“She’s never expressed any resentment towards you before.”
“Yeah, I know, but I didn’t... remember before,” Graham huffs, crossing his arms and staring down at the sidewalk. “I was like a different person.”
“You don’t seem different to me,” Julia remarks. Graham looks at her out of the corner of his eyes. She’s leaning back against the railing of the footbridge, her eyes fixed up on the night sky. Probably looking for constellations, like a nerd.
“Well, yeah, but you didn’t...” He drops his arms and sighs. “I did bad things. And you KNOW that, but Carmen was actually... she actually SAW. And now that I’m...” He waves a hand frustratedly at his head. “I’m just worried she’ll be... scared. Of me. I guess.”
He’s afraid her feelings for him are conditional, he supposes. Not that he’d blame her - attempted murder would probably be a pretty good reason to unfriend someone, actually - but still.
Losing Carmen’s trust again would hurt worse than just about anything else Graham could imagine.
Jules’ small hand slips into his and squeezes. “You know, she’s told me that she considers you her brother.”
Graham snorts and raises an eyebrow at her. “You guys’ve been talking about me behind my back?”
“Oh yes. All the time.” Julia smirks, but it quickly softens into a gentle smile. “My point is that she absolutely adores you. And that’s not going to change because you have all of your memories again.”
Gray sighs and drops his gaze. “I really hope you’re right.”
“Isn’t she always?” Graham’s head snaps back up to see la femme rouge herself standing in front of them, hands in the pockets of her hoodie and loose curls falling around her shoulders. He feels his throat close up a little. She’s really grown up, hasn’t she?
“Oh, Carmen!” Julia lets go of his hand and he immediately finds himself missing the contact. “It’s good to see you.”
“Same to you, Jules.” Carmen smiles easily. “You look lovely tonight.”
“U-um! You too. As always.” Graham hears Julia’s stutter, but he’s too busy staring at Carmen to laugh at her for it.
“So I got your message. What’s going on?” Gray feels Julia turn to him expectantly. He takes a single, lurching step towards Carmen, then stops.
“Gray?” Carmen’s smile falters, and she sounds... not nervous, exactly, but concerned. Wary. He swallows roughly.
“I remember everything,” he blurts out. For a long, terrifying moment, Carmen shows no reaction at all. Then her eyes widen, just a tiny bit, and she leans forward, her gaze boring into his.
“You mean... about VILE?” She definitely sounds wary now, though he couldn’t say of what. What Graham wouldn’t give to be able to read her mind sometimes.
“Yeah. Lambkins, and the dolls, and the balloons and Crackle and the coat test and Morocco...” his voice hitches on the last word. “God, Carmen, I’m sorry, I- oomph!” He’s cut off by Carmen throwing herself at him, very nearly knocking him off his feet. Her head rests on his right shoulder and her arms are wrapped tightly around his ribs.
A hug. She’s hugging him. He stares blankly over her shoulder, only vaguely registering Jules’ quiet chuckle coming from behind him.
It’s only when Carmen starts to draw back that Graham snaps out of his stupor, quickly wrapping his own arms around her and holding her close. He squeezes his eyes shut and presses his cheek into her hair. They let out a long breath in unison.
“I’ve missed you,” Carmen murmurs, sounding as choked up as he feels. “A lot.”
“Yeah. I’ve missed you too, kiddo.” Gray turns his head a little and reaches a hand up to brush her hair away from his mouth. Carmen lets out a quiet huff of laughter.
“I’m twenty-one. I’m not a kid anymore.”
“Eh, you’ll always be my kid sister.” He grins, and though he can only see the back of her head he imagines she’s returning the expression as her arms tighten around him.
Suddenly remembering that the two of them aren’t alone, Graham loosens his grip on Carmen just enough to turn and look over his shoulder. Julia’s smile widens as their gazes meet, and she mouths what looks like “Told you so.”
Graham rolls his eyes fondly. “You just gonna stand there, or... ?”
“Oh! Sorry, um...” Julia lowers her gaze and starts to turn away. Graham opens his mouth to clarify, but Carmen beats him to it.
“I think he meant come join us, Jules,” she says, the barest hint of a chuckle in her voice as she drops her left arm from Graham’s waist and holds it out towards Julia.
Said agent quickly looks back up at them, a kind of eagerness mixed with uncertainty flashing across her face. A laugh spills out of Graham’s throat as he, too, holds out an arm for the shorter woman, keeping the other slung over Carmen’s shoulders. “Yeah, c’mere Jules. We’re having a moment.”
Julia only hesitates for another split second before hurrying into their arms, letting out a slightly startled giggle as Graham and Carmen enthusiastically pull her close. Gray laughs again as he squeezes Carmen’s upper arm with one hand and Julia’s side with the other. Leans forward just a bit to press his forehead against both of theirs.
In a few minutes, they’ll all have to let go and go their separate ways. Graham knows he’s still going to have to live with the reality of his past with VILE and his present with ACME, and it won’t be easy. But right now, with his little sister pressed to one side and his best friend on the other, he can be certain that it will all work out in the end. He’s trusted, and he’s loved. Unconditionally.
