Chapter 90: Love and Convergence
Chapter 90: Love and Convergence
"Convergence?" Eidolon turns to look at Thor. The two are on the top of a skyscraper in the city of Houston.
Eidolon was stopping a rogue meta earlier, and coincidentally Thor was flying close on his way to New Mexico.
"Yes, big cosmic event..." Thor starts explaining, but Eidolon stops him.
"I know what it is, but I'm curious why you are saying this to me ... Is there a problem?"
"No, no." Thor denies it easily "It's just a big holiday, the festivities will be awesome!" The big Norse god says excitedly "I was thinking if you want to come to Asgard to watch it. Saying in advance just so that you can prepare yourself... You know, you are gonna be away for some time... I bet that you would be worried with Midgard." Thor knows Eidolon a little
"Yes, I would." Eidolon admits "It would be fast?"
"Eeeh... our celebrations tend to last... some time... days, weeks." Thor says almost sheepishly as Eidolon rolls his eyes
"Yeah, Yeah... I wouldn't expect nothing less from a long-living race that loves drinking,"
"Haha! You got it right! And I know you would fit in just fine..." Thor puts his arm around Eidolon's shoulder as he pokes the black-clad hero's chest with a finger "My friends want to meet you too."
"I can't deny, it's sound fun..." Eidolon nods, making Thor smile "...and dangerous too.""..."
"Doesn't the Convergence mess with the dimensional boundaries between the Realms? Even a small consequence of such cosmic event can cause considerable damage here on Earth." Eidolon says with a serious tone.
Thor also gets a little more serious "Now that you're talking about it... I mean, it would not destroy the planet or anything... But it would cause some trouble." He strokes his beard "Sometimes I forget that Midgard is fragile."
"Earth is not fragile... Humans are." Eidolon corrects "I'm still accepting your invitation if you have me..." He says making Thor smiles brightly "But I will make some preparations to protect the people the best I can. It's hard to punch the forces of the Universe, right? We can only minimize damage."
"True."
"I bet Dr. Foster would be really interested in such an astronomical event too. Did you talk with her about that?"
"I was just gonna do it before I saw you."
"Then you go give her the Project of her career and I will go meet with some people." Eidolon turns to his Norse friend and extends his hand "Call me when it's time to visit Asgard."
"Sure thing, my friend."
The two daps are enough to create a small shockwave that breaks some glass windows.
"Oops..." Thor cringes at what happened.
"Don't worry, I got this." Eidolons stop the shards from falling and fix the Windows easily enough before the two depart, each on in a direction. "See? Fragile..." He murmurs under his breath
....
New York
A certain guy was eating something from a food truck, sitting on a table close to the sidewalk when suddenly Eidolon himself appeared hovering above him. ?
The guy looks up, moving his cap a little so that he can see the source of the shadow that suddenly blocked the sun on his table, only to sigh at the sight of Eidolon.
"Now you're doing this on purpose..." He shakes his head in resignation
"I told you a cap is a horrible disguise for you, Cap." Eidolon says with a smile on his voice and sits unceremoniously in front of Captain America
"It was working just fine." Steve Rogers removes the cap and puts it on the table, cringing a little at the gasps of surprise from people around him.
He is still unused to the attention.
"Don't separate yourself from the people, Captain... Sometimes it's good to feel the good energy that we gave to them flowing back, you know what I mean? It can motivate us to keep going." Eidolon comments
"..."
"Entire generations exist because of you... They are grateful for that. It doesn't make your sacrifice a little easier to endure?"
"..." Captain America was not sure how to answer that.
Yes, sometimes seeing the people around him enjoying the freedom that he and his companions fought so hard to protect, is all he needs to "win the day".
