coveted magics, 8
The first thing Billy did as he sat in what was apparently his brand new bedroom was stare at the wall. In fairness to him, his entire life had been uprooted in an utterly wild rollercoaster ride that was the last hour. He went from wanting to come out – again – to his parents to getting kicked out to resigning himself to homelessness to being rescued by fucking Spider-Man of all people to finding out that Wanda Maximoff was somehow sort of his mother to being given bed and board in this awesome little gay community.
How the hell was he supposed to process all of that?
A part of it felt too good to be true, but that one little thought of ‘it makes sense that Wanda Maximoff is my mom’ was overriding the apprehension outright. And maybe he could let it be good, right? Spider-Man- no, Peter, had a damn good reputation and he was really nice to Billy since moment zero. In hindsight, Billy could see so many ways Peter was making sure that he had some control in this horrible experience, and Billy appreciated that more than words could express.
So now, he had a choice to make. Go and join Peter and his boyfriend for some hot chocolate, or hole up in this bare room and let the exhaustion drag him under into the land of unconsciousness, where there was a roughly one in ten chance he’d have a nightmare of a creepy lady glowing purple and standing over his paralysed body. Yeah, there wasn’t really much of a choice there after all.
At the very least he was going to take a few minutes to himself first, though. Allowing himself that, Billy let his body flop back on the decently comfortable mattress, and switched things up from staring at the wall to staring at the ceiling. Only now did Billy notice how much warmer this apartment was than the cold of outdoor Chicago. He’d stopped shivering, and started smiling at how warm he felt.
Take this as a huge fuck you, Billy thought, letting his smile be a weapon against everything his crappy parents had done to him. Idly, he started humming the tune of Fuck You by Lily Allen, which felt fitting. If only out of sheer spite, Billy was going to make a life for himself here.
Or maybe that was just him running away from reality, hiding so that all the hurt took a bit longer to hit.
“Ugh, whatever,” Billy groaned aloud, and hoisted himself up from the bed. Cautiously, hesitant out of not wanting to step on any toes here, Billy turned the doorknob and stepped quietly out into the hallway of Spider-Man’s apartment.
Peter fidgeted nervously with the hem of his shirt, having changed back into his day clothes from before the sudden trip to Chicago. He knew he’d done exactly the right thing, but he wanted to make sure Billy was going to be okay. He didn’t know how to do this at all, and was absolutely flying by the seat of his pants.
“Darlin’,” Harley said soothingly, tracing a few fingers along his shoulder from across the kitchen island. “I’m with you.”
Peter lifted up a hand to rest atop Harley’s, and gave his boyfriend’s hand a small squeeze. “I know. I just… they were awful. They were supposed to love and care for him, and they treated him like some kind of object.” He paused then, suddenly remembering something from a few months ago. “Hey, remember that time I webbed a shitty parent to a rooftop?”
“Peter, you better not be thinking of going back to Chicago to cause a mysterious inconvenience to fall upon the Kaplans,” Harley started, advice of caution laden in his voice. Then there was a short pause, which clued Peter into the fact that Harley was definitely being dramatic. “At least, not without bringing me along too this time.”
“Hah,” Peter snort-laughed. “We can bring the whole gang and have a day out in a different city for a change of scenery! But seriously, I just want to give this kid a chance, you know?”
“And I love you for that, Pete,” Harley said.
And Peter’s jaw dropped a little, heart suddenly aflutter.
Harley’s eyes widened as he realised what he’d just said. “Oh, I, uh… that came out really easily, huh?”
Peter took a careful, long breath. “Harls, I really want to come over there and kiss you breathless right now, but I can’t imagine Billy would feel comfortable walking out into that. I guess I’ll just have to settle for telling you that I love you too.”
“Oh yeah?” Harley’s eyebrows waggled. “You’ll just have to kiss me about it later, then. I’m holdin’ you to it, darlin’.”
Before either of them could let the tension rise any higher, the door to Billy’s new bedroom opened, quietly enough that only Peter heard it. Peter almost swung his head over in the boy’s direction but managed to restrain himself, not wanting to spook the kid or make him feel like he was being monitored. Instead, he took a calming breath and waited for his new housemate to make his way over and announce himself.
“Hey, uh, I’m not interrupting anything, am I?” Billy asked, hesitation all over his every move.
