Druid in the Marvel Universe Chapter 23: Baby Sleep

Even though the whole mess got sorted out, Alvin was still in a funk. Too many folks bit the dust. Sure, most of 'em had it coming, but there might've been some innocent cooks or maids caught in the crossfire.

No way was Alvin gonna go after Kingpin over this; it was just gang business. Like, seriously, going toe-to-toe with Kingpin and calling yourself "Bloody Jason" was a one-way ticket to an early grave.

But judging by JJ's face, it looked like Alvin might have to take the heat for this! No way, man. Alvin thought, if he took the fall, would Kingpin, as a school board member, up his annual donation by $5 million? After all, he's the last big drug lord standing in the Big Apple, right?

"JJ, hit up Kingpin and tell him what I told Black Bear today. Tell him the school's donation needs to double every year, and he knows why!" Alvin barked.

Pushing open the restaurant door, Alvin felt wiped from the day's drama. He plopped down at the bar and had a drink with some familiar and not-so-familiar faces.

Just as he was about to drop the second piece of good news for the day, Nick found his dad. The small door behind the bar flew open with a "bang," and Nick hopped in on one leg, yelling, "Alvin, come quick! Frank passed out doing math problems!"

Alvin spat his drink all over JJ, who looked totally innocent. Alvin's face said, "Yeah, I did that on purpose, so what?"

Waving his hand, he announced that happy hour had begun! He had JJ arrange for everyone to get home, and those who lived far away needed a ride. Alvin followed Nick up to the restaurant's loft.

The loft was pretty big, almost 600 square feet, with Nick's bed near the window. Frank was lying on the bed, looking pale and breathing hard.

When Alvin walked in, Frank had already come to. Seeing Alvin, Frank awkwardly turned his head to stare at the wall.

Alvin let out a sigh of relief. If he could move, he was okay. Otherwise, it would've sucked for a happy event to turn into a tragedy. Frank was just really banged up and super weak. Plus, he had drunk a lot earlier, so he was totally out of it.

Otherwise, with his tough-guy act, he wouldn't be acting like a shy little girl, turning his head away. He'd jump out the window and come back after mastering math to claim his son.

Alvin ruffled Nick's hair and said, "Go hang with your sister Jessie for a bit. Ginny's there too. Bring me the culprit that made Frank pass out. Frank graduated from UCLA! He probably passed out 'cause of his injuries. Go on, I'll take care of him."

Frank, lying on the bed, coughed awkwardly. Alvin shooed Nick out and looked at Frank with a half-smile.

"Is that all you got? Back in the day, I couldn't do my kid's homework and got called out at parent-teacher meetings. I still made it through. And you, a killing machine, got stumped by a second-grade math problem and passed out?"

Frank tried to sit up, looking at Alvin awkwardly, wanting to say something but hesitating.

Alvin waved his hand to shut him up and comforted him, "Our school's a bit different from others. The education the kids get is unique, so if parents struggle with their kids' homework, no biggie. You're just a UCLA grad. I've seen Harvard grads who can't do these problems. Don't feel bad."

Frank got all worked up, insisting he wasn't feeling bad, and so on.

Alvin ignored him, directing a creepy plant that had poked its head through the window to spray some green gas on Frank's face, knocking him out. Then a red vine split into dozens of tendrils and pierced Frank's body.

A stream of red energy flowed into Frank, healing his injuries.

Not wanting to overdo it, Alvin stopped once Frank's complexion looked better.

Shooing away the corpse-eating vine, Alvin grabbed Frank's foot, yanked off his boot, and tossed it aside. "Dude, you gotta take better care of my kid's bed. You're such a slob."

Letting Frank rest, Alvin headed back to his room. Carefree Nick was goofing around with Ginny, their laughter filling the space.

Jessica was holding her head, clearly driven nuts by the kids' noise, looking totally defeated.

Nick shouted, "Watch my crippled leg!" He jumped up, kicked his leg in the air, and then flopped onto Alvin's bed. Ginny, on the bed, bounced high into the air, laughing like a little bell.

Seeing Alvin come in, Ginny excitedly ran a few steps on the bed and leaped into Alvin's arms, giggling, "Nick, awesome! Crippled leg, so awesome. Hee hee~"

Alvin caught Ginny with one hand and glared at Nick. "Brat, mischief is contagious. Look at my little Ginny, already infected after just a short while. She dares to jump at me from a meter away. It's all Nick's fault for being such a troublemaker. What if she got hurt?"

Holding the giggling Ginny, Alvin gently pressed his forehead against hers, "My darling is a lady. You can't learn from these troublemakers. That was too dangerous."

Ginny cupped Alvin's cheeks with her hands, kissed him on the face, and said, "Daddy, awesome! Ginny, loves, Daddy!"

That settled it. With such a sweet daughter, a little mischief was acceptable! Alvin happily held Ginny, jumped high, and landed on the bed. The soft mattress bounced Nick off, and he landed on the floor.

Nick, being a tough kid, jumped up and down, shouting, and charged at the bed for revenge. Alvin, holding the giggling Ginny, dodged left and right, playing with the two kids.

After a while, Nick seemed to get tired, and the three of them sat on the bed. Jessica had slipped away as soon as Alvin entered.

Nick, unusually quiet, lay on the bed with his hands behind his head and said, "Alvin, my dad came. Does that mean I have to leave?" His tone was filled with "hesitation," "worry," and "reluctance."

Ginny, hearing this, lay on Alvin's chest and said sadly, "Nick, don't go. Ginny, likes, don't go."

Alvin kissed Ginny on the head to comfort her.

Nick didn't get such a good deal. Alvin's big hand ruffled his hair, making his face contort, and said disdainfully, "Leave? Where to? Your dad is a poor worker. Where can he take you? Tomorrow, I'll rent the house next door for Frank to live in. And I'll kick JJ over there too. That jerk has messed up my storage room so badly that no one can get in."

Nick, hearing that he didn't have to leave and that his dad could stay, was happy. He turned to Alvin with bright eyes and said, "Thank you! Alvin, thank you!"

Alvin, never one to be soft on brats, ruffled his hair hard and said, "Don't look at me with those disgusting eyes. Go take care of your dad. He's injured. I healed him mostly, but it's best to have someone watching over him."

Nick immediately jumped up. As he was leaving, he turned back, made a face at Alvin, and laughed, "Alvin, my old man is way stronger than you. You better step up your game!"

Alvin pretended to get up to hit him, and Nick laughed as he hopped up to the loft.

Alvin looked at Ginny in his arms and softly said, "Ginny, how about I take you back to your room to sleep?"

Ginny shook her head, looked at Nick with wide eyes, and said, "Ginny, watch, Daddy. Ginny, not sleep. Sleep, have nightmares. Daddy, not sleep."

Alvin felt his heart inexplicably soaked in a wave of sadness. He hugged Ginny tighter and kissed her hard, saying, "Ginny, sleep. Daddy, strong. Nightmares, go away."

Ginny happily hugged Alvin, feeling a strong sense of security. She slowly fell asleep to Alvin's humming of an unknown tune.

The dark sky hung low,

The warm stars faced each other.

Fireflies fly, fireflies fly, who are you missing?

...