#like they dc if they’ve got school tomorrow they WILL be dropping the most beautiful symbolic masterful edit you’ve ever seen

[grumpylia]

the best part of the new pjo show is waiting patiently after each episode drops for the thirteen year old editors on tiktok to do their thing

[unmaskedagain]

White Horse (This Ain’t a Fairytale)

          Quick one-shot. Needed to do something sort of different.

 Marinette had dreamed of the moment. The moment she would finally be brave enough to look Adrien Agreste in the eyes and tell him how she left; that she loved him. She had pictured, hoped, how would be a thousand times. It would be like fairy tale. Adrien the handsome prince. Her, the princess. He’d sweep her off her feet. And they’d go get ice cream together, ready to start her happily ever after. Like in the movies.

“I’m sorry, Marinette,” Adrien frowned, scratching his head, like he didn’t know what to say. “I just don’t think of you that way.”

           In retrospect, Marinette should’ve known better.

“Oh,” Was all Marinette could say. She felt numb, despite knowing her heart had shattered in her chest.

           Because of course he wouldn’t feel the same. Marinette so stupid to think he would. She should’ve known… She should’ve known!

           Adrien shrugged, “It’s not you,” He offered. “I like someone else.”

           Because of course he did.

“Yeah,” Marinette nodded, looking anywhere but at him. “Cool. I get it.”

“I might’ve considered once,” Adrien rushed to add. “But you sort of changed.”

           Marinette took a step back, “Changed?” She didn’t change at all.

“You’ve been distant from the class and all our friends,” Adrien explained. “And the whole Lila thing?”

“Lila?” Marinette said numbly. “She’s a liar, and people deserve to know the truth. And I haven’t been distant from the class. They’ve been ignoring me.”

“Because you keep calling Lila out,” Adrien put in. “It’s causing problems. She’s not hurting anyone.”

           Marinette looked at him, really looked at him. “You don’t think that she’s hurting anyone. Not even Nino who she promised would meet a big time director so he’s not finishing his piece for film festival. Or Nathanial who broke off a great partnership with Marc because Lila promised he was better off and that she introduce him to DC comic book writers? You don’t think that’s hurting him?”

“It’s not that big of a deal,” Adrien shrugged. “They’ll be other opportunities. Marc will take Nathanial back if he apologizes.”

           Again, Marinette just stared. Because no! No Marc wouldn’t because Marc was already poached to work on Claude’s graphic novel about a kid who finds out he’s the descendent of Van Helsing.

           Could Adrien be serious? Was he that naïve? Was Marinette? Had she gotten so lost in his eyes that she never even stood a chance of seeing what he was really like? How could she claim if she had ever loved him if that was the case?

“And when the class finds out Lila’s lying,” Marinette raised her hand to stop Adrien from interrupting. “And I have no further intention of outing her,” To her disgust he looked pleased. “When they find out she’s lying, and the fact that they stopped being my friends, bullied me, harassed me in some cases, and basically given me the cold shoulders for almost a year. Do you think I will forgive them? That we’d go back to being friends?”

“Of course you will,” Adrien said brightly. “Why wouldn’t you?”

           Marinette just blinked, amazed. “Because they hurt me.” She just shrugged. “We’ll cross that bridge when get there.” And Marinette would take sweet pleasure in burning it down. “I’m going to go now…” She started to walk away.

“I’m sorry again!” Adrien called.

           Oh that Marinette knew for certain. And so was Marinette for that matter.

Over the next few weeks, Marinette was in a state of confusion. Her heart had been crushed. But it seemed to fade rather quickly. Mostly because every time she thought about him, she’d hear his words and feel sick. All those dreams she had about her and Adrien made her want to bang her head against the wall. Because what if that’s she came across; with all her fairytale wishes. Life wasn’t a fairy. She wasn’t a princess. No one was going to come sweep her off her feet. And unlike Adrien, she had always known that life wasn’t anything like the movies.

The issue was that maybe she was more like Adrien then she thought. Didn’t she think that once her friends knew the truth everything would be okay? Didn’t some part of her think Alya and her would go back to being besties? That’ll it would all be bygones? But what about all the hurt feelings? The broken trust? The cruel words? Those all didn’t just vanish. That wasn’t how life worked. There was no possible way for them to go back to the way it was.

And the more she thought about it, the more Marinette wasn’t sure that she wanted it to.

Marinette had been really tired of being taken for granted; all those school trips, dances, birthday parties, fundraisers, and she never even got a thank you. A lot of her classmates just frowned in disapproval once Lila mentioned how she could’ve done it better, made it better if Marinette had let her help. So Marinette gracefully quit being class president; let someone else take the lead. She was tired of doing free commissions; it cost a lot of money and time and no one seemed to even care. Then Lila mentioned how she had a tailor and personal designer who was so much faster than Marinette, who might be doing it on purpose as no one could be that slow. In the face the suspicious glares, Marinette had casually mentioned how great it was for Lila to offer to help their classmates as Marinette would no longer be able to do free commissions. Then Marinette decided that the next thing to go was demands, not asks, of her time. This had come after Alya had dropped off her little sisters’ at Marinette suddenly and cited how busy she was. Only for Marinette to see posts about a class party.

           Then Marinette made sure she was always busy. And she asked her parents not to just let anyone up to her room. Marinette had to go get then now.

No, Marinette was quite sure, she rather nothing went back to the way it was. Too much had been said and done. It was too late for fairy tales or movie magic. Too late for anyone on a white horse to come around to carry her off to a happy ending.

Time passed, and Marinette watched with a twisted feeling of glee in her chest, when the entire class seemed to slowly fall apart. First it was the winter school trip. Originally, Marinette had planned an amazing tour of presidential office and then a quick trip to the beach. However, when it became clear that nothing had been done yet for the trip despite months of warnings, Marinette backed out of going. She laughed for days, when she saw the pictures of the class on a local farm.

Then it was the school dance. Lila’s personal designer apparently suffered a horrible fire in her studio and all the dresses were destroyed; leaving most of the girls in the class in tears. They’d gone in old dresses. Marinette, however, had worn her most fabulous design yet. A beautiful, lacy, scarlet dress that made her look WOW, as her new friends had put it. Luka had been her date; only as a friend of course. The two had realized that while they had a lot in common, the attraction wasn’t sexual.

Fundraisers were next. And the targets were never hit. Trips to festivals, museums that required more than a few hours ride, and the like were cancelled. The annual spring trip, something the class had looked forward to for two years, had been all but cancelled. Usually, it was trip to another country for two weeks. Marinette had planned on New York. But Marinette was no longer class president by the first week of October.

Marinette’s only problem came when Rose and Juleka broke up. The one other pairing, Alya had once sworn, the class was more invested in than Adrien and Marinette getting together. The two had been so in love. Then Lila happened.

She got into Rose’s head about deserving a prince, about how shy Juleka couldn’t really be serious about her if she never expressed it like others did, and what about Prince Ali? How would he feel if he found out Rose was dating someone else.

And Rose, poor sweet Rose had always had a head full of fairy tales. She never stood a chance.

It wasn’t surprising when Luka and Marinette found Juleka crying on the deck of the boat. Marinette had taken mercy on the girl. She made not have been Juleka’s friend anymore but she was still Luka’s sister. And anyone could see she needed time away,

So After a quick intervention, Juleka now knew Lila to be the biggest Liar on the planet. Marinette invited her on her trip to Metropolis for spring break. The trip had been under the guise of World explorers club, which had been just Marinette and her new friends (Claude, Marc, Ondine, Aurore, Luka, Bridgette, and Felix) who saved enough money to spend two weeks in the States away from their and any and all drama.

To make it look education, and to stop Mendeleiev from giving them suspicious glares, they even book a tour of LexCorp. Again, mostly to appease Mendeleiev.

However, Lexcorp was the highlight of the trip if you asked Marinette. She’d run into Connor Luther-Kent, a small town boy, with biceps as big her head, and the biggest blue eyes she’d ever seen and promptly knew exactly how she’d be spend the rest of her vacation.

Connor had led the tour.

