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“How long have you had this?”
Dom peers up from her laptop and scrunches her brow when she eyes Darlene at the opposite end of her apartment. She’s hunched over the radiator, inspecting the bicycle leaning against it.
“Uh,” The redhead’s eyes shoot up to the ceiling as she wracks her brain for an answer. “A few years, maybe? I don’t use it often.”
“Clearly.” Darlene taps the top of the rear wheel with an index finger. “Isn’t it bad to put a rubber tire against a radiator? I’m surprised this thing isn’t warped to high hell.” She grunts a little as she pulls the bike out of the corner it’s tucked into, and Dom sighs before closing her laptop and scooting to the edge of the bed so she can get up.
“What are you doing?” Her face is aghast as she watches her girlfriend wheel the bike towards the front door. The frame is a little rusty and it looks like a few spokes are missing. She doesn’t even remember where she got the bike from.
“We’re taking it out, duh.” Darlene gestures towards the windows grouped above the bed. “It’s a beautiful day outside; why are we wasting it in here?”
Dom sighs and rakes her fingers through her hair. “There’s only one bike and two of us. How is this going to work?”
“Well, that’s the thing.” Darlene looks kind of sheepish, which catches Dom off guard. She’s never seen her look like that before. “I don’t know how to ride a bike.”
The redhead blinks in confusion. “What?”
Darlene shrugs. “No one taught me how.” Her eyes drop to the bike. “My dad taught Elliot, but he didn’t teach me.” She shrugs again. “You know why.”
She does, and she doesn’t need Darlene to elaborate, but there’s another implication behind Darlene’s words and she isn’t sure how to approach it. “You’re not gonna make me teach you, are you?”
Darlene’s eyes immediately light up, and Dom feels a strange mix of regret and excitement stirring within her. “I thought you’d never ask.”
Dom groans. “It’s been forever since I rode one.”
“Once you learn how to ride a bike, you never forget - or, at least that’s what people keep saying.” Darlene grins, and the redhead sighs. “C’mon, this’ll be fun. Help me make up for my lack of a childhood.”
“That’s what therapy’s for.” Dom mutters as she heads to her dresser to take off her glasses and reach for her keys.
“I’m not gonna ask my therapist to teach me how to ride a bike - that’s your job.” Darlene jerks her head towards the door. “Hurry up, we’re burning daylight here.”
The redhead sighs again before heading to the closet to step into a pair of shoes. Nothing good can possibly come out of this.
Darlene’s right - it is a beautiful day.
The sky is a bright blue, and the clouds are white and puffy. It’s sunny, but not unbearably hot, and there’s a light breeze swishing through the trees.
Dom’s apartment isn’t far from a moderately sized park. There are a few paved paths without much elevation that are perfect for bike riding, especially for novices like Darlene.
“You know,” Dom grumbles as she wheels the bike to the end of one of the pathways. “Most people start with training wheels.”
“Yeah, because most people learn when they’re kids, and that’s when training wheels are appropriate.” Darlene rolls her eyes. “Have you ever seen training wheels on a bike for adults before?”
“I’m sure they exist somewhere.”
“Well, we don’t have any, so tough titties.” She excitedly bounds to Dom’s side; if she wasn’t being so annoying, the redhead would’ve thought she was cute. Maybe. “So, what’s the first step?”
Dom nods towards the bike. “You get on it, obviously.”
Darlene rolls her eyes. “And how do you get on it?”
“Seriously?” The redhead sighs. “You just…I dunno, you…” She vaguely gestures with one hand. “Get…on it.”
Darlene’s eyes narrow. “How the hell are you an ASAC? You’re terrible at explaining things.”
“Teaching isn’t really a part of my job description.” Dom mutters. She heaves a sigh before grabbing the bike by the hand grips. “Okay, so you just…” She tips the bike towards her and attempts to throw her leg over it, but she loses her balance in the process and stumbles; she quickly regains her footing just before she and the bike topple to the ground. “Jesus H-”
Darlene is cackling, and it forces Dom’s cheeks to heat up with embarrassment. “You weren’t kidding when you said you don’t do this often.”
“Shut up.” She huffs and tightens her hold on the handlebar before placing a foot on one of the pedals. She can feel other people staring and it’s making her self-conscious.
“Okay, so what’s next? How do you get started?”
“Uh,” Dom takes a second to remember what actually comes next. She didn’t think it would be this difficult to explain how to ride a bike. It seems so much simpler in theory. “You sorta just…push off with your foot, and you start pedalling, I guess.”
Darlene crosses her arms. “Well, what are you waiting for? Give me a demonstration.”
Dom clears her throat and takes a deep breath, preparing herself to take off. She pushes off with the foot that’s still on the ground, and it gets the wheels rolling for exactly two seconds before she loses her balance. She immediately plants both feet on the concrete just as she feels the bike tipping over.