“Nope!” Peter answered gently, waving Billy over to come join him and Harley in the kitchen. “We were just being gay.”
That got a smile out of Billy, who also gave an approving thumbs up. “Nice. So… Hot chocolate?”
“Hot chocolate!” Harley exclaimed, gesturing towards a set of three steaming hot mugs, each of which had been kept on one of the drink warmers Harley had built so that he never had to worry about a forgotten drink going cold. “And there’s a few things here like cinnamon powder and vanilla syrup and what-not if you wanna add something.”
“Fancy,” Billy remarked, and all of a sudden Peter could see hesitance on his face again. “I, uh…”
“Wanna come and sit?” Peter offered, hoping that the suggestion would make Billy feel less awkward or overwhelmed.
As Billy approached the empty stool on Peter’s side of the kitchen island, Peter noticed his eyes scanning the room and taking everything in. He couldn’t help but wonder if this was Billy being nervous or starting to feel safe. Either way, Billy did pull out the stool and sit down, after which Harley slid over his hot chocolate. The boy took a sip and let out a pleased exhale. “Wow, this is good.”
“My ma’s been buyin’ this one specific cocoa powder from a local market back near Rose Hill since I was a kid, and she insists on postin’ me a batch every now and then. Not that I mind, though. It is good,” Harley chuckled. “This must all be real scary, havin’ your life uprooted like this all at once, huh?”
Billy took another sip of his drink. “I guess, yeah. It’s not like I didn’t kinda see it coming, but this is way sooner than I had planned. I just… I don’t know.”
Peter put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed a little. “If it’s any comfort, you’ve come to the right place. Literally every single one of us on this floor of the building has experience with similar stuff.”
Billy’s eyes widened a fraction. “How… how do you deal with it?”
“I know one step at a time sounds like the most bullshit motivational poster line,” Peter started, smirking as he remembered a poster saying exactly that in the Midtown guidance counsellor’s office, “but that really is a big part of it. Find one thing to do, and then another, and make sure to leave time to actually feel what you’re going through. It’s gonna be really hard, but it’s worth the effort, I promise.”
Sip.
A tear started rolling down Billy’s face, and Peter couldn’t help but smile. “Yeah, just like that.”
Billy took a shaky breath. “Why couldn’t my parents ever talk to me like this?”
“I’m not gonna lie, the impression they made on me left me thinking that they were pretty fucking awful,” Peter offered, suspecting that Billy would respond well to that particular flavour of commiseration.
“Yeah, you’ve got that right,” Billy huffed. He sniffled a bit, and then turned to face Peter with a look of sheer desperation. “What do I do now?”
Peter gave his shoulder another squeeze. “Start with trying to get a good night’s sleep. I think we’ve got some melatonin around if you want some. Tomorrow, how about we go out to the hardware store together and get what we need to install a lock on your door together?”
Billy slowly set his mug down, and a small smirk grew on his lips. “Aren’t you supposed to be a responsible adult and make sure you can keep an eye on me or something?”
“Fuck that,” Peter said with an irritated sigh, all of that irritation easily finding its focus on the Kaplans. “I’ll be a responsible adult and give you things like autonomy, safety and privacy, okay?”
“Oh,” went Billy. “I know you said it before, but I don’t think I really got that you meant it.”
“Of course I mean it,” Peter assured him. “Before we go on that errand together though, would you be willing to talk with Wanda for a bit? If it goes badly for you, we can use the hardware trip as a distraction.”
Billy hummed. “Is she… you know, nice?”
“Honestly? Yeah, she is,” Peter answered. “For the most part, I think she’s gonna be a bit awkward.”
After some more humming, Billy gave his answer. “I’ll do it.”
The morning came with rather alarming alacrity – which was to say that last night, Billy had pretty much passed out the moment his head hit the pillow. It was surprising, really, given just how absolutely too much the previous evening had been. But then again, Billy couldn’t deny that Peter was doing a really good job of making him feel safe and welcome.
Safe enough, at least, to fall asleep easily. That didn’t mean that waking up was even remotely the same. No, Billy woke up to the morning sunlight with a scream. He had a short dream, or perhaps a nightmare. Something about his shitty dad standing over him with a knife, but the memory was thankfully already starting to fade.
