"Where the heck did that armour and swords come from?!" Sophie asks, running about as Midas fails to hold in a snicker. "I mean, it looks eerily similar to the drawings I've done."
"Well the suit was your idea, Tony made it into reality." He explains. "He built an arc reactor to function it as well, although..."
Sophie stops, turning around.
"Although what?"
She suddenly notices a small golden glow under Midas' white shirt. She taps it and feels a hard surface instead.
"Oh...I think I understand..." She mutters, walking beside Midas. "Is that thing keeping you alive?"
He nods.
Sophie hums to herself, feeling bad.
"I guess I missed a lot when The Authority blew up." She sighs. Midas ruffles her hair softly.
"Believe me sweetheart. I wouldn't have wanted you stuck with... HIM." He grumbles, gold running up his arms. "Using you like some kind of... object...made me sick to my stomach seeing the way he treated you."
In attempt to comfort him, Sophie rubs his back gently, soothing his rising temper.
"Hey, it's ok. He's gone now... for good this time, you said so yourself."
He takes a few deep breaths in and out, and the gold slowly dies down. Both of them continue to walk in silence for a while, with the sound of birds chirping in the warmth of the afternoon. Sophie's eyes fall upon a nearby lake surrounded by many big piles of amber orange leaves, mesmerising her.
"Hey Midas, look at this!"
Both kneel down in front of the lake. Upon closer inspection, a few stray flowers could be seen floating in the calm waters. Midas reaches for the one closest to him, a small pink one, and places it on Sophie's head. She smiles brightly with a laugh, in turn, making Midas smile slightly.
"I've missed her company...her smile." He thinks to himself.
Sophie lets out a muffled snicker as she looks up at him.
"Hm? Did I say something to amuse you kid?" He questions, folding his arms.
She points up at his hair, laughs escaping from her mouth despite her efforts. Midas feels around his head and takes out an orange leaf sat on it.
"How did that get there? I don't believe we were sat under a tree."
Turning to face Sophie, he notices another leaf in her hand, although she attempts to hide it behind her. The huge leaf pile near them both is a dead giveaway. A sly smile creeps onto his face.
"Oh, so that how you want to play then Hm?" He asks, reaching for a fistful of leaves. Sophie realizes what he's about to do and starts backing up.
"Wait Midas I'm sorry, don't!" She laughs as the leaves come pouring down upon her head, some sticking in her hair. Retaliating, she throws some back at him.
"Alright then Midas. If its a leaf fight you want, that will be exactly what you get."
Shaking the leaves off him, Midas chases after Sophie as she frantically runs away in laughter, weaving in between the many leaf piles scattered around the lake. They both throw a handful of leaves at each other, blinding their view, but the girl takes the opportunity and runs.
By the time Midas can see perfectly fine again, he's unsure where she's gone off to. That is, until he begins hearing quiet giggling not too far away.
"Hmm, where'd she disappear off to I wonder?"
He dusts off his suit as he walks around, leaves crinkling under his buckled shoes. It doesn't take him long to notice Sophie hiding behind a bush.
"Oh goodness. I don't think I'll ever find her." He sighs, sarcasm in his thick accent. "She's really good at hiding after all."
Sneaking up behind her, he taps her shoulder. She turns around with a yell, followed by a chuckle as leaves fall on her head.
"Or at least that's what she thinks!" He shouts, picking her up bridal style. "Come now, you should've known I'd find you."
Sophie covers her face as her cheeks turn a light red. She wasn't expecting him to pick her up, just like that. But at the same time, she felt comfortable in his warm embrace. So she tightens her grip around him.
*****************************************
A little while later...
By late afternoon, the two of them were lying on the fresh green grass, relaxing with the sun.
"So why did you throw the trophy away? Surely you would've known you turned it to gold?" Sophie asks, intrigued in Midas' story.
"Well I didn't know I turned it gold. Had I realized, maybe I would've kept it." He answers, turning to her. "Thankfully, I still managed to get it back when it drifted into the lake surrounding the Agency one evening while I was alone."
Sophie smiles.
"Well, I still think you deserved first place with a fish that big. After all, gold's your style. Silver...I don't know."
"Hmph, well I'm glad you agree." Midas chuckles.
He then lets out a sad sigh, putting his hands together. Sophie notices, sitting up and shuffling over to him.
"Are you okay Midas?"
"I... I'll be fine." He reassures her. "It's just... difficult for me to remember nice things from my past..."
"I can imagine...all the things you might have been put through." She empathizes with him as Midas sits up.
"The thing is...while my eye being badly scarred was one of the traumatic events that happened in my life, it wasn't the worst one..."
While she's now even more interested in his story, she feels guilty knowing she's invading Midas' privacy.
"As long as you promise me you won't utter a single word to Jules about this, you can hear this story." He tells her sharply, his golden iris eyeing her.
"But, she's your sister! Surely she deserves to know this too."
"It's not easy to talk about kid."
"I know, but still-"
"I DON'T WANT HER TO KNOW THIS! IS IT THAT HARD FOR YOU TO UNDERSTAND?!"
Sophie shuffles away from Midas, scared of his sudden yell as gold covers his body and his temper gets out of control. He lets out a huff, putting his anger at ease.
"I'm sorry kid, but you need to agree with this one term." He mutters. "Trust me, if she knew what I did... she'd never forgive me..."
Although she still believes Jules should know, Sophie respects his wish and nods slowly. Midas opens his arms, letting her snuggle up to him.
"Now...how do I begin this story?"
A/N - Damn I've been away for a bit. Anyway this just a chapter with Midas being a dad towards... well, me. 😅
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The Light And The Dark - A Fortnite Story No.2
Fanfiction* The sequel to "More Than What He Seems". READ THAT FIRST BEFORE THIS ONE * With the Ghost and Shadow war over, the island is finally at peace after so long. But that's about to change. With the arrival of Thor, King of Asgard and many other Marvel...
