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linkysmommy · 4 months

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No Second Chances

Pairing: Lincoln McQuoid Aquino x M!MC

Word Count: 2715

Summary: Instead of aging into dust or becoming the new anchor, Matthias McQuoid's punishment from the Power was to live out the rest of his life as a sad shadow of what he once was. // Lincoln visits his father in a retirement home.

A/N: This fic was written for my dear friend, @shionch, and features their MC, Angel Kills.

Tagging: @choicesficwriterscreations

If you prefer to read the fic here on tumblr rather than AO3, please continue under the break. (Also, if anyone wants to be tagged in any It Lives fics I write in the future, let me know so I can add you to the list.)

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Lincoln leans against his motorcycle in the nursing home parking lot. His helmet is tucked under one arm and the cool evening air brushes up against his uncovered arms.

It’s been six months since he checked his father into this institution, and it’s become a weekly tradition for him and Angel to visit together after classes and work. Though he’s never said so out loud, Lincoln doesn’t want to visit his father alone. Angel knows this, so he’s always here, right at 7:00 on the dot.

Except today.

Lincoln glances at his watch and frowns. Worry tugs at his gut. Angel’s never been late before, but it’s already 7:15.

Lincoln pulls out his phone to call him, but before he can he receives an incoming call—from Angel.

Relief floods through him as he answers. “Angel? Where are you? You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine!” Angel says, and Lincoln can’t help but smile at the sound of his voice. “My class ran a little late and I’m just leaving now. I’m sorry, but I don’t think I’ll get there for another half hour.”

Lincoln glances at the nursing home’s ominous front doors and bites back a grimace. “Don’t worry about it, Angel. You can just head home. It’s getting late, we can visit him tomorrow.”

“You sure?”

“I’m sure, love. I’ll see you at home.”

They say their goodbyes and hang up, and Lincoln swings a leg onto his motorcycle. The engine revs to life and he’s about to pull out of the parking lot, but then he hesitates. He’s visited his father every single Friday since he first checked him in here. He knows his father can’t remember much, and he knows that even if he could, he probably didn’t deserve Lincoln’s love and attention.

Still though… the thought of him eating his mashed potatoes all alone with people who don’t know or care about him twists Lincoln’s heart.

So he dismounts with a sigh and sets his helmet on the motorcycle seat before heading inside.

“I’m here for Matthias McQuoid,” he tells the receptionist at the front desk. He fills out a sign-in sheet and soon he’s walking through the halls, looking for room 104.

He recognizes it easily. Most of the other rooms have pictures or designs hanging from the door, but Matthias’s is blank, pristine, and clean. No photographs, no callbacks to his past. Just a plain white door with the golden numbers “104” shining on its surface.

Lincoln takes a moment to steel himself, and then he pushes open the door.

Matthias sits in a rocking chair in front of the TV. He doesn’t look up as Lincoln enters. The little hair he has is thin and wispy, and his skin is wrinkled and fragile. He wears a thin bathrobe that Lincoln’s sure won’t do enough to ward off the cold. He’ll have to make sure he changes into something warmer.

“Hey, Dad,” Lincoln says, shutting the door quietly behind him. Matthias’s gaze wanders away from the small TV in his room and lands on Lincoln. His eyes are empty and uncomprehending. He looks at Lincoln for a long moment before turning back to the TV.

Lincoln crosses the room and takes the chair beside Matthias.

“How are you feeling today?” he asks, his voice gentle and careful.

Matthias doesn’t respond. He usually doesn’t. Lincoln is used to it, though usually he has Angel here with him as a support for when things get too difficult.

Lincoln holds out a bag of fresh peaches. “I brought these for you. They’re from the fruit stand you love.”

Matthias’s eyes drift to the peaches. Lincoln expects he’ll just look away, but then—

“My wife used to bring these for me,” Matthias says. His voice is weak and soft from so little use, and his words slur together without his teeth, but Lincoln understands every word.

