Chapter Text
The peace lasted exactly three and a half weeks.
Stan Edgar had arranged an apartment for the two of them.
It technically had two bedrooms.
However, Jordan had insisted on turning it in to a home gym, which coincidentally meant the two of them sharing a room, and a bed.
The apartment wasn’t anything big or flashy, 5th floor, two bedrooms, 678 square feet.
They were slowly making it a home, Marie didn’t have a lot of stuff, but Jordan promised to take her shopping.
Then they were invited to Aunt Pam’s and Annabeth for dinner.
Marie and Jordan had been equally nervous for the same reasons, this was Marie’s family… they were meeting Marie’s only family.
Holy fuck.
Marie had spent that morning fussing. She had cleaned the apartment, yelled at Jordan when they walked in on the carpet with their running shoes, and then recleaned.
“You’ve changed three times,” Jordan said, leaning in the doorway, half amused.
Marie didn’t turn before replying. “It’s dinner. With my aunt. And my baby sister. You don’t understand.”
Jordan grinned. “Baby, we’ve fought Thomas Godolkin, we can handle Aunt Pam.”
Marie around to be faced with a freshly showered Jordan, in… “Are those Pokémon boxers?” She asked.
“No they are Digimon boxers, and they are my lucky charm, I’m pulling out all the stops today.” Jordan replied with a smile.
Marie rolled her eyes, but her mouth betrayed her with a small smile.
“You are ridiculous.”
“Ridiculous? Marie Moreau, you wound me” Jordan crossed the room and wrapped their arms around her from behind.
Marie hummed as they kissed her neck.
She had discovered one fundamental truth about Jordan in the time they’d spend together.
They were a huge nerd.
“Sometimes I can’t believe that I’m attracted to you.”
She laughed as Jordan bit her neck in retaliation.
Jordan laughed too and let her go.
“You can’t even begin to describe how wet my Digimon boxers are making you right now, you are just that overcome with sexual attraction.” Jordan didn’t wait for a response before leaving to finish their getting ready in the bathroom, humming as they went.
That reminded Marie.
She changed earrings 5 times before settling on her usual ones.
Then walked in to the bathroom where Jordan had just finished with their hair.
“Hey I’ve got a boy question for you?” She began.
Jordan made eye contact with her in the mirror, before gesturing to their currently male body.
“Hit me.”
“Why when boys are like playing guitar and singing to a girl… why is it always Riptide?” She asked, she had been wondering for a while.
Jordan maintained eye contact for a few before throwing their head back with laughter.
They turned around and leaned against the counter.
“Because it is so easy to play! The entire song is like 3 accords. It’s literally Am–G–C.”
“So low effort?” Marie concluded as she followed them into their bedroom to get dressed.
Jordan agreed with the statement and saw the outfit Marie chosen for them.
They looked up at her.
“You don’t have to wear it or anything, I just thought that you would look nice in it.”
“Of course I’ll wear it.” Jordan leaned down and kissed her forehead before turning to get dressed.
A deep green, button up with short sleeves, a zipper cardigan an a pair of soft pants.
They looked great if they had to say so themself, which they didn’t because Marie told them.
She had chosen a very similar colour green for her sweater, which she had paired with her usual dark jeans and boots.
— — —
When they finally got in the car, Marie’s leg wouldn’t stop bouncing.
Jordan reached over and stilled it with their hand.
“Hey. She’s gonna be happy to see you. Both of them are.” Marie stared out the window.
“Annabeth’s been through so much. I realised after God U and Godolkin that I don’t even know how to… be her sister anymore.”
Jordan’s voice softened. “You just show up. That’s enough.”
“Distance me?” Marie requested as she interlaced their fingers.
“I’m think about getting a tattoo, on my arm, you know like a sleeve.” “Oh that would be so hot, like in black or with colour?”
— — —
Aunt Pam’s apartment sat on a quiet street, the kind with children playing in the streets and old people talking and watching on the nearby benches.
