"When did she learn to do that?"
Harvey sat on the grass in his backyard and watched as Wanda used her magic to fix the broken window frame and glass; slowly, all the glass and wood floated back into place and set itself. It looked like it was never broken in the first place. Pietro, who was standing beside him, smiled in pride.
"Wanda learned to do that a month ago." Pietro said as Wanda dropped her hands, her magic dismissed. "She's been learning new spells after you left… after the night the Demons attacked. Wanda decided to start training her abilities again."
"Amazing." Harvey said as he saw Wanda finish; red magic left her hands, and she turned sharply at him. "…what are my chances that she'll forgive me?"
Turning his head up, Harvey saw Pietro cringe and rub his neck. "Ah… I wish I could answer. I guess you're about to find out."
Pietro bent down and patted his back; he smiled down at him sadly. As if this would be the last time they would see each other. "Good luck, my friend."
Harvey watched Pietro vanish in a blur of speed with a deadpanned stare. He wasn't given much time to think about how he was abandoned without a second thought because the sounds of footsteps approached him slowly. Sighing, Harvey stood up and looked down at Wanda; her eyes were foreign to him. He's never seen her look at him with such sad and angry eyes.
"…" Wanda said nothing but continued to stare at him. Harvey felt a surge of guilt grow within his chest.
"I'm… sorry, Wanda." Harvey closed his eyes and bowed his head slightly; her hard stare was becoming too much for him. "I'm sorry for leaving the way I did. I'm sorry for not coming back right away; I just… I just couldn't. Not right away."
"We needed you." Wanda said as she looked away from him and stared at the small grave they made for Amy. A small plaque was nailed to the tree. "…I needed you. And you just… left. Listen, I know you were hurting, but so were we!"
Harvey frowned as Wanda wiped her eyes. "Amy was our friend, too. And when you left that morning without so much as a goodbye, I was scared I was going to lose another friend! Do you know how that made me feel!"
Wanda leaned her forehead into his chest and grabbed his black shirt tightly. "I was hurt, Harvey. Hurt and scared."
Deep shame swelled inside Harvey; he had to fight the urge to pull Wanda into a hug. He didn't have the right to do that after what he did. Were his emotions so much more important that he completely disregarded everyone else's? Was he really that selfish? No… he was so blinded by his rage and hate that he didn't stop to think about anyone else. He just wanted to find and kill Blackheart… nothing else mattered to him.
"I won't leave you alone. I have your back, now and always." Wanda's words the night before he left for Hell played through his head.
"I guess… I didn't have your back." Harvey whispered and pulled her into a hug. "I'm a pretty lousy friend, aren't I?"
"Yeah." Wanda said jokingly. "You are."
"I'll make it up to you." Harvey pulled away from her and smiled weakly. "No matter how long it takes, I'll make things right. I promise."
"I'll hold you to that." Wanda smiled and laughed. "Welcome home, Harvey."
"It's… good to be home."
•••
"You ready?"
Sighing, Harvey looked ahead at the front door of the Dunphy home. On his left and right stood Wanda and Pietro. They offered to join him in what would ultimately be a complicated conversation and reunion. Pietro walked up behind him and placed the bottom of his fist on his back.
"Hey, at least Alex can't throw you through a wall." Pietro smiled and brought his hand back.
"I said I was sorry." Wanda blushed slightly and stuffed her hands into her red hoodie. "Besides, I surrounded Harvey in a protective barrier, so he wasn't hurt… much. And I fixed the house in the end."
"Don't worry about it, Wanda." Harvey said as he turned back to look at the front door. "I'm just impressed at how your powers are growing. What you did back there was amazing."
"Ah, thanks." Wanda beamed at the compliment but then looked over at the front door of the Dunphy home. "Are you ready?"
"I think so." Harvey said as he began walking up to the door from the driveway. Wanda and Pietro close behind him. "After all, this is my mess to clean up."
Once they reached the front door, Harvey lifted his hand to knock. But before he could make contact, it swung inwards to reveal two shocked individuals.
"Harvey!" Luke and Haley said simultaneously.
•••
"Luke, do you have the black shirt you're gonna wear?"