“You—you remember her?” Lincoln attempts to hide his surprise, but he can’t help himself from gaping.

Matthias slowly turns to look at him, and his lips turn upward in a vague smile.

“Of course I remember her,” he says in that soft, airy voice. “Silvia. She gave me everything I could ever want. Love, home, family, my son.”

Lincoln blinks at him. “Your… your son?”

“Yes. Lincoln… oh, he was a good boy.” Matthias’s eyes seem to clear as he looks at Lincoln. “You remind me of him, you know.”

Lincoln glances to the side out of habit, searching for Angel’s grounding gaze. But Angel isn’t here today. It’s just Lincoln and Matthias and the distant ghosts of the past.

Lincoln takes the bag of peaches and stands abruptly. “Let me cut these for you,” he says. “They’ll be easier to eat.”

His heartbeat is rapid as he moves to the small counter in his father’s room and opens the locked drawer to withdraw a dull knife. It’s been six months. Six. And not once during that time has Lincoln heard his own name come out of his father’s mouth. Matthias usually doesn’t talk, and when he does, it’s usually incoherent, nonsensical things.

Lincoln’s hands shake as he tries to cut the peaches. His hand slips—

“Damn it!” He yanks his hand back. A small, red stain glistens at the tip of his finger. He’s cut himself. Clearly the knife was sharper than he’d thought.

“Are you alright?” Matthias calls out weakly from his chair. And now Lincoln can’t help but think that this is the first time in over a decade that his father has asked him this question. Why did he decide to come here without Angel?

“I’m fine,” he manages to answer.

Lincoln wraps his finger with a paper towel, washes the knife, and carefully sets the peach slices he’d managed to cut into a paper bowl. He rejoins his father in the sitting area and hands him the bowl.

“Here,” he says.

Matthias slowly takes it from him. His eyes drop down to the peaches, and something like recognition flashes over them. “I love these peaches.”

“I know you do. I cut them for you, but still. Be careful.”

Matthias takes a small bite of one of the slices, and a small smile spreads across his face. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Do you know what happened to my family?”

The question is so unexpected that all Lincoln can say is “Wh— wha—?”

Matthias blinks at him, his eyelids drooping with age. “Silvia and Lincoln. I miss them.”

“I…” Lincoln trails off. What sort of response can he even give to this, anyway? He could be honest, but Matthias is too far gone for it to mean anything. He could hide the truth, but then he’d have to stomach lying about the past to spare Matthias’s feelings.

“Do you know?” Matthias asks again.

“I… I don’t know,” Lincoln says.

The half-alive spark in Mathias’s eyes fizzles, and he slouches noticeably in his chair. “I wish they would come visit. The proudest day of my life was the day I held my son in my arms. He was so small, and I could tell he had such a bright future… I wanted to give him everything I had, though I don’t think he wanted it.”

Lincoln’s hand fists in his lap and he looks away.

“And my wife… oh, she is so smart and talented and absolutely beautiful, you know. She's such a sight for sore eyes... I wish I could see her more often…"

Lincoln blinks. “You see your wife?”

“Oh, yes, indeed. Not often, not often, but she comes to visit me. But she never brings our son. Why doesn’t she bring our son? She used to say it was my fault for pushing him away… Did I push him away? My perfect boy, my Lincoln…”

Lincoln can’t stand there and listen any longer. It’s the first expression of genuine remorse he’s ever heard from his father. Matthias was always convinced he was in the right, that his decisions were final. But now, old and alone, not even able to recognize the only person visiting him every week…

Pathetic. He’s pathetic, and Lincoln’s heart sinks achingly at the sight.

Sometimes he wonders if he could have done something, if he could have rescued his father from becoming this husk of a man. He also knows it’s futile to think about. Whatever happened, happened. There is no redemption for Matthias McQuoid. Only slow, withering death.

“Yes,” Lincoln finally says, his voice soft. “You did push your son away.”