Annabeth was already waiting out by the front when they pulled up.
She practically launched herself at Marie the second she stepped out of the car. Marie hugged her back tightly, breathing her in, soap, shampoo, the faintest trace of the lavender lotion, their mom had always used. Her heart ached.
“Hey, Annie.”
“You’re late,” Annabeth said, but she was smiling, eyes shining.
“We are exactly on time, 2 minutes ago” Jordan said with a smile as hugged Annabeth.
Marie watched Jordan with her sister, she couldn’t explain what it did to her. But I made her ache and long for something.
Inside, Aunt Pam was setting the table.
Her eyes flicked over Jordan quickly, then softened when she looked at Marie.
“There she is,” Aunt Pam said, voice warm but firm. “Back from exile and bringing company.”
“Hi, Au- eh. Hi Pam,” Marie said quietly.
“This is Jordan Li, my partner”
Pam’s eyes flicked over Jordan, a quick, assessing look that lingered just a bit too long. “Partner, huh,” she said finally.
“So… you’re the one who is a girl/boy then?”
The air went tight.
Jordan smiled politely, shoulders straight. “Sometimes,” they said evenly. “But I’m in guy form today, yeah.”
Pam’s brows lifted a fraction. “Right.” Her tone wasn’t cruel, just cool.
The kind of tone adults use when they’re trying to sound polite but are processing something they don’t really want to understand.
Marie’s stomach twisted. “Pam,” she said, quietly warning.
But Pam only shrugged and stepped aside. “Well, come in. I made roast chicken. Hope that works for both of you.”
“Sounds great,” Jordan said, voice soft but steady.
Annabeth practically darted in between them, linking arms with both Marie and Jordan to break the tension. “With the crispy skin?” she asked, eyes wide.
Pam gave a faint, proud smile. “Of course. It’s Sunday.”
As they walked in, Marie mouthed sorry to Jordan, who just shook their head with a reassuring smile.
Dinner smelled amazing, herbs, and something buttery that made Marie’s chest ache with nostalgia.
The conversation stayed polite at first, how they were feeling, what the hospital had said, the new apartment.
Then Pam looked up, setting down her knife and fork. “So, Jordan,” she said, voice carefully neutral. “What exactly do you do?”
Marie tensed.
Jordan smiled, calm but not oblivious. “Right now? Trying to keep up with Marie.”
Annabeth snorted into her water. “Good luck with that.”
Pam’s lips twitched, almost a smile, but not quite.
Jordan continued, still polite. “Before all this, I was training for field assignments at Godolkin. I guess now it’s… community work, until the school rebuilds.”
Pam nodded slowly. “I see. Well. I’m sure that’s… complicated work.”
Marie finally jumped in, her tone sharper than intended. “It’s good work. Important work.”
Pam didn’t argue.
“What are your plans for the future?” She asked.
Marie was about to intervene when Jordan place their hand in her lap.
“Well my dream and plan has always been joining The Seven, to be a hero- but they aren’t really heroes, so I don’t really know anymore…maybe a firefighter? Some kind of first responder” Jordan replied honestly.
They hadn’t had a chance to talk about the future in that way, and Marie had wondered what Jordan wanted to do after their dream had been crushed.
“Sounds great, you’d make a hot Firefigther.” Annabeth responded.
Jordan smiled at her as Marie said her name.
Then the silence stretched, not hostile, just heavy, until Pam spoke up again, looking at Jordan. “So… what’s it like? Being able to switch?”
Marie groaned softly. “Pam.”
Jordan chuckled. “It’s okay. Uh… weird sometimes. But also kind of freeing. I get to be both. Or just one. Depends on the day.”
Pam nodded thoughtfully, but still looked faintly puzzled. Like she wanted to say something but didn’t know how to without sounding rude.
Jordan felt Marie’s knee bump theirs under the table, a quiet little gesture that said thank you.
