TERRAN BEING BACK WASN'T ALL FUN AND GAMES, CONTRARY TO POPULAR BELIEF. In fact, ever since he had arrived, work had been on the forefront of everyone's minds, and was part of the reason why Nicky was incredibly frustrated by the man's constant emphasis on sleep.

"I'd rather get my work done than get eight hours of sleep," Nicky declared, glaring at Terran as he pointed towards the clock where it was nearing noon, "I sleep in quite a bit, but only when I've decided that I can go to sleep because all my work is done."

"That hasn't happened in a while," Sam commented, making lunch while fighting off Steve who tended to only know how to make bacon and eggs.

"Because I've had a lot of work to do," Nicky finished, giving a pointed look to the tall blond who just smiled at him.

"Look, I just wanted you to catch up on your sleep, but if you desperately need to stay up all night for work, you can, I'm not the boss of you," Terran said, standing up and walking towards Steve, picking him up and carrying him away from Sam with only a small grunt of strain.

Nicky choked along with everyone else—Sam nearly dropped the pan on his foot—searching for his voice. "You make me take all those sleep meds, you have the power over me."

He shrugged. "Okay, fair point, but we're just gonna roll with it, I won't be force-feeding them to you anymore, because we do need to make some progress. You talk to McCoy and Richards about it?"

Nicky nodded. "Hank's onboard with it, I think I'm gonna wanna tell Reed in person, just because it'll be easier to get it all out since we only ever talk on the phone or in person. I might ask Harry for help, but I don't really feel comfortable asking for funding from a child who doesn't actually have access to his dad's savings..."

"You could just hack into his savings," Rhett pointed out, "Though that's illegal, and we try to remain as okay illegal as possible. Like pirating music illegal, not murder illegal."

Terran stared at him. "Who are you?"

Rhett shrugged, glancing over to Nicky who smiled, hopping up onto the counter to watch Sam cook, grinning wider when the older man glanced over to look at him, giving him a tolerating smile.

"Thanks for cooking, Sam," the man said softly, and Sam rolled his eyes, walking over to stand between his legs, bracing his arms on either side of him.

The older man glanced over to the three men in the room who were all looking away from them, giving them some space and pretending like they hadn't been looking at them up until that moment. He laughed and turned back to Nicky, giving him his signature tooth-gapped, 'I'm mocking you' smile.

"You have a type," he said softly, starting to laugh.

Nicky scoffed, glancing over at the three strong, blond, blue-eyed, solider-in-another-life men that he had surrounded himself with over the years before turning back to Sam. "I do not have a type."

Sam laughed, keeping his voice quiet and his words clear. "You have a type, they have to at least be blond and blue-eyed."

"I don't have a type," Nicky argued, trying hard not smile, "I have you."

Sam snorted. "I cured you of the type."

He burst out laughing as Nicky made a sound in the back of his throat, the older man tugging him off the counter and into a hug, Nicky wrapping his legs around him on impulse, hugging him and complaining as the man laughed.

The three blonds took that opportunity to look at them, just for a brief moment, all of them smiling at the scene, because seeing the two of them happy, let alone happy together, was a picture they had finally been able to see for themselves.

Rhett and Steve shared a look, smiling fondly, and Terran watched all of them, smiling to himself.

The white picket fence didn't cut it anymore. He'd rather have a normal like this any day, and it was clear that they all would too. And they did.

"Okay," Nicky said, finally being able to pry himself away from Sam, lightly touching the raw part of his neck from where the man's beard had rubbed against it, "I'm gonna go call Hank, see what he has, and call Reed so I can bother him."

"Tell Johnny I say hi," Sam called, now focused on cooking, and Nicky stopped.

"Oh," he said softly, "You-you don't want to come?"

Sam turned around and raised his eyebrows. "I didn't know you wanted me to come."

Nicky frowned, still speaking in the soft tone that let everyone know he was incredibly unsure about the conversation. "I always want you with me. But only if you want, you don't have to."

Sam shook his head, shrugging, keeping his voice small to mimic Nicky's. "No, I want to."

"Really?" the man asked, brightening somewhat.

Sam smiled as well, nodding. "Yeah. Of course I do."