Matthias stares at him for a moment with glossy eyes, but there’s no recognition in there. Whatever emotion he’d started to show dims and dies, his wrinkled face settling into an expression of indifference.

“I’m tired.”

A flash of anger licks at Lincoln’s insides. Even as this broken version of himself, he’s still typical Matthias. The moment he’s confronted with things not going his way, he loses all interest.

Lincoln grits his teeth and swallows, looking away out the window, into gloomy night.

“Okay, I’ll let you rest,” he says quietly. There’s a tight ache in his throat, but he forces the rest of the sentence out. “See you next week.”

Matthias doesn’t respond. He simply stares, unblinking, at the far wall. Lincoln gives him one last long look before turning his back and leaving the room.

“Stupid, stupid, stupid…” he mutters as he starts down the hall. He shouldn’t have gone alone. He should’ve waited for Angel, or gone tomorrow, or not gone at all. Now he can’t erase the images from his mind: his father’s look of indifference, his muddled mind, his skewed perspective of what happened—

“Oof!”

He’s not looking where he’s going and he startles back as he runs into someone.

“Oh, I’m sorry—” he begins, but he stops when he recognizes the long, silver hair and slender form of the person in front of him. “Angel?”

Angel’s face is twisted with concern as he takes in Lincoln’s agitated state. “Lincoln? Love, what happened?”

“It—it doesn’t matter. What are you doing here?”

Angel takes Lincoln’s hand in his, giving it a comforting squeeze. “I didn’t want you to have to go through this alone. I know you told me to go home but… I didn’t listen.” Angel offers a sheepish smile, and Lincoln’s heart swells at the sight. He throws his arms around him, burying his face in Angel’s shoulder and holding him close.

Angel lets out a soft sound of surprise, but immediately drapes his arms around Lincoln and holds him close. He doesn’t say anything. He always knows exactly what Lincoln needs, and in this moment, he doesn’t need to be prodded about what happened or forced to open up. All he needs is to be held—to be reminded through the gentle warmth of affection—that he is loved and cared for. When he’s ready to talk, he will.

After a long moment of just holding onto one another, Lincoln pulls away, his hand sliding along Angel’s arms to interlace their fingers together. He lets out a gentle chuckle. “How do you always show up at the exact moment that I need you?”

“I guess it’s just my specialty.” Angel smiles at Lincoln, brushing a few strands of hair out of his eyes. “What do you say we get out of here, go get something to eat? My treat.”

“Angel. With my dad’s estate, I have more money than I could ever know what to do with. Why would I ever want you to spend money on me?”

Angel laughs, his voice soothing to Lincoln’s ears. He squeezes Lincoln’s hand and together they start down the halls of the retirement home and toward the exit. “What if I just want to treat my boyfriend to a nice dinner sometimes?”

“You have hardly any money, Angel!”

“And I know how I want to spend the money I do have.”

Lincoln huffs out a laugh as warmth spreads through his chest. The best part of all is that he knows that Angel means it. To him, being there for Lincoln, making sacrifices for him—it’s not an inconvenience at all. It’s what he wants to do.

Lincoln’s mind drifts back to his father, the sad shell of a man all alone in that room. Even in his kindest moments, he was nothing like Angel. Any kindness was offered with an expectation of something in return: for Lincoln to follow in his footsteps and become the perfect son Matthias always wished he could have been.

As he and Angel step outside and approach the motorcycle, Lincoln slows to a stop. Angel pauses and turns back to glance at Lincoln, the soft moonlight shimmering down on his silky white hair.

“Lincoln?” Angel asks. “What is it?”

“Do you… do you think that my dad ever remembers me? Or that he remembers what he did?”

Angel’s brown eyes fill with compassion and he holds a hand out to Lincoln. Lincoln takes it. “It’s possible. People suffering from memory loss can have sudden moments of lucidity. Why do you ask?”

Lincoln’s fingers tighten around Angel’s, as if that touch is the only thing that can ground him. He swallows, then takes a breath.

