Chapter Text
It was an ordinary Tuesday morning when Wednesday made her decision.
There was only so much of sad puppy Xavier she could take.
She was going to contact Vincent Thrope.
How she was going to contact Vincent Thorpe, she wasn't sure, but she was definitely going to contact him. What she was going to do once she contacted him, she wasn't sure of that either. But she would think of something, something painful. She was Wednesday Addams, after all.
She went to Bianca first, citing some research. She was sure the siren was seeing right through her, but Bianca kept any comments to herself over their newfound truce and semi-friendship. Bianca didn't have a number or anything of the sort, but she did have information.
"Xavier was pretty sure there was someone in school keeping an eye on him for his dad. Nothing stalker-like or anything," she assured Wednesday, "But you know how your parents sent Thing. His dad always knew what had been going on around him whenever he went home for a break but never had to ask Xavier about it,"
The girl paused.
"Honestly, I think their relationship would be better if Vincent Thorpe could just hear all this stuff from his son himself instead of going through the trouble of hearing it from other people,"
Hmm. Wednesday would have scoffed. The man could easily be trying to control his son, but Bianca was not an idiot. She had known and known of both Thorpes' longer, and Wednesday knew it would be wise to consider her opinions.
"Thank you, Bianca," She had found it was much easier if you acknowledged the aid of your allies.
The siren smirked, "Yeah. Sure. Remember we have fencing practice later. I know how you get lost in your little investigations,"
Wednesday rolled her eyes but nodded. She had come to enjoy their spars.
Bianca smiled, a little on the side of bloodthirsty, "Good luck. Give him hell,"
Wednesday smiled to herself. Oh, she intended to.
xxx
If Wednesday wanted to narrow down who could give Vincent Thorpe information, she would need to know more about the man. Was he the kind of person to blackmail someone, would he pay someone or was there someone here who would do it out of loyalty?
The pictures in the nightshade library had shown one with a lanky brown-headed boy in a suit standing with two girls. One was in a short but classy green dress, blonde hair pinned up nicely, the other looking a bit older, long black dress and long black hair, bright red lipstick to make everything pop. The black-haired girl had arms around the other two.
Morticia Frump with underclassmen mentees Kate Laslow and Vincent Thorpe was the inscription right under the photo. Her mother, Rowan's mother and Xavier's father. All psychics, the most powerful psychics of their school years, to be exact. They had obviously known each other well if the implications of the photo were to be believed.
Mentees. Interesting.
Later in the same day, she had a call with her parents using the crystal ball. Once the usual unpleasantries had been exchanged and they had said all they could about their week, she requested that she be left alone with her mother.
Her father and brothers had happily left them to it.
"What can I do for you, Dear?"
"I saw a picture in the nightshades library. You are with two other psychics. Mentees?"
Morticia smiled a bit, a wistful smile on her face.
"Ah yes, the two of them were Kate and Vinnie, quite a handful too,"
"I didn't realize there was any sort of mentorship program in the school,"
Her mother nodded. "Not anymore, I suppose. The nightshades were in charge of some subtle matching, and even then, it wasn't done a lot. Only when necessary. In this case, Kate and Vinnie accidentally bonded themselves to each other. It sometimes happens when two people become each other's support,"
"But aren't psychic bonds normal?" Wednesday knew that much
"Temporary bonds for convenience, yes, but permanent ones have to be between compatible psychics and have to be approved through a panel of their own peers. It's an unofficial but respected process. What happened with Kate and Vincent was detrimental to both of them, and they needed a forced break. It was bad for both, so they thought having another psychic guide and support would make it easier. I regret that I couldn't help Kate as much as I wish I had, but Vincent was very receptive. We even had a temporary bond for some time,"
Her mother had bonded with Xavier's father. Interesting.
"So he was your friend?" she asked.
Morticia smiled, though there seemed to be a tinge of sadness, "Yes. It has been a long time since I've called him that, though,"
"Foolish of him to let go of important friendships," she said
Wednesday could see that her mother was grateful for the statement but didn't say anything. Wednesday appreciated that.
"It wasn't like that," assured her mother, "We merely grew apart as many do. He is just one I regret allowing to fracture. Vincent Thorpe was friendly with everybody but very loyal to the circle he kept close,"
Interesting.