…Okay so Connor was supposed to lead the tour. But he and Marinette had kept sneaking glances at each other with blushes on their faces so much that his Aunt Lena, who swore she wasn’t spying, took over the tour. Eventually Connor and Marinette felt the far back of the tour, trading jokes and accidently touching hands. They didn’t even notice when tour ended.

“And the concludes the tour,” Lena announced. “Oh pretty French girl making eyes at my nephew, Connor’s free tomorrow around 6. He’d love to meet you at the fair in town. Maybe win you a stuffed animal.”

           Connor turned bright red.

“Oh Marinette would love to go, handsome farm boy,” Mendeleiev answered with a smirk. “She just wants to say her curfew is eleven. She’ll brings friends, so brings some of yours. And she respectable girl who doesn’t kiss on first dates.”

           Marinette squeaked.

“Understood,” Lena beamed at the embarrassment of the blushing teens. “Connor’s a gentleman. And such a boy scout, if pretty French girl doesn’t make the first move, nothing will happen. He’s a shy one.”

           Mendeleiev crossed, “That might be a problem. Marinette’s just as shy as handsome farm boy. I guess we’ll see what happens.”

“Guess we will,” Lena smiled.

           The two women and the rest of Marinette friends just stared at the two teenagers who looked ready to die.

           The fair was great. Marinette’s friends and Connor’s got along great. Though Luka skipped out with a handsome kid named Tim. Aurore found redhead named Wally intriguing. Ondine ditched everyone to go hang out with a black boy with blond hair name Kaldur. Marc and Claude left together. And finally Juleka and a girl named Artemis went to ride the Ferris wheel together. Turned out, Juleka had a thing for blondes.

           Marinette and Connor spent the entire time, holding hands, and eating weird fair food, and getting more than a little lost in each other’s eyes.

           The rest of the trip was pretty much the same. The two friend group would meet up and usually break off into couples not long after.

           Marinette did find herself covering for a curfew breaking Luka at one time, another for Ondine. And most surprising for Juleka, who assured everyone she was fine through texts, but didn’t make it back to the hotel till the next day. Luka high-fived his sister on her way in.

           The only times, it was a couple-free zone when was when they had to do something educational. The daily planet had been fun. Lois Lane had been insightful and gave great advice to Aurore. She had been interviewing an Olympian swimmer who had no problems shelling out advice to Ondine. And then to the local history museum and the art museum.

           It took everything they had to convince the teacher that a movie premiere was education. If the movie was some action superhero blockbuster, it might’ve been easier. But still the glasses wearing teacher caved, though with way she eyed Chris Evans, Marinette thinks they might tried too hard.

           And once when Marinette got backstage passes to see Jagged Stone and Clara Nightingale perform on their Pop and Rock tour. Neither star hesitated to bring Marinette and her friends on stage. They had announced her as their fashion designer, who did the amazing dress Clara was wearing and rocking look Jagger sported. Luka got to play guitar for Jagged. Clara and Jagged did a cover of an old *NSYNC song that her mom had revealed was her favorite song growing up.

(God Must Have Spent) A Little More Time On You.

           The bluenette had shed a few tears on stage, in front of everyone.

           Marinette would find out later that the concert was live streamed.

           Her most heart stopping moment came when Marinette met Connor’s parents; it had been an accident. They had been going to outside concert when Connor remembered he needed to drop something off at his dad’s place, and it was just going to be for five minutes. They had gotten to the penthouse. Connor left her in the living room. Marinette had been looking at the pictures on the mantle when she heard a clearing of the throat.

           She turned around and came face to face with Times’ man of the year, Lex Luthor. Never again, will she considered Gabriel Agreste scary. He was tickle-me Elmo compared to Lex Luthor, maybe a rouge furby doll. Those things were always creepy.

           Lena stood next to him with a pretty blond woman Marinette knew to be Kara, who Marinette knew from picture to be Connor’s aunt, who worked out of National city.

“You must be… Marinette?” Lex drawled.

           Marinette fought not to smooth out her fifties-style chic sliver dress. “Yes, Sir. Connor just stepped away.”

           They made light conversation after that. Marinette telling about her interests and achievements and wondering where Connor was because five minutes her ass. When Connor’s other dad arrived.

           A ruffled looking man looking man, that looked remarkable like Connor, that wore the most hideous plaid shirt she’d ever seen. “Hi’ya, I’m Clark. Connor’s dad.” He introduced. Clark held out his hand. “You must be Marinette, Connor hasn’t stopped talking about you since you two met.”

           Marinette shook his hand with a smile. And she didn’t mean the say, doesn’t how it slipped out. “Who let you out of the house dressed like that?”

           The two men froze. So did the women.

“What?” Clark asked a stunned look on his face.

“Seriously!” Marinette said, unable to stop herself. “That shirt shouldn’t just be thrown away. It should be burned to ashes and fed to the designer.”

           Clark blushed, and pushed his glasses up. “I like it. It looks like my other ones.”

“There are more of those sins of nature!” Marinette exclaimed. “How? Why? Who hurt you?”

           Lex smirked.

           That was when Connor came into the room, with a smile on his face. He wrapped an arm around Marinette’s waist and looked at his parents, “What’s going on?”

“An intervention,” Marinette snipped.

           Lex Luther pointed at Connor, “Marry that girl.”

           Lena and Kara fell down laughing.

           Connor’s face turned red.

           Clark looked like a confused puppy.

           Marinette came with apology cookies the next day.

           Connor and Marinette were officially boyfriend and girlfriend by the time the trip ended.

           While they were gone, however, things in Paris weren’t going great for the class. The three days of break had been great. Spring trip was just to an amusement park which had disappointed quite a few, but they’d perked up when Alya pointed out that at least Marinette wasn’t there to ruin it all for them. As far as they were concerned life was good without the bluenette.

           Then the fourth day happened. And Juleka posted her first picture. Marinette, her new friends, Juleka; the World Travel’s club, in Metropolis. The mood quickly soured after that. The pictures of their fabulous hotel rooms. The pictures of them at LexCorp with Lena Luther herself; Max was left reeling. Then came the pictures the fairs and dates the group had gone on. Alya had nearly cried when she saw the pictures of the tour of the Daily Planet. Rose had cried when she saw Juleka with some beautiful girl named Artemis.

           The worst of it happened when the entire class got together to watch Pop and Rock on tour as Alya’s house. The concert had been stream. And They had all been so excited. Until Marinette was called on stage, and along with all her friends. The popstar and Rock star dedicated a song to Marinette.

           It had been a trip worthy dreaming about.

           That was when the class remembered just how amazing Marinette had been at planning school trips. Why they ever wanted her to resign, they couldn’t remember.

           Adrien saw a picture Marinette and some dark haired boy holdings hands and for some reason felt his heart break a little.

           When they got back to Paris and the break ended, Marinette and Juleka walked to class with their heads held high and love in their hearts. When the girls got to their seats, Alya was the first to try and ruin their good mood.

“Have fun over break?” She snapped.

“Loads,” Marinette raised an eyebrow. “As many times as you like Juleka’s pics of the daily planet I’d assumed you know that.”

           Alya’s temper grew as jealous soared through her, “You could’ve at least invited your friends.”

“I did,” Marinette stated. “Or don’t you remember when you yelled at me the lunchroom that you weren’t my friend anymore. And rest of you agreed.”

           Some looked ashamed. Others still looked petulant.

“Our trip sucked,” Kim groaned. There were nods in agreement.

“Talk to your class president,” Marinette shrugged. “Last I check, that wasn’t me.” She motioned to Lila. “I’m surprised Lila couldn’t do something better with all the connections she has. I’m sure she could out due a bunch of kids who just saved a few bucks over the course of the year.”

           Lila smiled pleasant but the look in her eyes could’ve killed Marinette, “I was so busy. With all my charity work. There was no time.”

           Marinette hummed in response.

“You all looked so amazing at the movie premier!” Rose beamed. It was clear to those who really looked that the blond was sad, maybe even heartbroken.

           Juleka nodded, finding that the sight of her ex-girlfriend wasn’t as devastating as it would’ve been before the trip, “Marinette designed all of our clothes.”