Haley said and had to stifle a yawn; those long hours she's been putting into her work have been piling up on her. Her deadline for her latest assignment was rearing its ugly head. She was working on a beautiful red bodycon dress she had designed earlier last month; it was imperative she nailed it. Imagine her surprise when her employer, Winry Bell, found her open sketchbook on her desk and ended up loving several of her designs.
Winry assigned her to bring one of her designs to life as a test of ability. Depending on the results, Haley could end up working as one of Winry's head designers! A massive upgrade from her current job as an assistant designer. Just thinking about it made her smile in excitement; Haley couldn't wait to get back to work. She just had to finish taking today's family picture at her grandpa's house.
Gloria told the entire family to dress in black, an easy task for anyone to do. Still, due to their washing machine needing to be fixed, it made the usually easy task much more complicated. Haley herself had several options to choose from, so she didn't have to worry about showing up in old and dirty clothes. The issue was Luke, due to all his training and workouts. The majority of his clothing was dirty and smelled absolutely horrible.
Her mother told her to take Luke to a public laundromat to wash Luke's clothes, but that idea didn't sit well with her. Instead, she texted Wanda to see if she and Luke could borrow their washer and dryer, but her auburn-haired friend had yet to respond. She was probably passed out from exhaustion. Wanda told her about how tough some of her online classes were. Haley hoped that Wanda would be up and let them in when they reached her home.
"Yup, got it right here." Luke said as he held a black shirt in his hands. He then raised it and sniffed it, an action that made her make a disgusted expression. "Yikes, I think I wore this on my ten-mile run a few days ago."
"Luke, that's disgusting." Haley pinched her nose and walked out of her brother's room. "Let's just go. Hopefully, Wanda or Pietro are there to let us in so you can wash that."
Haley and Luke made their way downstairs. The house was unusually silent, but that was because everyone else had already left to go to her grandpa's house. Her mom was already there, wanting to help Gloria get everything ready. While her dad and Alex left five minutes ago, she and Luke were the last to leave.
"Hey, can we stop by Footlocker on our way back?" Luke asked as she grabbed her keys. "My toes are starting to poke through my running shoes."
"Isn't that your second pair of shoes in the last three months? How are you going through them so fast?" Haley asked as she twisted the door knob and opened the door. Only to freeze when she saw who was standing on the other side.
Wanda and Pietro are side by side with small, worried smiles. But they weren't the focus of Haley's attention; no, she focused on the individual in front of them. He had brown hair and odd-colored eyes that seemed to glow; they were gold and red. Behind her, Haley could sense her brother in a similar state of surprise.
"Harvey!" Haley heard Luke say alongside her, their voices in sync.
"Luke, Haley." Harvey said with a small smile. "It's been a minute?"
Haley felt her heart begin to beat quickly, and her chest felt hot. Slowly her eyes narrowed into slits, and she glared at Harvey. It's been a minute? That's the first thing he says after being gone for so long? Haley's breath became quicker as she felt the hot pinpricks of tears at the edges of her eyes. She bowed her head to hide her expression, and with slow, meaningful steps, she approached Harvey.
"Haley." Luke said worriedly. She ignored him.
SMACK
Sharp pain assaulted her right hand, and it hung dead in the air as her breath came out slowly. Haley looked up at Harvey's face. There was no hand mark or any indication that he was affected by the slap. Only sad, guilt-ridden eyes looked back at her.
"It's been a minute?" Haley repeated, mocking. Tears began to flow freely at this point, ruining her makeup for today's family portrait. "That's all you have to say? It's been a minute?"
"Hale-"
"No! I'm talking right now!" Haley spoke over Luke. She would say her peace.
Raising her hands, she clenched the front of Harvey's white shirt and pulled him to her level. His new added height was now clear to her, but that didn't matter.
"You left to go fight some Demon, Harvey! I know you have some responsibility to protect and punish bad people, but you just left without a word!" Haley said loudly, her voice weak. "What about Alex?! What did you think that would have done to her? No, you didn't think, did you? You were so focused on revenge that we little people didn't matter."
Haley let his now wrinkled shirt go and started to punch his chest weakly. They had no effect on hurting him, but she didn't care. She was sad and angry. "Why? Do you not care about us? About Alex?"