“There’s no rush, Lincoln,” Angel gently reminds him. “You can take however much time you need to say whatever it is you need to tell me.”

Lincoln nods, grateful, and leans against his motorcycle. A cool breeze snakes through the evening, sending a pleasant chill up his arms. He folds his arms to ward against the cold, and clears his throat before finally speaking.

“My dad… he remembered me today.”

Angels eyes go wide. “He did? Really?” But the shock almost instantly gives way to a fierce protectiveness. Angel’s eyes narrow. “What did he say to you?”

“He didn’t say anything to me. He just… talked about me.” Lincoln runs a hand through his dark hair with a sigh. “He didn’t know that I was the son he was talking about.”

“What did he say?”

“That he loved me? That he regrets pushing me away?” Lincoln’s jaw tightens, and he forces out the next words. “That I was… perfect.”

Angel lifts Lincoln’s hand to his lips, pressing a soft kiss against his skin. “I think you’re perfect too, you know,” he says. “But the difference here is that I actually do. I would never try to change who you are to fit my personal standard for perfection.”

“Yeah.” Lincoln offers Angel a tender smile. “I know you wouldn’t.”

“How did hearing those things from him make you feel?”

Lincoln sighs, and his shoulders slump. “I don’t know. Maybe it’s stupid, but hearing him say those things… it almost makes me wish that we’d had another chance.”

“Lincoln, another chance wouldn’t change anything. You know that.”

“But do I? He became like this before we had a chance to do things differently. I just can’t help but wonder—”

Angel cuts Lincoln off, pulling him by the hand and turning him so they stand face to face. Angel’s eyes bore into Lincoln’s, a severe yet kind intensity in his almost otherworldly features. “He had three hundred years to change, Linc, and he never did. You love him, so you’re taking care of him, and that’s noble.” Angel’s forehead creases with concern as sympathy pools in his eyes. “But you can’t live your life fixated on how that fantasy second chance might’ve looked. You knew what the past was like, and if you’re honest with yourself, I think you’ll realize that any future relationship with him would’ve just continued on in that same pattern.”

Lincoln looks down at the pavement beneath his feet, his brow furrowed with thought. “I suppose you’re right, but still…”

“It’s hard, I know.” Angel squeezes Lincoln’s hand. “But I’m here for you, and I always will be.”

Lincoln leans forward and presses a kiss to Angel’s lips. “Thank you.”

Angel smiles at him and pulls Lincoln back in for one more kiss. “There’s nothing to thank. I’ll always be here for you, because it’s where I want to be. It’s where I belong.”

And as Lincoln climbs onto the motorcycle, Angel behind him with his arms wrapped around Lincoln’s waist, he knows without any doubt that this is right where he belongs, too.

#it lives within #ilw #lincoln aquino #lincoln mcquoid #lincoln x mc #matthias mcquoid #playchoices #my writing

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abelflints · 4 months

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Elf Lincoln I manipulated the eyebags from transparents made by @immemorialmarketeer😇

#ilw #it lives within #choices #playchoices #lincoln mcquoid #lincoln aquino #it lives choices #it lives series #it lives anthology #it lives #play choices #choices stories we play #choices stories you play #my edits #it lives project #choices game

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itlivesproject · 1 year

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In an AU where the Power didn't exist, how do you think the LI's would meet and fall in love with Rowan?

aww this is actually so sweet 🥹

Amalia: Well, I think this is pretty obvious, since you were already best friends. She would just have regular best friends to lovers romance with MC, without any awkwardness of body-snatching and identity crises.

Jocelyn: Jocelyn and Rowan meet at the community college, and Joss is a bit of a mean girl at first. You see her at parties and around the town, and you intrigue each other. Maybe she has a lot of power and influence at the school as the popular jock girl, and you’re interesting to her because you challenge her; you don’t fall into line, you’re not scared of her. There’s a little bit of rivals there but it quickly just falls to lovers.