           It took six months after that for Lila’s kingdom to crumble and for the entire class to apologize to the bluenette. Unfortunately, Marinette didn’t react like they’d hoped. Sure, she accepted their apologies, even forgave them, but she made it clear they weren’t friends. They’d never be friends again.

           Adrien had given her a disappointed look afterwards and had tried to convince her that everything could go back to the way it was. She shrugged, and didn’t dignify him with a response.

           It was three months after for Hawkmoth to finally be defeated thanks to Connor who turned out to be Superboy and the rest of Young Justice who may or may be dating the rest of the new team Miraculus.

           It was a week later that Chat Noir and Ladybug revealed themselves to each other. It didn’t go as either of them had hoped.

           Marinette didn’t know who was more surprised. Her or Adrien. She frowned when she saw the hope in the blond boy’s eyes.

           Adrien had been stunned and then a happy smile appeared on his face. Ladybug and his princess was one in the same. She had liked him. Had asked him out. Adrien may have been stupid to turn her down but that it didn’t matter anymore. It would all work out, “Princess,” He said. “I knew we were meant to be.” That was what he thought until Superboy flew down to stand next to Marinette.

           Marinette gave Adrien a pitying smile, “I’m not a princess, Adrien. This isn’t a fairy tale. This isn’t the movies. We already had our chance.  I’m leaving Paris. I’m joining the justice league. It’s too late to catch me now.”

[hiinnys]

orange and blue

they’re eighteen and she’s sitting next to him in his car that barely works these days.

“you can get a new one, you know that right?” she says, all snark with no real bite. she’s worried about him these days. he’s worried about everyone and she’s worried about him but they’ve always been like that. he’s looking at the forest and she thinks he’s the only tree in the world.

“nah, i can't,” he says, like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. and it used to be. he would say things and she would understand, his heart on his sleeve and her mind on him. her mind’s the same, but she hasn’t seen his heart in a while. maybe he dropped in the library, forgot about it like he forgot the wrench.

“why?” she draws it out, like it’s theatre. like they’re actors on a stage, playing make believe, and this isn’t their lives, and they haven’t watched their friends die, and he didn’t leave his wrench (his heart) in the library.

he looks at her, just for a moment, but damn she wishes he wouldn’t. his eyes leave bruises on her skin and they’re all she’ll be able to focus on in class tomorrow. (they’re not the same bruises jackson left on her. those were black and purple and these are orange and blue. those were pain, hidden behind concealer and these are honey, wrapping her in warmth.)

“it was my mom’s,” he whispers it, but she sees his heart again and how could she not see it before? it’s right there. sitting on his sleeve, leaking blood all over his seat, all over him. her heart breaks and his long fingers grip the clutch and her hand moves over his before she can really think. her fingers spread into the spaces between his and his shoulders relax and she sees his heart beating the same as hers. (sometimes she thinks it’s better when she doesn’t think around him. only around him. only him.)

they don’t speak and he keeps driving and she keeps feeling. he does this almost every night now, drags her out of bed, insists that there’s something. she hates it, wants to sleep and not drive around the hell they call their home. but he’s restless and losing faith in himself and she only has faith in him and this is the only way she knows how to show it. (she can never quite come up with the words to tell him, but she’s never been good at words so she doesn’t bother.)

they’re twenty-two and she’s sleeping, but she can’t feel him next to her.

her eyes open faster than they should, fearing the worst, a habit she can’t quite shake. she finds him instantly, standing in the middle of the room, not dying because of course he isn’t. (thank god he isn’t.) he’s stringing something up to his crime board. his new one. the one he has now that he’s in dc, in a three bedroom he shares with the friends he made in college. (all three in criminology, of course. all three in the fbi program he did that summer, when she wanted him to be safe and as far away as possible. stiles knows nothing if not how to stick with his people.)

she likes them. his friends from college that he shares the three bedroom with. and she likes his new crime board. and she likes his room and his bed and his shirt that she’s sleeping in and his naked back. (she loves him, though.)

“are you seriously gonna tell me a serial killer’s more interesting than me?” he jumps when she speaks and she can’t help the smile on her face. she can never help it when it comes to him. it’s been years and she still can’t figure out that hold he has on her. the one that makes it impossible to be anything but exactly who she is around him.

“jesus christ,” but it’s stiles, so it’s more JESus christ, and lydia’s smile is wider than it was a second ago. he sees it, the smile, and she’s caught. “it’s not gonna be so funny when you actually give me a heart attack, you know that right?”

“it’d have to take a lot more than that to give you an actual heart attack,” she throws back easily. “scientifically speaking.”

he squints his eyes, nods his head, in that way he does before turning back to the board. “no, a serial killer is not more interesting than you,” he’s mumbling around the marker in his mouth but she understands (always does), “but i couldn’t get this thing about the call logs chief pulled out of my head.” she smiles again, softer this time, because this is her boy. the one who’s on an elite investigative unit in the fbi at twenty-two because even the hot-shots couldn’t ignore his brain. (she doesn’t understand it now. how she ever managed to ignore her boy.)

“lead anywhere?” it’s offhand, her eyes closed in the bed she barely sleeps in because he’s in dc and she’s still living in massachusetts (they weren’t meant to be long distance for this long, honestly. but she got offered a full-time position at mit’s research facility straight out of college and stiles wouldn’t let her turn it down. she remembers the phone call, remembers every moment with him, never wants to forget any of it again.

“lydia, come on, you’re always talking about how amazing the team is.”

“yeah, stiles, it’s great, it’s amazing, but mit isn’t dc. what happened to the ‘great post-college’ plan?”

“lydia, forget the plan! take the job! It’s uh-mazing, we both know you want it, and we both know you’d kill it.”

“i just-” a pause, a blue car in the school’s lot she can’t remember getting into, doesn’t know how she did, she’s never seen the car before, let alone has the keys to it. “i hate being away from you.”

“yeah, i hate it too,” he whispers, like it’s all their secret. “but….we’re orange and blue, we’re the perfect combination.” she bites her lips to keep the laugh in.

“i hate you,” all snark, no bite, like always.

“love you too,” and she can see the smile, warms her heart with the mental image of it. “take the job, please.”)

“uh, maybe? i’m working on it,” he responds, turning back to her. her eyes flutter open and, just for a moment, it’s green on brown and nothing else exists, and he smiles. it’s a delicate one, the smile he keeps for her, makes her sink deeper into his shirt, into his smell. “i’ll tell you in the morning. go back to sleep, martin.”

“mm. don’t be awake all night, you need your beauty sleep, stilinski.” she can see his face in her head again. of course she can, he’s painted on every inch of her brain.

“rude,” is all he mumbles, letting her fall back asleep. (she falls asleep to him, though. to the sound of him mumbling under his breath, working through the case, to the sound of his fingers riffling the call logs.) (she wakes up to him, too.)

[ussjellyfish]

fic: Work-Life Balance pt 3 | AoS | Philinda | mature

(this chapter is still barely teen, mature things next chapter)

Melinda and Phil attend a fancy fundraiser, which has dancing, which isn't that terrible. They also get to see Mack and Yo-yo.

Many thanks to @plechka for your help with DC stuff.

read on Ao3

Espionage 218 - the Dance Elective

He makes her breakfast, which involves running out for bagels, but she sleeps in, contented and calm. She slept better in Tahiti than he's ever seen her to, so maybe it's just being free from the encroaching danger. Nothing's coming to get them. There's no giant conspiracy out there waiting to destroy the world, just classes and field reports, seminars and exams. 

Mack, Director Mack, said he can do some recruitment, when he's up for it. Phil's read the file a few times. Part-time, very flexible, based at the Hub which is right near the Academy. Very short drive, shorter still in Lola. Sounds ideal if he wants to stay involved. There are plenty of things to do at the Academy too. May has a full course load, plus extra fitness training classes, and she's mentoring the newest crop of SOs in the field. Just looking at her calendar is headache worthy. No wonder she doesn't have anything in her fridge. 

That morning Phil lets her eat her bagel in the car on the way into campus, even though usually eating in Lola is strictly forbidden. He didn't have the heart to wake her, especially when she'd shut off her own alarm three times. Must be making up for years of lost sleep, or teaching exhausts her in a way flying the Bus and saving the world did not.  

