Chapter Text
Reagan tugged Brett close, squeezing him close. “Thanks for sticking by me when no one else did.” He felt her hesitate for a moment before she stepped back, hugging herself instead. “A good leader wouldn’t drag their best friend into their dad’s bullshit.” She swallowed thickly, looking up at her best friend, offering a rare moment of eye contact. “I don’t know if we’ll ever get back to our reality but I’ve seen yours and it looks good.”
Brett’s eyes widened as he began to understand where she was going with this. His throat constricted as he began to reach out for her but she turned away. “If I succeed, I’ll see you again…but if not, good luck Brett.”
“No, Reags, don’t do this. C’mon let me help,” he felt the tears begin to fall as one of the robotic arms strapped to his partner’s back reached over his head for the tin foil hat. “I l—“and then there was a flash of bright light and an indescribable feeling. Like his insides were being flushed down a galactic toilet bowl.
Reagan grabbed his arm, “hey, sweetheart, are you okay?”
Brett looked around the room he was in, it was his living room. He knew that, but something was off. He looked at his wife, his brows furrowing, “I..yeah? I don’t know what’s wrong, my head feels all woozy,”he mumbled, fumbling around with the poster he was holding. When had he gotten this?
Reagan raised a brow at him, “Brett, are you okay? Maybe you need to lay down?”
He shook his head, about to speak when he heard their daughter call out from the other room. “Mom! Or Dad! One of you!” Both of their heads snapped in the direction of the voice. Brett started to move but Reagan was already on it. “Hey, you just stay here, I’ll deal with whatever’s going on in there,”she flashed him a smile and kissed him quickly before rushing down the hall towards their daughter’s room.
Brett stared towards the hall for a few seconds. His brain still felt all scrambled. He looked down at the poster, making a face at the nonsensical poster that had scribbles all over it, and…tin foil? For some reason?
He started to move towards the trash can, confused as to where he’d even gotten the garbage, when something caught his eye. The words, “memory gun.” He paused and began to sift through the nonsense on the poster, unsure of what any of it meant. As he read though the weight he could feel in his pocket grew heavier.
None of this was real, at least not if this poster was right.
He hesitantly reached into his pocket, pulling out the “memory gun” and looking it over. He wasn’t sure where he’d gotten this either.
Brett swallowed thickly and lifted it to his head, squeezing his eyes shut and pulling the trigger. He flinched, and for a second nothing happened. Brett began to laugh at his own stupidity before it all came flooding in. His head felt like it was being split open with an ice pick and he wanted to scream but before he did it was over. He tried to catch his breath, his mind racing.
Reagan was in danger. He had to get back to her, he fished out the keys to the UFO. He just hoped he wasn’t already too late to help. He started towards the door, memory gun and keys in hand when he was stopped dead in his tracks by the sound of two girls laughing.
Brett spun around, seeing the photos in the house and quickly getting a good idea of the reality he’d landed in, though due to his memories being reset to when Reagan had scanned he wasn’t sure of the details. Brett knew he needed to go but…just for one moment, he wanted to indulge himself. Before he had to go back to a reality where Reagan was hung up on Ron and he was nothing more than her friend, he needed to see what they could be like.
Brett nearly tripped over himself as he rushed to follow the laughter, pausing in the doorway to a child’s bedroom as he tucked away the keys and gun. Reagan, not his Reagan but the one from this reality, and a girl who couldn’t be mistaken for anything other than their daughter in this context both smiled at him as he walked in.
Their daughter hopped up from her seat to run at him, just narrowly getting caught in time as she jumped at him for a hug. Brett felt his eyes stinging as she spoke, “hey dad!”
It took him a moment but he pressed a light kiss to her head, “hey pumpkin, what’s up?” She began to excitedly tell him about some school project she’d apparently just finished. He really wanted to listen but the way Reagan stared at them both like they were her whole world made him feel like he was shattering. “That’s awesome, kiddo. I’m so proud of you!” It felt great to say the thing his parents had never said to him to his kid, even if he had no real memory of his kid really being his, he still felt the urge to protect her with every fiber of his being. And The way her face lit up at his words did nothing to quell the feeling either.
He pat her back and gently set her down, glancing up at Reagan. “Okay kiddo, give mom and I a minute to talk please?” She nodded, giving her mother a quick hug before the two adults made their way out. Brett’s heart ached at the way Reagan’s face had fell at his request.
“Brett, what’s going on? You’re being weird,”she said sternly, crossing her arms.
He sighed and it took everything in him to not launch into comfort and reassurance mode. He wanted to hug her and kiss her and do all of the things he knew he couldn’t do with his Reagan. He wanted to tell her that everything was fine, just that he loved her. But none of this was real. Not really.
Except it sort of was?
It would be so easy to stay here. This was still Reagan as far as he could tell. He could stay here and live happily with her and their daughter…but it wasn’t the same. This wasn’t his best friend, the one he’d saved the world with countless times. This was a totally different version of her, with different experiences.
“Earth to Brett?” Reagan snapped in his face, her usual resting bitch face present. She really did look so much like his Reagan.
“I…Can I just have a kiss real quick? I’m feeling sorta down and I need to go pick up some…uhh…milk? For what I’m cooking tonight, I mean.”
Reagan’s brows furrowed but she obliged, carefully cupping his face and kissing him as her expression softened again.
Brett nearly cracked. He almost sobbed and decided to stay. She was kissing him, and he was kissing her. And damn, he’d wanted this for so long and he finally had it.