"Well, maybe I was talking too much... Only you know what you're going through. Maybe you only want to be left alone and mind your own business and here I am being a busybody." The black-clad hero laughs
"No, I appreciate the concern. There are really few people nowadays that I can have a good and honest talk." Steve says
"Nothing brings people together like stopping an alien invasion led by the Norse god of lies." The two laugh
"So every time that I go out will I need to fear you appearing to reveal my disguise in front of other people?" Steve asks with a raised eyebrow
"Pretty much yes." Eidolon admits shamelessly "But it was coincidence really, I saw you by chance when I was going to the Helicarrier. By the way, aren't you staying in Washington?"
"Sometimes I come here just to see the city... New York is my home." Steve admits
"A good decision... You're a brave man for facing this strange world, Captain. I know a good therapist by the way, if you're interested..." Eidolon suggests
"No, I'm good..."
"Don't dismiss it that easily... Think about it a little." Eidolon interrupts "I remember that a certain member of the Howling Commandos was the first to look seriously into the PTSD issues... Everyone thinks that they don't need a therapist till it helps a little. And if it helps just a little, it will be worth it."
"Uh... Okay. I will think about that..." Eventually, Steve agrees
"Thank you then, you would be surprised at how many problems can be solved if people just talked." Eidolon sighs almost morosely "Oh yeah, I still need to go to the Helicarrier, but now I don't feel like it..."
Then Eidolon appears to smile playfully "Why don't bring them here, right?" He says to Steve before looking around "Can any high clearance S.H.I.E.L.D. agent come here to talk with me? It's very important!" He says in a loud voice while looking around "Thank you!" Then he goes back to talk with Steve like it's all normal
"..."
"What? Do you think it will not work?" Eidolon tilts his head and asks
"No, I hate that it will work." Steve sighs while grabbing his drink
"Did they tell you about your neighbor?"
"Ugh... yes, they told me. I was very... angry." Steve says, his voice a little tight
"I can imagine..." Eidolon nods.
It's a sore spot this one, but he needs to ask
"Did you went to see her?" Eidolon asks in a more subsided tone
"Her" it's Peggy Carter, the talk went here because S.H.I.E.L.D. put her niece to watch over Steve, so obviously he knows about who Eidolon is talking about.
"Yes..." He says after some time
"..."
No words are needed to say anymore. Eidolon doesn't ask how it went or any other details, he just nods.
"Like I said... you're a brave man."
"..."
They talked a little more about light subjects, Eidolon telling some fun stories of heroism and strange situations he encounters.
"By the way, do you wanna bet if S.H.I.E.L.D will arrive here in under a minute?" Eidolon asks playfully
"That's a losing bet..." Steve scoffs "Normally they would already be here."
"Then a high-level agent is really coming..." Eidolon says "How about bet on who is coming? Natasha or Fury? Or Barton? Maybe Coulson?"
"Fine... Ten bucks on Natasha." Steve agrees and puts the money on the table
"Deal... And I bet that the Black Widown AND Fury will come." Eidolon laughs
"...tch. Son of a gun." Steve already accepted his loss "You're not cheating with your powers, right?"
"Took you long enough to be suspicious..." Eidolon still thinks Steve is a little gullible "But I would not cheat in a bet between friends. It's not even that much money anyway..."
Like on cue, less than a minute later a black SUV pulls up close to them loudly and Natasha Romanoff leaves the car together with Nick Fury, and walks to the two sitting heroes.
"Hi, Eidolon. Steve." Black Widow greets the two like old friends.
It's in her nature to act familiar like that with anyone that she knows at least a little, it makes them lower their guard... Normally
"Fury would be enough." Eidolon says in a flat tone
"Aah~, don't be like that~" Natasha pouts at his cold indifference "A beautiful woman came all the way here to see you."
"Hm, was Susan Storm coming?" Eidolon looks around
"Ha-ha. I bet it will be funny in the 13th time..." She rolls her eyes and shakes her head.
It's already an inner joke at this point, every time she says that, Eidolon replies with the same answer but using a different woman. It's his subtle way of calling her ugly. If all other women are more beautiful than her, then she is the ugliest one.