After he drops her off, he spends the morning in kitchen stores, and then buying his own clothes. He has one bag, and a handful of old stuff in storage in Wisconsin, but he keeps dying and leaving the planet and getting his suits blown up. It's frustrating because he had some nice suits, some books that had that great old book smell. 

May emails him the invite to the Congressional Security Committee fundraiser that she has to attend tonight, because she's one of the most respected professors at the Academy. Also, she's gorgeous, and Mack likes how much that distracts people.

It'll be a long night of mediocre drinks, passable hors d'oeuvres and terrible conversation. The dancing might be all right. Maybe he can sneak May off to look at some of the art because he's always liked the National Potrait Gallery, and the courtyard's really something to see. She'll fit right in at an art museum. 

He has to use SHIELD resources to get good black tie at the last minute, but he knows a guy who's pretty quick and he just has to look good enough to be with May. She probably has some absolutely stunning dress and he keeps losing his train of thought as he's buying spices, imagining how she'll look. He's far enough away that she can't feel his particular emotions right this moment, hopefully. Didn't ask what the range was, and it seems like it's different with him. 

Mack got them dinner reservations, and it's not really double date, but it's Mack, Yo-yo, Melinda and him, which is basically the double date set up. Maybe it is. Maybe it's just really good friends with a lot of history. Getting to see them again is wonderful, but he's a little nervous. 

Putting pots and pans away as he rearranges Melinda's kitchen helps him think. She has whole cabinets that just sit empty until he adds measuring cups, mixing bowls, and a coffee maker. One of the perks of never being able to be out in public is that he has years of salary just sitting in his bank account. Melinda doesn't need a stand mixer, but he does. 

Because he's moving in. Well, moved in to be fair. His new toothbrush sits right next to hers and there's plenty of closet space when he has clothes. He's just got the utensils right by the stove when Melinda texts. The day has flown by; it's already four, her last class just ended. 

She's running late, students need help. They're supposed to be at the restaurant at five thirty which doesn't give her much time to get ready. He gets dressed in his tuxedo, smirking at the cufflinks. He loves when he gets to wear them because they're such a classy, old school kind of touch. He throws his tie around his neck, but doesn't tie it yet. Melinda does it better. 

He grabs her dress, makeup, jewelry, hairpins, hairspray- collecting the arsenal it'll take to get her ready for black tie. Not that she needs it. She could go in a t-shirt, but this is a fancy politician charming thing. Carrying her dress in a garment bag and the rest of her things in a duffel, he parks Lola outside her office and heads in. 

There are still students in the hall, most of them dressed as waiters and it clicks. They're going undercover. Melinda's sending some her students undercover to the fundraiser for practice. Smart. They'll be catering a lot in the field. No one really pays attention to the hands serving the food. 

They talk between themselves, but part when he arrives. Melinda's all the way down the hall, at the heart of their group, explaining how to swap champagne flutes in order to get fingerprints and DNA. 

"Professor May, your husband's here," one of the cadets calls down the hall. 

"That's right, dear," he says, beaming. Might as well roll wih it. "I think I have everything."

"Great, I'm sorry, we got carried away, okay, I'll see you tonight, remember, when you're undercover, you're invisible, so don't impress anyone, not Director Mack, and definitely not me."

They laugh and Phil has to smile. She's pretty hard to impress. He sets her dress on the desk and pulls the blinds while the students leave them. Melinda pulls off her blazer and starts unbuttoning her shirt. 

"How much time do we have?"

"Slightly less than half an hour, which is plenty, you're already beautiful."

"Not black tie beautiful."

She sighs, dropping her bra to the desk and he has to swallow. He will never get over how beautiful she is, and it's been a terrifying constant in his life for decades. 

"Let me help you with the dress." He gently removes the black and gold dress from the garment bag. He shakes it out, opening the clasps while she changes her underwear and pulls on her stockings. 

"Okay, let me get this over your head." The complicated straps cross high on her chest and leaves her back bare. He whistles as it slips into place. "I think this is better than the sequins."

"Oh?" She starts pinning up her hair, smiling. "It's more comfortable."

"Your breasts make the dress look great."

Melinda laughs. "I thought you'd like it." 

He sits on her desk, handing her pins as she puts her hair up. He holds up a handful and looks over the pictures on her desk. "These are nice, Daisy, FitzSimmons and Alya, don't know if that's the best picture of me."

"I've always liked that one." She titls her head towards the hairspray and he hands it over. 

"I look too stern."

"You are stern."

"Me?" He takes the hairspray and hands her the eyeliner, holding it while she yawns into her hand.  "Couldn't fit a nap in, huh?"

"I slept at lunch."

"Good plan, these things always go so late." 

Melinda sighs, shaking her head. "I know." 

"Lipstick,"

"Give me that first." He looks, following her hand. A abandoned mug of coffee sits on her desk. 

"You hate coffee."

"It's vile, but it keeps me awake."

"Well, it's definitely worse cold and without anything in it."

"Just hand it to me, Phil." She shuts her eyes and swallows it, grimacing. He's seen children make that face when they've been told to eat brussel sprouts. 

"You hate it."

"I hate falling asleep at dinner more."

He touches her shoulder. "This is hard. You're carrying a lot. Don't push yourself beyond your limits."

"Tomorrow's an easy day, no lectures, just seminar, and it's in the afternoon."

"I'll make waffles."

"And no coffee."

"None, for you." 

She laughs, finishing her lipstick. "What earrings did you bring?"

"These matched the best."

"I would have gone with the gold."

"The dress is more bronze."

"Oh I see."

"These bring out your eyes more."

"Yes, that's what you've been looking at. My eyes." She toys with his hand, smiling. 

"Exactly." He rests his gaze on the exquisite display of her breasts, then looks up, 

She leans in, kissing him lightly. "You still can't tie these."

"I have you." 

The next kiss is a little deeper, hungrier, and they don't have time. Mack and Yo-yo will be at the restaurant in a few minutes ad they're already pushing it, even with Lola. Flying through DC isn't exactly subtle. The cloaking will help but--

Melinda finishes tying his bow tie and pats his chest. "Shoes."

He sets them up and she steps into her impossibly high heels, holding on his shoulder. 

"Ready?"

She takes another moment, taking a breath. "I still don't understand how you drink that every day."

"It grows on you."

"Like a tumor." 

He rests his hand on her bare back, chuckling. "Exactly, a delicious, caffeinated tumor." 

 Mack and Yo-yo are waiting for them at the table, already laughing over their drinks.

"Sorry, parking is terrible." 

"Our quinjet is on the roof," Yo-yo says, getting up to hug Melinda. "You look amazing."

"Doesn't she?" 

"You don't look too bad yourself," Mack says, getting up to shake his hand. They stare, take hands and then hug. He didn't think he'd see Mack again, or Yo-yo or...anyone, and here they are. Mack pats Melinda's shoulder and Yo-yo pulls out her chair. 

"Sit, eat, we don't have that much time before we have to talk to the boring people." 

"Thanks, sorry--"

"She had cadets swarming her office."

"All ready for tonight?"

"They're some of my best, about half of the catering team are future agents. Tell me how many before the night's over and I'll buy dinner next time." 

Mack lifts his glass, grinning. "Oh you're on."

Yo-yo leans forward, elegant in a dark blue dress, with her hair down in waves. Mack's pocket square complements her dress and they look fantastic together. The way they talk, laughing, filling in each other's stories, they're happy. It's good to see. This time has been good for them. 

The food arrives a few minutes later, concerned for time, Mack and Yo-yo ordered, and it smells incredible. Melinda yawns into her hand again and flags down the server for tea instead of wine. 

"They might have coffee."

"Oh no, one is my limit." 

"You had coffee?" Yo-yo asks over her naan bread. "The Academy's that bad, huh?" 

"It's disgusting but it keeps me awake." 

"I'm gone for a little while and look how things change." It's a poor joke but Melinda's little smile has forgiveness in it. 

"It felt a little long." She reaches across, squeezing his hand. 