Memories of the day Harvey left without a word played through her mind. The way her sister cried the entire day and refused to leave her room. It wasn't until they received a letter from Harvey that they could stop worrying about whether he was still alive or not. Letting them know he was fine and wouldn't return immediately. That baffled them. Why wouldn't he return right away? What was so important that he had to stay in the underworld? Wasn't Alex important to him?
"She was hurt, Harvey. Alex felt like she didn't matter to you… is that true? Does she matter to you?" Haley said in a whisper.
Rough, calloused hands grabbed her gently, stopping her soft punches. Haley looked up with puffy eyes and saw Harvey look at her with a sad frown.
"She does matter to me. You ALL matter to me." Harvey said in a whisper. "More than you'll ever know."
"I'd burn the world for you all." Harvey said with a smile and pulled out a white handkerchief. He gently wiped her cheeks. "There's nothing I can say to justify what I did, but… I needed time to myself. Otherwise, I'd…"
Harvey frowned and shook his head. Haley could have sworn his mostly golden eyes became entirely red. With a blink, they were back to their gold-red color. He then let her hands go and hugged her softly but firmly.
"I'm sorry, Haley. I'm sorry for being a terrible friend." Harvey said. "No matter what or how long it takes. I'll earn your forgiveness. Because you're important to me."
Haley felt Harvey let her go, and he walked over to Luke. Harvey placed a hand over Luke's shoulder. "That goes for you too, Luke. Whatever it takes."
"Nah, Harvey." Luke smiled and shook his head. "We're cool. I knew you'd come back. You just needed time. But I will need to punch you for making my sisters cry. That's nonnegotiable."
"You got it, Buddy." Harvey smiled and turned back to her. There was a pleading look in his eyes.
"…okay." Haley brushed her cheek and nodded. A small smile grew on her face. "But it won't be easy. I'll make you work for it, mister."
"Good. I wouldn't have any other way." Harvey smiled widely at her. He then looked around and made a confused face. "Where's everyone else? I'd like to talk to Alex, too."
"Oh, we're taking a family portrait today at grandpas." Luke said as he looked down at his black shirt. "Which reminds me, can I use your washing machine?"
"Ah… of course." Harvey nodded and turned to Pietro; the silver-haired young man nodded without saying anything.
"Come on, Luke. Let's get that thing cleaned." Pietro walked over to Luke and placed a hand on his shoulder. The two started walking off towards Harvey's home. "Wait… is that the shirt you used three days ago?"
"Harvey." Wanda said as she walked up to him. "Maybe it's best you talk to everyone after they take their picture? It would probably ruin it if you showed up and made the day about you."
Haley watched Harvey frown and nod. "Yeah, you're right. I'll come back later. Is that fine, Haley?"
Haley thought about it and nodded. After her reaction to Harvey's sudden reappearance, she could only imagine her sisters and everyone else.
"That's probably for the best." Haley said as she pulled out a small pocket mirror and looked at her ruined makeup. "I have to fix my makeup too. You should come back later. Don't worry, Luke and I will keep that you're here a secret. At least for now."
Harvey nodded and sighed. Haley could see the nervousness and anxiety in his eyes. Whatever talk he and Alex would have could change the future of their relationship. Haley just hoped that everything turned out well; she would be sad if Alex ended up not forgiving Harvey. But she had that right to do so.
"Yeah…" Harvey then left her house and looked out at the blue sky. "You two are right."
Haley looked at Wanda and saw her look worriedly at Harvey. Haley wanted to reassure him that things would work out, but she wasn't his girlfriend. Alex and he had a different type of relationship. Things like vanishing for three months without so much as a goodbye could damage a relationship.
"Haley, we'll come back later." Wanda said with a small smile. "I hope your picture goes well. I'll text you when we're coming."
"Okay." Haley said. With that done, she watched Harvey and Wanda walk to their home. She watched as Wanda inched closer to Harvey and rubbed his back. He raised his hand and rubbed his neck. Their words were inaudible. Haley smiled and closed the front door. Despite everything, she was happy her friend was back.
"Welcome back, Harvey."
•••
"And that's that. Essay done."
Alex stood up and stretched, her essay on narcolepsy wrapped up nicely. Who would have thought that her dad would be such a great source of data? With that done, she could now return to work on more important matters. Like figuring out her mentor's arc reactor!