"Oh," Nicky said, starting to back up towards his room, bumping to everyone else, "Cool. I'm gonna just...yeah."

Sam nodded, watching him go, laughing. "Yeah."

Nicky reached out behind him, bumping into the couches as he made his way to his room, turning around and running right into the wall, just a few inches away from the crevice where the three doors were, the one closest to the wall being his room.

Sam snorted when Nicky finally made it into his room, slamming the door behind him, looking over towards the three blonds who were staring at him with varying degrees of affection and exasperation.

He pointed to all three of them, raising his eyebrows. "I also have no idea what just happened."

º º º

"You smile so much now, it's great."

Nicky yelped, covering his chest with his shirt, staring at Terran who had waltzed into his room, closing the door behind him. "Haven't you heard of knocking? I know you have, because you usually do it."

Terran raised an eyebrow. "I did. I also called that I was coming in. You didn't hear me?"

Nicky glanced over to his noise-cancelling machine and winced when he saw that it had been turned on, most likely by Terran to make sure he had slept. "Nevermind, you're in the clear. Who do you wanna tag along with, because Steve and Rhett are heading up to Westchester to talk with Hank, Rhett wants to visit the cemetery while he's there, and Sam and I are heading over to Reed's. You'd be an asset for either side, but we could each be fine if you chose the other group."

He opted not to say 'we'd be fine if you weren't there,' because that sounded terrible, even in his head.

Terran shrugged. "I think I'll go with Rhett and Steve, I have history and experience with the X-Men, but I don't have much connection with the Fantastic Four. Or do I...? Yeah, I think I'll go with Rhett and Steve, if you don't mind. And if they don't mind."

"I think Rhett's gonna catch you up on what happened with him, he told me he wanted to," Nicky said, quickly tugging on his shirt and grabbing a gray zip-up hoodie, "Also, you need clothes that'll fit, so I think you'll make a detour."

"Oh, fun," Terran said, following him out of his room, "I miss shopping, I used to do it all the time when..." he trailed off, realizing what he was going to say, and shared a sad look with Nicky.

The younger man reached out, grabbing his arm. "We'll find them."

Terran nodded, squeezing his hand. "I know we will."

"Okay, princess, and giant dragon friend, we're about you go, you ready?" Sam called out, standing by the door with Rhett and Steve.

All of them were dressed in the most inconspicuous civilian clothes they owned, Steve wearing his glasses and hat, Sam in sunglasses and a hat. Rhett just wore what he usually wore, because he never had to hide himself, and now had even less to fear; unless he was caught harboring a war criminal and another war criminal who was granted amnesty, because that was a whole different line.

"Yeah," Nicky said, looking over at Terran who nodded towards him, "Yeah, I'm ready."

º º º

"—so please help us, because my entire family is missing and I just got one of them back, and they might be in danger, who knows, we just need your help, and you guys go to space, and I know this is going to be incredibly difficult for you because you've got a really short leash around you guys, but I would appreciate it if you were willing to try."

Nicky sighed, finally finished, struggling to breathe as he waited for the response from all four of the Fantastic Four. He had never met the last two, only having just met Johnny that year, and he was quite intimidated by all of them looking at him. He mainly focused on Johnny, because while the boy wasn't smiling either, he didn't look as judgmental or hostile; mainly confused.

"Dude, why didn't you come to us sooner?" the boy finally asked, breaking the silence.

"Johnny," Sue said softly, nudging him under the table.

"He's been helping us out for years, Sue," Johnny pressed, eyes widening as they all turned to look at him, "What, it's the truth! We've just been paying him for what he does, I think we owe him a few favors, and he's a really nice guy, we've met, Reed probably thinks the same."

"Does your boyfriend think the same?" Ben scoffed.

Johnny hit the table, jumping to his feet. "I get that you think my life revolves around Harry, but the only reason why is because I can't be around people my age anymore, because it's too dangerous for all of them, so before you invalidate everything I say because you think I'm dumb or just basing everything off my boyfriend, remember that you were the one that took me away from all my friends!"

"Johnny," Nicky said softly, rising as well, glancing over at Sam who was making his way over, "Johnny, hey, c'mon, let's just leave them to it, we can just cool off somewhere else while they make their decision—"

"I'm a member too, I get a say," the boy cried, rounding on him, "I get that I'm a kid, but I'm still a part of this, so I get a say. I'll cool off when they start listening to me."

