Recom!spider au- So fragile, So refined
(Cross posted to ao3- @https_b3a)
Water was a rare thing on bridgehead. Atleast, the running kind. There was no issue with obtaining the artificially manufactured, bottled kind that tasted faintly of rubber and hot plastic. Taps werent really available, and hand washing was mainly hand-sanitizer.
So, standing where he was on the sand, in ankle deep water- he was in awe.
The water, though ice cold and sending Icicles through his veins, was pleasant as it moved with the tide. He didnโt have many memories from before, not of the beach, not of the water, or the sand or the forest. Not of the sullies (the traitors, the villains, the bad guys, the killers, the killers, the killers) and not, really, of himself.
Here is what Spider knows:
-he was killed by the sullies because they didnโt care for him
-his dad loves him, and brought him back
-he is miles โspiderโ soccoro and always will be
-he is not miles โspiderโ soccoro, and never will be because heโs a fraud
-he has lots of family and uncle lyle is his favourite
-he doesnโt have a real mama because his daddy made him in a test tube
โSpider! Stay where I can see yaโ boy!โ His father yelled, hand cupped to his cheek from a few meters away, kicking a foot out to send a spray of water in Spiderโs direction, eliciting a high pitched laugh from him.
He waded a little deeper into the water, until his waist was shrouded in frigid water, waves lapping up at his bared chest. He didnโt particularly like the cold, bridgehead was cold in some areas. His least favourite was the โlearning facilityโ where he was given an IPad of sorts and told to match shapes, and remember cards even when his brain was slow and his hands shook and he yelled. And, he had to have his search history checked daily by his father. One time he looked up โwhere is a forest?โ And quaritch went ballistic, spittle flying as he told him how โcuriousty killed the catโ (he wasnt sure what a cat was. Z-dog said it was like a nantang but with fur and humans kept them as pets. It made Spider uncomfortable to hear about)
But he didnโt mind the ocean kind of cold.
He was pulled from his train of thought when he heard the sloshing of his fathers thick legs plowing through the water, parting the sea like Moses did in the stories Lopez told him sometimes about a man who came to earth to save everyone, but also made the earth. Didnt make much sense to him personally.
His fathers hands placed firmly on his traps, squeezing and kneading his shoulders like he sometimes got spider to do after a lomg mission because he was getting old and โmy muscles ainโt how they used to be, spiโ
He gazed out onto the horizon, lifting his hand up to rest on spiderโs cropped, coiled hair. (Apparently when he was human it was curly too, and blonde. Just like his dads was when he was a human. Except his dad didnt have curly hair, it was short and pin straight, and rule following, whilst spiderโs hair kinked and coiled, and curled, and was wild and untamed. Until, the time had been pulling his hair too much and the majority of it was sheared off by Quaritch over the bathroom sink one night)
โYโenjoying the beach, huh kid?โ He chuckled lowly, and Spider nodded, humming in agreement.
โSโnice. Less quiet.โ Spider didnt like the quiet. It was quiet in the learning facility, it was quiet when his father left for briefings and missions where he couldnโt come, and it was quiet at night when he was alone.
Quaritch made a noise halfway between a huff and a laugh.
โYou never did like the quiet. When you was just a baby, you screamed your little lungs out. Weared your poor mama out, so when she had tโ sleep Iโd try and get you down. Only slept if you were wedged between us, made sleeping arrangements mighty difficultโ
Spider liked hearing stories about when he was a baby. A lot of the stories told by his father and the squad were less enjoyable. Stories of knights and dames, and snakes, and wild children (Z-dog had once called him Mowgly at the mess hall, and Quaritch had raged at her. He didnโt know what it meant, but he was sure it wasnโt nice. Prager patted him on the back and told him she was just joking around, which she did a lot of, except they werent funny)
Many of the stories had meanings to them. Like the story of the boy who had wings made of wax and soared too high and came to a sat, splattered end. This story shows that boys must listen to their fathers, or they will meet bruised, sticky ends. Especially boys with melted brains, who had died and been brought back into newer, bluer bodies. (This has been a message Spider knew even before the story)
Spider opened his mouth and paused for a second, quaritch leaning down to listen as he spoke.
โโฆcan we go fly now, dad?โ
โCourse, kid. Go pull your boots on, weโll head off in a few.โ He winked, patting Spider on the back a little too hard, so much so that he nearly toppled over, as he jogged back through the water, rolled up tactical pants dampening at the cuffs as he yelled to Lyle to start harnessing up the bansheesโ.
Spider hurriedly rushed onto the shore, sloppily wiping the sand off his feet as he pulled his boots on, his second boot only half on as he hopped towards his father.
โYโgot your laces done?โ He called, not unkindly.
โYupโ he lied without a second thought.
Without saying a word, Quaritch squatted down with a grunt and began to tie his laces, mumbling โjusโ lemmeโฆthere you go..โ
Spider stood, impatiently stiff. He hated that his dad still had to tie his shoes. He wasnโt a baby- he just couldnt do it, his movement hesitating, and shaking until he got frustrated and threw his boots across the floor and went barefoot. (His father seemed to find this funny, claiming that wearing a working manโs bootsโll โput hairs on your chestโ. He didnโt really want that)
After a painstakingly long moment, he was hauled up by the armpits onto the back of cupcake, as his father jumped on behind him, one arm firmly around Spiders chest as he yipped once, sharply, and took off.
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