"It's nice to have you back." Mack digs into the chicken. "This is incredible."

Melinda sets down her fork and reaches for her tea. "It's hard to get reservations here, but my mom likes it."

"Do they do take out?" Phil passes her one of the sauces and she gives him that look. "May's a connoisseur of take out." 

"Very funny."

"Do they? This is near the Hub, I'd love this for lunch."

"Places like this don't do take out," Yo-yo says, pointing at her napkin. "Real napkins, fancy silverware."

Mack shakes his head, wiping his mouth. "We'll have to find a way to get them to make an exception."

"Use those director perks." Phil jokes, meeting Melinda's gaze. 

"What director perks?' The server hands Mack the check and Yo-yo chuckles.

"There's a perk."

"I asked for this." Mack waves the check at them. "I know how hard it is to live on an academic's salary."

Phil titls his head towards Melinda. "You should see how empty her apartment was, couldn't afford anything in the kitchen."

"I am funny, I'm the director." He hands over a card and they reluctantly leave their seats. 

Phil offers Melinda his hand to get to her feet, touching her bare back as they head for the door. Her skin's warm and smooth under his hand and she allows it to remain there. The clouds overhead are dark and heavy, and the air smells like rain. The gallery's only a quick walk, and it almost feels like old times. Very fancy old times. 

At the door he hands over their IDs from Melinda's purse. Hers is a little worn, and his brand new. Billy did good work on it. They head through security, have their retinas scanned and fingerprints checked. Eventually they end up at another table, and two of Melinda's students bring them drinks. 

She takes a sip, then sets her glass down. "Well, lets get it over with"

"It?"

"You're going to make me dance."

He listens to the orchestra and smirks. "That's a waltz." 

Melinda holds out her hand, reaching for his and smiling. "Do you want to wait for a tango?"

"Are you just using me to avoid Senator Ellis?"

"You caught me." She leans in, brushing her lips agains his ear. "Also, my students are watching."

"So we're making your students uncomfortable?"

"If they're watching us dance, they're not watching other things."

"I'd be watching you."

She glances down at her chest and her smile brightens. "I know what you'e watching."

Dancing with her is easy, comfortable. She'll have to talk to senators and congresspeople,  be charming, talk about the Academy, but for now, and maybe the next dance, he can hold her. 

The next song is a tango and she rolls her eyes, but she remembers the steps. Her muscle memory's always been incredible. She leads him into a dip near some of her students and she's right, they're watching them, not observing the room. 

"How are you going to get them to stop watching us?"

"We'll talk about it in seminar."

"That sounds fun."

"You should come, it's my most interesting class."  Melinda wraps her leg around the back of his and executes another dip. She's so good at it. The bonus for him is that he gets to hold her, tight and close and it's too bad that can't last all night. 

Eventually he has to surrender her to Mack, and a few senators. He gets one song to dance with Yo-yo, who tells him all about her team: Piper and Davis, and her adventures. She finds time for Mack too, and they seem happy.

"She needed you back," Yo-yo says over his shoulder, smiling at Melinda. "She said she was happy, but this is happy."

"What was she before?"

"Busy." Yo-yo twirls out and then back to him. "Really busy."

"She's still busy." 

"But now at least you can cook for her." 

"Yeah."

"Which makes you happy."

"It's such a little thing."

"Not little." Yo-yo walks with him back to the table, reaching for her champagne while Phil scans the crowd for Melinda. "Mack fixes my car when I'm home, worries about my motorcycle, tunes the engine. You cook."

"Melinda's a terrible cook."

"And I never remember when my car needs an oil change. Love brings us people who look after what we can't. May did that for you, for years. Maybe now you switch." 

"Yeah?" He finishes his drink. 

"You love her."

"I do."

"And she's happier now, today, than I've seen her in years, maybe ever." 

Melinda walks towards them, smiling, free of the last lobbyist who wanted something. She walks past one of the caterers, must be a student because she walks straight up to him and kises him like the world is ending thirty seconds from now, or they're being shot at. He nearly stumbles back but it's too wonderful to be pressed against her. 

Yo-yo laughs and leaves them to it. 

"Hi," he whispers, catching his breath. 

"My students are easily distracted."

"They like you."

Melinda rolls her eyes and he loves her so much in this instant. She's supervising all of these cadets, making them better agents, saving the world one showy kiss at a time. "They like my stories."

"May, you're an incredible teacher."

She sighs, shutting her eyes. She kisses his cheek then rests against him, her head on his shoulder. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"Just, thank you." 

He strokes her cheek. "It's good to be back."

"You didn't even know you were gone." Her voice is light but her eyes hold so much more. 

"I see it." He holds her face, staring at her, drinking her in. She's been through so much and she's still here, powerful, beautiful and so resilient. "I'm sorry."

"You always come back."

He laughs and she kisses him again. She pushes him back towards the table, scandalizing the students, maybe part of Congress. She's worth it. 

"I love you," he whispers into her hair, running his hand down her spine. 

 The sky's opened up while they've been in the gallery, and the rain drums on the glass roof. It's late, and the last stragglers at the party are drunk and headed home in a line of cabs. Lola's only a block away but the storm's rolled in hard. Lightning flashes overhead and the heavy humidity's erupting into drenching rain.

"Stay here, I'll bring the car," he offers.

Melinda shakes her head. She reaches down, holding his arm for balance as she takes off her shoes. She sighs, even wavers a little. 

Phil shrugs off his tuxedo jacket, passing it to her. "Here."

"I'm fine."

"So am I."

Melinda rolls her eyes again but takes it, wrapping herself in his coat. 

"There could be broken glass."  

"You want to carry me?"

"I--"

"It's fine, Phil." She offers her arm and together they walk out into the rain. 

The air's still warm and the rain crashes down cool over them. They walk quickly, arm in arm, and it's too loud to talk but thy don't need too. She remembers being a student, when they were cadets together, all the moments that got them to here. They climb into Lola, soaking wet, laughing as the rain patters on the roof. He starts the car and the windows fog as they dry. 

Melinda leans back in her seat, eyes closed. "That was better."

"See, you do like dancing."

"It's all right with you."

He heads through the nearly empty streets, making his way back to her apartment. "And mortifying your students."

"Now that was fun."

"I love your sense of humor." 

"You love a lot of things about me." 

"Your hair. Your breasts. The way you talk in your sleep."

She doesn't, and she can't remind him of that because she is asleep. He pats her knee in her soaking wet dress and drives them home. 

The garage at her apartment is out of the rain and she remains asleep as he shuts off the car. Circling to the passenger side, he bends, straightens his back and lifts her up.

She murmurs, waking a little as they move through the elevator and then the hall. 

"Are you being chivalrous?"

"I was trying to let you sleep."

Melinda slips from his arms, regaining her feet in the hall as he takes out her keys. "That was kind."

"You're doing a lot."

"I know."

"Let me help."

"I am, aren't I?" She stands on her tiptoes to kiss him. "I'll let you take the pins out of my hair."

"Okay." He guides her to a chair, pulling the hairpins out of her wet hair while she smiles at him, nearly falling asleep again at the table. He guides th =e dress off her shoulders, then takes her earrings. "Come on. Time for bed." 

He strips off his own wet clothes in the bathroom. Leaving them on the floor before crawling into bed next to her. 

"I love you," she whispers, curling into his chest. "You're warm."

Chuckling, he holds her close. "Glad to be of service."

[avasharpe]

Sugar and Salt

Chapter: Seven of Ten

Summary: Zari and Behrad move back into their parents home, but Laurel drops with a lead on who called ICE, Zari picks up her computer to track him down.

Fandom: DC’s Legends of Tomorrow.

Relationship: Amaya Jiwe/Zari Tomaz, and Sara Lance/Ava Sharpe.

Characters: Amaya Jiwe, Zari Tomaz, Behrad Tarari, Kuasa, Sara Lance, Ava Sharpe, Sin Lance, and Kendra Saunders.

Chapter Rating: General Audiences.

Additional Tags: Bakery and Coffee Shop, Mutual Pining, Non-binary character, Trans Character, Fake Marriage, But Real Feelings, Food.