"Enough chit-chat." Fury interrupts the two "You wanna talk with me." He stares at Eidolon with his only functional eye
"First, ask for something to eat... Don't just use a table for free." Eidolon says and raises his hand to call the waiter, who nervously comes to their table "Give me a portion of fries with the money I just won from a bet." Eidolon asks the stuttering waiter while showing off the 10-dollar bill.
"Stealing from a veteran?" Natasha asks playfully
"Exactly like Uncle Sam." Eidolon answers without missing a beat.
"It's getting better... Especially with Steve here." She points at Captain America.
The man's re-emergence helped a little with the veteran issue in America.
Natasha and Fury, begrudgingly, asked for something to eat too, it's an awkward silence because Eidolon didn't appear to be in a hurry to speak first.
"We are all busy people here..." Fury starts.
"Don't worry, it will be worth your time." Eidolon interrupts him "I just don't want you to lose your appetite first."
"Excellent way of calming us." Natasha says sarcastically
"Wait for the food to arrive, and don't worry it's not something urgent." As he is talking that, someone shouts from afar
"Hey, Eidolon!! Enjoying some food, huh?!" A guy in a truck waves at the hero in a friendly way.
"More like official business, Kenneth." Eidolon waves back "How is Kathy and the kids?"
"They are all good! Thanks to you!" The trucker replies with a smile
"That's good to hear."
After that, the trucker goes on his way after honking a few times to the hero.
"..."
"Saved him during the Invasion." Eidolon explains after noticing the looks of the other three
"Do you know all the people that you saved by name?" Steve asks
"Yes." And the answer surprises him "But is not hard to remember Mr. Kenneth there. Great guy, has a small company, and used the trucks of his fleet to move things during the Invasion. When he saw me back then he asked me to check on his family on the other side of the city, because he couldn't get there and was helping people." Eidolon explains
"That's very nice." Steve agrees
Their food eventually arrive, the nervous waiter stuttering a little while putting their order down.
Eidolon grabs a fry between two fingers attracting Natasha's attention.
"Are you gonna eat that?" Natasha asks curiously. Eidolon never eats anything because of his mask.
"..." He stares at her and then throws the fry into the air, tilting his head up to catch it.
Then... instead of the mask being retracted, a zig-zag line appears on his half-mask. Then the mask opens like the jaw of a beast with pointy teeth. Even with it opening widely, it's impossible to see inside, it's all shadowy black.
The fry falls on his mouth perfectly and he eats without a problem while looking at Natasha.
"Tch. One day I will figure out your identity."
"When it doesn't matter anymore, I will tell you." Eidolon shrugs his shoulders. In the end, he would not even give them the satisfaction of "discovering" his identity.
"Why do you hide your identity? Stark and others are very open about it." Steve asks, genuinely curious
"Reasons... I have people to protect, but is more in a way to show solidarity to the heroes that don't live in towers." Eidolon explains, making Steve nodding in understanding.
Eidolon takes another fry between his fingers, but this time instead of throwing it at his face, a mouth opens on his palm and the fry falls there smoothly after he turns his wrist.
"Your girlfriend will be a very happy woman." Natasha says with a tone full of innuendo while eyeing the mouth on his palm
"Right?" He matches her energy and to go a little further he turns his palm to her and a long tongue goes out of the mouth and snatches a fry, like a frog.
"..."
"..."
"That's weird..." Steve says
"Yeah, a little..." Eidolon admits. He can't even joke a little and Black Widow is now giving him bedroom eyes "Let's talk about something a little more serious now."
"Finally..." Fury complains, but it has little impact when he is enjoying his own food.
Eidolon then raises his hand and a transparent bubble covers them for an instant before disappearing. A second later they notice that they can't hear any sound coming from the outside world.
"Just to keep our conversation private..." Eidolon says
"Neat trick..." Natasha praises while watching normally noisy events happening around them, but not hearing anything.
Eidolon accepts the praise and morphs his face into a more serious one before speaking.
"The thing is... Thor just now remembered me that the Convergence is about to happen." Eidolon says in a calm tone
"The Convergence?" Fury asks, eye focused on Eidolon
"I'm already not liking this conversation."
