Dec 24, 2021
To: @interabangs
From: @pewterstanaccount
Happy holidays!!! here’s my gift to you, a cute christmas themed carpei drawing <3 hope you like it xxx
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To: @interabangs
From: @pewterstanaccount
Happy holidays!!! here’s my gift to you, a cute christmas themed carpei drawing <3 hope you like it xxx
interabangs replied to your post “tell me something you liked about Infinity War, or a new headcanon it...”
Also Gamora putting her hand over Peter's mouth is definitely A Thing between them and I will leave it at that ;)
@interabangs thank YOU for reading and the lovely comment you left (all of the comments, really), looking forward to hearing the rest of your thoughts!! and i hope you’re doing well, that second bit has me worried haha
@shaysh180 AHH tysm you’re so sweet, i’m so happy that you enjoyed the last chapter!! i was definitely going for the warm fuzzies with this fic so it’s good to know i got there :D
FIC: Observable Universe
To: @UmbreonxZE
From: @interabangs
Happy Holidays! I saw that Sigdi is one of your comfort pairings and they’re one of mine too, so I wanted to write something sweet for them for you. Hope you like!
(Warning: minor panic attack at the beginning of the fourth section)
Read on Ao3
A light breeze blew around Diana, tousling her hair as she gazed up at the apartment. The outer walls alternated between a soft orange and cream color that made her think of sorbet.
“So this is where you lived,” she said, her hand grazing against Sigma’s. “But I guess I should say you still sort of live here, right?”
She turned to look at him, and he was, as usual, deep in thought. His eyebrows knitted together as he studied the apartment building he had referred to as his ‘place at school,’ but when he said it, it sounded like it was far away.
“Yeah,” he murmured, as if he were lost in a dream. “I guess I do technically still live here. It’s just strange seeing it in person again, after all these years.”
Diana didn’t blame him for his demeanor. The past couple days had been a complete whirlwind for both of them. It didn’t feel like mere days had passed since Diana had entered D-Com. All the timelines that had slammed into her at once, like a freight train filled with memories, felt like she’d lived in that place for years, and only for a day simultaneously. For Sigma, that feeling must have been on an exponential scale. They hadn’t had much time to catch each other up, what with the aftermath of the D-Com experiment, and the whole group trying to figure out what their next step was after escaping from the facility.
Once they found a van and got out of that hell hole, Diana and the other ‘participants,’ for lack of a better word, went right to the Crash Keys facility at Akane’s insistence. There, they began to draw up plans to locate and stop the fanatic whom Delta – my son, Diana thought – had mentioned.
It had all passed by in a blur. So Diana could see why Sigma seemed a little out of it.
“One step at a time,” she reminded him gently, slipping her hand in hers. He shook out of his thoughts and glanced down at their hands.
Then he looked at her, and Sigma’s lips turned up into a tentative smile.
“Yeah,” he said. “Okay, let’s go.”
She took his hand in hers and they walked up to the front door with the number matching the address Akane had given Sigma before they left.
When they stopped in front of the door, Sigma glanced at Diana again, and she nodded.
He reached out with his free hand, and, after hesitating for just a moment, pressed the buzzer to his apartment.
“Call me anytime you want,” Diana said as she hugged Phi.
“I will,” she said, her voice strained, but Diana didn’t think it was because she was gripping onto her so tightly. At least, she hoped she wasn’t. She almost didn’t want to let go.
It had only been two days since the realization of her connection to Phi had slammed into her like a truck. She still couldn’t explain how she knew Phi was her daughter, but Diana didn’t really care about the how. She was just glad that Phi was alive, and that they had found each other again.
When they’d all had some time to recuperate in Crash Keys – surrounded by its sleek walls that felt just as sturdy, but thankfully nowhere near as oppressive as D-Com’s architecture – Diana sensed a mutual sense of relief from Sigma and Phi. The logistics of how they came to be a family were strange, sure, but Diana found their presence comforting. They were all nervous about what the future held, especially having to find and stop the radical terrorist who was planning to destroy the world.
But Diana had found hope again, and not just in the meetings with all the other D-Com participants, Akane leading the search mission. But also in the way Sigma’s hand gently squeezed hers under the table in their meetings, the way he bent down to kiss her cheek and she noticed his flushed face before he awkwardly turned to head to his room two doors over. They had decided not to ‘indulge’ themselves, agreeing they had more pressing matters at hand. Diana suspected that, even though Sigma had hesitated when he agreed to sleep in a separate room during their stay at Crash Keys, he also didn’t want to upset Phi. She had told Diana and Sigma that she didn’t blame them, understanding that they were the reason she was alive. But she seemed to radiate disapproval when Sigma’s hand lingered on Diana’s shoulder too much at lunch, or when Diana saw Phi caught her staring at Sigma for too long.
After two days of meetings and planning, Akane announced that all the D-Com participants should go home and gather their belongings to return to Crash Keys. Diana’s anxiety had surged into overdrive upon hearing the announcement. She didn’t have a home to return to; she’d been staying with Rebecca before heading to D-Com. Diana hadn’t considered any of the things she left at Rebeca’s necessities. She’d called Rebecca on the safe line in Crash Keys when they arrived, assuring her that she was all right. But a part of Diana didn’t want to go back.
So she opted to go to Sigma’s place, the off-campus apartment he had lived at before everything with D-Com and Rhizome-9 happened. He explained everything he could to Diana, keeping some things brief that she knew he didn’t want to talk about yet, like Luna and K, and filling in the blanks about their time together on the moon that Diana had caught snatches of when all the memories of her other selves slammed into her.
“You sure you don’t want to come with us?” Sigma asked as Diana finally released Phi and stepped back. He gave Phi an equally warm hug. “You’d get to make fun of my room.”
Phi’s usually cool façade slipped and she patted Sigma’s back before they separated. “No, thanks. I figure this is probably the best time for you both to, well, become reacquainted. For lack of a better term. Might as well get it all out of your system before we come back and you go back to your coy high school flirting.”
“We haven’t been flirting!” Sigma protested, but Diana laughed. As nervous as she was to accompany Sigma back home, she couldn’t help but find her daughter’s dry humor amusing.
“Oh, please,” Phi said, rolling her eyes. “You’ve both been insufferable about it. I know you’ve been trying to keep your hands to yourselves so you don’t gross me out. It’s been making me even more uncomfortable than if you both just made out in our meetings.”