“Hold on.” She grits her teeth before pushing off again - and she loses balance again. “Fuck-” She makes a third attempt and gets the same result. “Okay, wait. I got this, I swear-”
She can hear Darlene laughing somewhere behind her. “Yeah, you definitely got this. Keep going, champ - I believe in you!”
Her words are firing the redhead up. She pushes off for the fourth time and starts to pedal with her other foot, her eyes widening with surprise when she realizes the bike isn’t tipping over this time. Dom lifts her other foot to rest it on the other pedal, grinning triumphantly as she rides the bike a few feet down the path. When she feels like she’s gone far enough, she pushes on the handlebars and tries to make a turn; it’s not the most graceful, but she manages to do it without falling over, and she’s back by Darlene’s side within seconds.
“And that,” Dom’s expression is smug as she hops off the bike, expertly flipping the kickstand with one foot. “Is how you ride a goddamn bike.”
“Don’t think you’ll be doing the Tour de France anytime soon, but I’m still impressed.” Darlene smirks as Dom rolls her eyes.
“It’s your turn now.” The redhead beckons her girlfriend with a hand. “C’mon.”
The snark Darlene was comfortably expressing a few seconds ago immediately disappears; her eyes flash with worry as she reluctantly takes the handlebar into her own hands. Her drastic change in demeanour brings an ache to Dom’s chest, and she leans in to nuzzle her nose against the side of her head.
“I’m not gonna let you fall.” She murmurs into her ear. “You’ll be fine as long as you’re with me.”
The ache in her chest crescendos when Darlene glances up at her. There’s something hopeful about the way she looks, and there’s also something kind of sad. Dom can’t really pinpoint exactly what it is.
The corners of Darlene’s lips turn up in a small smile before she rises up on her tiptoes to peck the redhead on the mouth, and then she returns her attention to the bike, a newfound determination strewn all over her face. “So I just…”
She copies exactly what Dom did, throwing one leg over the bike and hoisting herself up before easing into the seat. She manages to do it successfully in one fluid motion; it’s the complete opposite of Dom’s clumsy mount from earlier.
“That’s…” The redhead blinks out of disbelief. “Exactly how you do it. Good job.” She points to one of her girlfriend’s sneakers. “Remember to put one foot on the pedal.”
“Okay.” Darlene does what she’s told and squeezes the handlebar before turning up the kickstand with her foot. “Now I just push off, right?”
“Exactly.” Dom steps to the right of the bike and grasps the back of the seat with one hand. “Do it slowly.”
“Here goes nothing.” Darlene bites her bottom lip in concentration as she pushes herself forward with the foot that’s not on the pedal.
Dom can already feel the bike tipping; she quickly leans forward to grab the right end of the handlebar with her other hand, grunting as she tries to keep Darlene and the bike upright, but she can only hold on for a few seconds.
“Shit-” Darlene lifts both feet off the pedals and stops the bike from fully tipping over. She takes a deep breath and shakes her head. “This is not easy.”
“It was just your first try.” Dom grips the back of the seat again. “Don’t worry about getting the bike balanced on your own yet. Practice pedalling first.”
Darlene gives her a quick nod before squeezing the grips again. She puts her feet into the proper position before turning her head to glance at the redhead. “Let’s do it again.”
Dom gives her a reassuring nod, and Darlene pushes off a second time. Dom keeps one hand on the back of the seat and her other hand on the handlebar as she slowly helps Darlene move forward. “Keep your back straight. Don’t look down - eyes forward.”
“How can I not look down?” Darlene grumbles through gritted teeth as the bike slowly inches further down the path. “I can’t see what my feet are doing!”
“Which is why you need to practice pedalling.” Dom stops the bike and holds Darlene in place. “You need to get used to the feeling. Once you’re confident enough, you won’t need to look down. Muscle memory.”
“This is a lot of work.” Darlene runs the back of her hand across her forehead.
Dom rolls her eyes. “You said you wanted to learn.”
“I do want to learn.” She insists and shoots the redhead a glare before getting back into position. “Okay. Pedalling. Let’s do this.”
The next hour comprises of Dom pushing Darlene down the path and reminding her to keep her head up. It’s giving her a workout; her arms are sore and she’s starting to sweat, but Darlene is a fast learner and her stubbornness makes her doggedly determined, so it doesn’t take long for her to grow acclimated to the bike. After a few more tries, she’s comfortable enough to the point where she only looks down occasionally.
“Okay,” The redhead huffs, leaning away from the bike so she can ruffle her hair. “I think we can try balancing now…but don’t expect yourself to get it right away. This is the hard part.”
“You mean there’s something harder than getting the pedalling right?” Darlene looks just as exhausted as her. “Jesus, maybe this wasn’t such a great idea after all.”
