Amends Part 2

The plan was to try and give each of The Cons a happy day, but I can't have that with Gum and preparing breakfast. With one flick of my phone, I realized that Ricochet's room took far longer than I realized as it was now breakfast time.

With that, my schedule took a massive turn as I had to devote every resource to the task at hand: stopping Gum and Frag from cooking breakfast. So, once again, I put on another mask, walking towards the fastly working Gum and Frag while mixing Buzz's rough charisma with my own to make my plea.

"Hey, Gum, what brings you up on this fine morning?"

"Nothing much just wanted to make something hot and sweet for this cold weather; then I realized it'd been a while since I've cooked. I usually let you handle it. So I thought, hey, why not bring a piece of home for once with a family breakfast? Frag was also here and said he wanted to help. Well, not say, but you know what I mean," she said in a matter-of-fact matter.

"Uh-huh, interesting. I've always wanted to add a new recipe to my repertoire/."

"Um, sure, just wash your hands, and you can join up with us."

"Well, see, here's the thing, I want to try and learn by myself," I said insistently.

"That wouldn't be me helping you now, would it?"Gum said in confusion.

At that moment, both Gum and Frag's attention quickly heightened. The silent observer and salesman were probably the worst people to get a lie off. A twinge of guilt and stress made my palm sweat as I desperately tried to think up a decent excuse, and honestly, it came as naturally as ever.

It didn't come as a surprise since my entire life got spent controlling my emotions. So no matter what, I can't get angry, upset, or frustrated whatsoever.

All I have to do is just bury, divert and distract my feelings, which is probably why I'm such a good actor because I'm always more than happy to run away into whatever role will keep the peace. This time, I decided to adopt the role of the kind-hearted but very pushy mediator. So with a deep breath, I made the same offer, except differently and with more considerable emphasis.

Between my controlled charisma and exact microexpressions, the 2 Cons backed up as I went to work. Once again, I unleashed myself like a whipped over whirlwind in our self-made kitchen. Even with the stress of the multiple tasks around me, I controlled every muscle perfectly.

Soon enough, in half an hour, more of The Cons gathered around my fast movements as, through sweat and tears, I prepared the standard Gum family breakfast. A simple white rice bowl topped with a sweet yet spicy soy sauce carried at 4:3 ratio with sliced salmon on the side and an assortment of fruits.

Sweat quickly appeared on my brow, loosening up little strands of my hair to poke out. I was about to go and fix that and head out for the star attraction of the BBC, but when I was walking away from the dinner table, I realized that our main founder hadn't made his appearance yet.

While this technically did work in my favor, I couldn't turn my back on him in any good conscience. Because just like all the other Cons, we all owe our current lives to Eternus. Despite everything I've done, he looked out for me when I was utterly alone, and for that, I made a secret promise to make sure that I would do everything I can to help the man who had given me so much.

With that, I made another slight detour when I entered his room. Besides the ever so popular rotting medical couch, Eternus room was pretty barebones with nothing more than an old beaten punching bag with stuffing surrounding it. On his old haphazard mattress Eternus had threads, needles, and thimbles galore in his hands as he stared at a small mass of black fabrics originating from god knows where.

"Hey Eternus, Gum and I just made some breakfast. Do you want to join us?"

"I will in a minute; I'm halfway through this latest cape, and I don't want to stop now," he said while in focus.

"C'mon Eternus, you of all people need to eat more; you're still not completely healed up yet. Besides, wouldn't that be breaking rule #5?" I said with concern.

"I'll be fine, Fury, and besides, I put 5 for dinners, not breakfast. I'm a criminal, not a monster," he said in a rather deadpan tone.

"Funny, but you really do need to eat; I'll do your cloak this time while you eat."

"I told you, I'll be fine."

At that point, Eternus' hand slipped and accidentally made a small cut across his left thumb. For a tense few seconds Eternus just looked at his twitching thumb without even showing a hint of pain. Instead, all he did was let out a small sigh and try to get his medical kit from beneath his bed.

At that point, I seized the opportunity, grabbing both his hand and the medical kit. Then, almost automatically, I started to apply first aid while making my point known.

"Eternus, let me take from here, I already ate my breakfast, and you don't have to do everything yourself. Isn't that why we're a team?" I lied with pure enthusiasm as I eventually put a clean bandage over his thumb.

With that, Eternus moved his thumbs gingerly as he grumbled a slight thank you that made me genuinely smile. And as he slowly left to partake in the meal, I had gone to contend with the vile cape. Of course, I've helped out Eternus plenty of times with the process, so I knew what I was doing, but it was now that I truly realized how much he did the lion's share.

Worse yet, this was something I couldn't rush either, one small prick, and I can end up tearing more than the cape apart. So I took it slow and steady, hoping that I could at least win the race. However, as I kept going and going on, the fringes of doubt, anxiety, anticipation, and frustration started to creep in at my speed-bumped-filled plan.

So much so that my left hand started growing fur and claws amid my sewing. All those early emotions quickly turned to palpable fear, as in a start, I looked at my pocket mirror and gave a beaming smile. With that mental note combined with my breathing exercises, I soon enough calmed down to have my arm go back to normal, to what was right.

Once that little hiccup settled, I finished off Eternus cape number one hundred and nine to be exact, but who was exactly counting besides me? After I finished the stitching, I held the cape open and examined it closely. Then, in a light nostalgia, I remembered the first time I saw such a cloak, the day I got saved by my hero. A day that reminded me why I needed to keep going.

I folded that sacred garb over the bed and made my way back into the living room. My pace started to accelerate as I got myself an old jean jacket, wallet and was about to head out. However, I quickly got stopped dead in my tracks by Eternus' looming frame once again.

"Where are you going?" he said commandingly.

"Oh nothing, just wanted to get some ingredients from the Rapids; you know how hard food comes by in winter, so I want to stock up on the nonperishable food now. I'll probably be gone for most of the day, so you don't have to wait for me."

"Fine, give me a couple of minutes, and I can-."

"That's not needed, Eternus; I'll be fine."

"I know you'll be fine; I'm more worried for everyone else; that's why we got rule number 2."

"Don't worry, I won't be alone; Buzz is going to help me out."

Despite not seeming paying attention, the Cons seemed to create a synced-up and instinctive groan. For the umpteenth time, I got a little bit antsy at the pressure, but in a stroke of brilliance, I kept to my role to the very end.

"Buzz won't do anything, I promise, he owes us one anyway after Robin Financial, and he likes me; he won't put me in any danger. "

It was a bit of bluff, but once again, my delivery carried through just enough to have even Eternus iron fist unclench itself. I could almost see his face relaxed sufficient to allow me the pass.

"Fine, I trust you, Fury. But be back by sundown, or else that bug is good as dead, okay?"

"Thank you, Eternus, you won't regret it!" I said as I walked out the Burrow with another sunny smile.