#flo is the angriest character I've ever written I swear

[wardenred]

Sapphic September 6: Experiment

Flo and Jules again, a few more years back into the past from the previous snippet.

"Flo! Damn you, Florika, wait!"

Early in the evening, the crowd of people walking up and down the sidewalks resembled a river. A solid, relentless current that existed to get lost in. Jules squeezed between strangers, trying to keep her eyes on the back of Flo's black jacket with the red spray-painted Fuck Your Corps fading against the worn leather. More faded than Jules had realized, although she still felt uncomfortable about Flo wearing it about town. What if the police noticed? Or, worse, the heroes?

"Flo!"

She feared she would never catch up. But then there it was, a particularly busy intersection, and she just knew what Flo was going to do next: delve straight into the darkest, narrowest alleyway. So she took a gamble and did the same, and finally, finally.

"Stop running away from me," Jules demanded. To Flo's credit, she did stop walking when Jules grabbed her elbow. She didn't turn around, though, just stood there, staring straight ahead into the shadows. Jules let out an exasperated huff. "Seriously, what's your deal? You don't want to accept, fine, but you don't have to act like I attacked you or something!"

"Well, you as good as did," Flo snarled. Jules dropped her arm and staggered backward. She didn't expect this level of anger, but on second thought, she should have. She should have known this was the main reason Florika ever ran away: to protect those she loved from her own temper.

Jules wished she could make her understand she didn't need protecting.

"All right. Can you tell me how I did it?"

Flo drew in a noisy breath. "Isn't it obvious? Every time I try to make something out of myself, you decide it's too dangerous and look for new ways to wrap me up in cotton! You're just like Mel sometimes, always trying to tell me how to live."

"I don't think this is a fair comparison," Jules said. Moving carefully alongside a concrete wall, she squeezed deeper into the alley until she was standing in front of Florika. "I'm not trying to lure you into working for the Corps. I hate them as much as you do. All I'm offering is for you to move in with me, and yes, to consider taking a job with my father who is very much opposing the Corps too." She felt the opposite of safe talking about it out in the street, even with no one close enough to hear. Still safer than leaving these things unsaid. "But you don't have to. You can simply say no, and I'll still be here."

Flo snorted. "Yes, you will be, won't you? You'll keep worrying when I have to disappear because of my work. The work I chose for myself and love doing and it puts me in no one's debt, not that any of that matters. You'll keep trying to make me see how much easier things would be if I went along with what people expect. You'll keep bringing up powers—"

"I haven't brought up that subject in three months, Flo."

Florika stared resolutely past her. "And you'll keep rubbing it into my face, how I’m 'always picking the path of most resistance.' How there are better options that would make everyone worry less. Because obviously, I want to make you worry, right? I'm the bad guy here. There's no way I'm making my choices for me."

Jules shifted closer and grabbed Flo's hands in the dark. "This isn't anything I've ever said, is it? I'm sorry if that's what you hear. I'm not trying to take away your choices. I do worry, just like I know you worry for me when I do things you find dangerous. But that's not why I asked you to move in."

Flo still resisted meeting her eyes. "Yeah, sure. It has nothing to do with trying to control me. I—" Her voice cracked. "I love you, Jules. But I need a partner, not a babysitter."

"Well, that's good, because I need a partner, too, not a babysitting charge. I don't even know what to do around children." Jules squeezed Flo's fingers tighter. "Listen. Let's backtrack, all right? Let's forget about the job thing. You're right. You already have a career." 

She didn't know if running around with freelancing criminals could be called that, but if she really thought about it, there was little chance her father would offer Flo anything safer. At first, maybe, to appease Jules and lull them both into a false sense of security. Later, though... 

She shuddered.

"It was really a dumb idea," she said with feeling, "and I promise to never, ever bring it up again. But as for the other thing, the moving in together thing... Maybe that's something you could think about, after all. Not because I want to control you. Just because I want to have as much time with you as possible. So. Maybe you could... come around for the weekend and then stay around? While you're searching for a new apartment, anyway? And then if I turn out to be insufferable to live with, all right, you'll sign some new lease. But maybe it will work out. Call it an experiment."

Finally, their eyes met.

"An experiment," Flo repeated. The uncertainty in her voice was a vast improvement over vehement denial.

Jules nodded. "Yes. Or a chance to prove me wrong, if you will. Come on. Convince me we can't make it work. I dare you."

"You do really want me to be the bad guy, don't you?" There was no bite in Flo's voice anymore, and the hesitant smile lurking in the corners of her lips was the best sight ever.

"Well, love," Jules leaned in, "you're the one who wants to make it as a villain. I'm just playing along."