“You’ve come this far; you might as well keep going.” Dom throws a smile in her girlfriend’s direction. “And you’re doing great. You’re actually picking this up really quickly.”
Delighted to hear that she’s making progress, Darlene lifts herself off the bike to give Dom a chaste kiss on the cheek. “Thank you for being my number one fan.” She gets back into position and furrows her brow in concentration. “Alright, let’s do this balancing thing.”
Dom’s cheeks are flushed pink from exertion and embarrassment, but she quickly shakes it off and reaches for the seat. “Careful…”
They start like they’ve started countless times before in the past hour, with Darlene kicking off and Dom holding the bike upright as they crawl down the path together. Dom adds in tidbits about core strength and looking where you want to go, but talking about these things only goes so far.
“Scooters have two wheels, don’t they?” Dom is bent over with her hands on her knees, struggling to catch her breath after their umpteenth attempt. “Isn’t there some kind of balancing act you have to do when you ride one of those?”
“I mean, yeah, I guess so,” Darlene fiddles with the hand brakes. “But riding a scooter is very different than riding a bike.”
She has a point. “Well, how do you keep your balance on a scooter?”
Darlene shrugs her small shoulders. “I dunno. I kinda just…do it.”
“And you said I was terrible at explaining things.” Dom mutters as she brushes a hand through her hair. “Who taught you how to ride one?”
“No one - I kinda just picked it up on my own after watching some friends from school do it.” Darlene shrugs a second time. “I practiced gliding around on it first - going downhill without worrying about speeding up or anything, and just focusing on keeping upright. Once I was able to move around without falling on my ass, I learned how to go faster without needing gravity’s help.”
That gives Dom an idea. “Then…maybe we should do the same thing.” She gestures for Darlene to jump off the bike, and when she does, the redhead takes the handlebar and pushes the bike along the path until she finds a small hill. “Why don’t you practice going downhill here without pedalling - focus on balancing the bike. We can add the pedalling after.”
“Maybe you’re not as bad at teaching as I thought.” Darlene smirks before sitting on the bike again.
Dom rolls her eyes, but she remains close, with one hand on the seat and the other on the right hand grip. “Ready? Don’t touch the pedals - just try to keep your balance.”
Darlene gives her an affirming nod before pushing off. The first attempt doesn’t go smoothly; Darlene allows the bike to coast for a few seconds before she panics, hastily skidding to a halt with her feet, and nearly falls over.
“You should’ve let it go a little longer.” Dom is exasperated.
“It was going too fast!” Darlene exclaims. “I freaked out.”
“The bike is more stable when it’s going faster.” Dom gestures towards the tires. “Uh, something about the spinning motion of the wheels-”
“Thanks, Bill Nye, but I don’t need the science lesson.” Darlene grumbles before backing up a bit so she’s at the top of the small hill. “Okay, attempt number two.”
Darlene manages to keep the bike going for a few more seconds, but fear steps in again and she smacks her soles on the pavement. “Fuck.” She shakes her head. “Sorry.”
“I know it’s scary, but try to keep it rolling for a little longer.” Dom tightens her hold on the bike. “The longer you do it, the less scary it’ll be, ‘cause you’ll be used to it.” She nods to the hand brakes. “And use those when you feel like you need to stop. You’ll ruin your shoes if you keep braking with your feet…and you might hurt yourself.”
“Okay.” Darlene still looks a little frazzled.
“Hey.” Dom smiles for her. “I said I wasn’t gonna let anything bad happen to you. You’re safe with me, remember?”
Darlene’s shoulders relax at her words, and she gives her a short nod before backing up to the top of the hill again. It’s actually kind of admirable how determined she is to get this right; Dom can’t help but feel a sense of pride swelling in her chest as she watches Darlene prepare herself for the third attempt.
Another hour and countless attempts fly by. Darlene’s able to head halfway down the hill without toppling over or needing to brake out of panic. She’s still trying to get into the habit of using the hand brakes, but she made considerable improvement, and she has enough control of the bike to the point where Dom no longer needs to hold onto the handlebar to keep her steady.
After taking a short break, Dom pushes the bike to a flatter part of the pavement. “Okay, so you can sorta balance the bike now, and you can pedal. Let’s try putting them together.”
“Time for the grand finale.” Darlene takes the bike from her and mounts it.
“Push off, and then start pedalling as soon as you can.” Dom instructs as she grabs hold of the seat. She reaches for Darlene’s hand - the one curled around the right grip - and squeezes it reassuringly. “Ready?”
Darlene gives her a nod, but there’s uncertainty clouding her expression. “As ready as I’ll ever be.” She sucks in a breath and squares her shoulders. “Okay…here we go.”
She kicks with her foot and launches the bike forward, but she panics and misses the pedals, which causes both her and Dom to stumble. One of the redhead’s shoelaces gets caught in the pedals, sending her and the bike straight to the ground. Her jeans ride up a few inches on her leg as she falls, and part of the bike lands directly on top of her. The chain digs into her leg, scratching her exposed skin.