Read at AO3

Read at FFN

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“Okay that goes up to Zari’s bedroom and those boxes can go into the kitchen,” Sara instructed Mick, Ray, and Nate and pointed up the stairs for them to carry the parts of Zari’s bed frame. Sara stood in the entryway at the bottom of the stairs as she directed traffic for the move-in process.

“Remind me who put you in charge of this?” Zari asked as she set down the box she was carrying. 

“Well someone’s got to make sure you don’t set up your closet in the living room,” Sara said, pointing her toe at the box Zari had just sent down, which was clearly labeled ‘Zari’s clothing.’ “And Amaya said I could.”

Zari just rolled her eyes and picked up the box again. Making a note to go find Amaya as she walked upstairs. 

It had been a few weeks since she had agreed to move and they had spent the majority of the time going through old things, packing, and cleaning. They had agreed to keep some of their parents’ old furniture with a few touches of their new things.

It was hard for Zari to see the old furniture and everything reminded her of them, but once she started adding her things to the house it made things easier. They only had to move in a few pieces of big furniture, such as beds and desks, as the majority of what they had were in boxes. Zari was surprised that she didn’t want much of her furniture and was in the process of selling or giving it away to anyone who needed it. As she trudged her way up the stairs Behrad and Sin came running down the stairs almost barreling right into her. 

“Hey you two are supposed to stay in Behrad’s room and unpack,” Zari said, readjusted the box in her arms. “You two nearly knocked me over and we don’t want you guys getting trampled with the big furniture.”

“But we already unpacked all of my stuff,” Behrad said, with a shrug. “Can’t we help somewhere else?” 

“Okay, fine, but stay out of the way of the big furniture,” Zari said, moving to let them pass.

“Okay,” Sin said as they ran past her. 

“And no running,” Sara shouted at them before Zari could. 

Sara and Zari both exchanged a look with knowing smiles as Zari shook her head. Zara trudged up the stairs and heard Sara bark orders at Ava and Kendra as they brought in more boxes. When she reached the top of the stairs, Amaya came out of one of the rooms and met Zari with her winning smile.

“Do you want me to take that into your room?” Amaya asked, already taking the box from Zari’s arms. 

“Thank you,” Zari said, gratefully handing it over. “Hey, did you tell Sara she could direct traffic, instead of helping out?”

“Yeah, she said she wasn’t feeling that great, but she did bring Ava with her to help out. Besides, we do need someone to make sure everything goes where it’s supposed to, why?”

“Oh, I think the power is going to her head a little bit,” Zari smiled and rolled her eyes. 

“Well, I’m sure you can keep her in check,” Amaya smirked back. “How about you and I drop off this box together and you can help me put my clothes away?” 

Amaya smiled and her eyes had that beautiful sparkle and Zari took a moment to appreciate Amaya’s brilliant eyes. Ever since they had started the move in process and as they each committed to spending more time with the kids, there hadn’t been much time left for them to be alone and Zari missed being around just Amaya. 

“Zari?”

“Yeah, lead the way,” Zari said, ducking her head and blushing a deep red.

Amaya licked her lips and giggled as she turned around and led Zari down the hall. Zari knew that they would most likely just end up making out for a while and eagerly followed her. 

“Hey guys,” Lita said, coming out and walking up to them with her hands in her pockets, and the glow between them faded. “Can Kuasa and Hector set up a video game since we’re all done getting Behrad moved in?” 

“Yeah, but could you supervise Behrad and Sin? They want to help with the moving, but I don’t want them to get hurt by the big furniture pieces,” Zari said pointing down the hall to where they had run off.  

“Yeah no problem,” Lita said with a shrug and a smile.

“Thank you for babysitting Lita,” Amaya added with a nod as Lita popped back into the room, to let Kuasa and Hector know what was going on.

Once Lita had scampered down the stairs, Amaya sent Zari another sultry smile and swayed her hips as she walked down the hall. Zari followed her like a puppy and the second she set the box down, Zari put her hands on her hips and twirled Amaya towards her. They smiled at each other before leaning in and pressing their lips against one another. Zari sighed as she relaxed into the kiss and Amaya wrapped her arms around Zari’s neck. 

“Zari!” Sara yelled at her from down the stairs.

Zari sighed again, but this time in frustration and Amaya pulled away from her. “We should probably go see what she wants?”

“Whatever it is, it’s not important enough to drag me away from you,” Zari said as she chased Amaya’s lips and kissed her again. 

“Zari, your lawyer is here to speak with you!” 

That broke them apart. They hurried down the stairs to see Laurel waiting for them with a stack of papers in her arms. Laurel and Sara both had a somber look across their face and Amaya reached out to squeeze Zari’s hand as they walked the rest of the way down the stairs.

“What’s this about?” Zari asked as she stepped off the bottom step.

Laurel looked around at everyone as they were still moving things in and walking around the house. “Is there somewhere we can speak privately?” 

Zari nodded for Laurel to follow her and walked over to her father’s old library. As a child, her father would work in his study and Zari would play on the rug. He was quite the book collector and many of the books were in Arabic. Her father made sure she and Behrad knew how to speak and read in Arabic and carry on the cultural traditions. Zari hadn’t stepped foot in the room yet and didn’t have any plans to change it. It was exactly as she remembered it as she opened the door and led Laurel in.

Laurel looked around the room and Zari offered her one of the chairs next to the desk. Laurel put the papers down on the coffee table between them and pulled out a few documents getting right to it.

“When I took on your case I did a little digging and contacted someone I knew in ICE, in order to find the report made against you. The report was made anonymously, but they included your home address and your work address. I thought something was off about how they knew where you lived and where you worked. I got a copy of the phone call and I think, I should play it for you.” 

Laurel pulled out her phone and looked up at her, Zari just nodded and Laurel hit play.

“Hello, I have a concern about someone illegally living and working here in Star City. Their name is Zari Tomaz and they live at 108A Orange Street, Star City, and work at Jewi’s Bakery over on 140th Street.”

Zari’s jaw fell open, she was shocked to hear Damien Darhk’s voice on the call as he listed off her address. He began to say a few other unkind and down white racist things about her, but Laurel hurried to end the recording and put her phone away. 

“I’m sure you can guess as to who it was, but unfortunately I can’t legally be sure that it was Damien Darhk. By reporting you he violated the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act but without proof, he can’t be prosecuted. I had one of our private detectives trace the phone call, but it just led to a dead end burner phone. In the meantime, all I can do is suggest that you stay away from the school as much as possible. I would also suggest that you transfer Behrad to a different school as well. I have no reason to believe that another report to ICE won’t be made if you file a change of address with the school.” 

As Laurel spoke she looked over at Zari who just noted as she took everything in. She wasn’t sure what else she could do. Especially if, as Laurel said, they had no proof.

“But I can’t take Behrad out of that school. It’s the best one in the district and I can’t afford the private school fees,” Zari said standing up as she began to pace the room. 

“I’m so sorry Zari. I know how difficult this is for you and that you don’t want to sacrifice Behrad’s education,” Laurel said, shaking her head. “I’m going to keep our detective on it to see if we can try and prove Darhk broke the law. Though at this point there’s nothing I can do other than continue with your green card papers from your marriage. Until then you need to lay low and have no contact with Darhk or the school.”

“But what am I supposed to do about Behrad? Amaya and the others have been dropping him off and picking him up, but the school keeps harassing them for a change of address or questions about my whereabouts. They’ve even threatened to call CPS.”

“I’ll draft a statement for the school and assure them that you’re still providing for Behrad, without giving them your new address. That should at least get you through the end of the year. However, they’ll want an address for you and your confirmation that you’re still his guardian for next year, but then we’ll have things in order for your green card.”

Zari sat back down at the chair and looked around the room. It represented the kind of life that their parents had envisioned for them, with a nice house in the good school district. Yet, her parents were never able to finish the process of citizenship before they died and Zari let it slide like an idiot. This whole mess was her fault. 

“Thank you Laurel,” Zari said, finally looking over at her. 

