JAMES JACKSON HAD THOUGHT HIS BROTHER WAS DEAD.

When he was thirteen, Axel Leo Jackson- who was eighteen at the time, had been recruited to a certain secret wing of the military that he wasn't allowed to disclose much about.

Three weeks later, he was deployed on a 'secret' mission- never to be heard from again.

Now, there was a man- who looked exactly like an older version of his brother, standing on his porch, with a small smile.

"You're-" his voice shakes as he points accusingly at him, "I thought you were dead."

Axel only looks down at his feet, before tilting his head to the side- swallowing tensely.

"Kinda wish I was," he says quietly, "I might as well be-"

"Oh, you fucking-"

James lunges for him.

It was not a friendly lunge.

More a 'I'm-going-to-fucking-kill-you' lunge, rather than a 'I'm-going-to-hug-you-because-I-fucking-missed-you' lunge.

Fortunately for Axel, his reflexes kick in as he grabs James' fist, twisting it behind his back before it can hit him.

"You've got a good swing," he mutters conversationally, tightening his hold on his fist and wrist as James hisses out a curse, "Good strength behind it, but a little clumsy and impulsive."

He looks up at Annabeth, who was just staring at the both of them with wide eyes, her lips parted in shock.

"I'm sorry, ma'am," he says apologetically as her eyes flicker to him, "I promise I'm not hurting your husband- just preventing my face from getting punched, and I really didn't mean to come here to start a fight-"

"Oh no, don't apologize!" she says hurriedly with a reassuring smile on her face, before she narrows her eyes at James, "someone else should be apologizing for throwing fists at guests-"

"Sweetheart," James interrupts her through gritted teeth, "I don't think you'd want to see me punch someone in the face, so you should probably head inside so that this bastard-"

"Y'know if I'm a bastard, that would make you a bastard too," Axel inputs.

James does not seem to appreciate his input.

His reflexes manage to prevent him from getting elbowed in the jaw, as he manages to duck out of the way- and grab his brother's other hand in time.

"Sheesh," he mutters under his breath, "I'm sorry, okay? I can explain-"

"You do know," James grumbles, "That that phrase, is never the correct phrase to use, right?"

"And you do know," Axel mocks childishly, "that I'd like my face intact, right?"

"Okay, if you could let go of each other, and not fight right in front of our house, that would be great."

Both their heads snap in the direction of Annabeth as she gives them both pointed looks, folding her arms across her chest.

"Right," Axel mutters, letting go of James and taking a cautious step back- still eyeing him warily. "Sorry."

James sends him a side-eyed glare, rolling his shoulder as he goes to stand beside his wife again.

"Thank you," she says, giving James a look- before turning to him with a kind smile.

"Would you like to come in for a cup of tea?"

"Are you serious?"

"Um, yes I am. That's your brother James- the ideal thing to do when you first see him is to not punch him-"

"I thought he was dead-"

"All the more reason not to punch him! Idiot-"

Axel only continues to sip his tea while pretending to not be able to hear the conversation in the next room.

He didn't mean to eavesdrop.

But he had been trained to have a sharp hearing- and in his defense, they weren't being all that quiet either.

"Don't call me an idiot," he can hear his brother grumble. "How was I supposed to react?"

"Not like that, obviously," his wife chastises, "Seriously, why did you think punching him was the best option?"

James stays silent for a moment, but when he talks- Axel suddenly wished he wasn't listening.

"I thought he was dead," he can hear him say shakily, "For two years- two whole years after he left, I allowed myself to hope that he was out there somewhere. I wrote to him. I wrote to him every week- without a single response. What was I supposed to think after a point?"

He can feel guilt flare in his chest- along with the dull ache that was already there, making his eyebrows furrow in distress.

"He let me grieve," he hears him say, "He let me believe he was dead- when he could've easily returned a message- even one word would've sufficed. But he didn't. He let me close myself off- because he became one of the people that left me- and he turns up, what? Over ten years later? And I'm not supposed to be mad?"

Annabeth stays quiet at that.

He shouldn't have come, he realizes, as he sets his teacup back on its saucer- and puts it back down on the table. This certainly wasn't a good idea.

James was better off without him- happier even, why'd he have to come here and try to fuck it up?

"James," he hears her say softly, as he makes a move to stand, "I'm sorry, okay? You have every right to be mad-"

"Thank you-"

"But don't throw this away," he hesitates when he hears her speak again, "Because I'd give anything in this world to get a chance to talk to my brother again- and I know that if he didn't turn up here today, you would too. Hear him out first, I'm sure he had his reasons- but even if you're mad, please don't throw this away."

He doesn't hear anything after that.

Only when he makes a move to take another step, do both of them step back into the room.

James raises an eyebrow. "Going somewhere?"

Axel hesitates with a small frown, as he averts his gaze.

"Uh," he clears his throat, "I figured this wasn't the best time... I- I think I'll leave... for today, I guess."

"Not necessary," James says tightly, gesturing to the couch, "You better sit your ass down and explain what the fuck you've been up to."

Annabeth gives James a dirty look, before turning to Axel with a gentle smile.