"Thank you for the information, Mother,"
"Not a problem," said her mother, "And Wednesday?"
"Yes, Mother,"
"Don't permanently harm him, okay? The man had potential,"
Wednesday considered her mother, "I will take that under advisement,"
"Goodbye, Darling,"
With a flick of light, the crystal ball returned to its original opaque state.
Wednesday turned to Thing. "Did you get all that?"
Think drummed his fingers on a notepad before giving her a thumbs up.
"Good job," she told him, "Now, I have to sift through everyone that has access to Xavier's day and the people that could be reporting to Vincent and see if there's any overlap.
Blackmail was out. It was rarely effective in the long run, and her mother made Vincent Thorpe seem like a smart man. He could be paying somebody off, but it was likely that it had to be someone Vincent trusted, even if there was some payment or favours. Somebody who wouldn't turn on him if the deal stopped.
"Time for some digging," she told Thing
Thing tapped his fingers and quickly signed.
"Really, Thing. Don't be ridiculous. Of course, I want to do it now,"
More signing.
"So? That's never stopped me before, and also, what else am I supposed to do, huh? I do not take breaks and certainly do not social-"
Wednesday's phone pinged. She picked it up.
"Xavier," she said out loud.
Thing started to say something, but Wednesday pointed a threatening finger at him, "Not a word,"
The appendage held his fingers up in surrender, but she could tell he was still laughing at her.
X: Wanna come to the shed? I'm gonna try to control a drawing. Thought you might wanna see.
Thing perked up.
"Not. A. Word," she told him severely.
Wednesday contemplated it. It was almost dark out. If she went out at this time to investigate anything, Enid would most likely make a fuss. The other girl had been oddly protective since what happened the last term. And Wednesday didn't want to lie to her.
Not to mention, no matter how much she didn't want to admit it, Wednesday was a bit invested in Xavier's progress.
W: I will be there soon. Leaving my room now.
The response was instant. A thumbs up with a happy face.
Thing did his version of a happy dance. Wednesday threw a knife at him.
xxx
Wednesday chose not to knock when she got to the shed, opting to walk in as was her habit. She found Xavier standing in front of a flock of black-coloured birds. At first, she thought he might have been drawing more ravens, but at closer inspection, she realized that it was a murder of crows, all overlapping each other as they flew towards an unknown destination.
"It's very chaotic," she said in greeting.
Xavier spun around from where he had been looking at the painting, facing her with a huge smile on his face, "You came!"
Wednesday raised an eyebrow. "I did say I would, didn't I?"
Xavier chuckled, fingers twisting around each other. "Right,"
Wednesday took in his stance, the twisted hands, the way his eyes flicked between the painting and her. So, he was nervous. Interesting.
"So, you like it?" Xavier asked, gesturing to the painting behind him. Wednesday took another look at the painting. There were at least twelve individual crows, their feather overlapping each other as they flew upwards, feathers falling everywhere. As was the case with most of Xavier's paintings, this one also made the birds look very life-like and realistic, as if they could start moving any second. The background was a splash of blue, likely to represent the sky.
"It is something," she told him
"Right,"
There was a bit of silence.
"Are you doing this outside, then?" said Wednesday
Xavier shook himself like he was coming out of a stupor, "Oh-uh-yeah, yeah, of course,"
They carried the painting out of the shed and carefully laid it on the ground. Wednesday took a step back while Xavier stayed next to the painting. He gave her a quick glance and a nervous smile, "Here goes nothing,"
Xavier crouches down to hover his hands over the painting, slowly, the surface starts to ripple. One by one, the crows start to take flight. They circle above their heads first in a circular pattern but then eventually in an infinity sign. For about two minutes, Wednesday admires how Xavier controls the birds. It only lasts a few minutes, though, as the artists lose control of the birds. One breaks away, and Wednesday sees Xavier straining to get it back into formation.
It didn't work.
Instead, the birds started crashing into each other, raining down feathers and eventually fizzling out the way that spider had done when Wednesday had smashed it. Xavier brought the birds back down to the painting, but only two made it back. The others had already disintegrated.
