Fic: Five Letters Reed Richards Received About--or from--Victor Von Doom (Movieverse)
Title: Five Letters Reed Richards Received About--or from--Victor Von Doom
Author: Sionnain
'Verse: Movieverse, mostly pre-first movie.
Character/Pairing: Reed Richards, Victor Von Doom. Reed/Sue implied.
Rating: Teen
AN: Thanks to Romanticalgirl for the beta. This will probably be jossed, at least the last part, by FF4-2. Written for the lovely Inlovewithnight for her birthday.
Five Letters Reed Richards Received About--or from--Victor Von Doom
Roommates
It was the middle of summer when the letter came in the mail. Addressed to him, with the MIT logo embossed on the cover. His mom put it next to the apple crisp she always made for him when he returned from school. In the same bowl, waiting on the counter. Room temperature and devoid of ice cream. Reed was never going to eat apple crisp ever again, when he left home. Other kids got cookies. Mrs. Richards didn't think those were healthy.
He ate the apple crisp--it would be rude not to, really--and opened the letter.
Dear Reed Richards,
Your room assignment is listed as follows. You have been paired with an international student from the country of Latveria, Victor Von Doom. His address, should you wish to contact him, is listed below. Please contact the Housing Office if you have any questions. Thank you, and welcome to MIT. We look forward to seeing you in the fall.
For a minute after he read the letter, Reed didn't believe that was a real name. Who could be possibly be named Von Doom? His parents thought it was a joke. They'd never heard of Latveria, either. "Maybe you better call the school," his mother said, looking nervous. "It could be a mistake. Some kid playing a joke, and then you won't have a roommate."
His parents were very concerned about that. Not because they'd have to pay extra. No, they weren't paying a dime for Reed's college tuition, or even room and board. He'd been given a full scholarship to MIT. They were just worried that Reed wouldn't have a roommate, and thus wouldn't have any friends. Just like high school. They never said it out loud, sure, but Reed knew that's what they meant.
That night, while his parents were in the living room watching television, Reed found the dusty old Atlas and opened it to the index. He looked up Latveria, half expecting it not to be there. Half-expecting his parents to be right.
It was there. Reed pretended he wasn't relieved.
Reed wondered if, somewhere in Latveria--he imagined a lot of mountains, for some reason--Victor Von Doom had received his letter, too.
He waited all summer to see if his roommate would write. He didn't. That was okay. Reed didn't write him, either.
Reed hoped they'd be friends.
Christmas Card
Reed went home for Christmas, loaded down with books. "Best get some reading for next semester started early," he'd told Victor cheerfully, trying to figure out if his copy of Theoretical Microphysics was best saved for later. Wouldn't want to come back to school with nothing to look forward to, after all.
Victor hadn't taken anything in his suitcase but some clothes. He didn't seem too excited about going home. Before they'd left the room for their six-week break, Victor had asked for Reed's address. Reed wondered if he'd get a Latverian Christmas card. Maybe some scenic mountain-scape (though he'd never really asked Victor if there were mountains. Victor didn't really like to talk about Latveria very much) with snow and "Merry Christmas!" written in Latverian. Sometimes Victor got a phone call from someone and spoke in sharp angry syllables. Reed wasn't sure if the language was just ugly, or if Victor didn't like whoever he was talking to.
Victor sent him one letter, from Latveria. It wasn't a Christmas card, and it didn't have a picture of a mountain on it. The envelope had a couple of stamps that Reed had never seen before, though. He kept it because of the stamps. How many people could say they had Latverian stamps?
The letter itself wasn't very long. In fact, it wasn't really a letter at all.
Next year, can I come home with you for the holiday?
Merry Christmas.
--V.
Victor never mentioned what happened in Latveria or why he was so unhappy. When they got back to school, his accent was thicker and he looked tired, like he hadn't slept. He had dark circles under his eyes. Reed thought about asking what was wrong, but he didn't know how. Instead, he lent Victor his copy of Theoretical Microphysics to read first. That seemed like a nice thing to do.
They decided to live together again in the fall.