Billy hoisted himself upright, and wiped some sweat away from his forehead with his fingers. Then he looked around, and realised for what must have been the third or fourth time that this wasn’t his bedroom in Chicago, but the guest room in the literal actual Spider-Man’s apartment in Boston. Two thoughts washed over him simultaneously.
I made it out, I’m free now!
And then-
What if they try to find me and force me to come home? What if this is only temporary?
Billy didn’t want to be the reason that a bunch of really cool queer superheroes lost their reputations over some child abduction claims. Who was gonna believe him, some random fourteen year old, that he was kicked out, or that he didn’t want to go back to Chicago anyway? Plus, as cool as these people were, they were already skating thin ice with the whole Scarlet Witch thing.
But then again, he really wanted to trust that Peter could protect him. Didn’t Billy deserve that? To be able to stop worrying and just hope for some peace and safety? After all, Peter was an Avenger, back when the Avengers were still a thing. There had even been talk of him being Iron Man’s successor. Someone who was once an Avenger had to be able to keep him safe.
Things will be okay, Billy told himself over and over again until he started to kind of believe it. Once he was feeling a little calmer, Billy swung his legs over off the side of the bed and stood up. Not even noticing how fast his breathing had gotten, Billy just moved on and went over to his suitcase to find some clean clothes. He was half-way through pulling his dirty shirt off when a knock came at the door.
“Yeah?” Billy called out almost automatically, quickly pulling the shirt back down. He knew it wasn’t that weird for a guy, especially a cis guy, to be topless around other people – and frankly thought the double standard for people with boobs was downright weird and made no sense – but his parents had done a really good job of making him feel weird about his body being on display around other people. They’d gone so hard on the whole ‘you’re going through puberty and your body is changing and that’s normal and okay’ routine that it had just gotten downright weird and made him wildly uncomfortable.
“Can I come in?” Peter asked from the other side of the door.
A little shocked that the whole permission to enter thing was actually real, Billy stalled in silence for a moment. “I, uh, I was just about to change.”
“Oh,” said Peter. “No worries, I’ll check in a bit later. Or if you come out, I’ll be around getting myself some breakfast.”
“Okay!” Billy called back, smiling a bit. Was this what being respected felt like? Because Billy really liked that, a lot.
He carried on with getting changed, picking out a blue shirt with long white sleeves, and a pair of simple black jeans with a rip on the left knee. Not seeing any easily visible mirrors, Billy ruffled up his hair and hoped for the best before opening the door and awkwardly padding down the hall into the open space that was the connected kitchen, dining and lounge area.
“Morning,” Peter greeted him with a smile.
Billy yawned. “Good morning.”
“Sleep okay?” Peter asked next.
“Not really,” Billy shrugged. He looked around, and didn’t see Harley anywhere.“But is anyone really surprised by that? Is, uh, is it just us?”
“The nightmares get a bit better with time,” Peter said encouragingly, loading a few scoops of some kind of nutrition powder into a blender. “And yeah, Harley went out. He and Harry decide to meet up on their own every now and then to have their ‘as people who are going to inherit multi-billion dollar companies, how do we use that to bring down capitalism’ brainstorming sessions. Honestly, they’ve come up with some great ideas already, ranging from investing in sustainable free housing to funding different tailored programs to support vulnerable communities with what they actually need and want help with.”
“Huh, that’s really cool,” Billy managed to say as he tried to digest the very casually mentioned fact that two of Peter’s friends would apparently become billionaires. “Wait, what the fuck? Billionaires?”
Peter let out a sigh. “You get used to it, I promise. I feel like it’s also not technically inaccurate to say that Daisy is sometimes a billionaire, but she never actually keeps the money. Remember how Elon Musk got hacked and went bankrupt a few months ago?”
“…yeah?” Billy responded somewhat apprehensively, brain still swimming with revelations that were being spat out one after the other way too easily.
Peter smirked. “Daisy’s work. She claims that she got bored one afternoon. She’s probably one of the best hacking and cybersecurity people alive, and no I am not exaggerating.”
With an even heavier sigh than Peter’s earlier one, Billy walked up to the kitchen and sat down at the bar stool he’d sat on last night. “How do you keep saying this kind of stuff like it’s just another day in life?”
Peter shrugged, and shook a few chunks of frozen mango from their packaging into the blender. “As I said, you kind of just get used to it. Wanna see something cool?”