Xavier's shoulders slumped down, and he sighed as he stood up. "Well, that could have gone better,"
Wednesday stepped up to the space beside him, "This was your first time trying something of this callibre, was it not?"
"Yeah,"
"Then you can hardly judge yourself,"
"Right," he was still staring at the painting with sad eyes. Wednesday wanted to wipe the look away, but how? Wednesday was still not the best at comforting people but she tried her best.
"Maybe, you could try with fewer birds first," she said
Xavier sighed, "Yeah. Maybe."
Wednesday frowned, "Xavier, even I know things take time. It took years for my writing-"
"Well, I don't have a year," he bit out, suddenly looking a lot more frustrated, "I don't have the time to-"
As quick as the anger had come, it disappeared. He wiped a hand down his face and turned towards her, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled. I'm just frustrated,"
"Xavier, what did you mean you didn't have time?" she asked him, "Is there...something wrong?" She tried not to let the worry show through, but she must not have done a good job.
"Oh no, no, no, no," said Xavier, giving the painting a sad look again, "Nothing like that. I just- I just really wanted to get this right,"
"Okay," she said, looking at him closely for any signs that he was trying to deceive her. She found none, "Do you want me to help you take it inside?"
Xavier gave her a tight smile, "No, that's alright. If you don't mind, I think I would like to be alone,"
"Okay, good night then," said Wednesday, turning and walking away before he could respond. When she was a couple of feet away, she looked back to see Xavier still standing at the painting, looking down with a forlorn look on his face.
Wednesday spent the rest of her night wondering what the hell had happened.
xxx
Wednesday was once again in the nightshades library, going through old photographs, trying to compile a list of people and compare it to the people around Xavier. Unfortunately, she was having very little luck. The art teacher, the librarian and the Dorm Dad would be the people that had the most contact with Xavier. The Dorm Dad had only been here for a couple of years and didn't seem to have any connection to Vincent. The art teacher seemed to treat Xavier like any other student, albeit a talented student. The librarian was a far stretch, to begin with.
Maybe Bianca had been wrong. Disappointing but not too surprising. She had been emotionally involved with Xavier during the time of their discussion. It would have influenced her opinions and feelings on the matter.
Wednesday sighed and started to look through the various pictures one more time. She had taken this much time getting them together. She might as well take another look. As she was flipping through the photos, she spotted what looked like a Nightshade 'class' photo. A face there caught her eye. A familiar face.
Following her gut, she looked around for a few more pictures. Sure enough, Gina Gonzalez had been a new student in Vincent's year. There was also a picture of her with another group labelled 'Fangs'
Fangs...Vampires!
What had Enid said? Some of them stayed there for decades. Of course! A student would have access. Now, Gina Gonzalez was still around and probably could be giving Vincent information, but Wednesday was hedging her bet on Sean Orlav. He was in the same hall as Xavier, and while he had started out a few years before her parents, he had obviously still been pretty close with them during his nightshade days.
Still, after the whole Tyler and Xavier fiasco, Wednesday wanted to be sure before she went ahead.
Frist, more ifnormation.
Second, snooping.
Wednesday found Yoko at dinner, sitting with some of the nightshades instead of the rest of the 'Fangs.' Some of the older vampires like to mingle amongst those their own age. Convenient for Wednesday. Xavier seemed to be missing as well, which, while a bit concerning after the last day's events, would also be beneficial to her.
"I have a question?" she said in lieu of a greeting.
"That's never ended well for anybody," said Divina, munching on the last of her meal, "Whatever you're going, I want no part,"
"The question is for Yoko,"
"In that case," Divina said while standing up, "I'm out. Good luck with whatever it is. If you burn the school down, give us a warning first, yeah?"
Wednesday rolled her eyes and waved the girl away, setting her yes back on the vampire.
Yoko sighed and shrugged, "Sure, ask away. This isn't another murder investigation, is it?"
"Nothing like that," said Wednesday as Bianca gave her a knowing look. She ignored it. "Enid mentioned vampires sometimes stay at this school for decades at a time. I was wondering why and what the criteria for their graduating are?"