Pam cleared her throat. “Well,” she said finally. “I’m sure that… takes a lot of balance.”
Jordan smiled, small but genuine. “Yeah. It does.”
The conversation softened after that, but the awkwardness didn’t fully leave.
Then Annabeth mentioned Stan Edgar. “He’s been calling a lot,” she said. “Wants to talk about some ‘partnership program’ for Godolkin survivors.”
Aunt Pam’s fork froze halfway to her mouth.
“That man doesn’t do anything out of kindness.” Marie frowned. “You think he’s planning something?”
Aunt Pam looked at her with a mixture of love and worry. “Sweetheart, I know he is. He’s Vought. And Vought doesn’t build you up unless they can break you down later.”
Jordan’s hand found Marie’s under the table.
Then Aunt Pam broke her promise to Annabeth and told Marie about her visions and the headaches.
Marie’s face immediately fell into a worried frown.
“What is she talking about?”
“It’s nothing, its just the visions have been getting stronger, more frequent… and painful…” Annabeth admitted not meeting anyone’s eyes.
“She is writhing in pain, bleeding from her ears when they happen.” Aunt Pam revealed.
“Jesus” Jordan muttered.
“Annie, you’ve got to let me heal you” Marie insisted.
“Marie, its really not like tha-“
“I don’t like it either, but you need to let Marie help you” Pam pushed.
So after dinner, Annabeth sat quietly on the couch, her knees pulled close to her chest. The plates were still on the table, but nobody could think about dessert now.
Marie was pacing. She had an idea, but she didn’t know if it would work. “She’s in pain every time it happens,” she said, voice shaking. “I can’t just sit here.”
Jordan reached out, steady. “Then don’t. Do what you do best.”
Pam looked up sharply. “You’re not experimenting on her.”
“I’m not experimenting,” Marie said, turning toward her. “I’m fixing her.”
Annabeth looked up then, exhausted but trusting. “If you think you can help, do it. Please.”
Marie swallowed hard and turned to them. “I need a knife.”
Pam froze. “Marie—”
“I can’t pull it out without blood. Please.”
There was a long pause before Pam reached for the carving knife on the counter.
She hesitated again, then handed it over, handle first.
Marie knelt in front of her sister. “Okay, Annie. Just breathe. I’m here.”
Then, without flinching, she pressed the blade to her sister’s palm and drew it across, shallow but clean. The blood welled up, and her power flickered to life immediately.
Marie pressed her hand to Annabeth’s chest, just above her heart. The other held her bleeding hand. “Focus,” she whispered to herself.
The air around her almost vibrated. Annabeth gasped as something deep inside her body shifted. Marie could see it now, in that strange intuitive way her power let her: the threads of V in her sister’s blood, glowing faint blue beneath her skin.
“Got you,” Marie breathed, blood running down her nostril.
She pulled.
Annabeth let out a strangled cry as blue veins lit up under her skin, the compound being drawn out, molecule by molecule. Ripping apart before healing. The glow traveled up Marie’s arm, through her blood, until she clenched her hand and forced it out.
A viscous stream of blue liquid spilled onto the carpet, sizzling faintly before it faded.
Marie slumped forward, gasping. Her powers healing Annabeth’s cut right away. Annabeth blinked rapidly, tears streaming down her face, but she wasn’t in pain anymore. Her pulse was steady.
Pam stared, frozen. “What did you just do?”
Jordan’s eyes darted to the blue stain on the floor.
“She… she pulled it out.”
Marie looked up, pale and trembling. “I took the V out of her blood.”
For a long, stunned moment, no one spoke.
Annabeth touched her chest, almost afraid to believe it. “I… I can’t feel it anymore,” she whispered. “It’s gone.”
Jordan knelt beside Marie, gripping her shoulders. “You unmade a supe.”
Pam sank into the armchair, staring blankly at the carpet. “Dear God.”