Heat rose in Diana’s cheeks. “I thought you didn’t want us to –”
“– I understand people have needs, Diana. I’m not a child. I’m not even a virgin,” Phi said, shooting Sigma a smug grin as he gaped at her. “That’s right, ‘Dad.’ I’ve had my fair share of girlfriends in this timeline. So I know what it’s like. I guess I’ve just been wary about what could happen if you both end up with another kid. I don’t want another… me popping up and ripping apart the fabric of space and time.”
“We aren’t going to have another kid,” Sigma said, having found his voice again, but he looked at Diana as she raised her eyebrows. “Uh, I mean, we aren’t now. But I don’t think you’ll have to worry about a paradox baby, or anything.”
“Yeah, Phi,” Diana said, wiping a tear away, “The only way we could make you was in D-Com. It was a horrific place, but you were the one good thing that came out of it.”
“Thanks,” Phi muttered, looking at her shoe, but Diana could see tears welling in her eyes. Phi straightened up and got in the Crash Keys car Akane had sent to take Phi to the airport.
“Stay out of trouble,” she said, and Diana laughed again.
She wasn’t laughing as Sigma rang the buzzer. In fact, her heartbeat was racing by the time they were let in the apartment’s front door. Things were happening so quickly, and she suddenly wasn’t sure if she should be here with Sigma. It felt like she was intruding.
“Home sweet home,” Sigma said, giving her a lopsided smile. She liked seeing him smile more; it reminded her of the flashes of the Sigma that she spent time with in D-Com. She had caught glimpses of him when she was in her first trimester, and he did whatever he could to keep her at ease. In the later flashes, his smile had faded, so she clung to the snapshots of him that showed her his softer side.
This version of Sigma was a lot more like that. When they left D-Com, Sigma was caring and attentive. He didn’t overstep any boundaries, but he always checked in with Diana, even when they were in a meeting. He had become like her rock, in a way, when the entire world felt like it was spinning off its axis. Diana appreciated his warmth and attention, but there was still something in the back of her mind that caused her heart to race, her stomach to feel like it was dropping out underneath her.
“Oh, shit! Guys, Sigma’s back!”
Diana felt like a deer in headlights as three other college-aged men came to the door, engulfing Sigma in hugs and clapping him on the back. Diana stood off to the side, wondering if she didn’t say anything, they would just forget she was there.
“Dude, what the hell happened?”
“We filed a missing persons report and everything!”
“I was starting to think Cynthia’s dad killed you, man! Like, hid your body in his house, or something!”
Cynthia? Diana thought. She looked over at Sigma, but he appeared just as puzzled as she was.
“Did you at least get to submit your paper? We weren’t allowed to ask about that.”
“Guys, guys, I’m all right,” Sigma said, backing out into the apartment. “Everything’s fine. I just… needed some time to recover after that paper, is all. And yes, Aaron, I did submit the paper.”
His roommate scrunched up his nose. “Uh, it’s Andrew, remember?”
“Right, yeah, Andrew. Sorry. Guess I took too much personal time off,” Sigma offered a weak smile, but his roomates had all fallen silent.
“You think?” one of the other roomates asked. “You’ve been gone for a week.”
“Longer,” the third roommate said. The relief on all their faces was turning into confusion.
Sigma chose that moment to hold out his hand toward Diana, who was still standing awkwardly in the foyer behind all his roommate. “Guys, there’s someone I’d like you to meet.”
“So,” Diana said as soon as Sigma closed his bedroom door behind them, “that could’ve gone a little better.”
Sigma sighed, running his hand through his hair as Diana stepped forward into his room. “Yeah. Guess I should’ve paid more attention to my records when Akane showed them to me.”
“I think you did fine,” she assured him. “They’re just glad you’re safe.”
“Yeah, but Andrew probably thinks you’re an alien in disguise and you abducted me.”
Before she knew it, Diana’s vision went blurry and it was hard for her to breathe all of a sudden. She threw a hand out against the wall to steady her, and started to breathe in slowly through her nose.
“Diana!”
He put a cautious hand on her back as she continued inhaling through her nose, acknowledging the memory of when they were stuck in the room with the pods and Delta was explaining that aliens had created them. Then, as Diana pushed away the memory, she exhaled through her mouth. She repeated that a few times, keeping her eyes closed, and after a few moments, she took her hand off the wall, and her vision was back to normal.
“Are you okay? Maybe this wasn’t a good idea.”
“I’m fine,” Diana said, and when she looked at Sigma, his expression changed into a horrified one.
“Oh, no, it’s because I brought up… because of what I said, didn’t I?” he asked, shaking his head as if to rid himself of that memory too. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to –”
“– It’s all right,” she said, “I know you didn’t.”
“We don’t have to spend the night here, you know. Akane gave us enough money for a hotel room. Probably not a four star one, but we could get a room that’s actually clean.”
“I’m fine,” Diana insisted. “I wanted to help you get your stuff, remember? I asked if it was okay for me to come.”
“Okay,” Sigma said, nodding. “I’ll just be more careful about what I say.”
“The last thing I want is you walking on eggshells around me, Sigma.” Diana said, taking in the place for the first time. It was a typical apartment room, with a bed, closet, dresser drawer and lamp, and the desk was adjacent to the foot of the bed under the window, positioned so Sigma could look outside and see the sky.
But it was what was in the room that showed everything about Sigma to her. The most prominent part were the textbooks. There were so many of them, piled up on his desk, stacked under his bed – she even noticed one that looked like it had a thousand pages on engineering leaning against the closet. There were a couple sports pendants hanging on the wall above Sigma’s bed, a beer mug on the desk next to the computer, a couple dusty shot glasses turned upside down next to the mug, car magazines on the dresser drawer, and a poster of a supermodel taped to his side of the door.
When Diana looked at it and shook her head in amusement, Sigma stammered, “Uh, that’s for… research purposes.”
“Sure it is,” she said, reaching out and smoothing one of the corners back down, since the tape was peeling. “She must be pretty cold in that bikini.”
“Yeah, too cold,” Sigma said instantly. “Well, I know what I’m getting rid of first.”
“I’m kidding,” Diana said with a laugh, and Sigma gave her a sheepish smile.