"Don't mind the grump," she reassures, "Would you like me to get you something to eat? I could give you some priva-"

A hand shoots out to grab hers. "You're not going anywhere."

"What was that?"

"I mean," James clears his throat, giving her a sheepish look, "I would really appreciate it if you stayed in the room with me."

"Much better," she smiles, before gesturing to the couch, "Do sit, Axel. I did mean it when I said make yourself home."

"Right," Axel can't help the smallest tinge of amusement as he watched his brother and his wife take a seat on the couch opposite to him, as he sits back down. "It's a bit of a long story-"

"We've got all day," James says tightly, eyes narrowed.

"Mhmm," Axel clears his throat uncomfortably once more, taking a deep breath before he pulls out an envelope from the inside of his jacket- and extends it in his direction.

"I figured this would be an easier way to explain things," he mutters, as James gives it an odd glance, plucking it out of his grip.

For a few seconds, the only sound that fills the air- is the sound of paper ripping, as James tears open the envelope- pulling out the documents from inside.

His grey eyes skim the text, and the more he reads the more his eyes widen.

When he looks back up at Axel, there's a different look on his face. One that's more unreadable.

"It says in here, that you were supposed to be on a classified-op for four years, where you weren't allowed to contact anyone except the team that had sent you out."

Axel nods.

"...and it says that you had to be retrieved because you sustained injuries that were so bad that you didn't wake up for two months."

He nods again.

"Well," James grits, though his expression wasn't as hard as it was before, "Why didn't you come back after that then?"

Axel only sighs, as he looks down at his hands.

"Because when I woke up, I could barely remember my own name."

James only stares back at him in stunned silence.

"What?"

"They said it was a form of PTSD," Axel shrugs stiffly, "I had to re-learn how to do a lot, and most of my memories weren't in place. I was confused most of the time. Didn't know what was happening around."

"I-" James runs a hand through his hair, "Man, what the fuck?"

"There was a cop, though," he continues, "someone who was just starting out- and he helped. From the very beginning he helped me recollect and recover- even tried to collect data about my life. When you were eighteen, I was finally starting to remember you clearly."

His brother only blinks in response.

"You seemed to have your life in order then," Axel glances at Annabeth who was staring at him wide-eyed, "you met someone, you were off to college, things were going well- I didn't want to come back... and well, fuck it up."

"You wouldn't have fucked it up," James says lowly, his voice incredulous, "Why would you decide that on your own?"

"I didn't entirely have a choice," Axel shrugs again, "they took advantage of my confusion. The moment things were getting better in my head, was a moment too late. I had already signed a binding contract, so they assigned me to a unit- and I wasn't allowed to leave until my time was up."

"They made you stay for this long?" James questions quietly.

"Not really," he mutters in response, "the contract said four years. But my boss... was a good man. Said he'd help me reconnect if I ever needed to, and that he'd work a way 'round the contract if I wanted."

He averts his gaze.

"I worked my way up and at the end of four years, I was my boss's right-hand man. Couldn't see myself leaving after that, even if it meant not staying in touch."

James stays quiet.

"If you don't mind me asking," Annabeth says softly, "What exactly did you do?"

"I- well," Axel glances away from them, "For the first few years, it was mostly paperwork- and team operations. Bringing in people, getting them to confess- things like that. But I slowly moved up to more specialized teams with fewer members. We didn't really... kill anyone then, just mostly neutralizing threats and doing undercover work."

"But you killed people later?"

Axel looks at his brother, his eyebrows raised at the blunt question.

"In my last two years," Axel mutters, "they assigned me the job of a hitman. Some criminals had to be taken down- so they fabricated the tale of The Falcon; the man who never missed- and made sure no one caught wind of my identity."

"How many?"

Axel purses his lips, looking down at the bird tattooed on his wrist. 

"Nine." Including Gale, ten.

"What made you come back?"

Stella.

Axel's face falters, as the pain in his chest intensifies for a moment.

Bringing a hand up, to rub it- doesn't seem to make it go away. If anything, it only gets worse- as the lump in his throat makes its presence known, and there's a sudden pressure building up behind his eyes.

He blinks, forcing it away- but doesn't say anything, as James stares at him.

Another moment passes of tense silence passed.

Then, James gets to his feet.

"Get up."

"What?" Axel glances at Annabeth who looked just as confused, before turning back to him.

"Get up," James repeats firmly, "I'm going to offer comfort, and you're going to take it."

"I-" Axel's eyes flicker back to his wife, his expression screaming 'wtf'- but Annabeth only rolls her eyes with an exasperated shake of her head.

"That's his way of saying he's going to give you a hug," she gives him a tired smile, "Go on."

"Oh," Axel gets to his feet slowly, "I um-oomph-"

He wasn't even sure what he was about to say, but the pair of arms that wrapped around him- instantly made him shut up.

"You fucking idiot," James mutters, tightening his arms around him, "I can't believe you-"

"Just say you missed me," Axel says lightly- recovering from the shock of the gesture and patting his back, "I know I did."

"I didn't."

"Sure."