“I’ll send you a document for the school that you can look over. If you get it back to me tonight, I can have it filed with the school tomorrow,” Laurel nodded as she got up. She put a hand on Zari’s shoulder and gave her a reassuring smile. “Just take it one step at a time. We’re on track for your visa and your I-130. I’m still setting up the interview, but you’re doing everything right to get your citizenship and everyone here is making sure that you’re protected.”

“Thank you.”

“No problem,” Laurel said before she left. 

Zari sat alone in the library for another minute before Amaya came in.

“Damien Darhk was the one who ratted me out to ICE,” Zari said, looking up at her.

“I’m sorry Zari,” Amaya said, as she tilted her head and walked over to sit next to her. Amaya put her arm around her and pulled her in.

“Don’t be,” Zari said, welcoming her embrace. “You’ve done everything you could to help me and I truly appreciate it.”

Amaya leaned in and kissed her and Zari let herself melt against her lips. They let themselves have a moment to each other before Zari stood up and held out her hand to Amaya. “Come on we should get back to work, before Sara barges in on us.”

Amaya let her pull her up and shook her head. “Sara’s actually being really helpful you know.”

“Doesn’t make her any less annoying,” Zari said as they walked out.

With Sara’s direction, they got everything moved in and both Zari and Behrad’s bedrooms put together before they finished for the day. Amaya and Zari agreed to have some alone time with the kids so they said good night and parted ways at least until tomorrow. Since Monday was their day off, they planned to meet for breakfast and send the kids off the school together. 

Zari enjoyed her time with Behrad but sent him to bed a little earlier than usual. She then pulled out a black duffel bag from under her bed. Quietly, she walked down the hall and checked on Behrad who was already fast asleep, exhausted after a day of moving, then crept downstairs and back into her father’s library. 

It was the one place in the house where she felt truly safe and Zari quickly set up her laptop and other equipment. In college, Zari used to be quite the hacker, but as the years went on, she slowly stepped away from it in favor of working legally for Amaya. Yet, she always kept the duffle bag of her old equipment ready to go in case they needed it. Once Zari had everything loaded and had completely shielded her computer, she began her search for everything and anything related to Damien Darhk.

……………………………………………………………………

Amaya was enjoying a lazy morning as she stretched and rolled back over in bed. It was a Monday and she would have to get Kuasa up for school and to meet Zari and Behrad for breakfast soon. She was glad that she didn’t have to be in at the bakery that morning, as it was their day off. 

Amaya reached out her arm only to feel the cold and empty space where Zari would have been. She understood and completely supported Zari’s move, but that didn’t mean she didn’t miss her. Letting out a sigh, Amaya grabbed the extra pillow, pulling it towards her and wrapping her arms around it. She closed her eyes again and wished for a few more minutes of sleep. 

Just as her mind had started to drift off in that place between thoughts and unconscious dreaming, the sound of her phone vibrating on her nightstand jerked her up. Amaya sighed and reached for her phone, smiling as she saw Zari’s name and quickly answered her call. 

“Hey you.”

“Amaya I need you to meet me at the house as soon as possible.” 

Zari’s urgent tone made her heart quicken as she got out of bed and went over to her dresser, pulling out a set of clothes. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

“I know who contacted ICE. I have proof that they did it along with the long list of other crimes, but it involves you and the kids,” Zari said and Amaya knew that she was rubbing her forehead. Amaya paused and gently set the clothes on her bed. “I don’t know what to do about all of it.”

“Just take a deep breath,” Amaya said and waited for Zari to mirror her on the other end of the line. “Have you called Laurel or Sara or Kendra?”

“No, I don’t want to go to Laurel until you know, but I probably should call Sara and Kendra as it involves them too.”

“Okay, why don’t you do that, and in the meantime I’ll get ready, get some food for breakfast, and bring it over for everyone?”

Amaya could hear Zari chuckle and knew she was smiling. “Do all of your solutions involve food?”

“A full belly makes everyone feel better, that’s what my Mama always told me.”

“Well, your Mama was probably right. She did a good job raising you.”

“She did,” Amaya said, remembering everything her mom taught her about baking and helping people.

“Alright, but how soon can you get here?” Zari asked, the worry back in her voice.

“I’ll be there in fifteen minutes if I can get to Kuasa up soon.”

“Better make it in half an hour, but thanks.” 

“Okay, I’ll be there soon.”

“I love you,” Zari said, and Amaya’s heart skipped a beat. No matter how many times Zari said it to her, it always felt like the first time.

“I love you too.”

Zari ended the call and Amaya quickly got dressed and ready. Kuasa put up a bit of a fight, but she could see the worry on her face and was soon ready as well.

……………………………………………………………………

Zari paced back and forth in her office as she waited for Sara to pick up the phone. 

“What the fuck Zari. It’s like 6 a.m. on our day off?” Sara said, clearly not in the mood for the early phone call.

“Does Ava like Damien Darhk?”

“What?”

“Does Ava like principal Damien Darhk?”

“Zari what is going on?” Sara insisted and Zari heard Ava in the background ask her the same question.

“Can you just answer the question Sara?” Zari insisted and stopped pacing. She knew that Sara would be on her side no matter what, but she didn’t want to cause any trouble with Sara’s relationship with Ava.

Sara sighed and Zari could hear her sit up in bed and move around. “No, they’re constantly clashing over curriculum and funding and stuff. He made her pay for a new curriculum change out of pocket. All because she wanted to include a more diverse historical curriculum. It was this whole thing, so no she doesn’t like him. Now, what is this about?”

“Okay, can you and Ava come over as soon as possible? Amaya and Kendra are coming and she said she’ll make breakfast for everyone, but I need to talk to both of you?” 

“Are you and Behrad okay?” Sara asked, sounding truly worried. “Has something happened with the school?” 

“I found some incriminating evidence about Darhk and you both should know about it.”

“Okay, but this is something we should call Laurel about?”

“No, she doesn’t need to be a part of this until we decide what to do. I don’t want her getting in any sort of trouble,” Zari said, finally sitting down and trying to speak as clearly and calmly as possible.

“Okay, we’ll be right over.”

“Thank you,”

“Of course,” Sara said, before hanging up. 

Sara was Zari’s last phone call as she had called Kendra already. They were the three people in the world that she knew she could always count on and they would want to be a part of what she found. Zari fell into the chair and closed her eyes. She had stayed up all night only falling asleep at the keyboard for an hour around 2 a.m. on accident. The anxiety of the night and the revelation of what she had found started to get to her. So she decided to close her eyes for a few minutes.

The next thing she knew someone was knocking at her door and she quickly got up to go see who it was. Smiling and dressed Amaya with a groggy and grumpy Kuasa who was still in her pajamas were standing on her porch as Zari opened up the door. 

“I promised her, she could go back to sleep on your couch,” Amaya said, putting her arms on Kuasa’s shoulder as she led the groggy girl into the house.

“Yeah, no problem. She can go up to my bedroom if she wants?” Zari said looking down at Kuasa.

“Yes please,” Kuasa mumbled, already walking towards the staircase. 

“Do you remember where it is?” Amaya gently asked her as Kuasa put one hand on the banister and seemed to lean on it as she walked up the stairs.

Kuasa just nodded and Amaya gave her a gentle smile as they both watched her until she got to the top of the stairs. Amaya stepped forward to give Zari a hug and she melted into her arms. She was relieved to have Amaya there again and she didn’t realize how much she had missed Amaya until they were together again.

Amaya pulled back but wrinkled her nose as she tugged at Zari’s shirt. “Is this what you were wearing yesterday?”

“Umm,” Zari looked down at the shirt she was in fact wearing yesterday and realized she had not showered or changed in the past 24 hours. Even after they got finished moving, she probably didn’t smell too well either. “Why don’t I go hop in the shower.”

“I’ll get breakfast started and let the others in when they get here,” Amaya said, already taking a step back from her. Her nose wrinkled up in a way that told Zari that she did in fact stink.

By the time she had showered and changed, Amaya had already made breakfast with Sara, Ava, and Kendra sitting at the table eating.

“Where are the other kids?” Zari asked, and she walked into the room seeing only the adults. 

“Carter’s with Hector,” Kendra said looking up from her eggs.