She moved over to the desk, noticing the set of balls on strings. She lifted one up and watched as she let it go, hitting the set of other balls and causing the last one to lift up and swing back down.
Diana stared at the set, sensing Sigma shift over onto his other foot behind her. The first ball she’d set in motion swung up, then back down again. Over and over, the motion repeated itself, because Diana had started it.
“Do you think Phi’s right to worry?” she asked, giving voice to the darker thoughts at the back of her head. “I feel almost selfish, wanting to be with you. Do you think we were only meant to be together in D-Com, and on the moon?”
Sigma’s hand reached out and stopped the balls from hitting each other. The set stilled, and Sigma moved his hand to cover hers.
“My feelings toward you haven’t changed at all, if that helps,” he said, his voice low and comforting. He was standing behind her, almost towering over her head, nearly in the same position they were in before they got into the pod in D-Com.
But they were no longer trapped inside there.
“I don’t know what the future holds,” Sigma admitted, rubbing the back of her hand with his. Diana closed her eyes, letting the warmth of his hand envelope hers. “This is brand new territory for me. It’s scary to not know what to expect, for once. I spent decades on the moon trying to get back to you, and now that I’ve done that, I don’t really know where to go from here.”
Diana’s breath hitched a little as she inhaled.
“But I’m glad we made it out of there. I’m glad we remembered Phi. And I’ll do whatever I can to keep you both safe.”
Diana let out her breath slowly, reveling in this moment with Sigma behind her, his hand on hers, his chest strong and sturdy against her back. He had been so gentle with her since they left the facility. She knew, then, that she hadn’t been anxious about him, but about her fears that she’d never find a happy life with him. That they were doomed in every timeline.
But then she remembered what another version of her had said in another timeline, one that felt so far away and like she could walk right into it:
“Happiness is closer than you think.”
Diana turned around and wrapped her arms around Sigma, sighing in relief as she put her ear where his heart was beating. They were here. They made it, and they would work together to stop the fanatic. Phi didn’t judge them for wanting to be together. Diana had found a new purpose in life – she didn’t have to hide anymore. She could help people, which is what she had always wanted to do.
And she could do that with Sigma.
They stood like that for what felt like mere minutes and hours, at the same time. Diana knew they would have to start packing soon, and answer more of his roomates’ questions at dinner. They would have to back to Crash Keys and resume their search for the elusive fanatic.
But, for now, Diana could appreciate all that she had gained. She had to let Sigma go in other timelines, but not this one. They could stand like this for another moment longer. They could sleep in the same bed for the first time, and they would be at each other’s side every step of the search when they returned.
Diana wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I love you, Sigma,” she said, her words muffled as she murmured them into Sigma’s shirt.
He embraced her as well, pressing kisses onto her hair. “I love you too, Diana. In each and every timeline, I always love you.”
To: @interabangs
From: @n-emone
hey @interabangs! I’m your secret santa this year!! Drew some Diana/Sigma Christmas fluff for you! I hope you like it~ <3
FIC: Never Have to Say Goodbye
to: @juricha-art
from: @interabangs
Happy Holidays, juricha-art! I chose your Sigma/Diana prompt because they deserve so much happiness together after everything they’ve been through! Just to let you know, there is some angst in here, and a couple mentions of Diana’s ex and Delta. but I made sure to give the lovebirds the happy ending they deserve! Bonus D-Team family feels at the end, too. Hope you enjoy!
Sleep had become more of a passing acquaintance to Diana in the past few years. Between her duties at the hospital – and her fitful tossing and turning before heading to DCOM – she hadn’t been getting much of it. She would’ve been surprised at how quickly she slips into dreamland, if she weren’t so exhausted. She vaguely registers Sigma gently lowering her into bed, and lifting the thick, cozy comforter over her as he tells her, “Everything is going to be all right.”
When her eyes open, slowly taking in the small, dark room she’s in, she blinks a few times, and rubs at her lids.
The first thing she can tell is that she’s alone. She’s in a single queen-sized bed, and in what she gradually remembers is a motel room.
Her attention turns to its layout: door and window facing her with the curtains spread out, tiny television resting on a small cabinet just shy of five feet away from the foot of the bed.
Lifting her head from the soft downy pillow, Diana half turns around, still waking up as she looks at the bathroom and closet behind her.
It all comes rushing back to her as she sits up in bed, clutching at the collar of her red sweater.
After Carlos had shot Delta, Diana fainted right there in the desert. She’d known Delta had imprisoned her, imprisoned all of them. She didn’t blame Carlos for making the hard decision. But she couldn’t fully process her son’s death, and she had barely felt Sigma picking her up as the others argued what their next step was.
The rest of the day is a blur as Diana tries to recall it, sifting through her memories like holding a pan and trying to look for gold. She pulls her legs out from under the motel bed’s comforter and draws her knees up to her chest, breathing deeply like Rebecca had advised her, what felt like several lifetimes ago. And technically, it was true.
One breath in through the nose, hold it for five seconds, then exhaling through the mouth. It’s a technique that had helped calm Diana when she stayed with Rebecca, trying to find her footing and escape from the man who had caused her so much pain.
Try to look at the positives, she tells herself, continuing her breathing exercise in her large motel bed. And she walks through each of them: she’s alive. She’d found her daughter and love of her life, who are both also still alive. All the Decision Game participants, except for Delta, made it out alive. There is no Radical-6 in this timeline. Diana would never have to worry about that, or… him, again. She hadn’t been able to stop Delta from achieving his twisted plan with the Decision Game, and even though she had felt some instinctual maternal instinct toward the elderly man, she knows, as much as it pains her to admit it, that Carlos had made the best and safest decision for the group.
The fact that Diana, and the others, had all lived, is a miracle. They’d formed a shared goal in the aftermath of Delta’s death: stop the terrorist in this timeline. Diana knows she can begin her new life with her family, the family she remembers losing in a timeline she doesn’t want to dwell on right now.
She brushes her hair behind her ears, wondering where Sigma and Phi are. Searching through her murky memories of the previous day, she senses the bumpy ride of the van from DCOM, out in the middle of the desert, to civilization.
Diana recalls snatches of conversations in the van ride: some heated words from Eric to Akane, Junpei snapping right back at Eric, Sean’s questions from the middle seat, and Carlos’s calm, measured tone from the driver’s seat.