"Well, to explain it in simple terms... Do you remember when I said, during the Invasion, that Yggdrasil is like a Cosmic Nimbus that connects all Nine Realms? So even if they are very far from each other, they are still connected through Yggdrasil, and is possible to travel between them pretty easily with the Bifrost." Eidolon gives a summarized explanation to them
"Nerd talk with Stark and Reed, right? I think I remembered you saying something like that." Natasha says with a frown of remembrance
"When Thor's friends appeared, right?" Steve apparently remembers too, even if he does not understand the talk has a good memory.
"Yes... So, Yggdrasil, Bifrost, all that... The Convergence happens when all Nine Realms and Yggdrasil align, so... The boundaries between the planets get even more... unclear." He tries to soften the blow the best he could
"Unclear? What do you mean 'unclear'?" Natasha asks seriously, frowning.
"It means that the Nine Realms will get even closer... Too close to comfort indeed. The Nine Realms will overlap each other in some parts, like they are occupying the same space... Partially at least." As expected, his words shocked the other three
"..."
"..."
"..."
"Ugh, does this place sell vodka?" Natasha shakes her head like she is dizzy
"What will be the consequences of this... Convergence?" Nick Fury jumps to the part that really matters
"And how do you stop it?" Captain America asks his own important question
"Well, there's no stopping it..." Eidolon says with a sigh "The Convergence is a Natural Phenomenon, like a Tsunami or the Aurora Borealis... But on a much bigger scale, a Cosmic Event. And like a sandstorm, we can only crouch down, grit our teeth, and let it pass by us."
And he continues after eating another fry "And you're not gonna like it, the consequences are very... unpredictable. It can vary by a great margin."
"There's no records about it?" Fury asks
"Yeah, what Thor said?" Natasha adds
"The Convergence only happens once every 5 thousand years, even Thor was not born on the last one, there were not even a lot of humans at that time. And as much the Convergence will not destroy the planet, it's hard to imagine the damage that it can cause in today's society." Eidolon answers
"What kind of damage are you talking about? What do you think it can happen?" Fury asks intensely looking at him "Give me your best prediction." He urges
Eidolon pauses for an instant "From catastrophic proportions... At least bigger than the invasion." He finally says
"..."
"..."
"...."
"We are talking about sharing space with other 8, and much more dangerous, planets... An entire city of ours can end up being transported to the Realm of the Dead, Helheim. If the cold winds of Nilfheim hit New York, it could be worse than what happened when Loki invaded with his Frost Giants. And it will be even worse if the fires of Muspelheim cross to this side..." Each other that Eidolon says shocking them more and more, his description is really nothing less than catastrophic "And it can be worse..."
"It can be? Really?" Steve asks in disbelief
"Yep, now if the Realms overlaps it will be possible for our people to end up stranded somewhere in the other 8 Realms... But the inverse can also happen..."
"Are you saying that inhabitants of the other realms can fall here too?" Fury asks with a stony face
"Yes, with luck harmless individuals... But it can be ferocious beasts, evil spirits, or... bad people." Eidolon says the last part with a strange intonation.
"Bad people" is a very broad term. Criminals, bloodlust warriors, psychotic sorcerers, warlords, or simply people who will not bow down to Midgard rules and end up creating chaos. All of them are a danger to Earth.
Natasha sighs "Aah, Fury... I'm not being paid enough for this."
"Me neither." The one-eyed director of S.H.I.E.L.D. says with a very unhappy face
"Why wouldn't Thor warn us sooner?" Steve says, equally in shock
"Different in perspectives... To him, it's like seeing Halley's Comet. There will even be festivities around the other Realms... Midgard is the fragile one." Eidolon explains that the Norse God is not at fault "We are left alone precisely because we are weak. It was all good till now..."
"So we have the short end of the stick this time." Fury says, still unhappy "If we can't stop this... Then what we can do?" But he is still focused on the problem ahead and does not panic.
