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Winter meant many things for many people. The joy of the first fall of snow, the risk of frozen roads, curling up next to the fireplace, you name it. Joy, terror, comfort, and everything in between was most embodied by the first frost of winter.
For Seol Hee, it would always mean the start of something new.
Even before she gained her powers, years back into her childhood, a new chapter of her life would always begin at the start of winter. The very first had been when her grandparents had taken her in, a promise to her late parents to keep her safe and happy. They had all ended up bonding by making snowmen that day.
So, for all its faults, winter was the season that Seol resonated with the most. Maybe that was why fate decided to give her powers over ice. Powers were a reflection of their wielder’s personalities more often than not, to the point that Reed was trying to study whether or not that was either mere coincidence or some form of cosmic alignment. Knowing their luck, Seol was placing her bets on the cosmic alignment option. Everything happens for a reason, after all.
Seol found herself at an older cabin in the mountains, the first snow of the year nipping against her skin. She paid it no mind though. If anything, it was the first of many familiar elements to this place, which she drank in like a warm cup of cocoa. The frozen lake that sat next to the cabin that glowed in the sunlight, the trees above the cabin roof, even the way the sun peeked over the tip of the nearby mountain.
Seol had had this dream before, often enough to recognize it as a dream. She was sitting on the porch, her feet dangling over the lake, and in a few moments, Amadeus Cho would hug her from behind. It had happened most often early into their time in the Agents of Atlas, back when she felt certain that something would happen between them. Cindy’s inclusion in the equation highlighted Amadeus’s indecisiveness, and the dream dropped its frequency of appearances. She still liked the guy, don’t get her wrong, but—
And that was when a pair of pale, slender arms wrapped around her, and a voice spoke from behind. “Morning, sunshine.”
Wait.
Wait wait wait wait wait.
Those weren’t Amadeus’s arms, and that was most certainly not his voice. Seol turned her gaze behind her, and her eyes widened at what she saw.
“Peni? ”
True enough, instead of who she expected, there sat one Peni Parker, her blue eyes full of humor. “Were you expecting Prince Charming?”
In spite of the oddity of the situation, Seol couldn’t help but let out a laugh. “No, maybe not. I’m still waking up a bit.”
“Figured as much. Speaking of….”
Peni lifted up a mug that had been sitting beside Seol, one that was steaming hot and ready for consumption, and she grinned accordingly. “Morning coffee?”
Considering how sleepy Seol felt (which was the single most ironic thing you could say about a dream), she eagerly took the coffee cup and took her first sip. Her eyes went alight when she recognized the specific taste. “Blonde roast with mint?”
Peni’s grin grew all the more energetic. “Told you I’d remember!”
Honestly, dream or not, it was a touching sentiment, and something that Seol could easily see the real world Peni doing. She was an incredibly thoughtful girl, able to catch onto specific details with ease and remember them when they’d slip out of others’ minds. Hell, that aspect of her quite literally saved their lives against Hela! It was hard not to admire! Especially when it was one of Peni’s greatest strengths.
It was at that moment that Seol noticed the mischievous glint in Peni’s eyes, an oddly infectious joy that Seol couldn’t help but crack a smile at. “Something on your mind?”
“No, it’s not about what’s on my mind… it’s about what’s on your mind.”
The realization dawned on Seol in that exact moment. The same setting of a dream she’s had lord knows how many times. The sudden swap to the person who she had grown very close to very quickly. The odd awareness that said person seemed to have in the dream at that moment, plus she herself knowing that it was a dream….
“You know this is a dream, don’t you?”
The dream Peni let out a mischievous giggle as she leaned in closer to Seol. “Alright, alright, you caught me. I am but a figment of your thoughts and feelings! Which, by the way, they’re pretty strong if I’m able to realize I’m a dream person.”
Another fluttery laugh escaped Seol as she took in the situation in disbelief. “This… this is a first, if I’m being real. Like what, is this a sign I’m losing my mind? Or is this just what happens after a party at the Baxter Building?”
“If you lost your mind, I wouldn’t be here trying to help you out.”
God, this is so weird, Seol couldn’t help but think. As far as dreams went, this had to be the strangest one so far. Hell, the dream itself knew it was a dream! How often did that even happen?! It reminded her of that one British-American film that Cindy had shown her a while back, with dreams inside dreams. What was it called again?
“Inception?” Peni chimed in.
Seol blinked in surprise. “Wait, how did you—?”
“This is your mind! ” Peni replied, pointing all over the area. “I’m part of your mind, I can hear your thoughts! Ooooooo!”
The two of them shared another laugh at the mental shenanigans, and Seol couldn’t help but focus on the sound of Peni’s laugh in particular. It was a sound she had committed to memory not long after they first bonded, so full of energy and joy. It was proof positive that in spite of all the woes she had endured, she was still an incredibly high-spirited and genuinely good person that Seol couldn’t help but admire.
“Seriously, with thoughts like that, no wonder you’ve caught feelings for the real Peni,” the dream Peni interjected, pulling Seol out of her thoughts and—
“Wait wait wait, what? Catching feelings? You’re part of my head, you should know—”
“About Amadeus, I know, but I’m here this time instead of him, and be honest with yourself, when was the last time you actually talked to him?”
