo chuckled at the comparison, which was very scarily accurate, and nodded. "Sure, you can pick which breed this time. I remember when you questioned if Jesse was really a dog by how small she was." She reminisced and Dawson just glared.

"You neglected to mention she was a newborn pup."

Jo smiled and noticed the hand she had on the armrest was being held by her husbands. They remained in a comfortable silence on their way back home and, yeah, maybe they weren't your 'traditional conventional family', but they were a family, with themselves and their ever-growing animal children - their eldest being Jesse and the rest was what the future had for them.

***

Over at the Harkness household, Evermore watched as Harper stumbled around the living room and her mind went off to her missing now-22 year old son. She thought over her actions over and over again, wondering what she did wrong, thinking back on what she messed up on, where he was— her mind was in overdrive essentially.

"Hey," Zac appeared and the leader fully thought he was going to be with his best friend for his birthday, "you gotta stop brooding over Machi."

"I'm still annoyed at you--"

"He's not a kid anymore Ever." Zac sighed, annoyed by the attitude Evermore was emitting when she wasn't in her leader mode.

Strained. That was them now. Ever found out about Zac's involvement with Machi leaving and was extremely annoyed, pissed, and wondered why he betrayed her like that. Rocco's mother too also complained about the scientist. But in the end, they left, and no one could do anything about it.

"Ever look, I love you. A lot. But you were in the wrong, and I won't defend you when that is easy to see. You pushed him away. You cared more about the ability book than his own well-being. You didn't even… you didn't even ask if he was ok, being missing and not knowing when, if he could return." Zac finally spoke his mind. Turning to him, Zac placed down his coffee and sighed. "You're his mother Ever. He wanted his mother after five years of being on a different planet away from us. Returns and throws himself into a situation we couldn't survive without him. What's the first thing you do? Antagonise him for opening the ability book."

Feeling the silence in the room, the weight was heavier than normal.

"I don't know what it was Ever, maybe you just couldn't accept he came back... or some part of you finally could finally let go of Rylan," she went wide eyed at his sentence, "but that's really damaging to him. He didn't deserve that. Especially since he wanted his mother after being gone for 5 straight years."

Ever looked to the picture of her and Machi on their wall, of him at five, one of the only few childhood pictures they had, and she thought it over. A lot.

"And by the way, he was going to leave anyways, I just directed him where to look, so he didn't go down a useless rabbit hole." He stated and Ever looked rather guilty, like it finally hit her what she had done wrong. Zac held her hands and rubbed them, soothing her racing heart down.

"Ever, when he comes back, and he will, be his mother, and not a leader. Be there for him. He only has one mother. Make sure he knows that whatever he decides to do, you support him, because that's the path he wants to take. He knows this is the only way to find the answers he's looking for, so…" Zac smiled and noticed the tears beginning to bubble up from the mere mention of Machi, "support him. Even if it's not what you want for him, it is what he wants. And no matter how strong minded you two are, you need each other."