Diana remembers Sigma holding her hand as the van speeds over sand first, then pavement, and how warm his touch was, how his sturdy frame supported her as she sank against his side, half-awake, wondering where they were going.
“We need to hole up somewhere for a bit,” Phi had assured Diana when she could hear other cars driving next to the van, the occasional honk, and more conversation from up front as Mira tells Eric and Junpei, “Oh, knock it off already.”
“That’s going to be fun to deal with,” Diana remembers hearing Sigma mutter to Phi, and Junpei had said, “Hey, I heard that, back there!”
Diana laughs a little in bed, interrupting her own breathing exercise as she realizes the absurdity of their situation. She takes in another breath, and finds the last piece of gold, the last memory of the previous night.
Sigma had carried her from the van to her room, whispering to Phi, “We’ll explain everything to her in the morning, okay? Right now, she needs to get some sleep.”
“Are you really going to sleep with her tonight? Don’t you think that’s a little… forward?”
Sigma had paused in the middle of the hallway, and his stance changed, his shoulders slumping a bit. Diana had stirred then, opening her eyes, and Sigma said, “Sorry, Diana. We’ll let you get some rest.”
The last thing Diana remembers is Sigma tucking her into bed and closing the door quietly behind him. Phi had said something outside the room, but Diana can’t quite remember it.
She chews on her lower lip, chasing down the memory and trying to uncover it before she goes looking for Sigma and Phi.
Just as she’s still trying to remember, she notices something on the floor in front of her door, that hadn’t been in the motel room when she’d woken up.
Her eyes now adjusted to the dim light, she peers at the object half illuminated through the crack by the exterior hallway lights.
It’s a piece of paper.
Then, all at once, Diana remembers what Phi had said when Sigma closed the door:
“Do you really think things will work out between you two?”
Diana swings her legs out from under her, and she takes the six steps to the note under the door. She’d been so preoccupied with trying to calm herself down and remember how she got from the desert to the motel room, that she wasn’t even aware of anyone stopping by her room and sliding the note under her door.
With slightly trembling hands, Diana opens the folded note. She flips on the room light, blinking rapidly and wincing before peering down at the note.
Diana,
I’m sorry for everything that has happened to you. I wish I could take it all back, somehow, even though part of me will forever be grateful to have met you. If only it had happened under better circumstances.
Please understand I want all the best for you. Take care of Phi (she needs it.) I’m sure you both have a lot to catch up on.
Lo All the best,
S.
When she finishes reading it, Diana steels herself to take another calming breath or two.
Then she slips on her shoes – Sigma must have taken them off before tucking her in – and she wrenches the heavy motel door open, dashing out into the cool night air.
Her skirt is wrinkled all over, one of her flower clips is halfway down the back of her hair, her shoes are back in the room lined up neatly next to the door – Sigma had probably taken them off before laying her in bed –
– And she realizes that she doesn’t have the keycard to her room just as the door slams shut behind her.
But Diana doesn’t care about any of that.
She races down the hall, around a corner, and then, all the way down the end of the longer hall, she sees Sigma standing in front of an elevator.
She calls out his name, but her voice is nearly unrecognizable from recent lack of us.
Then, after clearing her parched throat, she tries again, “Sigma!”
He turns, and his eyes widen.
“Wait!” Diana cries out, and runs over to him as he stares at her, completely shocked. “Where are you going?”
He blinks once, then again before saying, “Diana! I didn’t wake you up, did I?”
“No, I was already awake. And then I saw this.” She hold up the note. “What does it mean? Are you… are you leaving me? Are you leaving Phi?”
Sigma looks away at her question, glancing up at the floor the elevator is on. They’re on the fourth floor, and the elevator is still on the first one. “Should’ve taken the stairs,” he says, as if talking to himself. “So that’s what I get for being lazy, huh?”
“Answer the question,” she says, a little more harshly than she meant to, so she adds, “please. Where are you off to?”
He stares at her for a few more seconds before he schools his stunned expression into an indiscernible one, looking up at the elevator numbers on the top of its metal frame. “I can’t tell you that.”
“Why not? Are you leaving for forever?” Tears spring to Diana’s eyes, and a pit forms in the bottom of her stomach. “I thought maybe we could…” she trails off, then, not really certain how she wants to finish the sentence.
He shakes his head. “I’m sorry Diana, but I don’t think that would be a good idea right now.”
“What? Why?”
He sighs, pushing the button for the elevator again. “I thought I’d be the type of person who could never yell at you the way I did, when we were in the decontamination room. I…” His voice drops to a decibel just above a whisper as he shuts his eyes. “I thought I would never be the kind of person that could hurt you.”
“But I hurt you too!” she protests. “And I had less of a reason to.”
Sigma rakes a hand through his hair. “I was just as bad for you as… he was.”
“No!” Diana takes a step forward, raising her free hand to put it on Sigma’s arm, maybe in some desperate attempt to anchor him to the floor. But she stops, when she looks at his face, at the combined mixture of guilt and self-loathing twisted in his usually handsome features.
She puts her hand down. “That’s not true, Sigma. I remember what happened too. We were both so scared, and confused… And I remember you said you were sorry, and then you comforted me when I needed it the most.”
Sigma doesn’t answer, but Diana notices that the elevator is still stuck on the first floor, so she keeps going.
“Do you remember how patient you were when we found out that I was… expecting? You gave up half your rations for me, for months. You were so stubborn about giving up your portions that I had to feed you a couple times so you wouldn’t pass out. You gave me footrubs when I complained about walking, you let me have my own time in the healing room when I said I needed space.” Tears streak down her cheeks at the memory of his kindness. “And you did… so much for me when I couldn’t think about anything else but touching you. I couldn’t have survived in there without you, Sigma. You did more than I could ever ask for, you did everything you could for Phi and…” Diana’s eyes burn a little as she shut them, unable to say Delta’s name. “For them.”
When she looks up at Sigma, she can see his own eyes watering.
“That doesn’t make my actions right,” he says, lowering his head. “You’ve already been through too much pain. I don’t want to risk the chance of putting you through any more of it.“
The elevator arrives on their floor with a rapid ding! that makes Diana crush the note even more.
Then, before she can stop to think, she dashes into the elevator, and turns to face Sigma before he can enter.
His hard, resolute stare softens into curiosity. “What are you doing?”
“I don’t want you to go!” she protests. “After everything we’ve been through, you can’t just leave like this!”
