𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐘 𝐆𝐎𝐎𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐄𝐄𝐐𝐔𝐄𝐋 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓'𝐒 𝐁𝐄𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐍 𝐏𝐔𝐒𝐒𝐘

Chapter Fifteen: Conflicts

From the scribe of glitchingstxrs- .

"Hey, are you alright?" Glitch turned, their eyes clashing with the soft blue of Thor's.

"Hm? Yeah, I'm fine," they shrugged, eyes fixed on the floor. Obviously not fine. "I wasn't that close to him anyway."

"I see. Even so, the loss of so brave a soldier won't go forgotten," he murmured, making them smile slightly.

"Are you okay, though?" Glitch returned the question, one hand finding his and squeezing it gently.

"I'm okay, don't worry." Thor returned the squeeze, having to bend slightly to lean his head on the top of their fluffy hair. "You should probably go check on Wonder, though. She seemed really upset."

"I dropped some food outside her door this morning, she won't talk to anyone. Not even me." They smiled again, a little sadly. "She'll survive. She's strong."

"And so are you." He grinned suddenly, childishly almost, picking them up with ease and dropping them on his shoulder. Glitch laughed, properly for the first time in what seemed like years, though it had only been a few days. The movement had been gentle, despite his strength, unlike JD's harsh, constricting hold.

"You've gotta be tired. You haven't slept for a couple days."

Glitch sighed. "I've been worried."

"I know. But I think White and Vision are both keeping an eye on her. I'll wake you up if she comes out of her room," he reassured them, ducking below the doorframe into the living room and dropping them onto the sofa.

"Are you sure?" Glitch yawned, doing their best to suppress it.

"I'm sure." Thor smiled. "Don't worry about it." He gently messed up their hair, seating himself on the couch next to them. They shuffled up closer to him, one of his arms wrapped around their shoulder in a comforting gesture. Their eyes slowly drifted shut, the last thing they remembered before they slept being the warm, calming presence of the other's body next to theirs.

Glitch was woken up by the sound of shouting. Someone was dragging them off the sofa, barely stirring before they opened their eyes. They yelped suddenly, realising what was happening, kicking at anything they could reach before Thor yelled over them. "It's just JD!"

"Wh—" Glitch stopped, relaxing in his grip as he pulled them to their feet. "What are you doing?"

His arms were still wrapped around them, in a weirdly possessive fashion, as they looked up at him. "JD?"

"Hm?" He glanced down at them, the angry expression on his face dissipating. "Oh. Right." He let them go, and they stepped away, almost nervously – or at least with a hint of wariness. Moving closer to Thor, which only seemed to bring back the anger which had been present just seconds ago.

"Dude, are you okay? You look sorta—" Glitch shrugged. "Pissed. Not like drunk," they added, tilting their head. "Just annoyed."

JD shook his head. "I'm not annoyed."

"Are you sure?" Glitch pressed, a little concerned now.

"Yes, I'm fucking sure," he snapped back.

"I don't know. You sound really mad." A pause. "Are you mad at me? Did I do something?" they asked quickly.

"No. It's more Thor I have a problem with." His gaze lifted to meet the other's piercing blue eyes, now full of a protective anger from Thor's side, and a red-hot rage in JD's.

"Yeah? What's your problem with me, then?" he retorted, stepping forward slightly, but his path was blocked by Glitch.

"I don't know what's going on, but it better stop," they spoke, loudly, to counter JD and Thor's raised voices. "I have no idea what's happening, but we can't be arguing, Techno—"

"Would know why I want to deal with this now," JD growled, pushing forward and almost knocking Glitch back onto the couch. They huffed angrily, shoving him back, watching him stumble with the slightest amount of satisfaction. But that was short-lived, after he straightened out and started towards Thor again. They shuffled back, a little behind him now.

"Guys—"

"Glitch, I'm gonna deal with this guy right now," JD muttered. "Just say." One hand was hovering over where his pistol most likely was, and Thor's was wrapped around his hammer already.

"No! Jesus Christ, can you stop fucking fighting? I thought you two liked each other!"

Thor turned to them. "I know, but—"

"WONDER!" Glitch yelled suddenly, all feuds forgotten as they heard the sounds of soft footsteps descending the stairs. JD cast a final, resentful glare at Thor before following them out of the room.

Glitch sprinted towards Wonder, stopping just before they reached her. "Wonder, I'm so glad you're out, finally—" They looked so relieved, so happy to see her again. The two behind them didn't seem to have forgotten whatever they'd been arguing about, but paused it for this moment of reunion.

"I need food," she announced dramatically.