Lincoln: Coffee shop AU, anyone? I’m imagining you continuing to see him at the coffee shop every morning after you literally run into him the first time, and he’s always grumpy. You make eye contact a lot, and finally one day, you decide to approach him and sit with him at his little table, and it just goes from there 🥰

Abel: I hate to say it, but you’d probably meet him through the community college. MC doesn’t have to be his student, but you would definitely see him around campus. Maybe you don’t realize he’s a professor, and get eyes for him thinking he’s a student. You flirt a little, only to be mortified when you realize he is in fact, a professor 😂 if you don’t want to have that dynamic you could always do something like Abel is your tutor? Or maybe you meet one of his siblings in school, become their friend, and meet their hot older brother when you visit their house 👀 many possibilities

Matthias: I feel like putting them in a different, Power-less scenario takes away from most of the appeal of the romance haha. But I suppose you could do Lincoln and mc are friends, and mc falls for their good friend’s dad.

#ask #anon #mod win #ilw lis #ilw au #abel flint #lincoln mcqouid #lincoln aquino #amalia de león #jocelyn wu #matthias mcquoid

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kilvalir · 24 days

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kilvalir's choices works

Below the read more, you will find a compilation of all the choices content I've made so far. Beware of it lives within spoilers, not all the titles of the works ahead are spoiler-free.

Tags

These are the tags I normally use on my own creations.

Writing: #my writing Edits: #my edits Memes: #my memes Below are the tags I use for my own favourite it lives within main character, mr pink-hair up there, Vax Vũ-Verdant, and all content related to him, including those made by me, and those not made by me. Vax in general: #OC: Vax Vax with Lincoln: #Vaxlinc

Writing

A note on trigger warnings: all my writing lists any potential content warnings at the top of the work, and even after you press one of the provided links to the writing, you won't see the story itself until you press the read more button.

1. Lincoln x MC angst fic - Heal what has been hurt (change the fate's design), part 1, part 2 2. Abel x MC ficlet - click 3. Excerpt of an unfinished Abel x MC angst - click 4. Abel x MC (ish) - a sinister Judas Kiss piece - click 5. Abel x MC joke fic - click 6. Pictures of You - ILW Main Cast Angst - click 7. In Progress Lincoln x MC Angst - part 1 8. Excerpt of a soft Lincoln x MC WIP - click 9. Little ILW MC Angst Piece - click

Edits

Another note on trigger warnings: warnings for edits are shown by caution emojis and what the warning is for, after the link. e.g ⚠️EXAMPLE ⚠️

Fake CGS and Book Covers:

1. Bashful Abel in a suit - click 2. Horror Abel - click⚠️GUNS ⚠️ 3. Horror Abel looming behind ILW MC - click ⚠️BODY HORROR ⚠️ 4. Suited Up Abel Leaning - click 5. ILW MC (Feens!) striding menacingly through an alley - click 6. Eiko x MOTY MC cover edit - click 7. Abel x ILW MC (Hilkka) reading by a tree - click 8. Blades MC (Raine) flying on a drake - click

Sprite Edits:

1. Abel in Rowan's glasses - click 2. Sleeveless Abel with long hair - click 3. Long-hair Abel in a flower crown - click 4. ILW MC in Abel's sweater - click 5. ILW MC (Vax) Edit - click 6. Pirate Abel #1 - click 7. Pirate Abel #2 - click 8. Pirate Abel #3 - click 9. Horror Abel - click ⚠️BODY HORROR ⚠️ 10. Grandpa Abel - click 11. Crying Abel - click ⚠️DEATH AND ILW SPOILERS ⚠️ 12. Bearded Abel and beardless Lincoln - click 13. Merman Abel - click 14. Abel x ILW MC heist suits - click 15. Amalia dressed as her younger self - click 16. Lincoln dressed as his younger self - click 17. Beckett (TE) as a wood nymph - click 18. Lincoln as an elf - click 19. Tom as a mage - click 20. Jean Jacket Lincoln with his hair down - click 21. Nik Ryder if he was in ATV - click 22. ILW MC (Vax) lookbook - click ⚠️ILW SPOILERS ⚠️ 23. ILW MC (Vax) expressions - click 24. ILW MC (Vax) in the ILW ballroom dress - click 25. ILW MC (Vax) in an immortal desires dress - click ⚠️ILW SPOILERS ⚠️

