Who: Hughie Campbell and Annie January What: Reunion! Where: Random street When: Wednesday Evening (backdated) Warning: some language Status: Closed/Completed Gdoc
Hughie stood there like a deer in headlights, quickly realizing this was not where he had been meaning to go. Was this a side effect of Temp V? Was he dying? Had he already died? He looked down to check himself out, relieved to see that his clothes were still on and he hadn’t somehow magically teleported himself to some strange place. Which would have been really cool, but somehow, he doubted that was the case. Why would he transport himself to such a boring town? It was nothing like the city, and it just seemed awful.
He didn’t have to wait too long for an explanation, soon greeted by a small group of people who referred to themselves as the welcoming committee. They placed a cell phone in his hand, along with a debit card and information on how to get an apartment free of charge. Now he had twice as many questions as before, but they simply walked away, leaving him to figure it out on his own. “Well, this is just fucking great.” He muttered to himself in frustration, deciding to cross the street so he could sit down on a bench across the way.
It was strange not to have a taxi blaring its horn at him as he walked across the street, and people were actually looking up, instead of down. “Annie?!?” The name spilled from his lips without a second thought, spotting a familiar head of blonde hair about fifty feet away from him. He had been about to apologize when she smiled in return, and he couldn’t help but do the same, running towards her to close the distance. “Holy shit, what are you doing here?”
Annie had been here for nearly a month now. While it was nice not to have to worry about a psycho Supe possibly waiting for her around every corner, ready to obliterate her, she missed a lot of things from home. She especially missed Hughie. Knowing there was a possibility she could be stuck for quite some time, she didn't want to think about having to move on.
Of course, the dome decided to be nice to her at the moment. She had Hughie completely on her mind when she heard a familiar voice.
"Hughie?!" she exclaimed, already running toward him. "Oh my god, I was just thinking about you! You're really here?"
She got close enough to run into an embrace. All she wanted these past few weeks was to feel his arms around her. When things back home were bleak, he was always a light in the darkness of everything.
She'd answer his questions soon enough. She just needed this for a moment.
"You what?" His brows furrowed in confusion, but he wrapped his arms around her in a firm embrace, holding her close. She acted like it had been quite some time since they last saw each other, and his confusion continued to grow. They had said something about nobody missing you back home, but he hadn't understood what they meant by that. It was starting to make a little more sense now. This was Annie, but not the one he had just seen a few hours ago? The thought alone was mind-boggling and completely beyond anything having to do with compound v.
"How long have you been here, Annie? Are you okay?" Of course, she was okay. She was Starlight, super strong and more than capable of taking care of herself, but he still worried. "Please tell me there's no Homelander here. I mean, that's the last thing we need to deal with here." So, if this was another Annie, did it mean there was a copy of him back in New York?
Annie wouldn't know if Hughie had asked about potential copies of everyone. She'd only been here a few weeks, but it was enough to know that the dome works in mysterious ways. It seemed to have a mind of its own and possibly enjoyed messing with everyone. It wasn't nearly as cruel as Homelander was. Speaking of...
"No," she said right away, placing her hands gently to his face so she could look right into his eyes. "I promise, Homelander isn't here. No one else from the Seven is here." Not that Annie belonged to the Seven anymore. Quitting was one of her best decisions.
"We don't have to worry about him here." That was one of the best things about this place. "Butcher's here, though."
She got along with him as well as Hughie would probably expect.
He couldn't help but look down at her with a goofy grin when she placed her hands on his face. They were safe here, with no Homelander to worry about. It was just the two of them, and maybe that was exactly what they needed. Or not. "Wait, Butcher? He's here? With you?" As much as he liked Butcher, the idea of the two of them being alone together left him unsettled.
"Okay, maybe that's a good thing…" his voice trailed off in thought and he took a breath before looking around. What was the point of this? They were stuck in your average everyday ordinary town. Was this supposed to be a reward, or punishment of some sort?
"Where is he? I guess I should get myself one of those apartments and maybe try to settle in. I mean-" Hughie let out a nervous laugh and shifted his stance. "Are you staying there, too?"
"We haven't killed each other, so that's something." Honestly, she'd put up with Butcher over Homelander, anyday. Now that Hughie was here, she'd really try her best to get along with Butcher.
"He's in the apartments, somewhere," she said, not knowing where exactly. She didn't go out of her way to do the whole welcoming committee thing. "I'm in there, too. You should stay with me. I was away from you long enough. I missed you."
She realized he had just seen her back home. "Time just works differently here."
She did hope he'd take her up on her offer. At least here, they could live peacefully without worry of a certain Supe taunting them.
We haven’t killed each other… Yup, that pretty much summed up the relationship between the two. They would probably be forever at odds after all that had happened, but if they didn’t kill each other, that was good enough for Hughie. At least, for now, anyway.
“Stay with you? In your apartment? Like…yes, absolutely. I would love to stay with you. At your apartment, of course.” He agreed all too eagerly, not about to say no to something like that. He looked around at everyone going about their day and started to wonder what he would even do here. “There isn’t a minute that goes by that I don’t miss you, Annie.” Hughie looked down at her with a cheesy smile and pressed a chaste kiss to her lips.
“So, uh, what do you even do here? I mean, we’re really stuck here?” He couldn’t complain about it too much, but he felt like he had finally found his footing, and now he was back to square one.
"Of course with me. In my apartment," Annie said, the smile on her face widening. She was just so happy to see him. None of her feelings for him had gone away just because they were apart for a little while. Even when they were having a bit of drama back home, that didn't change. She loved the doofy smile of his.
"Um, I guess we try to live regular lives?" she said to his inquiry. "We'll probably have to get jobs. People are always hiring here, I've noticed."
She had yet to get one herself, but she had a few ideas.
"I don't know how hard this will be, but you're here now. We can get through anything, together."
“I’m sorry, regular lives?” He looked at her like she had two heads, his brows knitted in confusion. “What does that even mean?” Hughie joked with her, though he was also serious at the same time. “I mean, I guess I could go back to work in an electronics store.” When he had been a nobody, practically invisible to everyone around him. While his time with the boys hadn’t exactly been a barrel of monkeys, at least he had been fighting to make a difference. He wasn’t so sure he wanted to go back to his old self. What if Annie saw who he really was and realized he was just a nobody?
“You’re absolutely right. Together, we can get through anything.” He agreed with a nod and gave her hand a squeeze. “At least we don’t have to worry about paying rent since it’s already covered. That takes a huge load off our shoulders.”
Annie has seen who Hughie really was. He was loyal and never gave up on anyone. Even though he wasn't a Supe, he had a fight in him that never seemed to break. More importantly, he was a good person and she loved him. Nothing was going to change that. Even if he worked at an electronics store.
"I don't know what a regular life is anymore," she said with a little chuckle. Not that she ever really did. "The not having to pay rent part is nice, though."
She didn't let go of his hand, not right away. "So, why don't we get back to the apartment, get some food, and then I can answer whatever questions you have about this place. I already have some stories."
She couldn't wait to tell him everything. Just having him here at all was everything to her.