In a strange way, he trusts that Eidolon has a plan. He would not be talking about the subject so calmly otherwise.
"We can try to control the affected area... Instead of wormholes appearing all over the globe, we can limit to a small area and stay on guard to protect the rest of the Planet." Eidolon says his plan
Steve and Natasha relax a little
"It will be much more easy to work like that..." Steve says
Natasha was calmer for another reason "So you're gonna act like a gatekeeper? She asks
"Obviously... Any dangerous individual or even cataclysms will not pass by me and affect normal people's lives." He assures them full of confidence
"And it will be that easy?" Fury is not easily convinced of anything
"Well, dealing with the effects of the Convergence will not be hard if we narrow down the area affected, but I will need your help to evacuate the designated area. And we will also need to work on how to control the Convergence." The hero says
"So the most important..." Fury comments dissatisfied "We don't even know how to put your plan in motion."
Eidolon doesn't care about Fury's rude words.
"Give me a break, I was only remembered of the Convergence half an hour ago. I haven't even started working on this yet, but I will figure something out. And you all should work on that too... Try to contact Dr. Erik Selvig." He says as he eats another fry "If we work separately we can maybe see things the other doesn't see. I will travel to the other side with Thor, so if I'm unavailable you guys can do things without me."
"How much time do we have?" Fury asks
"Less than a month." Eidolon's answer makes Fury's eye twitch
"Less than a month? We have nothing yet, we don't even know where to start." Natasha says in a helpless tone
"Try England." Eidolon suddenly says, making them focus on his again.
His eyes are now transformed into the All Seeing Eyes of God while he looks at the Horizon.
"England will be the focal point... The place where we will narrow the effects of the Convergence." He continues
"Can't we choose another place?" Steve asks, a little worried about the people. "A desert or another remote place would be better."
"Unfortunately no, narrowing to someplace in England is the best we can do... That's why you guys will need to evacuate people after we locate the X, Y (0,0) point." Eidolon says and finally stands up.
It seems that his business here is over. He has work to do alone.
"Can't you give something more? England is a big place..." Natasha tries to get more information
Eidolon pauses for a moment "Try the Stonehenge... It's not from Earth. Apparently, it comes from another place through the last Convergence. I'm not saying it will be the Focal Point, but it's a start... Take Dr. Selvig there."
With those words Eidolon flies away at high speeds, breaking the sound barrier when h is high enough.
"Agent Romanoff, you know what to do." Fury says while still looking in the direction where Eidolon disappeared
"Yes, sir." She stands up, more serious now.
"There's something I can do?" Steve asks
"For now no. We are like a headless chicken, but we will need Captain America to calm people in the future" Fury says to Steve "And there's always chance of things going bad... So stay sharp, Cap."
Captain America nods determined.
........
Eidolon/ Hector P.O.V.
On this same day, I fly through all of England. If someone looks carefully, they would notice that Eidolon's activities are suspiciously focused on this country.
Obviously, I will mask my actions by solving crimes around here and in other places accordingly. And I can be really stealthy when I want.
The whole big entrance with the "I am here" is also a good cover-up to the fact that I can fly invisible, intangible, and undetectable. Well, being flashy is kinda cool, and puts people at ease.
"Yes... It's starting..." I say while floating above in a certain isolated area.
I stare forward with my All Seeing Eyes of God and reach my hand to the empty air.
"The space here is slightly thinner..." I comment then I fly a little higher and look at the distance "Gravity is also acting almost imperceptibly weird."
"What should I do, Master?" Cortana asks in my mind
"Bring the Exoscanners and Quantiscopes, and deploy an ADA(Anomalous Detection Array)." I instruct her.
"The Exoscanners are calibrated to detect extra-territorial activity in the empty space, so it will take some time to adjust to work on Earth's atmosphere."
"It's okay, take your time... and you know what? Take the extra ones and put them around Earth... If the Convergence is aligning the Nine Realms it means that the 'line' is coming from somewhere, right?" I say while looking up
"So if we can find from where it's come from, we can calculate the route, and speed and even pinpoint the central axis sooner." Cortana gets what I mean fast, I love this woman.