"Built in a cave." Alex said as she slipped on her safety goggles and picked up her tiny hand tools. She turned to see an arc reactor resting on a small stand. "Only Tony Stark could manage this."
Reaching her hand to grab her precision screwdriver, Alex found that it wasn't on her table. Looking over where she last saw her tool, Alex saw that it fell into her desk's open drawer. Sliding the drawer out, she was pleased to see the screwdriver resting inside it.
"There you are." Alex said and reached inside to grab the screwdriver, only to freeze when the tip of her finger brushed against the edge of a photo frame—a photo frame she once happily had on her desk. With a huff, she grabbed her screwdriver and slammed the drawer closed.
"Okay, where was I?"
It's been almost two months, and she's only done about ten percent in reverse engineering the arc reactor. Mr. Stark told her she couldn't take the reactor apart to figure it out but only examine it from the outside. Of course, that wasn't everything he gave her; that would have been cruel. No, he gave her a few notes and diagrams regarding the reactor. But they didn't correlate with how it was made or how she was supposed to recreate it.
"Okay! You're Alex Dunphy, you can do this." Alex told herself as she began lining the copper wires on the outer frame of the reactor's main body. A large bin of her failed attempts sad mockingly under her desk. "Okay, attempt number three hundred and forty-five. Let's solder the inner steel cylinder to the"
KNOCK KNOCK
"I thought I told everyone not to bother me when I'm working." Alex said frustratingly, pulling over her magnifying glass stand to zoom into her working area. Alex brought her soldering iron to start her work.
KNOCK KNOCK
"Alex, can you come out?" Haley said through the door.
"Hah… alright, I'm coming." Alex sighed, turned off her soldering iron, and got up.
Walking over to her door, Alex opened it and saw Haley standing before her. Arms crossed. This piqued Alex's curiosity. Her sister didn't stand like that unless something bothered her.
"What's wrong?" Alex asked.
"Can you follow me outside? There's… something I want to show you." Haley said and began walking down the stairs. Alex raised an eyebrow and followed behind her, bewildered by her odd behavior.
Once they were on the main floor of their house, Haley walked up to the front door and paused when her hand was around the handle. She turned around and looked at her with worried eyes.
"Alex… just hear him out. Okay?" Haley said and opened the door.
"Haley, what's going on?" Alex asked and crossed her arms.
Haley shook her head and looked outside. Alex leaned her head and saw Pietro standing outside. It appeared like he was talking to someone. Whatever it was, Alex decided to get it over with. She had an arc reactor to figure out.
Alex walked outside and saw Pietro, Wanda, and Luke. They were standing around with uncomfortable expressions when they heard her approach. They stopped talking and turned to her. Luke walked up to her and rubbed her arm; without another word, he stepped inside the house.
"Wanda, Pietro?" Alex asked.
"Alex." Wanda said in a small voice. This was odd; Wanda was very outspoken and confident, so hearing her talk like this threw Alex for a loop. "Do what you feel is right."
With that, Wanda walked in after Luke; Alex squinted her eyes and frowned. What was that? Alex jumped slightly when Pietro stepped beside her. He turned to her and smiled slightly. He opened his mouth as if to say something but shook his head. Like Luke, he rubbed her shoulder and walked into her house. Alex turned around and saw Haley nod, and with that, she closed the door.
"Alex."
A wave of shivers traveled up her body when she heard the ever-familiar voice behind her. Slowly, Alex turned around and stared at the figure walking up the cement walkway from behind the entrance columns. His now golden red eyes looked at her, and a deep frown marred his face. Alex said nothing as she stared at Harvey; her chest burned hot, and her heart quickened.
"Can we… talk?"
•••
"…"
Harvey looked around the desolate park; it was located a few blocks from the neighborhood he and Alex lived in. Its abandoned playground and equipment stood ominously in the dark; without the sunlight and laughing children, the sight before him was dreary and suffocatingly silent.
"I guess… I have a lot of explaining to do." Harvey said and turned to look at Alex. She was sitting on a swing set, simply allowing the pendulum momentum to carry her. Her blank eyes stared down at the black mulch beneath her.
"…" Alex said nothing; her only response was a slight nod. Causing Harvey to frown.