That… was actually a good point. Things had gotten to a point where Seol had been fed up by Amadeus’s lack of decisiveness as to who he wanted between herself and Cindy that she… basically ghosted most of the Agents of Atlas. Lie was the only one she’d actually been talking to about the issue because of how he understood the frustrations of being in a love triangle (which was apparently a source of grief for him prior to becoming a superhero). What made the situation all the more frustrating was that she and Cindy had, somehow, become decent friends with one another in the process. The end result was a bubble of conflicting feelings where she wanted her friend to be happy, but at the same time she wanted their shared romantic interest to just choose her so that the whole triangle situation could be done with.
And she wasn’t going to do the throuple option. She wasn’t an X-Man.
“Checking in with them would actually help out, y’know,” Peni chimed in, “it might actually help settle things.”
“Especially if me ghosting them meant they grew closer.”
“You really didn’t think that through, did you?”
“Hey, you’re most likely my subconscious, that means you didn’t think it through either!”
The dream Peni let out an indignant snort at the quip. “Yeah, true… but that also means I’m here to warn you.”
“Warn me? Of what— oh. ”
The realization hit her like a freight train. One that she couldn’t ignore, even with her lingering feelings over Amadeus, however much they had waned.
Seol Hee had caught feelings for Peni Parker.
“Oh noooooo,” Seol cried out as she buried her face in her hands, “don’t tell me I’m now the indecisive lead in my grandma’s soap operas!”
“Not yet, silly!” Peni exclaimed. “The whole point of warning you is to prevent that! ”
Seol let out a relieved huff. “Okay, good… wait, yet. I’m going to have to figure that part out soon, aren’t I? Especially with the Gala coming up, crap ….”
“Also the fact that you should’ve realized you weren’t as straight as you thought.”
Seol blinked. “That too… which means another thing to hide from my manager! Crap!”
Yes, she didn’t tell her manager everything. The whole idea of being an idol included pushing that “available girlfriend for everyone” image, so the idea of her having her own romantic interests would’ve hurt that, but come on, she was a human being too!
“Well, at least you can hide this in a dream,” Peni stated as she leaned in close….
—.---.---.---.
The sun’s rays hit Seol’s eyelids with an inviting intensity, like they were beckoning her to the land of the awake. She slowly stirred awake, her eyes fluttering open as she heard the sounds of the kitchen echoing out across the room. An unexpected benefit of an open concept room, she supposed. It also meant she had fallen asleep in the Baxter Building’s rec room and not her allotted bedroom—
And her thoughts were immediately scrambled when she felt the sensation of someone cuddling up close to her. All it took was a quick glance down to confirm just who it was.
Yep, I had a feeling.
Peni had, somehow, fallen asleep right on top of Seol. Specifically, with Seol’s arms wrapped around Peni, Peni’s hands clinging onto Seol’s back, and Peni’s head resting snuggly in the crook of Seol’s neck. Needless to say, the blush that arose on Seol’s face was nothing short of fierce.
“Are you two going to wake up yet?”
Seol had to bite back an indignant squeak when she heard that voice. Her gaze darted back up, catching sight of Illyana as the X-Member leaned over the couch with an annoyed expression on her face.
“Don’t startle me like that!”
“Had to. The others are doing a special breakfast on the balcony, and they’re almost done cooking. They’re acting like it’s the first sunrise in the city.”
“It’s the first one since Eternal Night….”
Illyana shrugged. “Good point.”
And that was when a certain detail clicked in Seol’s mind, like one of Peni’s mines going off. “That would also make it Peni’s first sunrise here. I didn’t think of that until now….”
“What is it with you two anyway? From what I’ve heard, you’ve only known each other for about a month and a half.”
Had… had it really only been a month and a half? With how everything had been happening, it felt way longer than that short time. If anything, it served to emphasize just how quickly she and Peni had bonded, and how deep that bond went, for that matter. Was that how MJ felt when she met Peter? She’d have to ask her later.
“I should probably wake Peni up,” Seol muttered as she moved her hands up to Peni’s shoulders and started lightly shaking the smaller girl, “rise and shine, sleepy head. The sun’s out for once.”
It didn’t take long for Peni to stir awake, and in a few moments, a pair of powder blue eyes were staring into Seol’s own amber and icy blue. “Morning… and it actually is morning for once. Nice change of pace.”
Seol couldn’t help but giggle. “You can say that again.”
What she wasn’t expecting, though, was for Peni to gain a mischievous grin. “Nice change of pace.”
Cue Seol’s giggle bursting into a hearty laugh. “Oh my god, you’re way too corny for your own good!”
Peni very quickly joined in with a laugh of her own. “It’s a Spider thing, what can I say?”
Illyana shook her head as she walked back into the kitchen, muttering something about losing a bet. Maybe it was a trick of the light, though, because Seol could’ve sworn she saw a tiny grin on the X-Member’s face.
Well, at least she had the support of an X-Member… maybe?
“Are those cinnamon pancakes I smell?” Peni asked.
“I think so,” Seol replied, glancing in the general direction of the kitchen, “I think that’s your dad in there. Wanna grab a bite to eat?”
“Please, I’m starving.”
The two of them were quick to rise from the couch, though Seol had to admit, she did want to hold Peni a little bit longer, but alas, breakfast came first. At the very least, she could share it with the person who she’d grown so fond of so quickly.
Seol couldn’t help but smile to herself. Maybe this choice wouldn’t be too hard after all.