[ COMPLETED ]
BOOK 2 of the ORPHIC series
MONACHOPSIS
/ˈmənˌāˌkōpˌsis/
the subtle but persistent feeling of being out of place.
~~~~~
Lucille "Lucy" Opal Baker might be the unluckiest person...
Йой! Нажаль, це зображення не відповідає нашим правилам. Щоб продовжити публікацію, будь ласка, видаліть його або завантажте інше.
"Sometimes, the mistake is not the problem; the lack of remorse is the real mistake."
Avengers Tower, New York September, 2014
LUCY PATTED DUM-E'S HEAD AS Tony started to put his tools away. He was humming to himself, tossing in a few dance moves here and there. She watched from her nest of blankets, a teddy bear placed carefully in her lap. Her solved Rubik's cube sat beside her as Tony moved. A part of her felt slightly embarrassed—she hadn't felt that particular emotion in so long—for carrying a bear around when she was so old. But it reminded her of Yelena. And Henry had given it to her without any prompting. He'd only seen her holding onto it once; she didn't ever think he'd give her a bear of all things. If it was a gag gift, Lucy would still appreciate him with her whole being.
No one had given her anything back then, so the bear was a prized possession now.
Besides, he was a soft thing that was warm and fuzzy; who didn't like warm and fuzzy things? She also couldn't take care of an animal and expect it to live, not when she hurt so many people before. So the best alternative was a stuffed animal, that, she occasionally wasn't sure if she should carry.
Surprisingly, Tony never teased her about it. He would casually salute the bear, calling him Bob, although Lucy didn't even give the name to him.
When she'd brought him down to eat dinner in the common room for the first time, she'd been terrified of whether or not she was allowed to take it onto a different floor. Clint had called him Winnie the Pooh, James had tried to take him, which she allowed as he sat with one hand curled around the bear's hand.
She'd been anxious and the bear helped.
Now though, as she examined Tony cleaning his table, the bear was just there because she liked having him around. Not because it was a necessity or because it was given and she needed to take care of it well. She liked him, the bear, so she could carry him around if she wanted to.
Because she could want things all the time now.
And that was nice.
"Lu, why are you being a couch potato?" Tony whined as he continued to put away his tools.
Lucy rolled her eyes at him as she stopped patting DUM-E's mechanical arm. She placed her bear in the bundle of blankets and padded over towards Tony.
"There's no couch for me to be a couch potato on, Tones." She sighed like it was the most obvious thing. "I'm a floor potato."
She waved her hand, activating her abilities. The tools floated into the air and Tony's eyelid twitched as everything returned to their original places.