Billy watched as Peter put the lid on the blender and then pressed a button on it. A few metal rods shot up from a contraption on the countertop and surrounded the blender before emitting a very visible electric field. The blender turned on, but Billy could barely hear it at all. Billy tilted his head, well and truly distracted from all of everything trying to figure out what might be going on with the electricity and the blender.
“Is that electric field somehow containing the sound waves from the blender?” Billy guessed. He’d discovered a month or two ago that he could use his magic to contain sound within a space if he focused really, really hard so he guessed it was plausible that technology could do something similar.
“Yup!” Peter confirmed excitedly. “Harls and I have been working on some adaptive technology because my powers can actually be kind of disabling in some environments. Super hearing isn’t so super with loud machinery, and even though I do have earbuds to bring my hearing back down to normal, the idea is that rather than me accommodating the space, I deserve to have spaces that accommodate me, you know? We’re working on a way to implement it in the walls and doorways, because super-hearing and privacy don’t exactly go hand in hand.”
“Makes sense,” Billy agreed. Yeah, he’d been taken in by the coolest people ever, and now he really hoped it lasted. And he guessed that part of that was going to have to involve the thing Peter had mentioned last night. “The thing about talking with Wanda before we go out, it’s just a conversation, right? No strings?”
“No strings,” Peter confirmed. “Regardless of what I think should happen, I’ll have your back with whatever you decide.”
“Okay,” Billy responded, letting out a shaky breath. He and Peter had their breakfasts in relative silence, aside from Billy needing to ask where things were around the kitchen as he opted to make some eggs on toast instead of imposing on Peter to do even more for him. The silence was appreciated, because despite how cool Peter was being about everything, Billy was just immensely overwhelmed and didn’t really know what to say or do.
Once they’d both eaten and washed up, Billy put on some socks and shoes and grabbed a jacket before waiting for Peter in the hallway. Peter emerged a mere few seconds later, and put on this oddly comforting and reassuring smile that made Billy feel like maybe – just maybe – things would be okay.
“Ready to rock and roll?” Peter asked.
Billy laughed. “Wow, you’re such a dork.”
Peter gave him an appraising look and a knowing smile. “I suspect I’m not the only one.”
“No,” Billy sighed in resignation. “You’re not. So, uh, yeah. Ready. To rock and roll, or whatever.”
With that, Peter led the way out of the apartment and down the hall to the next door over, where he knocked and waited. The door opened, and that was definitely not Wanda on the other side. It was a woman with dark brown hair and one of those really long oversized shirts that went down to her knees, which had a black background and a whole bunch of green zeroes and ones.
“Morning,” the woman yawned, and then looked over to Billy. “You must be Billy, right? Nice to meet you. I’m Daisy. Do you wanna come in? Wanda’s currently at staring-match-war with the tea shelf trying to decide what’ll be the most calming and could probably use a rescue.”
Billy let out a nervous chuckle, and found himself hanging a little close to Peter as he walked into the neighbouring apartment, which had a rather different layout to Peter’s. All of the bedrooms and bathrooms were on the left, and the hall led out into a much larger open plan kitchen, dining and living room. After not all that many steps, he arrived in that wide open space.
And stopped.
The sensation that passed through Billy’s body when he laid eyes on the woman who was supposedly his ‘original’ mother was… hard to describe. There was a lot that he knew about the woman across the room from him. When his magical abilities had awoken, Billy did a good few deep dives into researching famous magic users like the Scarlet Witch and Doctor Strange. He knew that Wanda had joined the Avengers around a decade ago, and had plenty of accolades both good and bad. He knew that she was powerful, and dangerous.
Even as those thoughts – that knowledge – swam around busily in his mind, it felt like the wrong thing to focus on. Like his brain was trying to distract him from the rest of what was going on. Because at the core of his very being, Billy felt how familiar Wanda was. He knew that the Kaplans were his shitty biological parents that he hoped to never see again, but his entire body felt the simple truth that Wanda was his mother. Magic thrummed in his abdomen and at his fingertips, as though there was some kind of pull that needed to be satiated.
“Uh… hi,” Billy managed, averting his eyes so that he could pretend not to notice the intensity with which Wanda, his mother, looked at him. “Apparently I’m your reincarnated son, or something?”