"Oh," Yoko visibly brightened, probably glad it wasn't anything gory and bloody. Odd for a vampire, but Wednesday would take the cooperation. Yoko seemed to be very enthusiastic about talking about her species.
"Well, I'm sure you already know how biology and ageing work,"
"Of course," said Wednesday. It was all simple, really. Born vampires, on average, lived for 400 years, their females having the ability to have children up until the age of 100. The slow blood circulation and anemia made it difficult for female vampires to carry too many children, which was the only reason the world wasn't overrun by them. Turned vampires didn't age, couldn't procreate and had half the life span of born Vampires, dying off when their organs finally shut down due to the lack of pumping blood. Most turned vampires preferred assisted suicide as soon as the dying process started. It was known to be painful and could last for a few years. Not that there were many turned vampires, to begin with. The turning process was complicated and often left the participant dead instead of turned.
"Most vampire clans send their young vampires to school until they are mature enough to participate in another clan fully. Clan members are expected to stay, marry and procreate if they want to within the clan they choose, to give their loyalty irrevocably, so the decision to enter a clan at maturity is not made lightly. Between school years, we spend time visiting allies of the clans our parents belong to. Only the eldest child usually stays with the parent clan. The rare vampires that were turned young enough to fit in at school usually stay for five to six years before returning to the clan that turned them,"
"What about you then?" said Wednesday, out of curiosity more than anything else. Recently she had found herself more curious about her classmates.
Yoko smiled, "Oh me, I'm an only child. I get to stay. Most vampires who know which clan they will join stay for about fifteen years, as I will. Other people stay longer. The average is usually twenty to twenty-five years,"
"Who are the oldest ones here right now?" Wednesday knew the answer, but it was probably a good way to get Yoko to talk about her marks.
"Oh, that's Sean Orlav. He's been here almost forty years. After that, probably Jessie Maine and those few from her first high school cycle that are still left,"
Those would have been the 'Fangs' Gina was a part of.
"Why has Sean been here so long?"
"He wanted to start his own clan. It's a pretty difficult thing to do. You have to find allies to support you, rich outcasts to sponsor you. It takes longer to be ready. I believe he, Gina Gonzalez and the turned-vampire Deeksha Reddy are planning to head one after they graduate with our class,"
Interesting.
"Would sponsors include celebrities, even if they're not vampires?" asked Bianca, almost like she took the question right from the tip of Wednesday's tongue.
"Sure, of course, they're actually the best since they have a lot of connections,"
Vincent Thorpe was a celebrity with connections.
Yoko quickly looked at her phone and grinned before looking at them again, "Do you need anything else, if not I have a meet-up with some other vampire students,"
Wednesday shook her head, "No," she hesitated and then added, "Thank you,"
"Aaaaand that almost sounded natural. I'm impressed," said Yoko, as she stood up, "I would ask what this was about, but like Divina, I don't really wanna know. Bye!"
Once Yoko was out of earshot, Bianca turned to Wednesday, "You don't think..."
"It does make sense, doesn't it?"
"I guess so," said Bianca nodding, "Just make sure he's doing something truly reprehensible before you get him expelled, yeah? He's obviously worked hard to get to where he is,"
Wednesday merely nodded before leaving the table.
xxx
Wednesday sent out Thing first, and he came back with Sean's computer password in hand. Once she knew the room would be empty, Wednesday snuck in, leaving Thing as her lookout. She logged in as quickly as she could. It wasn't hard to find something from there. The app for Sean's emails was on his desktop and not password-protected. It was obvious he didn't think he would get caught or even that he was doing anything wrong.
After a quick read-through, she could see why. The emails were conspicuous, merely stating day-to-day life on campus. Occasionally, a more important tidbit of information would slip through but especially in the emails of the last year. Still, otherwise, most of them were about class behaviour and how Xavier seemed during meals, etcetera.
It seemed Bianca had been right. It was everything Vincent could find out if he took the time actually to contact his son instead of waiting for something important to come through the emails. A recent email even discussed Vincen't support for Sean's future clan.
Wednesday came upon a few emails mentioning herself and Xavier's incarceration. Apparently, Sean had not been too impressed by Vincent's lack of presence in Jericho at the time.
Interesting.
