The audacity! Margo Kess/Prowler Earth-42

Watch

How many months had it been?

Perhaps three or four?

His steady hands glided back and forth, meticulously entwining wires here and there, till a satisfied smile appeared on his face.

Miles 42 moved his goggles up from his eyes, letting them rest on his brow, and wiped the sweat from his face with the back of his cloth glove.

Finally! His heart swelled with pride simply looking at his new creation, and nervousness creeped underneath it thinking about what he was going to do with it. Nevertheless, he spun around in his chair to face the man lying comfortably on the couch behind him, flickering between channels.

He raised the watch he had just completed. "I'm done." He announced, with a smile adorning his features.

Aaron raised his head, looking at Miles and then at the watch which he clutched like a newborn Simba. He didn't care much about the watch but, a flicker of amusement danced across Aaron's face at his nephew's joyful smile.

Something that wasn't rare nor common, but he hid it while setting the remote down. "So let me get this straight, yeah? You refused to go to McDonald for me just so you could finish that watch to go see that girl, huh?" He faked a bitter tone at the teenager's previous action.

Miles would have chuckled at his uncle's awful acting if he wasn't distracted wondering why Heat constantly sprang to his face at the mention of a particular girl. Letting a Tsk fall out of his mouth, he avoided his uncle's stare.

Since that day, Aaron has used every opportunity he has had to tease Miles about the hug he shared with Margo. He knew it was going to be like that for a couple of days, but it's been months, and he still didn't let that shit die.

Despite the fact that he couldn't disguise the flush on his face this time, which would almost surely encourage his uncle to continue the tormenting from now on, he was happy.

He had completed one of those watches the annoying version of him had, and he had done so with scraps available in his own dimension, which should've been impossible for he had no idea how the watch worked or how it was made, but with months of trials and errors he made it.

He actually made it.

He created a watch that allowed him to go to other dimensions. A timepiece that will allow him to see Margo once more---! The mere thought of her made his pulse skip a beat.

He bit his lips, stopping his thoughts before they could worsen his situation, but he couldn't stop the heavy blush from coloring his features. He sucked in a breath, striving to ignore how the mere thought of her caused these tingling sensations in his chest.

They felt nice but also quite annoying.

He showed the watch to his uncle, who was impressed but, due to the fact that he didn't get his fries, kept a straight face.

Aaron really loved these little moments they shared. Moments he could torment his only and favorite nephew always made his day. Those were the times when they could let go of the weight on their shoulders and simply be themselves. He was really fond of them.

As a thought occurred to him. He parted his lips, letting his thoughts out without hesitation, something he did all the time, but when the consequences came later, he wished he had thought about it first this time.

"Have you thought about whether or not she wanted to see you?"

Huh?

Unknown to Aaron, the youngster's heart paused, his newly found feelings taking over as he looked at his uncle for more context on what he meant. Would Margo not want to see him? Even if he went to see her, what would he say? What would he do?

Miles never gave those questions much regard. They were pointless details on his mission to make the watch, and now that the watch was finished, those useless thoughts were now plaguing his mind, and if Aaron's Goal was to make Miles's situation worse, he undoubtedly succeeded with his next statements.

"For all we know she could have a boyfriend."

Aaron could have heard Miles' heart break and the brightness leave his eyes if he had been paying attention at the time. He would have noticed how much that remark affected his nephew.

It was a shitty thing to say, and even more so to hear.

Miles lowered his gaze to the watch he was holding. As he inhaled, he could feel his chest rising and sinking. He was always good with comebacks, especially the Sassy ones, so when his uncle's words wore an undertone of him wanting to be her boyfriend, which was something he most definitely didn't want to be.

Margo was a beautiful girl, therefore it made sense that she would have a boyfriend; on the contrary, it would be odd if she didn't.

"I never said I wanted to be her boyfriend." He raised his voice a little, but all that fell deaf to his uncle's ears, who was having a blast with the boy's embarrassment.

"Neither did I." A knowing smirk rose on Aaron's face as he said that, finally gazing at Miles. It was so easy for him to read his nephew, no matter how cold Miles tried to appear. He was always an open book to him, and just like he predicted, that answer shut Miles down.

Aaron continued as the adolescent bit his lower lip, unwelcome thoughts racing through his mind. Despite his ability to read Miles like an open book, he didn't recognize the damage his prior remarks had caused, or he would have stopped.

"But you wanted to see her, right?" Miles stared at the watch for a few more minutes, thinking, and when his thoughts were straight, He placed the watch on the table.

He had made a decision.

Aaron caught only half of his action, but it was enough to make him pause, squint, and scrutinize the boy's actions as he wondered why he did that.

"I never said that either." The low tone of his voice. The sad smile on his lips as his hand trailed off the surface of the watch, as if he didn't want to leave it but still did either way.

A pang of guilt spread in Aaron's chest. As he finally understood the consequences of his words.

The smile on his own face shattered. He was just joking. He didn't mean or would ever hurt Miles. Aaron's legs on the couch rapidly touched the ground as he sat up straight, searching for his nephew's eyes.