His mouth curves up into a half-smile, and that gives Diana a bit of hope. “Technically, I can,” he says, thumbing the elevator button before the door can close between them. “It doesn’t mean I want to leave. But if this is what it takes to help you recover from everything you’ve been through, then so be it.”
“Do you remember what I said, about you being a coward?” she asks, and Sigma’s smile vanishes, instantly answering her question with his haunted expression. “I was completely wasted when I called you that,” she continues, stepping forward. “I wanted to hurt you. See? I wish I didn’t say those things either, or treated you horribly when you were just trying to make sure I was eating. But I did. And now we’re here. Now we can fix it, Sigma. We can put that all behind us, and move forward, together.”
She takes a step toward him, standing between the elevator doors.
He takes her free hand, the one not crushing the note, and pulls her out into the hall without hesitation.
More tears roll down her flushed cheeks as she squeezes his hand, letting the elevator doors close behind her.
“I don’t know what to do if you leave,” she says. “Phi’s here, and I’m so grateful for that. I’m glad that we found our daughter. But I still want to be with you. Do you… do you not want to be with me anymore?”
He looks at her for a long moment, that stretches as far down as the motel hallway, and Diana’s heart sinks into her stomach as she begins to think that he -
“Of course I want to be with you, Diana,” he says, enveloping her with his arms as she sobs out of relief. “I’d love nothing more than getting to spend the rest of my life with you.”
“I feel the same way,” she says, sniffling, her voice muffled by his chest. “We can work through this, all our crazy time traveling problems, together.”
Even though she can’t see his face, she knows he’s smiling again, and they sway on the spot in front of the elevator, crying as they tighten their embrace.
“I’m glad you didn’t take the stairs,” Diana whispers to him, clutching his back.
“Me too. Apparently, laziness and outdated wiring does pay off sometimes.”
She laughs, then looks up at him. “Um, Sigma?”
“Yeah?”
“Did you get a room tonight too? I kinda… locked myself out of mine.”
“Oh.” His eyes widen in realization. “Oh! Well, uh…” His face flushes a little, exactly how she remembers it did when she kissed him in DCom, and he clears his throat. “Uh, yeah, I got a room, though I wasn’t planning on stay in it for long. Akane has your keycard, since she figured you would be sleeping all night. But since she’s with Junpei now, we probably shouldn’t bother them.”
Diana laughs a little at Sigma’s bashfulness, despite them having spent many nights together themselves in another timeline. “Don’t worry, I don’t have any funny business in mind. Not tonight, anyway.”
“Not tonight,” he agrees. “But it would be good for us both to get some rest. Is that all right?”
Diana sighs happily as she hugs Sigma once more, then lets him lead the way to his room. “Most definitely.”
—————————
When Diana wakes, she’s delighted to feel Sigma pressed up behind her, his strong arms embracing her around the side. Not too tight to give her enough space, but in a comforting way, and much more secure than the blanket in her previous room when she’d woken up alone.
She shifts eventually, turning over to see him as he begins to wake up himself. “Hi,” she says.”
He leans forward, pressing gentle kisses into her hair. "Hi.”
“Wanna go downstairs?”
“Yeah, I just need another minute.” He stretches, and she laughs at the sight of his large form nearly taking up the other half of the bed. He relaxes, and hugs her to his chest again, enveloping her in his warmth as she breathes in his scent. “This is everything I’ve ever wanted.”
She buries her face in his chest. “Me too.”
“I’m not so sure I can get up now,” Sigma tells her.
“Ew, perv.”
“Ahhh!” Sigma yells, and Diana sits right up.
“Phi?”
Their daughter shuts the small cabinet under the TV at the foot of the bed, rolling her eyes. “Knew I should’ve waited until you both came down for breakfast,” she grumbles.
“What are you – are you trying to look for my wallet?” Sigma asks.
“Actually, it’s not your wallet I’m looking for,” Phi says with a smirk. “Akane got it for you yesterday with her Crash Keys funds, remember?”
“Well, yeah,” Sigma says, sitting up in bed along with Diana, “but didn’t she give you some money too?”
“I’m afraid not,” Phi says, shaking her head as she crosses her arms over her chest. “Akane said that the cash she gave you last night should be enough to cover all three of us, and I wanted to get a soda from the vending machine. So where is the wallet, old man?”
“Oh, so this is where it starts, huh? Now you’re asking me for allowance?” Sigma asks, reaching behind him to fumble around in the bedside table drawer. He pulls out a brand new wallet, takes out a twenty dollar bill from the thick wad of cash, and holds it up.
Phi groans, “Please don’t tell me I have to go over there and get it. Not if you’re both naked under there.”
“We’re not naked, Phi!” Diana says, flipping the comforter off her and Sigma.
“No, my eyes!” Phi cries, holding her arm up to shield her vision.
“Don’t worry, Phi – look, we’re wearing clothes!” Sigma says, and Phi slowly lowers her arm.
“Okay,” she says, trying to pretend she hadn’t lost her cool and collected demeanor. Diana can’t help but stifle a giggle as Phi rolls her eyes and stomps over to Sigma’s side of the bed, snatching the money out of his hand as he grins at her smugly.
“This means you’ll be mowing the lawn, right?”
“Hah hah. Last I checked, you don’t even have a lawn to mow.”
“Oh, we’ll have one eventually,” Sigma says, turning to Diana with a soft smile, his eyes filled with hope for the future.
When Diana returns his smile, there’s a moment of silence before Phi asks her quietly. “So, um… does that mean you want us to be a family?”
Diana turns to look at Phi, and, seeing her daughter’s face, the mixture of guarded longing and incredulity, she can’t help but jump off the bed, rushing to join her and giving her a hug.
“Oh, Phi,” she says, her voice breaking, “of course I do!”
Phi stiffens for a second, then relaxes into her embrace. “Good,” she says. “I’m glad you do too.”
“I thought you didn’t want us to be a family,” Sigma says to Phi from the bed.
“Well, of course I did, but I wasn’t sure if you wanted to!” Phi says as she hugs Diana back.
“But the way you were talking last night,” Sigma says, stumbling over his words, “I just figured you wanted me to leave.”
“What?” Phi blinks at him, and laughs. “No, I didn’t want you to leave, you old geezer. I just wanted you to make sure you know that this is what you really want. I don’t… I don’t want either of you to end up getting hurt. Not again, not after everything we’ve been through.”