Despite Sean's future hinging on Vincent's support, it seemed that he was comfortable telling the man off. The language was quite vicious, even by Wednesday's own standards. Maybe she should take notes.
Vincent didn't respond to that email, but they must have resolved the issue somehow because, at the start of this semester, the emails started up again. They even mentioned his excessive trips to the shed.
Another thing Wednesday noticed was that unless something big had happened, like Xavier saving her from a gargoyle, Sean did not divulge information on his own. Vincent seemed to be sending emails at the end of every week, a few lines long, asking for an update. The agreement seemed casual instead of set in stone, probably Sean trying to keep his old friend close.
And as Bianca had suggested, not malicious.
Maybe Wednesday would spare Sean. To be safe, Wednesday took out a USB and downloaded and copied all the emails for future reading. After that was done, she erased all the evidence.
Sean did not seem like the kind of person to look too hard through his computer's memory.
As they stepped out, Thing asked how the heist had gone.
Wednesday gave the appendage one of her rare smiles, "Well. I'm getting closer,"
xxx
Xavier and her are once again partnered for a project. Which, really, was unfair. To everybody else, that is. They were both good students, on top of their classes, along with Bianca and a few of the older vampires, but Wednesday didn't count them.
The research for the project was done, and they had a very good draft. All that was done was to edit and correct any mistakes, and they still had a week to go. They had decided to take this time to work on other things instead. Wednesday was working on a short comedy, trying to diversify her writing skills while Xavier drew a...
...Another crow, it seemed.
"Why a crow?"
Xavier startled, pencil almost slipping, but he caught himself. "What?"
"The crow?"
Xavier tried to avoid her gaze, but she stared at him until he sighed.
"It reminds me of my dad, okay?"
Wednesday studied the picture. Last semester, he had been drawing a raven, drawing her. But as soon as she had been out of danger and they had reconciled properly, the connection had fizzled. He still drew the bird but not with the same obsession.
Now it was the crow.
Vincent Thorpe was a crow.
Interesting.
In response to Xavier, she merely said, "Makes sense." Even though it didn't.
Xavier wasn't a psychic or a seer like many had first thought. He was a soul walker. When he was asleep, he could walk into souls and minds and see intent and memories.
Turns out their therapist had been a target instead of a random attack.
All that did explain his obsession with raven last semester. The Hyde and Wednesday had posed the most influence over his life, and since he couldn't control his powers, he had been drawn to them in his sleeping hours. It did not explain why he was drawing his father.
But Xavier was obviously in no mood to explain, and Wednesday found that she did not want to push him.
She'd find out eventually.
xxx
Later that night, she went to her room to find Enid staring at her 'Thorpe' board.
"You know, Wednesday, there are easier ways to deal with a crush," she said, waving at the board, "Not that it isn't really beautifully done or anything. I appreciate the lack of blood, at least,"
Wednesday rolled her eyes, entirely ignoring the crush comment.
"I'm going to teach Vincent Thorpe a lesson," she told her best friend, though she would never call her that out loud.
To her mild surprise, the werewolf's smile got wider, "Oh yeah! Count me in! Is there anything I can do?"
Wednesday let the right side of her lips twitch up as the gears in her head turned, "You know what, Enid? I think I might have something for you to do. Just give me some time to get everything together,"
If Wednesday were a less resilient person, Enid's answering squeal would have made her cover her ears. As it was, she merely rolled her eyes again.
xxx
On Sunday, Wednesday was once again required to make a call back home through the crystal ball. This time she requested Mother Addams at the end of the call. Her grandmother smiled, showing off her crooked teeth.
"What can I do for my little witchling?"
"I want to give someone nightmares," she said, to the point
"Ah well, there are quite a few options that can work, even without the full powers of a witch, or I could send you some more powerful ones,"
"The person in question is not near me. I could not give them a potion,"
This gave her grandmother a pause. The older woman narrowed her eyes.
"Does this have anything to do with you asking your mother about Vincent Thorpe last week?"
Wednesday swallowed as her grandma gave her an assessing look. Despite a crystal ball between them, it felt like she was looking through Wednesday's soul. Though, in all fairness, there was a good chance she was. Mother Addams was one of the most powerful witches around. It was easy to forget that sometimes with her silly demeanour.