That summer, Reed learned who Victor's family was. He wondered why Victor never mentioned that his family was royalty. Reed never asked. Victor never went back to Latveria, and when they were juniors, Victor decided he wanted to live alone.
Newspaper Clipping
Susan left the letter from his mom on Reed's desk in the lab. There was an angry sort of note attached to it on a bright yellow post-it note. I thought maybe you'd see this if I left it here. Reed wondered if that was supposed to mean something. He would have to ask her, when he saw her again. Was that tonight? They were supposed to go to some party. He didn't remember what night that was, come to think of it.
The envelope contained a note from his mom. Wasn't this your roommate, the one you brought home for Christmas from MIT that one year? It was paper clipped to a neatly cut article from the Daily Globe.
Von Doom Enterprises begins plans to launch new space station, CEO Von Doom says.
Reed read the article. Reed had seen Victor on television a few times, talking about his company. Victor was nothing like Reed remembered from MIT. He didn't have an accent anymore, for one thing. He was always smiling, for another. Victor had done very well for himself. While Reed had been studying physics in graduate school, Victor had decided to get his MBA in addition to his doctorate. Obviously, it was working out well for him. CEO of his own company. Money and backing enough to launch a space station.
Reed wondered if he would be at the final stages of his research with the cosmic clouds by the time Victor was ready to launch. Maybe his old friend would like to partner in Reed's proposed project to study the clouds in space. That was an intriguing thought. He'd have to formulate a proposal, maybe. See what he could come up with.
Reed showed Susan the clipping at dinner that night. "You know him?" she asked, sounding surprised. "I hear he's looking for a genetic researcher." She was toying with her food.
"We were roommates, at MIT. Just for two years." Reed started talking about the space station, and the clouds. The work he'd done. He forgot to ask Susan what night the party they were supposed to go to was. He was in his lab working when she came to pick him up. In a black formal gown, pounding on his door in the pouring rain. At least, that was the furious message she left on his voice mail. Along with the very succinct instructions that he wasn't to call her, ever again.
A few weeks later, Reed saw the small article in the paper, about her taking a job with Von Doom Enterprises.
He hoped she was happy there.
Meeting Request
Dear Dr. Richards,
Dr. Von Doom would like has agreed to meet with you to discuss your proposal regarding the cosmic cloud entities and the use of his space station. Please call the office and speak to Val Merryweather at the number below to set up an appointment. Thank you.
"Ben!" Reed crashed into Ben Grimm's office, stumbling over his feet, flailing a bit as he caught himself on the door. "I heard from Victor. Well, no. His assistant or something. But we have an appointment!" He beamed. "Isn't that great?"
Ben looked up. "You did." His voice was flat. He didn't seem all that enthused. Then again, Ben wasn't really overly enthused about most things, so Reed didn't let that bother him.
"Well, yeah. I mean, I said I was going to try, right? And hey, it worked! Sure, he's probably only seeing me because of the fact we're friends--"
"Are you?" Ben leaned back in his chair. "Thought you didn't talk, much. Now, anyways. When was the last time you and Victor Von Doom hung out, Reed?" Ben rolled his eyes.
Reed waved that aside. "We're both busy. I mean, we were friends. Roommates. And he obviously remembers me. Anyway, I'm going to call the office. Set this up. When can you go? You have to go."
"Why do I gotta be there?" Ben asked, skeptical. "You're the brains. I'm just the pilot."
"Ben! Because! Everyone's left me on this project. You know. My potential backers. They've all said no and laughed at me. Tony Stark--I'm pretty sure he's given me the wrong number on purpose or something. I tried to ask Scott Summers for it, but I can't seem to get a hold of anyone at that school he teaches at, I don't know. My point is, you're the only one who's stood by me." Reed grinned at him. "I need someone to convince Victor I'm not crazy."
"That might just mean I'm crazy, and I shoulda left with the rest of 'em," Ben grumbled, but he shrugged. "Right. Okay. Meeting with Victor. Gotcha. Just tell me when it is and I'll be there."
Reed grinned again and turned to go. "Great! This is great. You'll see, Ben. This is going to be the best thing that's ever happened to us."