“You don’t have to worry about us, Phi,” Diana says. “We’ll be fine. But I don’t think we’ll all be able to settle down until we stop the terrorist and save everyone.”
“She’s right,” Sigma says, getting up off the bed and joining Diana and Phi. “I don’t know if we’ll ever be anything resembling a ‘normal’ family. But maybe that’s okay. Maybe we don’t need ‘normal.’ Maybe we can just be… us.“
Diana clasps her hands together, tearing up. Sigma puts his arms around her and Phi, and Diana’s chest swells with all the love she has for him and their daughter..
“Okay,” Phi agrees, sounding as relieved as Diana has felt since Sigma decided not to leave. Then, Phi adds hurriedly, “Let’s just… try to keep it to the three of us for now, all right?”
Diana laughs as Sigma hugs both her and Phi closer to him. “Promise.”
To: @interabangs From: @mastermind-marius
Yeehaw, Roadtrip! “Eric~” “Eric!” “Eric…” “Gimme an E!” “E!” “Gimme an R!” “R!” “Gimme an I!” “I!” “Gimme a C!” “C!” “What’s that spell?!”
At the same time, Mira and Dio shouted into Eric’s ears; “Eric!” “Bitch!”
Eric covered his ears and sunk into his seat. He’d rather sit in the trunk than between these two.
Dio and Mira high-fived over his head and continued to talk loudly about how stupid this whole trip was, and Mira told stories about some of Eric’s more embarassing moments. He was ready for this to be over with.
He wasn’t the only one.
Gentarou and Delta were lucky enough to be in the front seats; Gentarou driving and Delta in the passenger. But they were still trapped in a station wagon with three bickering, well. Children, basically. And one could only deal with that for so long.
Gentarou had heard Delta mumbling from time to time throughout the drive. He at first thought the old man might be sleeping, but decided he was actively talking to himself instead. Thoughts of jumping out of the car, SHIFTing somewhere else, or just killing Dio.
Needless to say, Gentarou agreed with the sentiment. However, his thoughts were closer to either crashing the car and killing them all, or having Delta drive while he beat up the three in the back.
Intrusive thoughts, am I right?
It was an odd situation that brought them all together; a holiday dinner that originally only Delta had been invited too, since it was his family, the Klims. Then Luna had convinced them to invite Dio, and Diana invited Akane, Junpei, and Carlos. Akane invited Gentarou, and Carlos invited Eric, who in turn invited Mira.
Gentarou still wasn’t fully convinced they weren’t going to poison him. He had done some horrible things when he was younger. He swore he remembered Akane dying, but maybe not…
Somehow, the five assholes had managed to carpool and Gentarou ended up driving. And now he was hoping Akane was going to poison him. Lord help him if he has to drive back with these idiots.
Three hours into the drive, it seemed that there would be a ray of hope. Mira had fallen asleep, and Dio, now that he was without his partner in crime, was significantly more tolerable. Gentarou could breathe, Delta wasn’t threatening to kill himself, and Eric’s headache was fading.
And then the tire exploded.
The car jolted, waking Mira up and causing Dio to shout. Delta braced himself against the dashboard and Gentarou desperately tried to stop the car. they skidded off the road onto the flat desert, slowing to a stop as luggage flew off the roof.
When they finally stopped, there was a moment of dead silence, before Gentarou slammed on the horn to cover his swearing. Everyone else soon joined in on the shouting.
Taking a moment to collect himself, Gentarou ordered everyone out of the car. As he inspected the damage, Eric tried to collect the fallen luggage. Dio collected his own, refusing to let anyone else touch it, but other than didn’t help, and Mira simply leaned against the car and watched, determined to be as little help as possible.
Delta was an old man and nobody really wanted to force him to help, but he went looking for a spare tire in the back of the car and wouldn’t let anyone help him; he was old, not fragile.
Unfortunately, despite being a rental car, there was no spare tire. The five were stranded another hour away from the Klims. An hour by car, that is.
Overly dramatic as always, Dio sat in the trunk of the car with his luggage and groaned. “Can this trip get any worse? First I’m stuck in a car with you guys, then I lose the few bits of entertainment I had, now we’re stranded—”
Dio was abruptly cut off by Gentarou shutting the trunk. “Who’s got a working phone with a Klim’s number.”
Mira was inspecting her nails, and didn’t look up even when Dio started pounding on the window near her. “Pretty sure blondie in there has Luna’s. But his phone died like twenty minutes in.”
Gentarou looked to the older man kneeling beside the exploded tire. “Delta? They’re your family.”
“I don’t own a phone.” He stated. “Too distracting.”
Eric shifted around the several bags he was carrying, trying to find a good way to hold all of them. “Don’t you have Akane’s number, Gentarou?”
“Akane’s number changes almost daily. Also my phone has a habit of not working. And there’s no telling if she’s there yet, thats why I asked for a Klim number.”
“Ah. Right. Cool.”
Eric promptly dropped most of the bags, and Mira sighed, grabbing one of hers and tossing it to Gentarou.
Upon looking inside, he found at least 15 different phones, all of different makes and models.
“At least one of those used to be Phi’s.” Mira told him. “They all still work, just find hers and call her dad or whatever.”
Gentarou paused, fishing one out of the bag. “Why do you have a bag full of phones.”
Mira shrugged. “Finders keepers.”
Eric, likely more out of concern than curiosity, peeked into the bag and gasped. “Mira!” He whipped around to see her getting back into the car. “Half of these phones are mine! I-Is— Ar-Are you why all my phones keep going missing?!”
Mira smirks. “You snooze you lose.” She told him, and then climbed into the car, immediately starting an argument with Dio.
Gentarou tossed some phones to Eric as he leaned against the car. “Help me with this, won’t you?”
Eight phones later, Gentarou frowned, showing Eric a lockscreen. “Isn’t that, uh, Dio’s only friend?”
“Luna?”
“Yeah, her.”
“No, but it is Diana. And I think that’s Phi and Luna and Kyle in the background?” Eric looks closer. “Maybe it’s Sigma’s phone.”
The two guessed Sigma’s password easy enough, found Diana’s contact (labelled “💖❣️Darling Dianya💜💕”), and called her.