Marie’s voice was quiet but certain. “No. I gave her back her life.” She looked at her sister, who was breathing freely for the first time in weeks.
The room stayed silent except for the soft hum of the refrigerator. The faint blue stain on the carpet was the only proof of what had just happened.
Jordan finally broke the silence, voice low. “If Vought ever finds out what you can do…”
Marie met their gaze, eyes dark and unwavering. “Homelander.”
--- --- ---
Later, Pam was tucking an exhausted Annabeth to bed and Marie and Jordan were doing dishes.
“I can’t believe you did that” Jordan said still in awe as they dried the plate Marie handed them.
“Neither can I. But Jordan…you and I mean this. You can’t tell anyone this.But I was inspired by Aang taking away the Firelords bending.” Marie said like it was her darkest secret.
Jordan laughed.
“See, I told you that watching The last Airbender wasn’t a waste of time”
“Even if we hid have so sacrifice flying” Marie joked handing them another plate.
Pam entered the kitchen while they were joking.
“Jordan can I talk to Marie alone?” it wasn’t a question.
Jordan squeezed Marie’s hip as they walked past her.
Pam sighed before she quietly said, “They seem… kind.”
Marie exhaled. “They are.”
” Good. You need kind.” Pam replied in a tone Marie couldn’t quite place.
“Marie, we’ve…- I’ve been unkind”- Pam held up her hand to stop what ever protest Marie wanted to voice.
“- No I have been, I know. But thank you so much for this. You’ve made up for it with this- you gave your sister a chance of a normal life. Your parents would be so proud of you” Pam said with tears in her eyes.
A part of Marie wanted to point out that being a supe wasn’t a bad thing or a death sentence, but she didn’t- she accepted the apology and the praise.
— — —
Marie said her goodbyes to a sleeping Annabeth, kissing her forehead.
Then quickly, awkwardly, hugged Pam before hurrying out the door.
Leaving Pam and Jordan staring first after her and then at each other.
“She always runs,” Pam said softly, half to herself. “Always feels too much, then bolts before it swallows her whole.”
Jordan gave a small smile. “Yeah. She’s a fixer. Always trying to save everyone else, even when she’s the one bleeding.”
Pam looked at them for a long moment. “And you? You one of the ones she’s trying to fix?”
Jordan shook their head. “No. I just make sure she remembers she doesn’t have to do it alone.”
That earned them a tiny, reluctant smile. Pam exhaled. “You know, I’m not really their aunt. Not by blood. But I’m what they’ve got. Closest thing to family.”
Jordan nodded. “Then you’ve done right by them. You gave Annabeth a home when she needed it. And while I personally believe that you left Marie in the gutter, you have the option to do something now, to give her something to come back to.”
Pam’s eyes softened a little. But the guilt was still evident. “It’s nice… seeing someone take care of her for once. She’s spent her whole life patching holes that weren’t hers to fix.”
Jordan hesitated, then said quietly, “She takes care of everyone, even the people who don’t deserve it. It’s about time someone takes care of her.”
Pam studied them, her expression unreadable for a moment. Then she reached out, touched Jordan’s arm gently, an unexpected gesture.
“Then don’t let her do it alone,” she said. “She’s got enough ghosts.”
Jordan nodded. “I won’t.”
Pam gave one last look toward Annabeth’s door before turning away. “Drive safe,” she said, disappearing into the kitchen.
— — —
Outside, the air was cool, the sky getting dark.
Marie was sitting in the passenger seat, hands clasped tight in her lap. She didn’t look up as Jordan got in.
The first few minutes of the drive were silent, just the faint hum of the engine.
Then Marie spoke, voice soft. “I did it, Jay. I actually pulled it out. The V. I didn’t think I could.”
Jordan kept their eyes on the road, jaw tight. “You changed everything.”
Marie turned toward them. “You think so?”
Jordan nodded slowly. “We’ve been told all our lives that V is permanent, that it makes us who we are. But you just… reversed it. You unmade a supe.”
