Work Text:
Mera rolled over and sighed. Another day stuck inside the apartment watching terrible daytime television. At least she and Indus had some time off from the museum for now. How they ever kept their jobs after that little arsene amulet stunt she’d never know, maybe the museum board was really just that incompetent. She looked over at Indus who was happily watching the questionably entertaining talk show from the rug. “Ugh! I wanna do something today! I’m so sick of this apartment! I’m so sick of this room!” Indus looked over at her. “I’m sorry Lady Mera, I don’t know if it’s a good idea for you to go out while your still healing.” Mera crossed her arms and grumbled. “I really missed my calling when mother and father sold that Victorian summer house, I could’ve been the weird lady who never leaves her creepy Victorian mansion apparently!” Indus nodded and continued watching the show, letting Mera continue her rant. “I mean Molly completely nullified my injuries apparently so why shouldn’t I go out!? In fact y’know what? Let’s go visit her right now! She can heal me if I hurt myself and she can get rid of this stupid headache I’ve had all day! And besides it’ll give me good reason to change out of my pajamas for the first time in... how many days has it been now?” She gestured to her white lace nightgown with annoyance.
“Um, three days I think Lady Mera.” Mera sighed. “I meant that as rhetorical but whatever, go to your room and get dressed, we’re visiting Molly.” Indus nodded as Mera turned off the tv. “Yes Lady Mera.” As Indus left the room Mera walked over to her closet eyeing all the things she’d love to wear but probably wouldn’t. Despite the fact that her condition made her incredibly antisocial, approximately half her closet was dedicated for formal wear for what one would assume was the sheer drama of it all. She carefully selected a white lace blouse and paired it with her favorite purple bootcut jeans. Then she picked up her black steel toed combat boots and walked over to the bed. They were her favorite because she could kick anything or anyone in them and her toes would remain unbroken. She carefully laced them up and walked out into the living room. “Indus! Are you ready to go yet? I don’t have all day!” Indus returned no different aside from the fact that he was now wearing sneakers instead of slippers. She grabbed a calf length black faux fur coat from the coat rack and the pair walked out the door which Indus immediately locked. “How you don’t get cold in freezing weather like this I’ll never know Indus.” He smiled. “It is 70 degrees Lady Mera, this is lovely compared to the desert! I think you may just be severely anemic.” Mera shrugged “eh, probably.” And with that they made their way to the car.
It wasn’t long before they arrived at the Blyndeff Toy Emporium. They pulled up and parked next to a beat up red mustang with pink flames painted on it. Mera rolled her eyes. “Oh great, pink banzai is here too, I’d recognize that car anywhere.” Mera shuddered as she remembered when she first saw the car. Giovanni gave them a tour of it and they were so proud to have ‘saved up for all by themself’ despite the fact she was almost certain their mom just gave them the money for it. Regardless of how they paid for the car Mera was probably going to have to get along with them today if she wanted to hang out with Molly and get her pain taken care of. She would never admit it but she was really starting to enjoy hanging out with Molly, she was like the little sister she never had and she got the feeling Indus felt the same too.
The pair made their way into the toy shop and she spotted Molly chatting with Giovanni at the counter. Molly paused when she spotted them. “Oh hey Mera! It’s good to see you again, do you need me to dumb down your pain or injuries or something again?” Mera nodded. “Yeah, I’ve had a terrible headache all day, also I just really needed to get out of the apartment, I couldn’t take anymore daytime tv.” Giovanni nodded. “Oh yeah I get that, those soap operas suuuuuck.” Mera rolled her eyes. “It’s whatever, so what are you two doing today?” Giovanni smiled. “We’re gonna go to the mall and get Beartrap an outfit for her school dance, and maybe see if there’s anything cute for me too!” Molly smiled. “Yep! I’m going with my friend Phoenicia so I wanna look really nice!” Mera averted Molly’s eyes. “Oh that’s... cool. You can just dumb down my pain and we’ll be out of your hair I guess.” Molly walked over and took Mera’s hands in hers, using her epithet to dumb down Mera’s pain. “You can come with us if you want, it’ll be fun!” Giovanni interjected. “Yeah! Crime party!” Mera looked to Indus, he shrugged. “Sounds good to me if it’s what you want Lady Mera!” Mera waved her hand. “Fine we’ll come with you, it’s not like I have something better to be doing today anyway. But we’re taking my car, for me getting into Giovanni’s car would literally be putting my life in my hands.” Giovanni pouted. “Wow. Rude!”