Misc. Edits:

1. Rheya (BB) fragment piece, with the cracks removed - click ⚠️BLOOD AND BLOODBOUND B2 SPOILERS⚠️ 2. Abel Valentines Cards - click 3. Abel Moodboard - click

Memes

1. Abel vs Horror Connor - click 2. Abel, Jocelyn, and ILW mc - someone will die... - click 3. Horror Connor when you flirt with more than one person - click 4. Abel, Annie, and mentioned MC - she thinks it's fancy? - click 5. Lincoln x MC - a smile might be nice... - click 6. Devon, Power MC - I'm literally shaking.. - click 7. Abel x MC - no principles - click 8. MC and most LIs - please sir, can I have some more? - click 9. Lincoln x MC - breakfast takes a turn - click 10. Abel and Lincoln - on the matter of sleep.. click

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laylaisthename · 1 year

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ILW // the game is over now which means we get to think about fun things like what characters look like a few years down the line so here's my take on older Linky thriving, flourishing, probably on his way to pick his kid up from ballet practice on his motorcycle

also bonus older Horus;

#ilw #it lives within #lincoln aquino #lincoln mcquoid #eepy....#but im happy with how he turned out jghsdfgf

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pulpitude · 1 month

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i've finished 2 separate plays of ilw, currently going on 3rd, all with different love interests (so far only have amalia left to romance) and i'm literally in love with ALL OF THEM. i went into the game fully thinking i'd have a specific type or love one more than all the others (or inversely not particularly like one or two of them) but NO. i normally don't get anywhere close to anything that's even the slightest bit scary but i'm addicted lmao not just because of the rep and the clothing but also the fact all my mcs actually are different characters. and the lis. lord if there were an option to be ethically poly in the game i'd take it in a heartbeat but alas there's not and i'm too focused on always playing a game "perfectly" (see: me literally panicking when i prioritized going with lincoln and joss over helping lia with college and her nerve dropped to rattled when i've never had anyone's nerve below "on edge" on any previous plays before) to risk ruining my relationship w anyone even the tiniest bit. still if someone held me at gun point and told me to pick a fave li tell my family i love them

still won't do matty tho. not just saying it because i'm currently on lincoln route i just don't see the appeal. not even if he actually put the dad in dilf and acted like a decent person

conclusion: i am a harlot

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saibug1022 · 8 days

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Two Birds On A Wire

Word Count: 1.7k

Lincoln McQuoid/Aquino & Valen Ebony (ILITW MC), background mentions of Lincoln x ILW MC and Lucas x ILITW MC

A/N: Fun fact for those who don't know, for the second half or so of ILW I was actually on the dev team, first as a senior tester and then as a junior writer. As a result I got to program some scenes into my person copy of the game, one of which is this one! I finally turned it into a proper fic and I plan to do the same with a Dan x MC scene later so stay tuned

“Which reminds me,” Lincoln said with a small smile and a sidelong glance at Val. “I actually legally changed my name just a few days ago.”

“You did?” Abel replied.

“Yeah. I took my mom’s maiden name,” Lincoln nodded. “So I’m Lincoln Aquino now. I didn’t think I could handle that name following me around after all my father did, so…”

Val’s eyes fell to the ground at the reminder. ‘My’ father. Just a few weeks ago he wouldn’t have blinked an eye. But now it came with a bit of sting. Not that it wasn’t honest. Matthias had him only to be used. He’d never considered Val a son. Never kept an eye on him, probably didn’t even know his name. Only led Val’s friends to resurrect him to further his own plan. He wasn’t even the man on Val’s birth certificate. But that was why it stung. Technically it should be ‘our’ dad. But it never really was.