The weight of that settled between them.
Marie looked out the window. “If I can take it out…” she said, barely above a whisper. “Then I can take him down.”
Jordan didn’t ask who she meant. They both knew.
Marie’s reflection in the glass was determined. “He bleeds. We’ve seen it. If I can get close enough…”
“Marie.” Jordan’s hand found hers, firm but gentle. “That’s not just dangerous. That’s suicide.”
She didn’t answer right away. “Maybe. But it’s possible now. For the first time ever, it’s possible.”
They pulled up to a red light, and Jordan shifted and turned to look at her. She was staring straight ahead, eyes burning with something fierce and haunted… Hope, maybe.
After a long pause, Jordan said quietly, “Then we figure out how. Together.”
Marie finally turned toward them, a small, tired smile tugging at her lips. “Together.”
— — —
When they got back in to their apartment complex they both groaned when they saw the sign saying the elevator was broken.
Hurra to living on the fifth floor.
Jordan shifted to male dorm and bend down a bit.
“Jump on” they offered.
“Are you offering me a piggy back ride?” Marie asked perplexed.
“Yeah, I mean you’re tired after everything, you don’t weigh anything and there’s no reason for both of us to walk.” They reassured her.
She smiled and climbed onto their back, wrapping her arms around their neck and her legs around their middle.
They quickly hiked her up before they began climbing the stairs.
When they finally reached the door they unlocked it and let Marie down in their hallway. She kissed their neck and went to use the bathroom and changed.
— — —
Marie got changed into lounge wear while Jordan found their stash.
“Want to get high?” Jordan yelled through the apartment.
There was silence for a bit then Marie yelled back.
“Yes.”
They met back at the couch, Jordan had chosen it. It was terribly ugly and exceedingly comfortable.
When she padded in wearing sweats and one of Jordan’s t-shirts, she found them in female form, sitting cross-legged and rolling a joint. They’d stripped down to a tank top and those ridiculous Digimon boxers.
Marie grinned. “You’re lucky you already seduced me, because wearing that I’m not sure you could do it again.”
Jordan looked up, smirking. “What you don’t know is that I was wearing these boxers when we met. And when we kissed for the first time.”
Marie laughed.
“Is that why they’re lucky?”
“No comment” Jordan replied.
Jordan finished rolling the joint and shifted to male again.
It was easier in female form, smaller fingers and higher dexterity.
They lit it and took two puffs before offering it to Marie.
She sat down text to them on the couch before she accepted.
She still didn’t do a lot of drugs, non of them had for a long while. But now that things were calmer something as simple as weed couldn’t hurt.
They passed it back and forth for a while in silence. Then Marie spoke.
“You know? Emma offered a threesome once?”
Jordan laughed.
“No but it doesn’t surprise me.”
“Oh no, you weren’t invited- her, me and Cate.” Marie explained.
Jordan pouted, but couldn’t hide the amusement in their eyes.
“You are not getting a pass to sleep with either of them… certainly not without me.” They replied.
Marie smiled, then…
“…but I could get a pass with someone else?” She asked amused.
“Depends on who, lay it on me.”
“Sabrina Carpenter, and for you?”
“Solid choice. Okay my turn. Man or woman?” Jordan asked.
“Hey I didn’t get to choose that.” Marie complained.
“Because you just blurted it out” Jordan replied in the same whiny tone. Teasing her.
“Well you first.” She insisted.
“Fine. Jenna Ortega and Pedro Pascal.” They replied without hesitation.
Marie giggled.
“See? That’s why you can’t join the threesome, neither of them are your type.”
“You are.” Jordan replied kindly.
Marie leaned ind and kissed them softly on the shoulder.
They leaned forward and extinguished the last of the joint into the ashtray.
“But you said Sabrina Carpenter, which shows me that both of them are your type…” Jordan said with an amused expression before continuing “But letting that go, for now, male?”