He would make sure of it. Ben had done so much for him. Reed wanted to make sure Ben got something in return.
No Return Address
"I don't know who this is from," Susan said, handing him the envelope. Reed looked up at her and smiled. She was so beautiful. This time, he wasn't going to make the same mistakes he had before. He wasn't going to lose her. They had overcome seemingly insurmountable odds. They were going to get married. Everything was going to be fine.
"Mmm? Is it a fan letter? It's probably for your brother." He smiled good-naturedly. The Fantastic Four. They got fanmail. It was all so surreal to him. Strange. But it was true, Johnny did get most of the letters. A lot of marriage proposals. Naughty pictures of naked girls. Some who were asking Johnny to father their kids. If he followed up on those, Reed didn't want to know about it.
Susan shook her head. "No. It's for you. See? This is your name," she teased, sliding up behind his chair. "Reed Richards. Soon to be my name." She put her arms around him and kissed his cheek, showing him the letter. She smelled good, like fresh air and vanilla. "Well. Richards, anyway. You can keep Reed. That would be confusing."
He laughed and gave a cursory look at the letter, intending to ignore it. Reed was trying his best to pay more attention to the things that mattered. Like Susan, and how she felt pressed against his back. He went still, though, when he saw the envelope. There was no return address, but he recognized the postage. Upstairs in his library, he had a few things from his parents' house. That old atlas was one. Pressed in between the pages of the listing for Latveria was an envelope. One he'd kept because he'd liked the stamps.
He didn't want to open the letter. Reed only knew one person who should be sending him letters with those stamps, and he was dead.
"Doesn't look like anything special," he lied, smiling. "Probably just junk mail. I could already be a winner. You know." She ruffled his hair and left him alone. Susan was trying to be more understanding of how much Reed loved to research. They were both trying.
Reed stared at the letter for a long time before he finally opened it. It was very short, just like the last one had been, years before.
Congratulations. I'm sure you'll both be very happy.
--V.
Reed was awake for a long time, looking out of the window. Thinking about mountains, and letters, and things that wouldn't stay dead.
Author: Sionnain
'Verse: Movieverse, mostly pre-first movie.
Character/Pairing: Reed Richards, Victor Von Doom. Reed/Sue implied.
Rating: Teen
AN: Thanks to Romanticalgirl for the beta. This will probably be jossed, at least the last part, by FF4-2. Written for the lovely Inlovewithnight for her birthday.
Five Letters Reed Richards Received About--or from--Victor Von Doom
Roommates
It was the middle of summer when the letter came in the mail. Addressed to him, with the MIT logo embossed on the cover. His mom put it next to the apple crisp she always made for him when he returned from school. In the same bowl, waiting on the counter. Room temperature and devoid of ice cream. Reed was never going to eat apple crisp ever again, when he left home. Other kids got cookies. Mrs. Richards didn't think those were healthy.
He ate the apple crisp--it would be rude not to, really--and opened the letter.
Dear Reed Richards,
Your room assignment is listed as follows. You have been paired with an international student from the country of Latveria, Victor Von Doom. His address, should you wish to contact him, is listed below. Please contact the Housing Office if you have any questions. Thank you, and welcome to MIT. We look forward to seeing you in the fall.
For a minute after he read the letter, Reed didn't believe that was a real name. Who could be possibly be named Von Doom? His parents thought it was a joke. They'd never heard of Latveria, either. "Maybe you better call the school," his mother said, looking nervous. "It could be a mistake. Some kid playing a joke, and then you won't have a roommate."
His parents were very concerned about that. Not because they'd have to pay extra. No, they weren't paying a dime for Reed's college tuition, or even room and board. He'd been given a full scholarship to MIT. They were just worried that Reed wouldn't have a roommate, and thus wouldn't have any friends. Just like high school. They never said it out loud, sure, but Reed knew that's what they meant.
That night, while his parents were in the living room watching television, Reed found the dusty old Atlas and opened it to the index. He looked up Latveria, half expecting it not to be there. Half-expecting his parents to be right.