But if he was honest with himself, the lack of the word ‘our’ hurt less in relation to their father and more in relation to Lincoln. Val was no stranger to absent parents, so that wasn’t anything new. Siblings? Val was still wrapping his head around that. Lincoln was his brother. And neither of them had said a single thing about it, at least not to each other. They just kept dancing around each other and honestly? Val was perfectly happy with that.

If they never had a conversation Lincoln wouldn’t say the things Val was sure he was thinking. Val wasn’t just his half-brother, Matthias had him via an affair with Val’s mother (which they had a very spirited conversation about that involved some screaming, some crying, and threats of divorce). Val was a reminder of what a horrible person his, their, father was, and especially the horrible things he’d done to the mother Lincoln adored. Lincoln was a great guy. Val didn’t think Lincoln would blame him, even if Val would get it if he did. But he imagined it must be hard to look at him.

No matter Val’s own feelings, Lincoln seemed to be shedding his past, and Val couldn’t help the pride that overtook that little sting. It honestly sounded like a great idea. Not that Val really had anything to change his last name to. For just a moment he caught the eye of a certain ex-class president across the yard and couldn’t help a small smile. Maybe he would one day.

But for now, Val looked over at Lincoln with that same smile.

“I think Lincoln Aquino is a great name,” He said.

“I agree,” Abel said. “You don’t need to carry something around that reminds you of him, especially not after what he did."

Lincoln’s smile turned sheepish as he looked at the ground. “Thanks.”

Abel paused abruptly, craning his neck and looking around. He must have found whatever he was looking for because a smirk appeared on his face for a split second before he hid it, clearing his throat and standing.

“I think Amalia is calling me over,” Abel told them.

“What?” Lincoln glanced over at Amalia who was mid-conversation with Castor and Jocelyn. “No she’s not.”

“You two have fun!” Abel grinned. Oh that little shit. Val and Lincoln must have figured out what Abel was doing at the same time as they both spoke up.

“Wait-” Val objected as Lincoln simultaneously protested “Abel-!”

But Abel completely ignored their pleas and wandered off to Amalia, Jocelyn, and Castor, leaving Val and Lincoln alone at the fire.

They sit there in an awkward silence, Val just messing with his necklace praying Abel would come back and give him an excuse to leave. He couldn’t just get up when it was just Lincoln, it would make it so obvious he was avoiding him. He switched to lightly biting the ring pendant on the necklace as he thought. He had to say something, right? Unless Lincoln was avoiding him too in which case maybe he should stay quiet for both of their sakes? Well unfortunately this silence was eating him alive

“So uh,” Val cleared his throat. “How’re you and Julian?”

Val knew the answer. He’d talked to Julian not even ten minutes ago.

“Good,” Lincoln replied. “We’re good.”

“Great.”

More silence.

Eventually Val sighed. Obviously avoiding each other was getting nowhere and he had a sneaking feeling Abel not returning was on purpose.

“He’s probably right,” Val pointed out. “We should talk about this at some point.”

“Yeah, I know,” Lincoln admitted. “But what do you even say about this kind of thing?”

Val snickered. “What, you’ve got a secret bastard brother three days before your father dies trying to kill you both?”

“Don’t call yourself a bastard,” Lincoln snapped. Val’s eyebrows raised in a mix of shock and confusion.

“Why not?” Val wondered. “I mean, I am. Matthias obviously had me while he was still married to your mom. It was an affair, plain and simple. I, I wouldn’t blame you if you hated me for it.”

“Why would I hate you?” Lincoln questioned, genuine confusion on his face.

“Because I’m living proof of your dad being a cheating asshole?”

“No.”

Lincoln turned in his chair to fully face Val and Val turned to meet him, the awkward tension of his shoulders turning to anxiety as he waited for whatever Lincoln wanted to say. Lincoln met his eyes and Val found he actually wanted to meet them. Whatever Lincoln said he wanted to truly absorb it.