“Oh, Billy,” Wanda gasped out, apparently having lost her own words for several seconds while Billy had been standing and staring at her. Then, she shook her head and her expression tensed. “I’m sorry, I wanted to stay composed for you. I can’t quite express how much it means that you’re here.”
Billy gulped, and chose not to respond to that. He didn’t want to feel unsafe here, and as much as he knew Wanda would never hurt him, the memories of his biological parents’ treatment of him were fresh and haunting. He felt Peter’s hand on his shoulder, and that gave him the strength to take a step forward to the dining table. “Should we… uh, should we sit?”
“Good idea,” Wanda agreed, and went to sit across from him. She took a deep breath, and clasped her hands together as they rested on the wooden surface of the table. “How are you?”
Tears that Billy hadn’t intended to allow began to well up in his eyes. His apparent mother’s words felt like a warm embrace that he had missed for so, so long. “I- I don’t know. I don’t know what to say, or what to do right now. How is this supposed to work?”
Wanda’s lips creased into a gentle smile. “Why don’t we just take it one step at a time. What did Peter tell you about our connection?”
Billy looked up at Wanda’s eyes, and then immediately realised it was too much and went straight back to looking down at the table. “That you had kids in Westview, and we got reincarnated into the past. And… it felt true, in a way I can’t really describe. There was also the spell he said you used to know if something bad happened to me? Yeah, I think that’s about it.”
“I didn’t wish to interfere in your new lives,” Wanda said carefully, and there was something to the clear signs that she was struggling too that helped Billy relax. “Not just because of my crimes, but because even if you are my sons, you have your own, separate lives now. I want to do right by both of you, and I have put a lot of thought into what that might look like. I’ve realised that means I want to do this on your terms.”
It was strange, hearing those words that were so similar to what Peter had said multiple times now. It really was foreign to him, being handed this degree of autonomy. A part of him didn’t want to believe that either of them were being genuine, but Billy supposed that was just because he’d never had an adult give him this before. It was like his body didn’t know what to do with the experience. Maybe he ought to see a therapist at some point.
“You mean it?” Billy asked, wondering how many times he’d feel that compulsion to double check when someone said something of this nature to him.
Wanda nodded. “Of course. I swear it on my love for you and Tommy. I do wish with all my heart for a chance to know you and to be your mother, and I know that is something I must earn.”
Billy actually pinched himself when he heard those words, just to make sure this wasn’t some twisted dream that he’d wake up from back in Chicago. When his consciousness remained steady, Billy exhaled as long as he could to try and release some pent up tension. “Can… can we take it slow?”
“Certainly,” Wanda assured him. Half of Billy wanted to get up and hug her just to be held by her, and the other half felt terrified of the idea of going so far so fast. “Would you like to have dinner together every couple days, perhaps?”
“I think that’d be okay,” Billy answered. He glanced up at Peter beside him, and waged war with a streak of guilt that surfaced for what he wanted to ask next. “Can Peter come too?”
“Of course,” said Wanda. “There is… there’s one more thing I wanted to offer you, if it isn’t too much too soon. With your consent, I could enter your mind and share my memories of your past life in Westview, though it would all be from my own perspective. It doesn’t have to be now, or ever. But I can give you that if ever you should want it.”
“I’m, um. I’m not ready for that,” Billy managed to say, because it was a lot. His mind raced with the big question of why she wanted to do that, what possible motive there could be.
“There’s no rush, Billy,” Wanda said reassuringly. Her expression softened, and… maybe, just maybe, Billy was starting to believe he could trust her one day.“I simply wish for a chance to earn a place in your life.”
Peter couldn’t be prouder of how both Wanda and Billy handled themselves in that conversation. He had to admire how far Wanda had come since joining their little family in Boston; how much she’d come out of her shell and started to believe in herself. These days it was a regular occurrence for Wanda to provide people impromptu cooking lessons, or thoroughly trounce everyone at strategic board games, and even join the others for walks every now and then – aided by the use of a magical disguise, of course. It wasn’t something that changed her appearance, but rather one that made people less likely to notice her.
And as for Billy, the boy had every right to have simply shut down or become way too overwhelmed to remain in the room with Wanda. Instead, he spoke with her, and set his boundaries and communicated his needs. Watching that, Peter swore to himself that he’d do everything in his power to encourage and nurture that communication skill so that Billy could live his best life here.
Now, it was time to get a change of scenery. Peter could see that Billy was noticeably tenser than before meeting with Wanda, and wanted to help him loosen up.