"I promised I wouldn't die, didn't I?"

James' arms tighten around him for a second. 

"Yeah," he says quietly, "Yeah, you did."

A sniffle from behind has them instantly pulling away, to look at Annabeth.

"Don't mind me," she waves off with another sniff, "This is just really sweet and-it's-it's just the hormones."

Axel slings an arm around James' shoulder, ruffling his hair- as Annabeth beams at them through her tears. "Congratulations, by the way. You're going to be a dad, huh?"

James grins giddily at him, much to his surprise. "Mhmm."

"Do you know what you're having?" he asks, looking between the both of them.

"We... don't, actually," Annabeth confesses, with a small bashful smile, as she rises to her feet- a hand on her stomach, "We want it to be a surprise."

"Cool," Axel nods in agreement, "When are you due?"

Annabeth opens her mouth to respond- but pauses, freezing entirely.

Her eyes widen, and her lips part- skin paling, making both James and Axel frown at her in concern.

"Hey," James takes a step towards her, gently reaching for her, "Are you alright?"

"Um," she clears her throat shakily, squeezing her eyes shut, "Don't-Don't panic, okay?"

"Not the right thing to say if you don't want me to panic," James says, wrapping an arm around her shoulder gently. "What's wrong?"

Annabeth opens a single eye to look at Axel.

"You know how you just asked when I'm due?" she questions shakily, reaching for James' hand and squeezing it in hers,

"Well, I think my water just broke."

A little over an hour later, James finally steps out of the room in the hospital- with a tired smile.

Axel rises to his feet. "So?"

The tired smile on his face widens, if possible.

"It's a girl."

"Awww," Axel pats his shoulder, managing a small smile, "Congratulations."

"Yeah," James looks positively giddy, "She's got one of Annabeth's eyes, and one of mine. And I cried. Just a little, though."

Axel snorts, shaking his head. "How cute."

"Shut up," James smacks his arm with a good-natured eye roll, "Would you like to come in? Annabeth said you don't have to sit out, all alone."

"I wouldn't be intruding?" Axel asks hesitantly. He had only just reunited, or whatever. He didn't want to push it.

James shrugs. "As long as she's comfortable, I'm fine with it. Come on."

Stepping into the room, he can see her propped up on the bed- gazing down at the small bundle in her arms with adoration.

"Hi there," she says tiredly when she sees him.

"Hey," Axel shoves his hands into his pockets, "You doing okay?"

"' Course," she gives him a small smile.

Just as she opens her mouth to continue, however- the door bangs open.

"The Godparents are here!"

Axel's eyes flicker to the couple standing at the door, as James lets out a tired sigh, and Annabeth lets out a small laugh.

The woman pointedly elbows the man, making him let out a yelp.

"Shhh, you idiot," she hisses to him, "There's a baby- you're not supposed to be loud-"

"Relax, Beth," the guy teases, reaching out to ruffle her hair, before turning to him with a bright smile.

"James, my man," he drawls with a teasing smile, before he frowns slightly, "Wait, is childbirth that stressful?"

Axel only blinks at him. "Um, what?"

"You look older," the guy says- his nose scrunched, "Like no offense, you also look really tired. And an inch taller too- damn, I-"

"I'm not James," Axel says slowly before he turns to his brother- who was rolling his eyes, partially concealed from the door because of the curtain that was drawn,

"That's the kid's Godfather?"

"Um, excuse me?"

"Yeah," James nods, with a tired look- before he pushes the curtain aside so that both he and Annabeth were visible to the newcomers- making the guy gasp dramatically.

"There's two of you?!"

"You remember my best friend, Tyler?" James says, gesturing to him with his head, "He never grew out of being stupid."

"Y'know," Tyler narrows his eyes, "I'll let that slide because you called me your best friend. That's the fifth time in your life you've called me that, and no I wasn't keeping count, I'm just touched is all-"

"And," James continues, pointedly, "Next to him is his fiancé and Annabeth's best friend, Bethany. Tyler, Bethany- long story, but this is my brother Axel."

"Oh," Bethany blinks in shock, before she gives him a two-fingered salute, much like the thing Bea usually did, "Hey. I promise I'm way more sensible than this one. He's an idiot."

"Not one day goes by," Tyler says dramatically, trudging into the room, "where I am not insulted by those I love-"

"Shut up," Bethany rolls her eyes, pushing past him- her eyes lighting up at the sight of Annabeth. "Hey, babe- how's the little gremlin?"

"She's adorable," Annabeth replies softly, with a weary smile, as Bethany steps up beside her, cooing at the baby.

The door opens again, making Tyler stop rambling, as another man peeks into the room.

"Hey, sorry I'm late," he says, shutting the door behind him, "Got caught up in traffic, but I'm pretty sure I broke so many rules with the excuse that my sister was giving birth-"

He pauses when his eyes meet Axel's.

His eyes widen in surprise as Axel gives him a nod of acknowledgement before a big smile breaks out on his face.

"Well, well, well," he drawls- the same grin on his face, stepping further into the room, "If it isn't for Mr. Falcon, himself. Here for the big family