"When Amy… died. I was just so, so angry. I couldn't think about anything else but revenge; I knew that that anger wouldn't go away unless I… unless I killed Blackheart." Harvey sat on the swing next to Alex and leaned forward on his knees. "Once I got vengeance for Amy, some of that rage left me… but not all of it. I knew I had to reign my hate in; if I didn't, then what I did in Hell could… no, it would happen again."
Harvey thought back to his battle; no, the battle was the wrong word. The slaughter over Blackheart's domain and Lieutenant's… he was ruthless and bloodthirsty. He left no survivors.
"PLEASE STOP! STOP! MERCYYYY!" Harvey clenched his jaw at the memory of Sligguth's panicked screams as he slowly skinned him alive.
"But you are all weak… this isn't enough. I want a real fight." Harvey's words echoed in his ears. As much as he wanted to deny it, it was him who said them.
Deep down, he knew that was his true nature. He suppressed it all that time ago but was back with a vengeance. Unwilling to be locked away, it wanted to be free! It wanted to punish the wicked and the evil! To make them suffer! To make his opponents cry and beg for mercy.
But wouldn't that mark him a monster? No… of course not. He was the spirit of vengeance, was he not? Now, the cries of all those victimized and wronged by his new powers of holy energy bolstered his need to go out and perform his duties.
"I had to make sure I was in control, that what happened back then would be a one-time incident." Harvey looked over at Alex. She was looking at him with a sad frown. "I know that all sounds like an excuse, but please believe me, I did it for everyone. So I could be myself and so I wouldn't hurt you as I did back at Amy's funeral. Alex… I'm so sorry. I never meant to say what I said or to abandon you. It all just… got away from me."
Harvey waited for Alex to say something, anything. The constant silence was beginning to weigh heavy on him.
"Please… say something." Harvey whispered.
"…I was always alone growing up." Alex said and stood up from the swing she was on. "I had trouble making friends, and my family didn't get me. All I had was my intelligence and wit."
Harvey watched as Alex placed her hands behind her back and turned to look up at the star-riddled sky. "It was like that for years… but then I met you, and my world changed. I made a friend who understood me and didn't judge me for being who I was. Soon after, I fell in love with you, and everything was perfect. But then I was kidnapped and held for ransom. Imagine my surprise when my friend and crush rushed to my aid to save me. Despite the danger."
Harvey listened patiently, and her eyes began to glisten with moisture. "I didn't realize it at the time, but I started growing dependent. My world revolved around you, and I didn't know it. Who could blame me? You were my closest friend and my hero. You opened a new world of possibilities I didn't know existed! But… I forgot to remember you were just a person with thoughts and emotions. You were fallible, just like me. I realized that after I was able to get out of that hole of depression and pity, I dug for myself when you left me."
Harvey's eyes twisted in pain and guilt. Alex had tears rolling down her cheeks; she was now looking at him with a sad smile.
"I guess what I'm trying to say is that it took you leaving me to realize that I didn't really know you… I just knew the Harvey Miller I built up in my mind. A perfect person that I loved with all of my heart. But no one is perfect, neither you nor I." Alex said slowly.
Harvey stood up and watched Alex walk up to him. She tentatively grabbed his hands. "Harvey, I'll always love you. Forever and until I die, but I don't think I can be with you. Not now, at least. Not until I figure out who I am."
Harvey's eyes grew wide, and his mouth opened slightly. His heart felt like it was within someone's grip, slowly tightening.
"I gave this a lot of thought, but I think it's best if we're just friends… at least for now." Alex leaned up and kissed his cheek. Letting him go, she took a step back and smiled. "Goodnight, Harvey."
Harvey watched as Alex walked out of the park. Her shoulders quaked as she rubbed her face. His enhanced hearing picked up her hushed sobs. Slowly, he sat on the mulch below and looked up at the sky with an unreadable expression.
"…hey, partner?"
'…hm?' Zarathos answered.
"Did I make the right choice back then?" Harvey asked as he felt the gripping sensation from his heart disappear.
'If we didn't intervene when we did, humanity would have been overwhelmed by Hell's forces with Blackheart at the head. You did the right thing, Harvey.' Zarathos said.
"I know, but… why does it feel like the opposite?" Harvey said with an ironic smile. With a heavy sigh, he stood up and rubbed his face. His cheeks were dry.
"Let's go home."