Work Text:
Lung cancer.
That's what the letter Summer received said.
At first, reading their mother's name on the envelope filled them with dread, they felt a pit in their stomach. They didn't even know how their mother found out where they lived, considering they had been sleeping on someone else's couch for the last year.
After much hesitation, they opened the letter.
And then the euphoria hit, the dopamine spiked, their joy sparked. They couldn't help but keep a smile on their face.
Ding dong, the witch is dead.
Iris put her hand on Summer's shoulder, the agents standing in front of the door to the local church in Summer's home town. They never thought they'd go back there in their lifetime.
"You don't have to do this." She reassured them. "We can just… go home and stuff our faces with ice cream or something."
Summer shook their head. Iris nodded.
"Okay."
The two entered the church. They heard murmurs from the crowd. The shock, the repulsion. Summer didn't bother dressing respectfully, with untamed tentacles, gray sweatpants hiked up to the knees and a manatee swag sweat.
It looked like they had just rolled out of bed. Which was true, those were their pajamas.
They sat through the service, Iris's hand gripping Summer's tight as her little way of protecting them.
And when they got the chance to speak. Summer shot out of their seat. They glared at their mother from a distance, who was violently shaking her head no.
They smirked.
Stepping up to the podium, they leaned over it with a sigh.
"Ah… what did this fucker do that was good again?"
Shocked gasps of offense filled the church. Iris laughed under her breath, a fist covering her mouth. Summer smiled back at her.
"Oh, yeah… he really was… a person, huh? He did part of the work that led to me bein' born, so I guess that's the only significant thing he ever did…."
Summer put a finger to their lips.
"...Hm, what else…? Oh, right!" They said cheerfully, smacking their fist against their palm. "Beating the everlovin' shit out of me and Ma every day suuuure was somethin'!"
The guests continued to gasp and gossip, the room getting noisier and louder.
"Yeah, I remember one time, right in this shithole, where he smacked me repeatedly for-" Summer gasped dramatically, throwing an arm over their forehead. "Liking a girl! Scandalous, I know? I mean, we were holding hands! Before marriage! How utterly lewd!"
"That is ENOUGH!"
The older woman angrily stomped up to the podium and smacked Summer across the face. They paused for a moment, before scoffing.
"That's it? You used to do so much worse. Seems you've lost your touch, eh, hag?"
They walked off, and Iris got the hint, going after them.
"Hey, you okay? Need me to knock some sense into her?"
Summer let out a frustrated huff, and shook their head. Oh, how badly they wanted Iris to do that for them.
"No, no. I don't want you getting arrested. Let's just get out of here. This was a mistake."
As they tried to leave, Summer's mother ran in front of them, blocking them from the exit.
"You've been very disrespectful, little girl! Hurting me and your father for years with your little stunt, and then having the audacity to do…" she sputtered. "THIS?!"
"Ah… who are you talking to, lady? I don't see any girls here." Summer looked around, animatedly pretending to be clueless. They shrugged.
All that did seem to enrage the woman more, her face turning red. She raised her hand to strike them, but Iris grabbed it just in time. Summer's mother yelped in pain.
"Unhand me!" Summer's mother struggled in Iris's grip.
"Oooh, better cut the shit then. Iris works out."
Iris let go, and Summer's mother pulled her hand to her chest, looking at both of them in disgust.
"Don't you ever dare come back here! You're not welcome!"
Summer shrugged.
"That's the plan."
The older woman let out an angry huff and stormed away from them. Iris put an arm around Summer, who barely acknowledged the attempt at comforting them as they tried to leave again.
"S-Summer! Wait!"
Summer stopped. A different voice shouted out to them, though none the less familiar. That red inking girl, who had added to all the other things that made their life a living hell since their childhood.
She looked more pathetic now.
She fell to her knees with a sob, startling them. Summer took a step back.
"I'm sorry…" She cried, desperate. "I'm really, really, really sorry… when you left, I thought… I thought you died…. I thought you hurt yourself… and it was all my fault!! I'm so sorry!!"
