THREE DAYS LATER, IT WAS TIME FOR TERRAN TO LEAVE. Fury and Natasha agreed to give him the time to settle his affairs with the school, though Fury also helped in that regard, coming in as an authoritative figure, explaining that they weren't sure when Terran was going to be returning, so figuring to place a sub indefinitely for the rest of the school year until Terran returned. It also gave him enough time to pack and explain the entire situation to his family.

When he first made the announcement, Nicky and Rhett having been invited back to hear, he had been met with outrage and disgust, people threatening to give those two S.H.I.E.L.D. agents a piece of their minds and others begging him not to do it, because it was a terrible plan and it wasn't fair for them to ask him to do that.

"He goes away a lot, though," Nicky pointed out, "The X-Men ask him for help sometimes, why is this any different, I don't really get it."

"Because we don't know S.H.I.E.L.D.," someone explained, "And they're asking him to go after someone who would actively want to kill him. How is that fair, how is that safe? And they just barge in and threaten him into submission, they can't do that, we all rose above that."

"I agreed to it," Terran argued, but even he could hear how lackluster his argument was, "Please, guys, this isn't up for discussion, I need you all to understand, I'm doing this for you."

"Don't!" someone else cried, a chorus of cheers in agreement, and he simply sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

He figured this was what parents felt like; doing everything for their children, only to get a negative, ungrateful response, but still loving them anyway.

Janelle had been more understanding, which had surprised him greatly. When he had finished fighting off the rest of the complex and retreated to his room, she had entered, letting him rest his head in her lap, running her hands through his hair.

"You do what you need to, but do it for yourself, not us," was all she said, not giving him any room to argue.

"I have to do this," he sighed, "I can't let them get to you."

"We can take care of ourselves," she reminded, looking down at him, "Even with the pacifist mission statement."

"We help the heroes, we don't become them," he sighed, lacing their fingers together, "Why do I feel like I'm breaking that?"

"Because you are," she said, and he rolled his eyes, causing her to laugh, "But it's fine. This is an attack on you, you're allowed to fight back. We'll still be here and waiting, it'll be okay. We don't fight unless provoked, we stay on the side unless absolutely necessary. We'll be okay."

He truly hoped she was right.

º º º

It was a risk for everyone in the compound to be out on the street saying their tearful goodbyes, but with someone who could create illusions, hopefully they would be fine for the next few minutes before he was whisked away on another mission.

He had never done anything like this in a good few years. He had gone on missions before, but those were to help the X-Men, never to fight, only to aid, and he had a date when he would arrive back home, but this time everything was unclear. It was unclear where he was going, how long he would be gone, and especially if he was coming back.

Needless to say, everyone was in pieces.

"Listen to Janelle, okay?" he said, looking down at all the crying faces, wishing that he could feel the tug of longing that they did so he wouldn't feel so out of place, reaching out to pull some people back into hugs, ruffling hair and rubbing backs, "I'll come home soon, okay?"

"Sweets," Fury called out, "Ready to go?"

Terran held up a finger, mouthing for just one more minute, giving Fury a small smile when the man sighed but relented, pointing to his watch leaning back in his seat, tapping his fingers against his seat.

"Terran!"

The blond sighed with relief when he saw two figures racing towards him, the smaller one moving significantly faster than the other, which came as a huge shock to everyone, though if Terran truly thought about it, it made enough sense.

Rushing forward, he picked up Nicky, holding him close as the younger man buried his face in the crook of his neck, almost immediately bursting to tears, and Terran sighed, whispering to him softly, wishing that the whisper of an ache he felt would be stronger so he could sound genuine, seem like he could truly feel something.

"I'll be back before you know it, it's okay," he whispered, squeezing the young man-still a boy to him, really-to the point of breaking him, Nicky locking his ankles behind his back, mumbling nonsense, shaking his head, "Hey, hey, hey, c'mon, don't be like that, okay, you were okay with me going when I mentioned it."

"No, I wasn't!" Nicky cried, pulling back to grab at his cheeks, squeezing them together, shaking his head in a fit of hysteria, "I was not okay with it, how dare you think I was okay with it, do you even know me at all?"

Terran glanced over to Rhett who was just watching the scene with tired eyes, giving him a small shrug, and Terran sighed, closing his eyes and pulling Nicky back to him, hiding his face in his shoulder, the young man trying to disappear into him, clutching him tightly.

"I didn't think you were going to fight," Nicky whispered, taking a shaky breath.

"I might not have to," Terran tried, but even he scoffed at how flat he sounded.

"Do you see that lady with you? She looks like she could kill you with a napkin, and I bet she would," Nicky grumbled, burying his face so far in the crook of Terran's neck he was sure his head was going to come clean off, "I don't know if you're coming back."

Terran sighed; this was one of the reasons why he didn't want to go. Past the school and the complex and all the others, he didn't want to have to give Nicky another reason to think that everyone leaves, because for years that had been his mindset and motto, and after pushing him out of what he had promised to be a safe place, he didn't want to have to leave him as well.

No matter how much he tried, he always seemed to make things worse.

"Baby, look at me," Terran sighed, unhooking Nicky's legs from his waist and dropping him to the ground, steadying him with one hand while guiding his chin up to look him in the eye, "Look at me."