“Look, I don’t really know what I’m doing here,” Lincoln confessed. “I have no idea how to be a brother. I screwed up the closest thing I had to it, bad. But I don’t think you’re a bastard.”

Lincoln’s face shifted from solemnity to rage. “If anyone’s a bastard it’s him. He had you just to use and then throw away when it suited him. It;s messed up and wrong and…and you deserve better.”

For a moment, Val didn’t know what he wanted to say. Even if he did he had a feeling the words would get caught on the emotions clogging his throat. This hadn’t been how he’d expected this conversation to go. He wasn’t sure what he’d been expecting exactly but he’d considered anything from indifference to disgust to full on hate. But what Lincoln was looking at him with felt more so like affection. Protectiveness.

Lincoln leaned over and after a moment of consideration put his hand on Val’s knee and Val froze. Something felt fragile about this. Rather than two adults navigating a complicated a difficult family secret they felt like two hurt boys who more than anything were scared. Scared of their dad, scared of the monsters in the woods, and scared of the big feelings too complicated to understand. One wrong move could send one or both of them running but there was a gravity pulling them together and blocking out the rest of the world.

“This whole thing is messed up and weird,” Lincoln said.

“Us being messed up and weird too doesn’t really help,” Val commented.

“Not really,” Lincoln agreed. “I want to be part of your life, and I want you to be part of mine. We may not have grown up together but he took everything else from us, I don’t want him to take our chance to be brothers too. But only if you want that too.”

Val was grinning so wide his face hurt, his vision blurred from slight tears. Val had never had a sibling, hell he’d never had family that wanted him. Connor was the closest thing he’d had. But here was Lincoln telling him that even with everything that had happened and their origins he still wanted to try to be Val’s brother.

“I’d like that,” Val said. “I’d really like that.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“Good,” Lincoln grinned too.

“You being in Vegas might make it a pain though,” Val remembered. “Give me your phone.”

Lincoln unlocked his phone before handing it over. Val opened the contacts and entered in his name and his new phone number. Connor had helped him get a new phone finally, one that didn’t die fucking constantly. You handed Lincoln his phone back.

“There,” Val said. “And you better actually text me. I know technology isn’t your strong suit.”

“You talk to the twins too much,” Lincoln sighed.

“I’m gonna be talking to them way more now.”

“We’ve been brothers for five minutes and you’re teasing me.”

“I have twenty-two years of it to catch up on!”

“You have a point,” Lincoln hummed in consideration and glanced toward the cabin with a mischievous glint in his eyes. “You’ve known your friends since you were little, right?”

“Oh no, no no no no,” Val shook his head. “This is backfiring fast.”

Lincoln barked out a laugh and Val joined him. The sound broke the fragility around them and Lincoln sat up, his hand falling off Val’s knee. But neither of them ran. Now the silence was comfortable and easy.

“You know,” Lincoln spoke up. “I don’t go back to Vegas until tomorrow afternoon.”

“Are you asking to hang out with me?” Val grinned.

“Maybe I am,” Lincoln smiled too.

“We’re definitely hanging out now,” Val declared. “I know where we’re going too. If you really want to learn about me as a kid we’re going to Pizza Mega.”

“That sounds like a place middle-schoolers hang out.”

“That’s because it is.”

The two of them conversed a bit about their schedules and picked a time, including some logistics before Val spotted Abel on his way back over so he stood up but Lincoln stopped him before he could walk away.

“I’ll see you around, buddy, okay?” Lincoln said and Val’s heart soared at the casual nickname.

“You’re damn right,” Val agreed.

With one more wave to both Lincoln and Abel. Val returned to the rest of the memorial.

#val ebony #playchoices #choices #it lives in the woods #ilitw #it lives within #ilw #it lives anthology #lincoln mcquoid #lincoln aquino

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