It was there. Reed pretended he wasn't relieved.
Reed wondered if, somewhere in Latveria--he imagined a lot of mountains, for some reason--Victor Von Doom had received his letter, too.
He waited all summer to see if his roommate would write. He didn't. That was okay. Reed didn't write him, either.
Reed hoped they'd be friends.
Christmas Card
Reed went home for Christmas, loaded down with books. "Best get some reading for next semester started early," he'd told Victor cheerfully, trying to figure out if his copy of Theoretical Microphysics was best saved for later. Wouldn't want to come back to school with nothing to look forward to, after all.
Victor hadn't taken anything in his suitcase but some clothes. He didn't seem too excited about going home. Before they'd left the room for their six-week break, Victor had asked for Reed's address. Reed wondered if he'd get a Latverian Christmas card. Maybe some scenic mountain-scape (though he'd never really asked Victor if there were mountains. Victor didn't really like to talk about Latveria very much) with snow and "Merry Christmas!" written in Latverian. Sometimes Victor got a phone call from someone and spoke in sharp angry syllables. Reed wasn't sure if the language was just ugly, or if Victor didn't like whoever he was talking to.
Victor sent him one letter, from Latveria. It wasn't a Christmas card, and it didn't have a picture of a mountain on it. The envelope had a couple of stamps that Reed had never seen before, though. He kept it because of the stamps. How many people could say they had Latverian stamps?
The letter itself wasn't very long. In fact, it wasn't really a letter at all.
Next year, can I come home with you for the holiday?
Merry Christmas.
--V.
Victor never mentioned what happened in Latveria or why he was so unhappy. When they got back to school, his accent was thicker and he looked tired, like he hadn't slept. He had dark circles under his eyes. Reed thought about asking what was wrong, but he didn't know how. Instead, he lent Victor his copy of Theoretical Microphysics to read first. That seemed like a nice thing to do.
They decided to live together again in the fall.
That summer, Reed learned who Victor's family was. He wondered why Victor never mentioned that his family was royalty. Reed never asked. Victor never went back to Latveria, and when they were juniors, Victor decided he wanted to live alone.
Newspaper Clipping
Susan left the letter from his mom on Reed's desk in the lab. There was an angry sort of note attached to it on a bright yellow post-it note. I thought maybe you'd see this if I left it here. Reed wondered if that was supposed to mean something. He would have to ask her, when he saw her again. Was that tonight? They were supposed to go to some party. He didn't remember what night that was, come to think of it.
The envelope contained a note from his mom. Wasn't this your roommate, the one you brought home for Christmas from MIT that one year? It was paper clipped to a neatly cut article from the Daily Globe.
Von Doom Enterprises begins plans to launch new space station, CEO Von Doom says.
Reed read the article. Reed had seen Victor on television a few times, talking about his company. Victor was nothing like Reed remembered from MIT. He didn't have an accent anymore, for one thing. He was always smiling, for another. Victor had done very well for himself. While Reed had been studying physics in graduate school, Victor had decided to get his MBA in addition to his doctorate. Obviously, it was working out well for him. CEO of his own company. Money and backing enough to launch a space station.
Reed wondered if he would be at the final stages of his research with the cosmic clouds by the time Victor was ready to launch. Maybe his old friend would like to partner in Reed's proposed project to study the clouds in space. That was an intriguing thought. He'd have to formulate a proposal, maybe. See what he could come up with.
Reed showed Susan the clipping at dinner that night. "You know him?" she asked, sounding surprised. "I hear he's looking for a genetic researcher." She was toying with her food.
"We were roommates, at MIT. Just for two years." Reed started talking about the space station, and the clouds. The work he'd done. He forgot to ask Susan what night the party they were supposed to go to was. He was in his lab working when she came to pick him up. In a black formal gown, pounding on his door in the pouring rain. At least, that was the furious message she left on his voice mail. Along with the very succinct instructions that he wasn't to call her, ever again.
A few weeks later, Reed saw the small article in the paper, about her taking a job with Von Doom Enterprises.
He hoped she was happy there.