"Maybe,"
"Hmm," said the older woman, "I will send you some instructions on sending nightmares through the astral plane. As long as that is all you do, it should be fine. Be careful; you've not practiced before,"
Wednesday nodded, though she had no intention of following the instruction. She would take whatever punishment the old witch would doll out.
"I knew him, you know," she said, "Used to Call him Vinnie,"
"Oh?" she hadn't known that. Mother hadn't mentioned it. Though it made sense that her parents would share friends.
"Oh yes," she said, "He had stayed over one summer. Deathly afraid of spiders, that one." Wednesday could practically feel the glee coming off her grandmother, despite being miles away, "Nearly screamed himself silly once when he reached under the bed. Had to give him a room without the little critters,"
Wednesday matched her grandma's smile.
"Good to know,"
"Have a terrible night, my little witchling,"
"Sweet Nightmares, Grandmother,"
xxx
Before the weekend ended, Wednesday took another look around the nightshades quarters. She wanted to make sure she had not missed anything. As she looked tough some older things, she came upon what seemed like a time capsule.
She was looking through the odds and ends when she felt herself fall into a vision.
A small but brightly decorated room.
A young boy.
Moving pictures. Butterflies.
"Again, Papa!"
"Sure, son. One more time,"
Interesting.
xxx
Wednesday was in the bee shed with Eugene when she got another text from Xavier.
X: Hey, I'm gonna try again. Do you wanna be here?
Wednesday furrowed her brow. She did want to be there, if not for any other reason than that Xaiver had seemed fragile the last time he had tried to expand his powers. Also, unlike her, it seemed people didn't really come out and ask if they wanted others there. This was obviously Xavier saying he wanted her there; she knew him that much by now. He wouldn't have texted at all otherwise.
But she had also made a commitment to the hummers. She didn't like reneging on those.
Eugene must have seen something on her face because he gave her a grin reminiscent of Pugsley when he had found out about the cell phone.
"Xavier?" he asked
Wednesday nodded.
"Go ahead," he told her, "We're almost done here; I don't mind,"
"Are you sure, Eugene,"
Eugene nodded, "'Cuorse. You're probably better off there. We've all noticed him moping,"
So she wasn't the only one noticing his demeanour. Concerning. She was more observant than the average. If other people were noticing too, maybe the problem was more serious.
She thanked him and left for Xavier's shed.
xxx
Xavier stared at the phone. No answer.
He shouldn't let himself think about it too deeply. Wednesday usually answered her texts instantaneously if her phone was on her. However, she had a habit of leaving her phone if she wanted to be focused on something and then not picking it back up for hours at a time. She could just be busy with something. It didn't mean anything.
Xavier knew it was stupid to rely on someone else's presence like this, but for some reason, he really felt like doing this with her. It's not like she was his only friend. Ajax had spent many a night listening to him rant. Bianca had also become one of his main support systems since they had resolved their breakup. Most of the nightshades were close friends and would love to be there for him.
However, there was something about his and Wednesday's connection that made him want her here for this. Maybe it's cause she understood his powers in a way that his other friends didn't, or maybe it was her no-nonsense. Either way, he was not acting like a pathetic little-
His thoughts were interrupted by the door opening. Wednesday stepped inside, careful to shake off the mud.
"You didn't text back," he blurted out.
Wednesday raised an eyebrow. "You know how I am with those things,"
"Right," he said, feeling foolish all over again, "Of course,"
Wednesday looked him up and down, gaze assessing. A few months ago, he might have shrunk away from it. Now, he didn't mind her scrutinization, welcomed it even. It felt like being cared for by her.
"Are you still trying the painting," she said eventually, probably choosing not to comment on anything else she had seen on him.
"Yes," he said, as he moved towards the painting he had set down. "Thanks for coming,"
She nodded and opened the door so he could carry the painting out. Once there were in a clear area, he gestured for the girl to sit down with him. He set the painting down in front of them.
"I took your suggestion and only painted one crow this time," he told her. The disappointment of the first time had stung, but after it had passed, Xavier had taken her advice into consideration. He'd gone back to basics and done smaller birds doing small tasks. He was now confident he was ready to show her the start of his bigger plan.