Diana was sympathetic, and promised Sigma would come and get them all. Of course, it would still take an hour.
When Sigma got there with a tow truck, he was greeted with the sight of Gentarou in the car, head on the wheel, Mira and Eric lounging on the roof, Delta writing nonsense in the sand, and Dio still locked in the trunk.
He sighed. He hadn’t expected anything less.
Sigma had everyone help him attach the broken-down station wagon to the tow truck, and then everyone piled in and started the drive back. Luckily, most everyone was too exhausted to bother eachother.
By the time they got to the Klim household, dinner had started. But there were plenty of seats at the table.
And Akane didn’t even try to poison Gentarou this time.
To: @mortellanarts From: @interabangs
@mortellanarts I love your D-Team prompt and had fun writing this post-CQD snapshot of wholesome family fun, which they all truly deserve. Happy Holidays! Note: Diana’s ex and Delta are mentioned in this, but briefly and justice has been served.
Phi stares at the ice-skating rink as people jostle past her to get out onto the ice, their laughter mingling with shrieks of delight and surprise from the crowd already moving in circles to the thrumming beat of some old disco song that Phi’s never heard, but she’s sure Sigma has.
She crosses her arms, as though that would help shield her from the crowd. Skaters of varying skill level zoom past her in multi-colored blurs. She can smell fresh popcorn, peanuts, and hot dogs from the vendor across the park, and hot cocoa from proud parents milling around outside the rink, cheering on their kids.
“I knew I should’ve asked for a rain check,” Phi mutters.
“Wouldn’t it have been a snow check instead?” she hears from behind her, and she turns around.
Sigma and Diana approach her from the parking lot, holding hands as Sigma carries three pair of skates slung over his other hand. Sigma’s wearing a black and grey-blue windbreaker with a drawstring backpack, the windbreaker colors matching Phi’s jacket, which she notes with an amused snort. Diana looks cozy in her dark red peacoat and brown beret, though her cheeks are already flushed from the cold. Or maybe, Phi considers, she’s actually blushing. Who knows what the two of them have gotten up to on their way over here…
Phi doesn’t really want to know the answer to that.
“I’m so glad you made it!” Diana says, rushing forward to wrap Phi up in a hug.
And she just stands there, arms still crossed in front of her, frozen as she takes in the oddly familiar smell of her mother’s hair. It’s comforting and weird at the same time, and, even months after having discovered her relation to Diana, Phi still doesn’t quite know what to do with that.
“Oh! How long have you been waiting for us? Sigma, I knew we should’ve picked her up!” Diana says as she steps back, rubbing Phi’s arms as though to warm her.
“I’m fine, Diana,” Phi says, trying not to start the night off on the wrong foot while keeping her teeth from chattering. “Didn’t even take me ten minutes to get here.” Sigma and Diana had chosen to move to a townhouse just outside the city because it was cheaper and Sigma wanted to focus on school. Phi, on the other hand, already had an apartment in the city not far from the university she and Sigma were now attending. It was a little weird at first to be going to the same school as her father, whom she had to introduce to people as a “family friend,” – but then, Phi’s life had always been ‘a little weird.’
To their credit, Sigma and Diana had offered her to stay with them. They have extra space in their basement for a third tenant, and Phi knows they’d both be more than happy to have her stay with them. But Phi’s used to living alone, and she figures the ‘lovebirds’ need their space. Not to mention the awkwardness of having to see them in the mornings. They’re already so comfortable and affectionate with each other that, even though she knows them being together is how she came to exist in the first place, it still makes her want to gag a little.
So yeah, Phi’s completely, totally, 100% fine.
“Okay,” Diana says after the long, awkward pause hanging in the cold winter air. “Well, we came here to skate, right?”
“That’s true,” Sigma says, slinging the skates off his shoulder as he hands the two smaller pair to Diana. “It’s been a while for me, so if I fall on my face, don’t laugh at me too much in front of everyone, all right?”
Diana lets out a soft laugh as she takes the skates from him. Phi notices that Diana’s a lot less nervous these days, and seems more spirited and adventurous. She’d switched to a different hospital, closer to where she and Sigma live, and Phi can’t help but feel a swell of satisfaction at the memory of when she and Sigma caught Diana’s ex trying to stalk her. He’s finally behind bars now, and without having him or Phi’s brother around, it’s like a weight has been lifted off Diana’s shoulders.
On the other hand, Diana’s newfound freedom had led to Phi getting invited to do ‘family’ related outings like this - each of them with varying results. Phi shudders at the memory of their day of driving lessons with Sigma as her instructor, and Diana nearly having a heart attack in the backseat.
“Here, let’s go get these on,” Diana says, pulling Phi’s hand out from under her arm and leading her over to a bench. “I think I got ones that will fit your size, but in case they don’t match, you can try mine on instead.”
“I didn’t know you liked to skate,” Phi says, trying to keep her voice calm as she’s nearly dragged toward the bench. She doesn’t want to snap at Diana, but it’s still a bit strange to be directed around like she’s a preschooler.
“Oh, I’m not an expert or anything. I just took a couple lessons while I was in high school, and then skated for fun until I started my residency. Then I never had any time to skate until now,” Diana explains as she gently settles down on the bench. She’s got a smaller skirt on over black leggings, and she brushes the bench with her glove and pats it, gesturing for Phi to sit down. She sighs and Diana hands her a pair of white skates with light blue lining. They actually look like the style Phi would pick out herself – but she’d almost rather be in another Game than admit that.
“Well, this is my first time, so don’t be too disappointed if I don’t turn out to be Olympic material,” Phi says as she sits down next to Diana, taking the skates and looking at them as if they’ll bite her.
“It’ll be good for you to learn how to skate,” Sigma says, taking a seat on another bench, since his frame is much too large for him to share the one Phi and Diana are occupying. “I can give you some pointers, if you’d like.”
“I bet I’ll be able to skate rings around you by the end of tonight, Grandpa,” Phi lobs back dryly, and when she looks over to catch Sigma’s eye, she can see him cracking a smile.
“Oh, you two,” Diana says, shaking her head as she removes her boots and puts on her own pair of white skates with red trim.
Phi’s bravado disappears when she stands up on her skates. Her center of balance is thrown off and, though she’ll never admit it out lout, the lack of control over her own two feet, precariously propped up on thin blades, makes her almost as nervous as being in the Decision Game.