“You doing okay?” Peter asked, checking in with Billy as soon as they were outside Wanda and Daisy’s apartment.
Billy shrugged. “Dunno. But she seems really nice, so that’s good. I think?”
Peter made a silent offer by opening up his arms, and Billy didn’t hesitate to step into his embrace. “I’ve watched Wanda put a lot of work into herself. And just like she said, you can take it slow. So, how about we get a little change of scenery and head to that hardware store?”
“Yeah, okay,” Billy agreed, and followed Peter down the stairs and out of the building. There was a hardware store only a few blocks away, and much of the walk was spent in silence. Peter suspected that Billy needed it, just to digest and process everything. It wasn’t a simple matter to meet your mother from a past life who happened to also be known to the world as a mass murderer after running away from crappy, neglectful parents, after all.
Once the two of them arrived at the store, Peter grabbed a basket and turned to face Billy. “So, is there anything you want other than stuff to build a lock into your door? LED light strips, decorations, wall hooks, or anything like that?”
Billy’s eyes immediately brightened a little. “I always wanted some LEDs for my room but my parents would never let me. They thought it was too tacky. And… I guess it’d be nice to hang some things up? Maybe… a pride flag or something?”
Peter grinned. “Hell yes, let’s make all of that happen! And I guess we can just grab some spare supplies for any ideas you come up with later. Want to make an afternoon of decorating and upgrading your room together?”
“Sure, that sounds fun,” Billy exclaimed, with some real energy and enthusiasm even if it was still mild. Peter’s heart swelled at the victory, and he led the way through the store as they picked out everything they might need. Billy asked a few questions here and there, and ended up getting lengths of a few different kinds of chains and the tools needed to make his own wearable accessories for them. Peter made a mental note to see if Gwen wanted to join in on a crafting session because he knew they’d love that kind of thing, and the more positive role models Billy could have, the better.
Billy had a veritable spring in his step on the way back, and Peter was honestly so excited to do a bunch of decorating together with him. Idly, he wondered if this is what it would have been like to grow up with siblings – a chance he never got to have with Jess. Well, regardless of whether it was that or not, Peter wanted to make sure Billy got to experience as much of a good teenhood as possible.
Just as Peter and Billy were walking the last block back home, a familiar figure emerged from the apartment’s entrance. Peter reached out to tap Billy on the shoulder. “Hey, got it in you to meet another of your neighbours?”
Billy hummed, and then nodded. “I think so?”
With that, Peter waved to get Gwen’s attention, which was met with her jogging over their way. What with how they were dressed, Peter guessed that Gwen was going to jog a few blocks, find an alley to speedily change unseen into their hero suit, and go for either a run or a patrol.
“Hey Gwen, heading out for long?” Peter called as she drew close enough to hear.
“Dunno, depends if anything catches my attention.” Gwen shrugged. Then, they turned their attention to Billy. “You must be Billy, right? Heard that Pete and Har picked you up last night. I’m Gwen! Pin’s not on, but I go by they/she pronouns.”
Billy managed to muster up a smile far more easily than his last introduction to his other new neighbours. “Yeah, that’s me. And, he/him pronouns for me. It’s, uh… nice to meet you.”
“Billy and I have just been by the hardware store for a few things,” Peter began to explain, seeing the opportunity he was hoping for to give Billy and Gwen a chance to properly get to know each other later. “We grabbed some chains and pliers and whatnot for accessorising purposes. Do you wanna jump in on some craft time later?”
“Oh fuck yeah,” Gwen answered enthusiastically. “I’ve been meaning to get some proper chains instead of the cheap shit those pricey ‘alt’ brands sell. That okay with you, Billy? If I join in, I mean?”
“Sure,” he answered after a few moments, which he no doubt needed to once again process the actual respect he was being given. “I’m, uh… I guess I’m free whenever?”
“Sweet, what if I swing by around lunchtime tomorrow? Hey, how do you feel about pizza?” Gwen asked.
“Pizza sounds good,” Billy agreed. “I might need a lactase pill though.”
“I’ll text Harls and ask him to grab some from a pharmacy on his way home,” Peter offered. “Now how about we head on in and get to decorating that room of yours?”
“I’ll catch ya both later!” Gwen smiled, waved and turned to leave. A moment later, she was gone.