Work Text:
As Roberto munches on popcorn, he can feel Illyana’s eyes on him. And even though he’ll vouch for her in front of everyone from Cyclops to Xavier, it’s a little different when it’s just them. She was in Limbo for ages. Who knows how much this new, stranger Illyana has in common with his friend?
“What was it like?” Illyana asks suddenly.
“What was what like?”
She tilts her head to the side, her curtain of fair hair falling over one shoulder. “My funeral.”
Roberto chokes on a kernel.
“I mean, Baby Me’s funeral,” Illyana clarifies, as if she hadn’t been clear enough. She’s only had one funeral, as far as Bobby knows.
“Uh…” he says, trying to think of a comforting lie. He comes up empty. “It was a fucking disaster,” he admits. “I’m sorry. Magneto and his Acolytes crashed. It turned into a huge fight. Your brother stormed off and joined the other side. It was… it was all awful.”
Illyana’s looking down at her lap, so Bobby can’t really make out her expression. Her shoulders start shaking, though. He realizes she must be crying. Great job, da Costa , he thinks to himself. Who the hell wants to hear that about their own funeral?
But then he realizes that Illyana isn’t crying.
She’s laughing .
“Holy shit , really?” Illyana asks, shaking with peals of laughter. “Like a brawl ? Like a knockdown dragout melee?”
“Pretty much.”
“Oh my god ,” she gasps, clutching her sides as she laughs and laughs. She seems so amused that Bobby can’t help but laugh, too. At the time, the events of Illyana’s funeral had horrified him, but looking back… the memory of two old men flying up into the air and screaming at each other while everyone else stood dressed in mourning clothes, unsure what to do… yeah, it’s kind of hilarious in an awful way.
Bobby’s laughing so hard that popcorn scatters across the floor. Illyana wipes a tear from one eye.
“We’re terrible people, aren’t we?” Illyana sighs. “I mean…”
“The Acolytes didn’t even bring flowers,” Bobby points out, which sets them both off again. While they’re laughing, Bobby glances up and decides that she’s really not that different from the girl who used to pester him for chewing gum and steal his Hawaiian shirts. At her heart, she’s still Illyana.