Then she pulled away, “okay, go get milk, as long as this isn’t like that whole ‘he went to get the milk and never came back’ ploy,”she said it like a joke but her face showed the insecurity that lurked below it.
He nearly felt like puking as he forced up the lie. “No, no, Reags…no. I’ll…I’ll be back, I promise. I love you so, so much.” At least the last part was true. But he wasn’t coming back. Not to her. Not to their daughter. He was leaving for the Reagan he knew, for the reality knew.
Thankfully though, this Reagan seemed to be just as bad at reading people because she didn’t pick up on his internal struggle and just kissed him again.
The soft, warm press of her lips against his as they slotted together, made his heart swell. Her lips moving gently against his as her hand rested on his chest and he held her by the waist nearly made Brett stay.
He considered actually going to pick up some milk and coming home but as they parted he knew he couldn’t.
“Okay, I’ll see you in a bit, oh, and can you get some coffee while you’re out? And sugar?”
Brett nodded, not able to say it. He was sure if he spoke now, the truth of everything would come up like word vomit and it would all be a mess.
As Brett walked out of the home he was leaving behind he could barely see. His eyes were glassy with tears but he knew he had a job to do. He had to get the gang and save his best friend.
-
They’d arrived just in time to save Reagan. When it was all over and they were on their way back Brett sat down next to Reagan, noticing she was extra down about everything. He understood whatever discussion had happened with her dad probably upset her but…this seemed worse. Despite his concerns though, when he sat down all he could do was stare at her.
Brett cursed his brain for reminding him that he’d technically kissed her, and then promptly blown his chance to be with her for real. By saving the day he’d erased that reality. He thought that he’d likely live with the weight of having kissed her a few times and knowing he never could again for as long as he lived. He’d have to see her every day at work and know that he couldn’t have her like that again because she had Ron.
“Brett, why the hell are you just staring at me? It’s kind of creeping me out,”she suddenly grumbled, the glare she gave him reminiscent of the look her doppelgänger had given him when he’d zoned out on her. The memory only making his heart ache more.
“Oh, sorry…I was just thinking I guess,”Brett mumbled. “Are you okay?”
Reagan blinked at him before she nodded, “I guess. As okay as I can be given everything. At least J.R. Just got my finger and didn’t actually kill me. I don’t who decided it was in any way okay to give him a gun.”
Brett laughed a little though it wasn’t nearly as cheerful as his usual laughter, the joy being weighed down by the overwhelming sense of mourning he felt for his alternate life. “Yeah…I’m not sure. He probably just stole it though, so probably no one actually gave it to him so…”
Reagan nodded and leaned against Brett’s shoulder, making his heart skip a beat.
After a little bit of silence Reagan returned his question, “are you okay?”
“Pshh! Oh yeah! Why wouldn’t I be,” he replied quickly. He had come over here to support her, not the either way around.
“Brett, it’s okay to not be okay. I…I saw your life in that reality. I know how hard it must’ve been to leave that,”she mumbled.
Brett nearly began sweating, “what? What do you mean? What did you see?”
Did Reagan know how he felt? Did she do that to him almost to mock his feelings for her. He knew he wasn’t exactly subtle but he thought he was at least secretive enough that Reagan didn’t know!
Reagan leaned away from him, raising a brow at him. “Well, you were a famous puppeteer, and you were married to some lady and you had a kid, right? I mean…that sounds like your dream life?”
Brett relaxed some as he realized that Reagan didn’t know the truth. He laughed a little, “oh yeah! Well…you know, the puppet industry is just so catty. And…yeah, I mean, knowing I was married with a kid, it was a little sad to leave but…you’re my best friend Reags, and you were in danger, I couldn’t leave you on your own. You’re my favorite person.” The first half was another lie but…what she didn’t know wouldn’t hurt her. She didn’t need to know that he hadn’t even been aware of his puppeteering job. She didn’t need to know that he’d been married to her in that reality, or that they’d had an adorable daughter. She was struggling with her relationship Ron, the guy she claimed was the love of her life, he didn’t need to confess that he was in love with her and had been for a while now. And she absolutely didn’t need to know that he’d almost stayed with the fake Reagan because of his own selfish feelings.
What she did need right now was a good best friend, and if that was what she needed, then Brett would be there to provide it.
Even if she never returned his feelings in this reality he just wanted her to be happy. As long as she was happy he could live with never having her as more than his best friend. Brett would be okay with never having any more than the memories of those few kisses he’d shared with an alternate reality version of her. Or the memories of their Daughter who had her beautiful eyes….or the way she looked at them both like they were all that mattered. He could live with seeing her save that expression for Ron and the possible child they could have if things worked out for them.
That would have to be enough for him because that was seemingly all this timeline held for Brett.
Reagan grabbed his hand, “you’re my favorite person too Brett. Don’t tell anyone though, I don’t want to hurt their feelings,”she mumbled, clearly joking about caring about hurting their feelings.
Hearing her call him her favorite person made his heart shatter all over again because even if that was true right now, he doubted it would be true the moment Ron texted her back. He didn’t argue though, he just smiled and leaned his head on hers, savoring the rare moment of closeness between them.
And if, for a moment, Brett imagined that he was back in the alternate timeline, snuggling with the Reagan who had loved and married him, then he kept it to himself. Instead he squeezed Reagan’s hand for a moment and swallowed down the lump in his throat, reminding himself that he’d be okay, that this was enough.