She has half a mind to SHIFT right out of here and into another universe where she isn’t subjected to this tragedy.
“It’s okay, Phi,” Diana says, rising gracefully on her own skates as she hooks her arm under Phi’s as she stretches it out.
“I’m fine, really,” Phi starts to protest, while she lets Diana support her, “You don’t have to –”
“– What’s this?” Sigma asks, coming over toward Phi’s other side to link her free arm in his. “Are you really that embarrassed to be seen with us out in public?”
Propped up by both of her parents, Phi’s heart beating double time as she slowly start to gain control over her balance. She takes in a deep breath, lets it out, and then says, “Oh, please. It’s not like this is my first day at kindergarten, or anything.”
She doesn’t tell them about that hazy memory, of being dropped off by her foster parents. They raised her well, and she’ll always be grateful for their care toward her. But there’s something different about learning something new, and having Sigma and Diana here to show her how to do something as simple as walking on a pair of ice skates.
“How do you feel now?” Diana asks, leaning down to grab her boots along with Phi’s shoes and tucking them into Sigma’s backpack. “Better?”
Phi tries to swallow the lump in her throat, but can’t. “Actually, I’m starting to think you two invited me out here on a pretense for blackmail material.”
Sigma laughs as he takes the backpack, stuffs his shoes and slings it over his free shoulder. “Don’t worry. My phone is off and safely tucked away in my pocket. Your secret will be safe with us.”
“If you’re afraid of falling, Phi, it’s totally normal,” Diana assures her. “I can’t count how many times I slipped when I first started.”
“And she could always spin circles around me,” Sigma says with an admiring grin at Diana behind Phi’s back.
“Ugh,” Phi groans, taking a step forward and pulling her parents alongside her toward the rink. “I’d rather fall on my face than be subjected to anymore of this.”
It’s slow going through, and as she takes each step forward on her thin blades, Phi knows all too well what it must feel like for a fawn to take her first steps. Phi’s cheeks flush with embarrassment, being a grown woman having to be guided out onto the ice, but once she takes her first step onto the rink with Sigma and Diana still on either side of her, she feels – freer. Like she thinks that she actually can do this without making a total fool of herself.”
“Hey, this isn’t so – ahh!”
Her next step is too confident and her skate slips out from under her. She panics, trying to steady herself on her other foot, and her leg shakes as she struggles to regain her balance.
“Don’t worry,” Sigma says, his voice calm and encouraging, as she grips onto his and Diana’s arms. “We’ve got you.”
Phi’s vision blurs as she slowly gets both feet back under her. She blinks back her tears and says, “Thanks.”
“Keep your feet shoulder width apart,” Diana says, but not in a condescending way. “Make sure to bend your knees so they’re over the toes of your skates, and if you straighten out your chest, that’ll keep you from falling forward.”
It’s common sense, and a few months ago, Phi would’ve said something clever like, “Oh, is that all it takes not to fall over? What a concept.” But her mother’s soothing voice helps keep Phi’s fears at bay, helps stop her from overthinking things. In a way, it’s like a puzzle, and Phi’s always been good at solving those.
She draws in a deep breath, lets it all out, and changes her position the way Diana described.
When she takes her next step forward, Phi feels a lot better about it.
Two slow loops around the rink and a bruised, well, let’s just say ego later, Phi’s starting to get the hang of skating, enough to finally let Sigma and Diana know they don’t have to trail next to her taking baby steps around the rink.
Sigma tells Diana he can assist Phi if she needs it, and to skate on ahead if she wants.
“Are you sure?” Diana asks, smoothly spinning backward so she can face them, a worried look on her face. “I don’t want to just leave you two.”
“I’ll be fine,” Phi says, feeling much more confident about that now than she was twenty minutes ago. “If I fall down again, then so be it. It’s him I’m worried about,” she adds, gesturing at Sigma, “seeing as how he’s not getting any younger.”
“Hey!” Sigma says, though he’s grinning slightly, “That’s no way to talk to your elders now, is it?”
“So it’s ‘elder’ now, huh? I’m glad to see you’re finally accepting your old age,” Phi says.
“We’ll be fine,” Sigma says, looking back at Diana as she continues skating backward like it’s no big deal.
“Yeah,” Phi agrees, “You’ll probably catch up with us in a few minutes, anyway.”
Diana considers it for a few more moments, biting her lip as though she’s making an even more difficult decision than any of the ones she had been forced to make at the testing site. A bit of Phi’s unceasing anger toward her brother flares up again – but she tables it to make shooing motions at her mother. “Go have fun,” Phi says, without a trace of her usual sarcasm. “You deserve it.”
Diana contemplates that for another moment, then nods and says, “Thank you, Phi!” She spins around in a flash and skates on ahead, looking completely natural as she appears to glide over the ice.
“Maybe someday you two can come back here together,” Sigma says, continuing along next to Phi as she nearly hugs the side of the rink, trying not to fall. “Before you know it, you could both quality for the Olympics.”
“Like I said before, you shouldn’t overestimate my abilities once again, Sigma. That sounds like another warning sign of going senile,” she points out, but he shakes his head.
“That not true. You could do anything you want, if you put your mind to it. You’re one of the smartest people I know, and I’m proud of you, Phi. I always will be. I have a feeling Diana feels exactly the same way.”
Phi opens her mouth to make another retort, but she closes it. She doesn’t tear up again, but despite the cold, warmth spreads throughout her as she continues slowly making her way around the rink with her father, as they admire her mother racing ahead.
After about an hour and a half on the ice, Phi’s ready to call it a night. Her muscles ache, and she regrets not bringing gloves, which Diana had noticed and insisted on lending Phi her own. They rest on one of the larger benches after changing back into their shoes, and Sigma brings them hot cocoa from the vendor. Phi blows on it before taking a long sip, and says, “Thanks, but I should’ve got this instead.”
“Nonsense,” Sigma says, settling down on Phi’s other side so that she’s in the middle. “What kind of parents would we be if we didn’t spoil you now and then?”
“I’m not a child,” Phi says with a pout, something she’s had to keep reminding them over the past several months.
“No, you aren’t,” Diana says, taking Phi’s gloved hand in hers and squeezing it. “But you’re still ours.”
And, for once, as Phi sips her cocoa with her parents as they watch the ice rink, she doesn’t argue with that.