Nicky nodded in understanding, looking over at Sam who placed a hand on the boy's shoulder, careful to only touch his clothes and not his skin, leaning over to whisper something in his ear. Johnny nodded and took a deep breath, his eyes screwed shut. After a few breaths, he began to relax, opening his eyes and sitting back down, watching as Sam went back to his seat by the wall.

"Johnny's right," Reed said, and the look of shock on the boy's face had Nicky seriously considering forcing the four into group therapy, "Green, you should have told me, we can get away with helping you. But we all have to agree."

Ben and Sue looked at the two that made up the bookends of their line, then turned towards Nicky. He just looked back at them; he wasn't about to try and beg them to do something that could potentially jeopardize their safety, as this could potentially be out of their jurisdiction.

"This is your family?" Ben asked.

Nicky nodded. "They're the only people who actually cared about me, and I lost them earlier than I had any right to. I don't care if I never get them back, I just want to make sure they're okay, if they're even alive."

That got them. Sue and Ben shifted at his words, thinking for a moment before glancing over at Johnny and Reed who were waiting patiently. Finally, they both nodded.

Nicky smiled. "Thank you."

"We owe you," Johnny said, grinning.

"And we want to help you find your family," Sue added, pinching her brother's arm.

"Harry," Sam said, catching their attention.

The group all turned to look at Sam, then over to the elevators where he was looking to see Harry standing there, looking surprised to see everyone all gathered in one place. The boy silently pointed back towards the elevator, starting to leave.

"No, Harry, you're okay," Sue called out, causing the boy to stop.

Nicky watched Johnny bite his lip, glancing over at his teammates, biting his lip and tapping his foot. After nearly half a minute of deliberation, he gave in, standing up and rushing over to Harry, the two immediately starting to whisper.

"I thought they were gonna kiss," Ben commented, but his joke fell flat, him clearly still thinking about what Johnny had said.

"Hey," Sam said softly, moving to stand behind Nicky, "Cut him some slack. He's a teenage boy who's been through hell when he was just in middle school. He really likes this guy, don't be like that."

Ben shifted uncomfortably. "Yeah, sorry. We talked it out and it was all good, but sometimes I just forget."

Nicky took that as an apology, as he figured Ben didn't apologize much. He turned back to Harry who was staring at him, glancing over at Johnny who had finished whatever he had been whispering. Handing his satchel over to Johnny, the taller boy walked over to the table, standing in front of all of them.

"My dad is trying to win my love, because he made me cry in front of all his friends, so I can get you whatever funding you need."

"That was not what I meant when I said help—" Johnny called out, but Harry shushed him.

"What? There's really no other way I can help, it's not like I've got any access to high tech weapons or machines. My dad's a scientist, sure, but not that kind," he said, and he was smiling slightly, turning back to Nicky, "And I'm sure Pete and Diana and everyone will be down to help too. It's about time you cashed in my offers."

"I thought I did when I asked for protection last year," the man countered, smiling as well.

Harry shrugged. "You cashed in one, I've offered at least three. I'm like a genie, just do more stuff to get more wishes. But this one doesn't count anyways."

Nicky raised an eyebrow. "Why not?"

Harry shrugged, looking at the Fantastic Four, then over at Sam. He turned towards Johnny for help, and the boy smiled.

"'Cause we don't fuck with family."

º º º

The blonds had gotten a similar response from the X-Men, Rhett reporting back that an angry woman who could turn her hair into a flame had helped her husband and Hank McCoy convince everyone else to help, reminding them of their track record with searching for people; it was incredibly good.

"So we're aimed towards space and other dimensions," Nicky said, all of them crowded into his room where he had video calls set up with both the X-Men and the Fantastic Four, setting up untraceable computers for the others to use, as they had all demanded to help.

"We know a lot about space," Johnny called out, appearing behind Reed, nearly scaring the older man half to death.

"We know about dimensional travel," Hank replied, motioning towards a few mutants who waved into the camera, smiling brightly.