By the time the gang arrived at the mall it was just after one o’clock. Mera rubbed her temples as she got out of the car. “I didn’t know it was possible to be stuck on a freeway for that long.” Indus frowned. “I am sorry Lady Mera. I now know that barriers do not in fact speed up traffic.” Molly and Giovanni jumped out of the back seat and eagerly ran ahead of Mera and Indus as they walked into the mall. “Well since we’re here I guess I could stand to do some shopping, who knows maybe I’ll find something cute.” The pair followed Giovanni and Molly into the first store, a fast fashion retailer that was on the more affordable side of things. Giovanni held up a black skirt with pink flames to show Molly. “Oh man this is super cute! It’ll look great when I wear it to our next villains club meeting!” Molly smiled. “That’s great boss, let me know if you see anything that’ll work for my dance outfit okay?” Giovanni beamed. “You got it Beartrap!” Mera moved to sit in the waiting area while they shopped. Indus sat down next to her and was immediately captivated by the sand in the likely fake potted plant. “Look Lady Mera! Sand! Remember when we ate sand together? Wasn’t that fun?” Mera rolled her eyes. “That was the worst vacation of my life Indus, I still don’t understand how or why they actually served sand at that restaurant.” Indus shrugged. “It’s really what most restaurants in the desert serve Lady Mera.”
The time began to drag by for Mera as she and Indus followed Giovanni and Molly through the mall from store to store. She loved being out and about but somehow after a few stores she just felt completely drained of energy. Fortunately for her the rest of the group had finally agreed to slow down and get drinks after a few solid hours of shopping. She sat down with Molly in the food court and yell towards Indus and Giovanni who were heading for the coffee shop. “Remember! Extra hot, no foam, pumpkin spice latte at precisely 210 degrees, no foam!” Mera sighed and looked at Molly. “So your going to a dance huh, that must be exciting.” She said with jealousy and sadness in her voice. Molly clutched her shopping bag. “It’s really not a big deal it’s more of a casual thing y’know?” Mera felt her anger rise but took a breath and calmed herself. “Yeah I guess, I mean when I was your age I would have been thrilled to have anything like that, I mean I missed out on everything, sleepovers, prom... even friendship. I didn’t have one single friend until I was 20! And even then Indus probably needed me more than I needed him back then.” Molly sat quietly and listened to Mera, letting her finish before speaking up. “I mean, I’m your friend now Mera, Indus is too and Giovanni, well they’re working on it... I know I can’t help you have what you didn’t get then but we can create new memories now. It’s not perfect but it’s what we’ve got, and sometimes that’s even better.” Mera was so taken aback by Molly’s kindness that she forgot her own selfishness for a moment. “Th-thanks Molly, that’s really sweet, I hope you have fun at your dance, you really deserve the break.”
Mera’s ears pricked at the sound of Giovanni and Indus approaching with the drinks, and she retook her usual pensive composure, although somehow it seemed more relaxed, even if only marginally. “Took you long enough Indus.” She grabbed the drink from the caddy and took a sip, almost enjoying the scorching pain it brought. Giovanni looked on as they sat down. “Wow, that’s hardcore, that drink is like a zillion degrees.” Molly nodded as she took a sip from her strawberry lemonade. Indus happily picked up his coffee cup and took a bite out of the lid. Molly and Giovanni looked at each other with concern but silently agreed to say nothing. Giovanni set down their hot chocolate. “So was there anywhere else anyone wanted to go? I got those rad crime gloves and that skirt so I’m pretty much set if you guys are.” Mera downed the rest of her coffee paying no mind to the fact that it was literally two degrees away from boiling. “I am so ready to leave, I’m gonna sleep for a week when I get home.” Molly looked up. “I’m pretty sure it’s not good to go to sleep right after drinking coffee.” Mera smirked. “It’s fine, it’s relaxing and it qualifies as dinner so I can go straight to bed when I get home.” Molly sighed. “I don’t think that’s how it works.” Giovanni blinked. “Wow, that is really not healthy, I tell ya what, we’ll drop by your place before heading back and I’ll make you some soup, after all gotta take care of my crime squad!” Mera made a face at being called a part of Giovanni’s crime squad even if some small part of her was happy that they considered her their friend apparently. “Fine, but if I don’t get to sleep by six I’m never going on an outing with you again.”
Giovanni raised an eyebrow and shrugged. “I’ll take it, that’s probably as close to a thank you as I’m gonna get out of you anyway.” Molly narrowed her eyes, first looking at Giovanni, then at Mera. “Boss, Mera, be nice at each other, please?” Mera sighed begrudgingly. “Ugh fine, thank you Giovanni.” Giovanni smiled in their usual self assured way. “Your quite welcome Mera. After all we gotta set a good example for Beartrap!” With that the four finished their drinks and made their way to the car. If only they could find the car. “INDUS YOU FRIDGE! WHERE THE F... oh there it is never mind.” Mera calmed down as she spotted the car. Giovanni walked over to walk with Mera out of Molly’s earshot. “Hey don’t swear in front of Beartrap! She needs as many good influences as she can get! I mean you actually met her dad you know what she’s up against!” Mera rubbed her temples and tried very hard not to get annoyed with the enby who, to her surprise really did have Molly’s best interests at heart. “Fine, I’ll try my best.” Giovanni smiled and patted her head. “Thanks Mera, after all we’re apparently the closest thing to responsible people in her life, and I’ve met us! So that’s honestly terrifying.” They added with a half hearted smile. The four climbed into the car and began to make their drive home. Despite her outward attitude for the first time in awhile Mera felt like everything was okay. She wasn’t sure if she would ever outgrow her selfish ways or if she even wanted to but with friends like these even she had to admit she had reason to try.