TALES FROM FALLEN WARRIORS ─ marvel

II. The In-Laws

Chapter Two
Soroya

"Rhoda, Adnan, good to see you both. I hope the flight here was good." I greet Lee's parents as they step off the ramp of our ship.

I can't help but stare at them as they walk down towards me. I see so much and at the same time so little of Lee in his parents. He looks a great deal like Adnan, except his eyes, which are definitely from Rhoda, as well as his hair. But Lee's spirit, his kindness, his love for life...I don't see any of that in the couple walking towards me.

Then again, they hate Bucky and me, so maybe their current cold demeanor isn't a good reflection of their personalities.

"It was fine, thank you for retrieving us." Rhoda says once they reach me, giving me a mostly sincere smile.

"Of course, it was our pleasure," I see Bucky heading down the ramp with their bags in hand, and he shoots me an exasperated look as he heads towards our house. I acknowledge him with a smile but try to keep my attention on the couple in front of me. "Stevie and Lee are on a mission right now that's running a little longer than anticipated, but they'll be back by tomorrow. So for tonight you'll be staying at our house in Lee's old bedroom. I hope you don't mind."

I receive a polite smile from Adnan. "Not at all. Thank you."

This is always how our conversations go. Pleasant, polite, but surface level and more than a little reserved. Rhoda and Adnan hold a lot of resentment towards us, and Bucky and I hold just as much resentment towards them. But none of us can voice or act on this resentment because doing so would hurt Lee, so for years we have exchanged small talk for no more than a few minutes and then gone our separate ways.

Only now we have to spend the next day in each other's company.

After giving them another polite smile, I show them into the house. They've been here a couple times before, but as they follow me through the first floor I see a fair bit of wonder and curiosity in their eyes, as if they've never really looked around the house before now. It wouldn't surprise me if that were the case. The couple times Rhoda and Adnan have been here they've acted like they're being forced into a dirty, cold jail cell. They stayed near Lee and Stevie and avoided everything and everyone else. But with them gone, they're taking in the things they tried to ignore, and as they do, I see a great deal of sadness in their eyes.

I can't imagine how hard it is to stay in the house your son chose to stay in over yours. Part of me feels pity for them, but that part of me doesn't outweigh my resentment and anger.

I consider myself a very forgiving person. Some would argue too forgiving. But there's something about these two that make it hard to forget what they did to Lee, how much emotional pain and turmoil they've forced him to deal with. To this day Lee still acts baffled when we tell him we love him or show him affection. It's like he can't believe he's worthy of receiving such things. I know his parents are sorry and have tried to make up for hurting him since it happened, and I have always believed people can change...but they hurt my son. When it comes to my children, my forgiving and understanding nature has limits.

I know Bucky is the same way, but unlike the rest of us, he doesn't hide his feelings all that well. And unlike me, he tends to hold onto grudges and his resentment towards others. It takes a long time for him to find forgiveness. It took him nearly thirty years to forgive Ana for what she did to me. I suspect it will take him just as long to forgive Daniel for all he did to the enhanced people. But I don't think there's an amount of time that exists for Bucky to forgive someone who hurt one of our children. For once I'm okay with that.