"And also bring the Xenoscanners and Vitatrackers." I add
"Trying to keep tabs if anyone will come from the other side, Master?"
"This too, but I'm more worried about any humans getting caught in a wormhole and ending up someplace in the Nine Realms." A little extra effort to prevent someone's bad fate is worth it. "Add the lifefield sensors in the places that I will flag now." I put a finger on my forehead and show her where I'm detecting the most anomalous activity.
We have less than a month, it's a period that can be short and long.
I can prepare against the Convergence.
But I know that it will not end up with only that.
"Let's go study the inhabitants of the Nine Realms physiology." I announce
"And how to kill them efficiently, right?" Cortana says with a knowing tone
"Yes." She knows me too well at this point.
"I think most will die if you remove their head, Master..." She says sarcastically
....
Space Station
Luckily I spent that insurmountable amount of hours copying what I could from the Kamar-Taj library. Heh, Wong was so suspicious... It was so funny~ Maybe I should go visit the bald guy sometime. Slap his head a little...
Anyway, let's study the Nine Realms, more specifically the magic(again) and even more specifically the Dark Elves. I will not trust that it will be only them that will be a problem, but even so... Let's focus on them.
"Oh, I knew it... The Aether is another thing and not the Reality Stone." I say out loud after passing through a book. Now I'm 90% sure that it will be like with the Tesseract and the Space Stone... They are two different objects, like in the Comics, but... "Ugh, where is the Reality Stone then?"
Sometimes I envy those MCs of fanfics that follow the MCU to the "T". I would have already collected all Infinity Stones at this point... Oh well, not the Soul Stone...
Yeah, maybe being different from the MCU is a good thing.
"Master, Harley is asking to come here?" Cortana informs me.
The Space Station is off the limits to most of my summons... It's a dangerous place where I do dangerous stuff. When the summon leaves, it's not easy to come back.
One of the reasons they want to leave so badly is that they are kinda confined and have limited places to go.
"Maybe I should create a disposable base in an asteroid or something.." But the Station repairs itself... Such a cheat... "Bring her here..." I give permission to bring Harley.
After some seconds, the space some meters to my side shifts, and a transparent double door appears, opening to reveal Harley. It's a portal created by Isabella's powers.
There's a whole process to come here... Harley asks Isabella to transport her here, Isabella asks Cortana then in turn she asks me, then after my permission, Cortana gives the coordinates to Isabella... Then we move the Space Station away so that the coordinates become useless.
It's not that I'm paranoid, even though I am... But I do not underestimate other people. If I can track strange shifts in space, others can do it too.
"Panacotta!!" Harley shouts and throws herself at me.
"This nickname is too mouthful." I say it not for the first time as I catch her before she can bring us both to the ground. With her latched on me I go back to sit in my comfy reclined chair.
"I want my mouth full of something..." She whispers at me, her hand creeping close to my crotch
"Behave... I will give you your reward for your hard work later." I reply in kind, grabbing a handful of her ass.
We have a short intimate moment before going back to normal.
"What'cha doing??" She asks looking around the holo screens
"There will be a problem in the near future, so I'm studying our potential enemies." I explain
"Oooh~" She looks half-interested
"So, how it went in the X-mansion?"
"Hmm, I guess it ended well even though they didn't trust me at the beginning..." She looks annoyed
"Well, you can't blame them..."
"Hey!" She starts protesting outraged "Fair enough..." But concedes after a second
I give her some pats on the back "At least you are self-aware. Don't worry, actions speak louder than looks and words, eventually, you will create a reliable reputation because you're good. And did you like being the Therapist of Superheroes?" That's important.
"It's surprisingly fun!" She beams at me "Well, not that surprisingly... Like c'mon... But it was very interesting to see how this whole Super thingie, or Meta as you say, affects someone's psyche. Maybe I will write a paper..." She taps her chin with the tip of her finger
"It can be a good idea. I can provide and make your life very easy, so find something to occupy yourself." I encourage her. I don't want my people to fall into boredom.