Nicky nodded. "I am."

Terran huffed a laugh and pulled him into a hug, ruffling his hair before pushing him back, lowering his head to look at him. "What did the giant say when he saw his favorite thing in the world?"

Nicky pursed his lips in a small smile, shrugging. That was something they always did before Terran left, something that always calmed the young man to some extent until he came back home. He'd always tell Nicky the first half of a joke, then tell it to him the second he came back, a way to promise him that he'd be back.

Nicky took a deep breath, but cracked at the last second, whimpering softly, and Terran sighed, pulling him into another hug. "It won't be any different than the other times, okay? I'll just get roughed up a bit more. I'm a big boy, I can handle it."

Nicky laughed softly at that, shaking his head. "Who's gonna make sure you sleep and stuff?"

"Like you said, the lady over there is the boss of everything, I'm sure she'll make me sleep," he said, rubbing his back and pulling away, placing his hands on his shoulders, "Now, c'mon."

Nicky just looked back up at him, almost unimpressed, and he smiled. "C'mon." Nicky blinked.

Terran groaned, rolling his eyes with a smile. "C'mon, Nicky, don't be like that. I don't know when I'm coming back, I'd like a smile. Please? Just one."

He watched as Nicky ducked his head before his lips curled into a smile. It wasn't the bright, lively smile that Terran always hoped for, but it was happy and it was enough for him, because at least the kid was smiling.

Bending down, he pressed a small kiss to his forehead before ruffling his hair and turning to Rhett, holding out his arms. "Okay, son-in-law, give us a hug."

Rhett laughed, shaking his head as he hugged him, the two patting each other's backs, Rhett standing on his tiptoes to make it a little easier on both of them, even with Terran bending down.

"If you see Steve Rogers," he said softly, taking a steadying breath, "Tell him...Tell him I'm sorry."

Terran pulled back, reaching up to place a hand on Rhett's cheek. The man had been a failsafe in the event that the supersoldier serum didn't guarantee a win for the Allied Powers, and after jumping to the twenty-first century with no way of going home, Rhett had been forced to deal with the fact that he could have kept Captain America from going under. That left too much guilt in a man with no where to go.

"I'll tell him you said hi," Terran said, "But you have nothing to be sorry for. Who knows, maybe you'll get a date."

Rhett scoffed, shaking his head. "Don't promise me that, I can't take it." He held out his arms to Nicky who planted himself firmly by his side, clearly trying not to rush to Terran again.

The blond walked over to Janelle who sighed sharply, hugging him tightly, not even blinking when he lifted her up, her legs wrapping around his waist.

"Take care of yourself," she whispered, cradling his head in her hands, "Don't worry about us, okay."

He sighed, shifting her in his arms, shaking his head. "You know I can't."

She sighed as well, giving him a small smile. "It was worth a shot. Now go on, make some friends, have some fun. No dating."

He pouted. "Captain America is gonna be there and you're telling me no dating?"

Janelle laughed, pressing their foreheads together. "Just...live your life, okay? You're allowed to have one."

He pulled her into a tight hug, shuddering softly. "Don't forget about me."

"No one could ever," she whispered, pulling back to kiss his forehead before dropping down to her feet, nudging him over to the van, "Now go on."

With that, he made his way into the van, closing the door behind him, immediately rolling down the window, looking out at the large group that no one else around them could see, giving them a small wave and a desperate attempt at a bright smile.

"I'll be home before you know it," he called out, just as they pulled out of the parking spot and made their way down the street, the complex fading from view, Terran leaning back to get one last glimpse of his family.

He sighed, setting back in his seat and rolling up the window, looking to his right to find Natasha looking at him. He smiled slightly, shrugging. "What?"

She shrugged as well, settling back into her own seat. "Didn't expect such a dramatic leave."

He hummed, still smiling, though it didn't reach his eyes, and he snuffed at the floor of the car with his shoe. "We're all we have, and this...they all know how terrified I am of this."

"Why would you let them?" she asked, and there was genuine curiosity in her tone, and it was interesting to hear her when she wasn't playing a role; though, if he was thinking about it, maybe she still was.

"Because I'm not training soldiers, I'm living with people," he replied, turning back to look at her, giving her a smaller smile, a more genuine one of his own, "In that complex are human experiments of all kinds, from mutants to random kids who found a way out. Their whole lives have been built around pleasing other people. They're allowed to feel what they want now."

"So you show them weakness?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

He shook his head. "I showed them strength. I'm human for being afraid, but I'm strong for not running away."

He saw a faint twitch of her lips, barely visible, and he could hardly see it there or in her eyes. But he could see the shift, and he knew that, even for just a brief moment, he had gotten her to agree. With a nod of his head, he turned his attention back to the window with a soft sigh.

"You ready to head back in, Sweets?" Fury asked, glancing back at him from the passenger seat.

Terran scoffed, shaking his head. "No."

Fury nodded. "Good."

AUTHOR'S NOTE

( 06.02.18 )

For all those who read Almost Happy, look at what Terran's question was, then think back to his first line in Almost Happy, like...just think for a hot second, then cry a little bit.

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed!