Avengers: Legacies

What To Do With You

Brooklyn, New York

"James, wait, hold up!" Rosalie called after him, but he ignored her, shrugging on the rest of his jacket as he moved through the flow of New York foot traffic. He reached the crosswalk when her hand grabbed a hold of him and spun him around. She glared up at him, and he scowled down at her. She smacked a hand into his chest, all her rage contained in her small fit of violence. "Don't be such a dick and walk out like that. And don't be mad at me either. I have every right to be concerned about you too when you've been running off and doing God knows what with Dom and his stupid friends. What was I supposed to do?"

"Not tell Mom and Dad, Rosie, like you were supposed to. But it doesn't matter anyway. I'll be out of this place so Mom and Dad and you won't have to worry about me ever again."

Rosalie's face fell, and he might as well have stabbed her in the heart. She shook her head, grabbing his hand. Both of their anger dissipated through the warmth of their shared touch.

"You don't mean that," she said, stepping closer to avoid the onslaught of all the moving bodies around them. "What has Dom promised you that you'd choose him over us, over your family, who only want to keep you safe? What's so special about him, Jay?"

James looked towards the clogged streets of Brooklyn, and at the morning sun cutting through the bleakness of the November gray, and at the orange leaves of the trees lining the street. Any little miniscule detail of the street he grew up on, but not at the pleading face of the twin sister he grew up with. He wasn't ready. How could he be ready when he wasn't sure if he was even ready at all to begin with?

"Come on, James. What is going on with you? I just want to make sure you're okay," Rosalie said.

James brought his attention back to her, and he calmly plucked her hands off of his, but he didn't meet her eyes. "I'm in love with him."

A beat of silence.

And then Rosalie smacked him in the chest again. "And that means you have to do stupid shit for him? James, that's so low of you to think. Love doesn't make you do that."

"Oh, yeah, and you and Bobby never thought—"

She pushed into him, her ears tinged red, but he stood stock still, knowing he had hit a nerve. "I'll remind you that Bobby and I aren't even together anymore, and nothing good was ever going to come out of a relationship like that. I wish I could take back all of the stupid things I did for that moron because it had been time wasted." She sighed, her shoulders slouching. Her eyes wound back in time, and she seemed lost in a memory as she wrapped her coat closer around herself and looked back up at him. "You deserve more is all I'm saying. I've known Dom just as long as you have, and I can say with eighty-two percent certainty that he's never done right by you. Always leaving you for dead."

"He's changed, Rosalie. Has grown up a lot since his dad's passed. Okay? Just trust me on this."

She wanted to, but the tightening of her features, the uncertain smile tugging at her lips, he knew she didn't. And her doubt inked into his thoughts and his feelings, and he hated it. He had to go, he had to leave.

James bowed his head and sighed. "I'm heading to Dom's now. I'll be back tonight to grab my stuff, alright? When everyone will be out. I need you to keep your mouth shut this time, Rosie, or I swear to God, I'm going to burn your new ballet shoes to ash. You understand?"

Rosalie smirked, unfazed by his threat. "Your secret's safe. But if something slips out of my mouth, and you even think of touching my ballet slippers, I will cut your fingers off."

"I promise I'll say good-bye to you, and I'll even start to show up at school. I'll probably have in-school suspension for the rest of the semester, but hey, at least I'd get to see you," James said. He stared at her, hoping that she saw how much he needed this, no matter how extreme it seemed. Seventeen years old, and so in love that the future didn't matter as long as he had Dom. Nothing set in stone, nothing yet consistent enough to survive by himself in the world, but he had to figure it out, see if he could. Rosalie had to understand. She had to. Because he knew that deep down, despite what she said about Bobby, she'd want a future with him too if given a chance, if it was guaranteed.