Wednesday gestured for him to continue, so he put his hand over the bird until it hopped out of the canvas. He let it hover in place for a little bit and then sent it to the nearest tree branch. There he compelled it to pluck a leaf and then come back down. The crow landed in front of Wednesday and looked up at her with beady eyes. She held out his hand, and it hopped up there.
Xavier was so engrossed in his success that it took him a moment to notice the softened look on Wednesday's face. Once he did, he almost lost connection with the bird. Almost.
The crow put the leaf into Wednesday's hand and, per Xavier's silent instructions, hopped back into the canvas. For a few moments, they both sat in silence.
"Can I ask you something?" she said, finally breaking the silence.
"Sure," he told her, not minding the lack of comment on the performance. He'd seen her clearly slip the leaf into her bag.
"Why is this so important to you," she said, "I know we're all here to advance our powers, but you seem very intent on this, not to mention that little outburst last week,"
Xavier winced, "Yeah, that wasn't my best moment,"
"I don't mind. I've certainly had my bad moments. One of them landed you in jail. I'm just curious. I wouldn't mind knowing why I keep getting dragged out here,"
Xavier chuckled. He could probably tell her. She might think he was a little pathetic, but hey, she thought that about everybody. Overall, she seemed a lot more tolerant of his patheticness. Enid and Thing always told him it was a sign of her affection.
"You know how my dad didn't show up when I was in jail,"
Wednesday pursed her lips and nodded, her eyes a little dark. He didn't blame her. The whole thing still hurt, even though he knew his dad had had his reasons.
"Turns out he really couldn't be here. He was with clients, doing deep psychic/astral things for them. He basically puts himself in a coma for those. I'm sure you know more about how those work,"
She nodded.
"Anyway, he didn't even realize what was going on. His assistant was the one who sent the lawyer. After he came to, it took him a few days to adjust enough to travel back to the states. Remember how he got here two days after the whole Crackstone situation?"
Wednesday nodded again.
"He tried to explain. I didn't want to listen. We got into a fight that pretty much lasted until we got home. After that, I guess he felt guilty cause he started being around a lot more. Cancelled a lot of his foreign appointments, took me along with to a couple of the ones in the country,"
It had been odd. He had never been taken along to his father's work. It had been a long time since they had spent doing much together. They were usually only together for holidays and summer break. Holidays always went by too quickly, filled with parties, while summer break consisted of them only seeing each other at breakfast, dinner and both their birthdays. The change this break had been a treat, and like the fool he was, he'd gotten attached to the idea of all of it, even though he'd probably be disappointed again. It would probably stop once the guilt did.
"I decided to do this for his birthday. Do a show of a bunch of crows,"
He let out a little self-deprecating laugh, "It's probably stupid, I know and a little pathetic but it feels-"
Xavier was startled into silence as a small hand slipped into his and squeezed gently. He looked up, shocked to see her looking at him with the kindest look he had seen on her face.
"I'm not good at this," she said matter of factly
"Wednesday it's not- you don't have to-"
Wednesday silenced him with another squeeze of her hand.
"First, it's not pathetic. You're not afraid to take a chance after being disappointed. It's a little insane, but the brave kind. It's the kind of insanity I can admire,"
Xavier chuckled and squeezed her hand back.
"Oh, is it?" he said as a soft warmth bloomed into his chest. For all her talk about not understanding emotion, she had sure gotten good at making him feel better. Or maybe her blunt way worked for him. Either way, he was grateful.
"Second, I think he will appreciate it,"
"Yeah?"
"Yes," she said and then after a moment, "If he doesn't, I will clip his little black wings," the delivery was done in the most deadpan way possible, even for her.
Xavier's laughter echoed through the trees.
xxx
Vincent would appreciate his son's gift.
Wednesday would make sure he appreciated his son's gift.
xxx
Miles away, Vincent Thorpe felt a chill go down his spine. It reminded him oddly of Mother Addams.
Good Devil in Hell, he hoped he hadn't pissed her off.
Unbeknown to him, he should have been worried about the witchling instead of the witch.