I want them to pursue their passion and improve themselves while working under me.
"How did the sessions go? Are you able to help a little Luara, Rogue, and Jean?" I ask while she snuggles on my lap
"Well, the first session is just to have them comfortable... We just had some girl talk." She says, her head in my chest "But even feral girl talked a little so it's a win. In the end, she was even bonding with Brooding Batgirl."
"Laura and Cassandra?" I ask strangely
"Yep, ya can imagine the 'talk' between the two." Her words make me laugh. Most silent interaction in the world.
"Feral Girl has her trauma issues, but it's nothing irreversible... The slow or the fast approach can work. She likes you, ya know that?"
"...doesn't this fall in the Patient Confidentiality contract?" I raise my eyebrow at her
"Bleh" Harley shows me her tongue "Let's just say that is gossip... Feral Girl spent her whole life having a figure of authority ordering her around, she basically doesn't have her own thoughts... The closest to that is with her dead mother and you. You can help her, you know? She respects you."
"This is strange... So I killed her former bosses so now I'm her boss?"
"A very simple way to explain her dependency of direction."
"She will outgrow this..." It's the only I say
"She has anger issues too."
Now I scoff "No surprise."
"Southern Goth Girl is basically the Poster Girl of Inferiority Complex... She basically has the textbook version of it. Now, she will eventually and naturally outgrow it when she stops being an edgy teen, but it can leave some mental scars that can cause Social Impairment/Disability." Harley explains
"..." That's a good analysis. Sometimes I forget that she is good.
"She likes you too... If you give her a hard fuck and call her beautiful she will be healed.
"..." And here we go... Now I remember why I sometimes forgot that she is a good professional "I don't think that this is a real treatment."
"Did ya know that in the past vibrators were created to treat women's mental problems like hysteria?" She argues, defending her unconventional method
"Yes, I know that..."
"A good shag from you and that Emo Girl will be all unicorns and rainbows."
"..."
"And Missy Redhead..."
"Okay, Okay... Let's stop here." I interrupt her before she can make things even weirder
"I was just gonna say that she is the hardest one to crack, but we ended the session on good terms... But that girl has undressed issues, I tell ya. A lot of undressed issues." Harleys whispers to me in a conspiratorial tone.
"..." If only she knew "Just try to make her mature enough to handle the pain that she is destined to face..." I wish Jean to be strong when the time comes.
"..." Harley looks at me from the corner of her eye "I was half kidding about healing those girls using your dick, but why are you so against trying to add them to our little... group?" 'Group' reads harem.
"It would not work... You and the others are bound to me through special circumstances, I have all the time in the world to make it work. Which other woman would accept share like this?" I shrug.
With some exceptions, modern women will not be convinced. This is not an ecchi world with hentai logic.
"You would be surprised..." Harley whispers before looking at me a little more intensely "Do you want to know what I think, Mistah H?"
"Go on..."
"I think you are obsessed with security. You don't give a first step before flying and checking the path from above."
"..." What a hell...
"You are afraid of the trouble and hurt that pursuing a relationship with other women would cause... To you and to them. That's why you are only comfortable in pursuing a relationship with 'us'."
"Are you... 'therapying' me?" I ask with an easy smile while pinching her buttcheek
"Kyah! This word doesn't exist!" She squirms a little under my touch, especially after I start tickling her.
"I'm not afraid of getting hurt... Not anymore at least. It's just that... *Haah* I know that I have the potential to be a womanizer and seduce a lot of women, but if I do that it would not last." I try to explain my thoughts
"..." Harley on her part stays quiet, a rare moment this one.
"There's no way that a relationship with the women out there would not be rocky and full of hardships... So I don't actively try so that these hard moments happen in the beginning, do you get it? The hard part is to start a relationship."
"Yes... Go on." She says in a different tone of voice.
I know what she is doing... I'm suddenly in a therapy session, but I don't care.