Meeting Request
Dear Dr. Richards,
Dr. Von Doom would like has agreed to meet with you to discuss your proposal regarding the cosmic cloud entities and the use of his space station. Please call the office and speak to Val Merryweather at the number below to set up an appointment. Thank you.
"Ben!" Reed crashed into Ben Grimm's office, stumbling over his feet, flailing a bit as he caught himself on the door. "I heard from Victor. Well, no. His assistant or something. But we have an appointment!" He beamed. "Isn't that great?"
Ben looked up. "You did." His voice was flat. He didn't seem all that enthused. Then again, Ben wasn't really overly enthused about most things, so Reed didn't let that bother him.
"Well, yeah. I mean, I said I was going to try, right? And hey, it worked! Sure, he's probably only seeing me because of the fact we're friends--"
"Are you?" Ben leaned back in his chair. "Thought you didn't talk, much. Now, anyways. When was the last time you and Victor Von Doom hung out, Reed?" Ben rolled his eyes.
Reed waved that aside. "We're both busy. I mean, we were friends. Roommates. And he obviously remembers me. Anyway, I'm going to call the office. Set this up. When can you go? You have to go."
"Why do I gotta be there?" Ben asked, skeptical. "You're the brains. I'm just the pilot."
"Ben! Because! Everyone's left me on this project. You know. My potential backers. They've all said no and laughed at me. Tony Stark--I'm pretty sure he's given me the wrong number on purpose or something. I tried to ask Scott Summers for it, but I can't seem to get a hold of anyone at that school he teaches at, I don't know. My point is, you're the only one who's stood by me." Reed grinned at him. "I need someone to convince Victor I'm not crazy."
"That might just mean I'm crazy, and I shoulda left with the rest of 'em," Ben grumbled, but he shrugged. "Right. Okay. Meeting with Victor. Gotcha. Just tell me when it is and I'll be there."
Reed grinned again and turned to go. "Great! This is great. You'll see, Ben. This is going to be the best thing that's ever happened to us."
He would make sure of it. Ben had done so much for him. Reed wanted to make sure Ben got something in return.
No Return Address
"I don't know who this is from," Susan said, handing him the envelope. Reed looked up at her and smiled. She was so beautiful. This time, he wasn't going to make the same mistakes he had before. He wasn't going to lose her. They had overcome seemingly insurmountable odds. They were going to get married. Everything was going to be fine.
"Mmm? Is it a fan letter? It's probably for your brother." He smiled good-naturedly. The Fantastic Four. They got fanmail. It was all so surreal to him. Strange. But it was true, Johnny did get most of the letters. A lot of marriage proposals. Naughty pictures of naked girls. Some who were asking Johnny to father their kids. If he followed up on those, Reed didn't want to know about it.
Susan shook her head. "No. It's for you. See? This is your name," she teased, sliding up behind his chair. "Reed Richards. Soon to be my name." She put her arms around him and kissed his cheek, showing him the letter. She smelled good, like fresh air and vanilla. "Well. Richards, anyway. You can keep Reed. That would be confusing."
He laughed and gave a cursory look at the letter, intending to ignore it. Reed was trying his best to pay more attention to the things that mattered. Like Susan, and how she felt pressed against his back. He went still, though, when he saw the envelope. There was no return address, but he recognized the postage. Upstairs in his library, he had a few things from his parents' house. That old atlas was one. Pressed in between the pages of the listing for Latveria was an envelope. One he'd kept because he'd liked the stamps.
He didn't want to open the letter. Reed only knew one person who should be sending him letters with those stamps, and he was dead.
"Doesn't look like anything special," he lied, smiling. "Probably just junk mail. I could already be a winner. You know." She ruffled his hair and left him alone. Susan was trying to be more understanding of how much Reed loved to research. They were both trying.
Reed stared at the letter for a long time before he finally opened it. It was very short, just like the last one had been, years before.
Congratulations. I'm sure you'll both be very happy.
--V.
Reed was awake for a long time, looking out of the window. Thinking about mountains, and letters, and things that wouldn't stay dead.