Summer listened to the woman's cries, their expression not changing. It was then that they noticed the girl behind her, who was grimacing. Summer clenched their fist, recognizing that girl and the one that shoved her down the stairs one day in middle school. She leaned down, patting the crying inkling on the back.
Summer stared down at her.
"...Are you sorry you hurt me, or are you sorry you thought you made me commit a 'sin'?"
"H-huh…?"
The red girl lifted her head, confused and teary eyed. Summer took a knee, pressing their finger against her forehead.
"Got it. So you're trying to save your own ass so your God doesn't punish you? Oh…" Summer clicked their tongue. "That sucks, doesn't it, sweetheart?"
They flicked her.
She whimpered, falling back down. Summer and Iris made their way back out, no one attempting to stop them this time.
"...This place fucking sucks." Iris said.
Summer laughed.
"Tell me something I don't know!"
They stood at Summer's father's grave, long after the funeral, long after everyone else was gone. Iris stood back, watching as Summer raged, tears running down their face, unable to do anything to stop them.
"'Hurtin' me and your father', what a load of bullshit!" They kicked a rock angrily. "What about me?! What about all the shit you did me ME?! WHAT ABOUT ME, DAMNIT!!!"
They screamed kicking the grave. They breathed heavily, chest heaving. They glared at the grave, standing in front of it with their arms crossed.
"Hey, cunt. Wanna go on a trip down memory lane?"
"...You've always been so fuckin' starved for respect." They started. "Bet that's why you were always screaming about the dumbest shit imaginable. You're the kinda… you're not a person… who thinks that fear is respect. It isn't. But a grown ass man going on fifty couldn't handle it if someone did something he didn't like, no."
They kicked the grave again, lighter this time.
"...You're so stupid."
"I wonder if you were smart enough to know that I dreaded seeing your face every single fuckin' day. That the reason I never laughed or talked when I was alone was so you didn't hear and throw a fit."
The tears came back.
"And you got off that, didn't you? Sick, disgusting, bastard. Things that weren't scary terrified me. Belts. Spoons. Things that I used to love, you made me hate. Skirts. Cooking. My eyes. Why do you feel the need, to fuckin' ruin everything? Do you know how fucking hard it was to FIX EVERYTHING YOU DID?!"
They yelled, and wiped their eyes.
"...No one loved you, so you took it all out on me and Ma. And when Ma got sad when you treated her like that, she took it out on me. Was that what I was born for?"
They sniffed.
"You're no saint. You're no savior. If I'm a sinner, than so are you."
They looked up at the cloudy sky.
"You know...I always wanted siblings. It would've been nice, to have someone that would always be my friend. But now, I'm glad I was your only kid. There was always that fear. The fear that my hypothetical sibling would be just like you, and my life would be so much more hellish."
"And, well…" Summer cleared their throat. "I wouldn't want anyone else to go through the shit you pricks put me through."
"... I'd like to say I have sisters now. Three of them, to be exact. Lucky me."
They fell to their knees, the tears coming back, flowing down their cheeks.
"I've got people who love me now. As the person I am. Bet you're spinnin' down there, aren't you? You've always been pathetic. I should've realized that much, much sooner."
They wiped their eyes again, trying to return to a neutral expression.
"...I'll accept the fact that I'm a sinner. So, see ya in hell, Pa. I loathe you."
They spat onto the dirt.
"...You know what? Rest in piss."
They stood up, and pulled their sweatpants down.
"Oh my-!"
Iris gasped, and covered her eyes with her hand. When she knew Summer was finished defacing the man's grave, she removed her hands to see their crying face.
"I'm done here." They sniffed. "Let's go home."
Iris nodded. Hesitating for just a moment, she pulled them into a hug. Summer let themself sob into her shoulder, grabbing at the back of her shirt.
"...Th-thank you. For being my friend, Iris. I love you."
Iris sniffled in turn, starting to cry as well.
"You're being overly emotional…"
She hugged them tighter.
"I love you too."