Marie smiled and looked away.
“Oh God, please don’t say Homelander or Polarity.” Jordan looked horrified at the thought.
“NO, don’t worry it nothing like that.”
“Then what? Is it someone horrible?”
“I want you to remember that I love you” she said straddling them.
Jordan was beyond curious now, they wrapped their arms around her waist.
“It’s A-Train.” She said gently.
Jordan just stared at her for a second before bursting out laughing. “A-Train? Really? The guy who narrates his own highlights?”
Marie tried to keep a straight face and failed. “He’s hot!”
“He’s exhausting,” Jordan countered. “Man talks like he’s being followed by a fan base twenty-four-seven.”
They were both laughing now ,that deep, belly laugh.
Jordan rested their forehead against hers. “You’re ridiculous.”
Marie smiled softly. “You love it.”
Jordan’s grin softened too. “Yeah. I really do.”
Marie gave them a look, the look, the one that meant that they were definitely going to fuck.
She smiled and leaned down to kiss them. Slow and deliberate, her laughter still caught in her throat.
The taste of smoke and weed clung faintly to her lips, and Jordan could feel the smile still ghosting there as she pressed her mouth to theirs. It wasn’t a hungry kiss, not yet, it was teasing, lazy, like neither of them were in a hurry to get anywhere.
Jordan’s hands slid up her back, fingertips tracing over the soft fabric of their own borrowed t-shirt as if they needed to memorize how she felt in it.
Marie deepened the kiss just slightly, tilting her head until their noses brushed, her breath warm against their cheek.
“Can I stay like this?” Jordan asked, not for permission. They just wanted to know what she was in the mood for.
Marie hummed her approval and ground into their hard-on.
The world outside the couch, the ashtray, the ugly throw blanket, all of it blurred into background noise.
It was just them.
Jordan removed her shirt, exposing the bare skin underneath.
They leaned in and kissed that spot on her neck that always made her moan.
The moan they were rewarded with urged them to pay attention to her breast too.
They fit perfectly in their hand, they teased her nipples with their fingers for a few before taking one in their mouth.
Their hands exploded her naked upper body, their right hand settled on the scar on her right side, below her ribs.
Their scars matched and mirrored each other.
Hers on her right side, theirs on their left. When they embraced from the front they could line them up perfectly.
Marie had offered to fully heal Jordan. But the scar didn’t hurt and they wanted to keep it as a reminder, to keep choosing the right path, to save people.
Marie kept hers too, because it would always remind her of them. That she was truly loved, that they belonged together.
Marie moaned and lifted herself up to slip out of her sweats and underwear.
Jordan pulled down their boxers at the same time.
She stayed lifted until Jordan was ready and they were lined up.
Then she sat down slowly.
And fuck they felt good.
Neither of them were in the mood for hard and fast. Instead Jordan began lifting her while she rocked back and forth until they found a rhythm.
They kept hold on her right hip with one hand while they brought the other to her lips.
She opened her mouth in a moan while she kept rocking and grinding downward.
She swirled her tongue around the thumb before they removed it and brought it down to circle her clit.
She actually came to a halt at the sensation.
Leaning forward, putting her weight on their shoulder as she moaned.
Jordan smiled and pulled her tighter before continuing to thrust up into her.
When they could feel themself getting close they pressed their thumb directly into her clit and held her down against them.
She stuttered and moaned their name like a prayer as she came, her whole body tightening around them.
They followed quickly behind, completely unable to prevent it.
“I love you” they said as held her in their arms, not ready to pull out or let her go.
“I love you too.” She replied utterly exhausted.
“That’s good because I’ve got some bad news for you…” Jordan said trailing off.
They felt her tense up as she pulled back enough to look at their face.
“What?”
“I just seduced you in the Digimon boxers” they said and pointed to the fact that they’d not taken them off only pulled them down.
Marie groaned.
“You are sleeping on the couch.”
Jordan just laughed in response.