"I will let things to destiny... If it happens, it happens." I shrug "I have a lot of luck with women anyway."
"Aren't you afraid of losing the opportunity of having a relationship because of your inaction?" She asks
"...no. How can I feel the loss of something that I never have?"
"Is this your true feelings or only a cover-up?" She presses
"...a cover-up." I admit "In truth, I'm a kind of a greedy bastard that wants a lot of girls to love me. Not to put in a harem palace or anything, genuinely love me."
"And you want to acquire this genuine love without doing anything?" She asks while rolling her eyes at me
"..."
"You're a considerate man, my dear Pannacotta. You really think about others first... You think that even the act of courting someone is tricking them into your harem." She pats my head comfortingly
"..." Tch... That's accurate. "It's not only that... People here are too frivolous in relationships. Remember when I say that I'm greedy? Let's say that I get into a relationship with a girl here... But it doesn't work out, she can't deal with the harem thing and leaves me... I think I will be a little mad when she eventually finds another guy."
"Soooo... You are afraid of being hurt." She looks at me with that look of "See?"
"...No... I only want long-lasting relationships. I'm a serious guy. If I add girls that come and go, this harem will really become what I don't want it to be... This is not the whim of a pervert, it's the serious and planned thought of a guy that will take responsibility for the women who loves him and reciprocates the best he can."
"Hmm, I see... I see." She nods to herself "Your perfectionism is showing even in this aspect of your life. But let's talk about his topic later... First, aren't your way of thinking mutually incompatible?" She asks
"...??"
"At the same time, you think that you can keep all the women in your harem happy you think yourself incapable of keeping the women that you conquer in your harem? Strange, no?"
"..." Son of a... Okay, I need to think a little about it "Well, there are things that I can't give... Like exclusivity. And it would be a perfectly reasonable reason to leave me."
"I see, I see... A reasonable concern, but you know that this is an uncontrollable aspect of your romantic relationships, right? It's really worth worrying so much about it, instead of focusing your efforts in places that you can improve to make the women of your life happy?"
"..."
"If you're honest from the beginning, they will know where they are getting into... And if they agree, just make sure that they don't regret it."
"...but they can suddenly one day decide that they are not okay with the whole sharing thing. It happens all the time in relationships... Suddenly things change, and people change opinions... I can't control that." I argue. With the summons, I at least have the security of our bond.
"Aaah... Control. Interesting... Let's talk about that-"
"Okay, Okay, Okay!" I interrupt her "Let's stop this surprise therapy session here. You are really good, by the way." I stand up and carry her in my arms.
"Don't deflect!" She says between laughs as I spin her around
"Don't worry, I'm not..." I say seriously, stopping to look at her in her eyes "I will keep each of your words in my mind and heart and think about them. It's just that is complicated Harley... Each person is different, I need to know them, trust them, and really like them... To expose myself this way."
"..."
"My harem... is a big weakness... The flaw of my Character... A gap in my armor... I can't let just anyone know or enter there that easily." I try to explain my thoughts.
It's hard, my thoughts also can change... It changed recently thanks to my experience in the One Piece World, it changed after I tried that "unconventional" method with Harley.
"But again, I will keep your words in mind... And I'm not afraid of experimenting and hitting a wall, so I will try to put this into practice." I have an idea... A certain someone that I liked and slipped away... "And I didn't even put a fight..."
"It's cliche, but... 'real love is worth fighting for'." Harley says. Oh, I said the last part loudly.
Harley hugs me tightly "Okie dokie, Mistah H. Talking as women, you will be surprised how many would accept being your haremmetes."
I can't help but laugh and roll my eyes.
"You know, Harley? I'm not the only one that naturally makes people fall in love..." I give her a peck on her lips "In the beginning, I was only fond of you but you're making me like you more and more... I think I love you, girl~" I confess. At least, I'm loving having her around.
"Of course ya love me! I'm totes adorbs~" She throws her head back to laugh.
A.N.: Hello there.
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