WHCF: Part 2: Gratitude
Title: Where Heroes Come From (2/7)
Rating/Warnings: PG, slight angst, fluff, possible spoilers, slight AU in some parts
Summary: Mother's Day means different things to different people. Even among heroes.
Author's note: Eli's POV. There will be more from the other YAs.
Part 2: Gratitude
Eli wasn't expecting a card from her this year. Or any year, if he were to be frank. It arrived exactly one week after his eighteenth birthday.
As far as birthdays went, this one was probably the best in recent memory. Kate sure knew how to throw a party. She even pulled some strings to get them tickets to the Kanye West concert and even covered the plane tickets for all of them to get to California and back. Front row seats and flying first class, and if he wasn't certain before, Eli was pretty certain now he was going to marry that girl someday.
Aside from having the best girlfriend ever, He also had some pretty amazing friends. Teddy and Billy bought him a new game console (his old one at home having died for unexpected reasons). Jonas took the liberty of reprograming his old computer to hold more files and faster internet connection. Cassie got him a few of his favorite DVDs on blueray. Even Tommy awkwardly handed him a book on American history along with some of his favorite comic titles, one of them signed by the artist himself. When asked how he managed to pull that off, the speedster shrugged, "Kate's not the only one with connections."
The celebration at home was less extravagant but no less heartfelt. His grandmother made her famous meatloaf with mashed potatoes and her special homemade gravy. She even baked a three layer chocolate cake with triple chocolate icing so big it took them a week to finish it. His grandfather had given him a new football, and the two of them spent a good portion of the day throwing it back and forth in the park. Both grandparents had bought him a watch with his name engraved on the back. How they afforded it, Eli was afraid to ask.
He didn't have to as his grandmother quietly stopped by his room that night.
"Eli, please don't worry about the watch," she smiled.
He couldn't help but shift and sigh, "Grandma..."
"Your grandfather and I wanted to get it for you.," she laid a hand over his cheek and said firmly and with a voice full of pride, it nearly make Eli tear up. "You are our hero and we couldn't be more proud of you."
The card from his mother was... Appropriate. It expressed congratulations at his coming of age and even had his mom signed it. A written letter wasn't something he was familiar with from her past cards. She wrote a small note at the end stating that he should enjoy this birthday as it was an important one.
There was no "love" added at the end. Just a dash and then "Mom." Also appropriate, as far as Eli was concerned. Had she added that, it would have been plain insulting and a downright lie.
Still the gesture, while one of the few his mother ever bothered to make for his sake, prompted Eli to go out and return it in kind.
So that's when he found himself at the mailbox, sending her a card for Mother's Day for the first time in many years. Exactly one week after the date had past.
Exactly one week after he bought his grandmother that gold necklace with the heart shaped pendant that read "#1 Mom" on the front of it.
Rating/Warnings: PG, slight angst, fluff, possible spoilers, slight AU in some parts
Summary: Mother's Day means different things to different people. Even among heroes.
Author's note: Eli's POV. There will be more from the other YAs.
Part 2: Gratitude
Eli wasn't expecting a card from her this year. Or any year, if he were to be frank. It arrived exactly one week after his eighteenth birthday.
As far as birthdays went, this one was probably the best in recent memory. Kate sure knew how to throw a party. She even pulled some strings to get them tickets to the Kanye West concert and even covered the plane tickets for all of them to get to California and back. Front row seats and flying first class, and if he wasn't certain before, Eli was pretty certain now he was going to marry that girl someday.
Aside from having the best girlfriend ever, He also had some pretty amazing friends. Teddy and Billy bought him a new game console (his old one at home having died for unexpected reasons). Jonas took the liberty of reprograming his old computer to hold more files and faster internet connection. Cassie got him a few of his favorite DVDs on blueray. Even Tommy awkwardly handed him a book on American history along with some of his favorite comic titles, one of them signed by the artist himself. When asked how he managed to pull that off, the speedster shrugged, "Kate's not the only one with connections."
The celebration at home was less extravagant but no less heartfelt. His grandmother made her famous meatloaf with mashed potatoes and her special homemade gravy. She even baked a three layer chocolate cake with triple chocolate icing so big it took them a week to finish it. His grandfather had given him a new football, and the two of them spent a good portion of the day throwing it back and forth in the park. Both grandparents had bought him a watch with his name engraved on the back. How they afforded it, Eli was afraid to ask.
He didn't have to as his grandmother quietly stopped by his room that night.
"Eli, please don't worry about the watch," she smiled.
He couldn't help but shift and sigh, "Grandma..."
"Your grandfather and I wanted to get it for you.," she laid a hand over his cheek and said firmly and with a voice full of pride, it nearly make Eli tear up. "You are our hero and we couldn't be more proud of you."
The card from his mother was... Appropriate. It expressed congratulations at his coming of age and even had his mom signed it. A written letter wasn't something he was familiar with from her past cards. She wrote a small note at the end stating that he should enjoy this birthday as it was an important one.
There was no "love" added at the end. Just a dash and then "Mom." Also appropriate, as far as Eli was concerned. Had she added that, it would have been plain insulting and a downright lie.
Still the gesture, while one of the few his mother ever bothered to make for his sake, prompted Eli to go out and return it in kind.
So that's when he found himself at the mailbox, sending her a card for Mother's Day for the first time in many years. Exactly one week after the date had past.
Exactly one week after he bought his grandmother that gold necklace with the heart shaped pendant that read "#1 Mom" on the front of it.