Nicky waved back, smiling just as bright, before remembering himself and continuing to fiddle with the laptops that he had just repaired. He felt like a kid again, messing with the broken electronics people just threw into the trash, fixing them up and making them better.

They were really coming full circle, complete with the family reunion.

"Terran," Nicky said, turning to look over at the blond who was sprawled out on his bed, the others lying on top of him in a kind of sleep pile, "You got in contact with your other connections?"

The man gave him a thumbs up. "You know I did. Sam, you asked Jen for help, right?"

"How's a lawyer gonna help us?" Sam asked, frowning.

Terran smirked. "As her."

"Tony's on board to help," Steve said, "Though, I know you asked him first, but I asked anyways because I missed him."

Nicky cooed. "That's great, Steve, he misses you too. He won't admit it, but he does."

Rhett tapped him with his socked foot. "I have no connections, but you know I'm here to help. Because I love you and want you to be happy."

Nicky paused to turn to him and smile. "I love you too."

"Get on with it," someone from behind Hank called out through the call, the older man shushing them.

"Ruth," he hissed, "Anyways, Nicky, everything you've given me is up to date?"

Nicky nodded. "Everything I know, you know, and I'm giving the same to them." He motioned towards the Fantastic Four who nodded, Johnny having been tasked with making sure all the faxed papers were printed out correctly; the boy took his job very seriously.

"So it's time to search?" Hank asked, and Nicky paused.

He looked over to Terran who lifted his head as best he could with Sam lying against his chest, locking eyes with the younger man. He then turned to look at Rhett who nodded, incredibly serious.

He took a deep breath and looked at the screens. "Let's go."

º º º

Nicky didn't even know what the date was anymore.

His entire life had been a cycle of going to work and helping his patients, an influx of them coming in all at once—which he was happy about, he would never complain about his job, no matter how busy or tired he was—and going back home to keep searching, being given access by Hank and Reed to help them search through their computers and laptops.

Terran, Rhett, Steve, and Sam were all incredibly helpful, though three out of four did have their own jobs to worry about, which prevented them from helping all the time, Rhett needing to focus on teaching children, Steve needing to be alert to stop bar fights, and Sam could do his searching at work, though something had happened when he went to go ask Jen for help that had him too afraid to break the rules. Terran could only help so much, but he did as much as he could, especially with all the connections he had.

"You need to sleep," Sam said, entering Nicky's room to find him working.

Sam had just finished helping Steve get back home after the man received a cut from being slashed with a broken glass while stopping a bar fight, and had just dropped by to sleep on another couch, Terran taking up the foldable one, but saw light coming from Nicky's room.

"I can't, I'm working," the man said, but even he could hear how tired he sounded.

"It's been way too long since you actually shut down and went to sleep," Sam argued, and he was right, they had been searching for an incredibly long time and it was starting to be detrimental to Nicky's health.

The man sighed and saved everything, powering down. Within two minutes, all the computers were shut off and they were plunged into silence, the computer fans also powering down. Sam watched as Nicky climbed into his bed, sighing.

Just as he turned to leave, Nicky called out, "Can you stay with me?"

Sam froze, looking over, making sure Nicky had spoken, and found the man looking at him with a tentative fear. Nicky never asked people to stay, Rhett had explained that to Sam long ago, he never wanted anyone to put him first, to hold them back. It has taken ten years for Nicky to finally tell Rhett that he didn't want him to leave.

"Yeah," Sam said softly, climbing onto the bed and into the covers, "Here."

He wrapped his arms around the smaller man, Nicky hiding his face in the crook of his neck, his breathing beginning to even out, a hand on Sam's arm.

The two fell asleep not long after, hidden in the dark of the night and the silence of the room, wrapped in a kind of comfort they hadn't felt in the longest time.

Then Nicky's burner phone rang.

The two woke immediately, Nicky reaching for the phone with the same desperation he did whenever his patients called, shoving it to his ear.

"It's me," he greeted, holding onto Sam's arm.

There was heavy breathing on the other end, a desperate excitement mingled with a twinge of pure fear.

"We found them."

AUTHOR'S NOTE

There was a huge time skip in this, but the theme was all the same, so I just put it in here. I wanted to show how Nicky's family had grown to the people around him who help him.

That's really all I have to say so...thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed!