As the room settled into an uneasy silence, the weight of Javier's revelation hung in the air. Each of the women, despite their varied backgrounds and experiences, found themselves staring at him in a new light. His emotions, his fears, his vulnerabilities—laid bare before them, thanks to Mantis's inadvertent intrusion into his mind.
Javier took a deep breath, his chest heaving with the effort of swallowing down the emotions that had surged to the surface. The tears were gone now, but the ache remained—deep and gnawing. They had seen him for what he truly was, not the distant, cold figure he had always shown to the world, but a man scarred by betrayal, carrying burdens he had never shared with anyone.
Mantis, though shaken by the confrontation, maintained her calm composure. "I didn't mean to hurt you, Javier. I thought… I thought maybe sharing your pain would help."
Gamora, who had been the most vocal in her disapproval, stepped forward. Her expression softened as she spoke. "It's not the mind reading I'm concerned about. It's the fact that you've been carrying this burden alone. You don't have to keep everything locked inside."
Nebula, often cold and distant, looked at Javier with a hint of something unfamiliar in her gaze. "I've been through worse, Javier. You're not weak for feeling pain. It makes you human. You just… never let anyone help you."
Proxima Midnight, ever the tough warrior, didn't speak. But the empathy in her eyes was unmistakable. Javier could feel her presence beside him, not as an enemy or an ally, but as someone who, like the others, had suffered in her own way.
"I never wanted to let anyone in," Javier confessed, his voice raw. "Not after… everything. The betrayal. The lies. I thought I could deal with it myself. But…" He trailed off, swallowing the lump in his throat. "But it hurts so much."
A soft sigh escaped from Hela, who had been quietly observing the conversation. Her usual regal demeanor was absent, replaced with a more somber expression. "Pain has a way of tearing people apart, making them feel like they're drowning in it. But you have us now. You're not alone in this fight."
Valkyrie, who had been standing near the doorway, her arms crossed, stepped forward too. "If you'd let us, we could've helped you sooner. But you never gave us the chance."
The words struck Javier like a physical blow, a reminder of how many times he had closed himself off from them all. He had always been afraid—afraid of trusting, of letting anyone in, of being vulnerable. But tonight, as the raw honesty flowed between them, he understood that he wasn't the only one who had faced hardship. They had all been scarred in their own ways, and yet here they stood, offering him the very thing he had been too afraid to ask for—support.
"I... I don't know how to trust anymore," Javier admitted, his voice trembling. "I don't know if I can."
"You don't have to trust all at once," Hela said gently. "Trust is built, not given in one moment. Let us help you rebuild it, piece by piece."
There was a long pause, as Javier took in their words. Slowly, the tension began to dissolve, replaced by something unfamiliar but welcome—hope. He didn't know what the future held, or how he would navigate the storm of emotions that had just been unleashed within him, but one thing was clear. He no longer had to face it alone.
For the first time in what felt like an eternity, Javier allowed himself to look each of them in the eye. "Thank you," he whispered. The words were simple, but they carried the weight of years of pain, regret, and unspoken fears.
Mantis, ever the empath, gave him a soft, reassuring smile. "You're welcome. We're here for you, always."
As the group stood together, Javier felt something stir within him—a sense of connection, of belonging that he had long since abandoned. The road ahead would still be difficult, fraught with the shadows of the past and the uncertainty of the future, but for the first time in a long while, Javier felt like he wasn't carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders alone.
And maybe, just maybe, he could find a way to heal.