“And Laurel’s watching Gary and Sin,” Sara added, putting down her fork and going over to give Zari a hug. “We’d figured it’d be easier not to drag them out of bed and we weren’t sure if they should be involved in whatever this is.” 

Zari nodded and Sara pulled back, making room for Kendra to pull Zari in for another hug. Amaya put a plate of food in front of her and Zari quickly ate. There was a slight tension in the room, but everyone seemed to understand wanting to eat before getting into the heavy stuff. 

“So Laurel’s watching both Gary and Sin? You four must have had a fun sleepover last night,” Kendra’s said with a teasing smile. 

“Fun for the kids and for the adults,” Amaya said, sending Ava and Sara a wink. 

They all chuckled and Zari took another bite of her food in order to avoid saying something sarcastic to them. She knew Sara wouldn’t mind, but she didn’t want to offend Ava who was already turning a deep shade of red.

“Shut up,” Sara said with a playful smile. Ava hid her blush in Sara’s shoulder as they sat next to each other. “Ava and I are in a happy and committed relationship and both of our children are comfortable with each other.”

“Well, we are all very happy for you,” Amaya said, as she turned off the burner and put the dishes in the sink before throwing the towel over her shoulder. She walked over towards Zari who put an arm around her waist.

“Yeah, just don’t hurt her Ava,” Kendra said, looking pointedly over at her as Amaya and Zari nodded in agreement.

“Believe me, I have no intention of ever harming Sara,” Ava said, looking over at Sara with a kind of soft and loving look that Zari knew meant she was head over heels.

They may be overprotective, but with Sara’s history of doomed romances, they had a right to be. The three of them knew to let it happen, but that didn’t mean that they didn’t feel the need to protect her. If they ever got their hands on Oliver Queen, they would all need Laurel to represent them.

“Alright, enough of the lovey dovey stuff,” Kendra said looking pointedly over at the couples. “Zari you said that you had something important to tell us about what you found about Damien Darhk.”

The light hearted moment was gone and Zari pulled away from Amaya. She pulled out her laptop from where she had left it on the counter. There was so much information that it took her most of the night to go through and even longer to compile it into a damning folder of evidence. She pulled up the few documents that she compiled that would put him in prison and turned her laptop towards them, so they could read through the documents she had.

“Yesterday Laurel gave me a video recording of Darhk contacting ICE and giving them my address and the address of the bakery. He never identified himself so she couldn’t prove it was him, but she said she was going to try. I decided to do some digging of my own. I got into the school’s records and started looking through things. I wasn’t sure what I would find, but I figured if he was giving out my information, chances are he was giving out those of others as well. I couldn’t really find anything so I went into the school’s finances. It turns out that Darhk has been secretly taking money off the top of the budget and putting it into his own pockets. You can see the money here at the top of this document matches the deposits made in this account. It’s a secret account that he has in the Caymans, and it’s under an LLC, but I was able to trace it back to him. Some of it’s not in his name but in Nora Darhk’s name. I don’t know how much she is involved in this but.”

“No,” Ava said, shaking her head. “There’s no way Nora is involved in this. I mean yeah she has a trust fund from her father, but she doesn’t touch it. Unlike her father, Nora is a good person she can’t be involved in this.”

“That’s what I was thinking as well. I was able to trace withdrawals and deposits from this account to things that Darhk purchased and currently owns,” Zari said as she watched all of her friends process the information.

“He told me there wasn’t room in the budget for a new ramp into the school,” Kendra said she looked shocked as she covered her mouth with her hand and seemed to sink into her chair. “That money should have gone to building a ramp so that my child can access the school safely.” 

“And it’s not just a little bit of money,” Sara said, she put a hand on her belly as she skimmed through the documents with a look of worry across her features. “It’s at least a half of a million dollars and that’s just for one year.” 

“How could this have gone on for so long?” Amaya said, looking over at Zari in astonishment.

“Given what’s here, I’m guessing that it’s been going on for as long as he’s been the Principal,” Zari said sitting back. 

“It’s not just the ramp, it’s all of the little things he told us we couldn’t get. We had to clean our own classrooms, pay for our own supplies, our books, our curriculum. We just had a fundraiser to pay for a new sports field. He asked teachers to donate part of their paychecks and we did, and look, he took at least a quarter of that money. We are the ones who made that school number one in the city. It was because of our hard work and he just did it to get rich.” Ava’s voice was full of disgust as she turned away, rubbing her forehead. 

“What are we going to do about this?” Amaya asked, she had a look of fierce determination across her face that fueled Zari’s own need for justice. 

“I have carefully printed out everything that I found, but I don’t know who to send this to,” Zari said with a shrug and a shake of her head. “If I send it to the wrong person, they will just sweep it under the rug. I want to make sure they have to prosecute him.”

“He has to pay for what he’s taken from our kids,” Kendra said, staring at the documents as if she could burn a hole through them. 

“Yeah, we have to make sure he doesn’t get away with this,” Sara said as she looked up from where she had been going over everything on Zari’s computer.

“We?” Zari asked, she didn’t think her friends would want to be involved in this, given that it definitely involved a few crimes.

“Yes,” Amaya said, walking over to her and putting a hand around her waist and standing next to her. “We’re in this together and will help, however we can.”

“Even though you’ve already done all the hard work,” Sara said, giving her a smile. 

“I know exactly who we can give this to in the school district who won’t sweep this under the rug,” Ava said, turning back around and rejoining the conversation. “My adopted father Hank Heywood. He works in administration for the school district. He’ll make sure this gets investigated..”

“We should give it to some journalists as well just in case,” Amaya said, giving Zari’s waste a squeeze.

“One of my old friends from college, Iris West is a journalist over at the Star City Chronicles,” Kendra added, getting up and coming over to put her arm around Zari’s other side. “She’ll make sure this gets published.”

“I don’t think any news editor would turn away this kind of story,” Sara said, turning away from the computer and pulling Ava close. 

“Good, we have to make sure that this isn’t ignored.” Zari nodded, feeling more sure than she had this morning.

“Because of you, it won’t be,” Amaya said, leaning over and giving Zari a kiss. 

……………………………………………………………………

The women spent the rest of the morning sorting through the evidence and writing a statement to be placed on top of the stack of files. Kendra contacted Iris and agreed to meet up and hand over the documents under the condition that Iris wouldn’t release anything unless the school failed to properly investigate Darhk. Ava and Zari contacted Hank with the information and worked with him to find a time to anonymously drop off the files. By the time Kuasa and Behrad were both up and ready for school they had everything sorted. 

“Okay so I will drop off the kids at school and keep an eye on Darhk throughout the day,” Ava said as she gathered her things.

“Kendra and I will meet up with Iris,” Sara said standing in the doorway as she handed Ava her coat.

“And Amaya and I will have a courier drop off the documents for Hank and then we’ll all just come back and hang out here,” Zari finished, handing Amaya her keys.

“I’ll try and make it back for lunch, but if I don’t I’ll check in after school lets out,” Ava said, leaning in to give Sara a quick kiss as she hands brushed Sara’s her belly and waist.

Zari was so relieved to have Amaya go with her even if they were just handing the documents off to a courier. Despite her worry, having Amaya there put her at ease.

“After that, I guess we just have to wait,” Kendra said as they all just stood in the hall reluctant to go.

“Yeah, from what I know it shouldn’t be more than a couple of weeks before Darhk is fired. Although school lets out for the summer in a few weeks so who knows,” Ava said, as she lingered and held Sara’s hand.

“Here’s hoping that it all goes smoothly and Darhk is out before the end of the year,” Zari said, with a nod.

“Thank you Zari,” Ava said, pulling her in for a hug. “Without you, none of this would be happening.”

Kendra, Sara, and Amaya each piled in on the hug and whispered their thanks to her. They just stood there for a moment hugging each other until they had to part.

Ava left first and then Kendra and Sara. Zari looked over at Amaya as she pulled out of the driveway. If this worked, it wouldn’t mean that ICE would never be trying to deport her. But it would mean that other families at the school wouldn’t have to go through what she was and that alone was worth fighting for.