“You were supposed to start pedalling!” The redhead is exasperated. She’s bleeding a bit, and parts of her leg and jeans are stained with chain grease.
“I was trying to!” Darlene yells back as she grabs the bike and pulls it upright.
Dom quickly inspects her injury before rising to her feet. “I told you just before you started-”
“Everything was just going so fucking fast, okay? I panicked and I missed the pedals.” Darlene shakes her head. “Jesus, Dom - in case you’ve forgotten, I’ve only been on a bike for a couple hours. Cut me some fucking slack here.”
Dom sighs. She has to keep in mind that she’s trying to teach someone who was raised without any kind of encouragement or reinforcement; she has to dial it back a bit. “Just…relax. Don’t put too much thought into it or else you’ll miss them again. You already know what to do; you spent the whole afternoon practicing. Muscle memory, remember? Trust yourself. Your body will know what to do and exactly when to do it.”
Darlene swallows hard and leans away from the handlebar, taking her hands off the grips and crossing her arms over her chest. She turns her head away so that Dom can’t see her face. “Okay, just…give me a minute.” Her voice is wavering, and it’s making Dom’s chest ache again.
She heaves another sigh and leans in to kiss the side of her girlfriend’s head. “Hey.” When Darlene doesn’t turn to face her, she kisses her again. “Darlene.”
“What?” She sniffles, but she still isn’t moving.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell at you.” The redhead gives her temple a third kiss. “It’s normal to panic. It’ll get better the more you practice. You’ve already made so much progress, and this is only your first day. I’m proud of you.”
Darlene finally turns to face her. “Yeah?” Her eyes are glossy, and it amplifies the ache in Dom’s chest. She briefly wonders how many times Darlene’s heard that before. Have her parents ever told her they were proud of her? Was Cisco ever proud of her? What about Elliot or Angela? Who else would’ve cared enough to acknowledge her accomplishments?
“Of course.” She smiles and kisses her girlfriend on the lips. “You wanted to learn how to ride a bike, and you learned way more than anyone ever could in such a short amount of time. Why wouldn’t I be proud of that?”
Darlene finally smiles, and it soothes a bit of the ache. She quickly rubs her eyes with her knuckles before leaning forward and placing her hands on the grips. “Okay, let’s ride the fuck out of this thing.”
“Relax.” Dom squeezes her shoulders before resuming position. “Don’t overthink. You don’t have to put your feet on the pedals right away; take your time. Just let your arms and legs do what they need to do.”
“Got it.” Darlene tightens her grip on the bike and squares her shoulders again. She kicks, sending the bike forward, and she lifts her legs just enough so she can set her soles on the pedals. “Jesus-”
“You got this.” Dom grunts as she jogs alongside the bike, keeping her hand on the back of the seat. “Go faster; you’re still wobbling.”
Darlene follows her instructions, and Dom can feel the bike stabilizing. She slowly loosens her grip on the seat; she lets go one finger at a time, and when she fully lets go and watches Darlene speed away from her, she laughs and shakes her head out of disbelief. “Holy shit, you’re doing it!”
“What?” Darlene quickly glances to her side and she jerks in surprise when she realizes Dom isn’t there. “Oh my God, Dom-”
“Keep your eyes forward!” The redhead shouts back. “You’re doing great!”
“I can’t believe I’m doing this!” Darlene is laughing now as she pedals further down the path. “I’m actually fucking-”
She spoke too soon. She pushes the handlebar a little too hard in the midst of her excitement, and the bike careens off the path. Darlene yelps as she and the bike crash onto the grass.
“Darlene!” Dom’s eyes are wide as she sprints down the path. “Are you okay?”
“Fuck.” Darlene is still untangling herself from the bike. She shakes her head and kicks the bike away from her, rubbing her hip with one hand. “I’m definitely gonna feel that tomorrow morning.”
“Shit,” Dom’s body language is tense with panic as she kneels over Darlene, frantically reaching for her so she can inspect her for any external damage. “I know I said I wasn’t gonna let you fall, but-”
“I’m fine, Dom.” Darlene reassures her; she places her hands on her cheeks and pulls her in so that their foreheads are touching. “I’ve been through worse, trust me.”
“That still doesn’t make it right.” Dom frowns. “I said-”
“I know what you said.” Darlene affectionately rubs her thumb beneath the redhead’s eye. “I’m okay - I fell on the grass. See?” She brandishes her forearms, turning them at different angles so Dom can see that there aren’t any scrapes or bruises. The only visible proof of the fall is a grass stain on her shorts. “You’re right - I’m safe when I’m with you.” When Dom’s expression doesn’t change, Darlene frowns and raises a hand to place it on her girlfriend’s cheek. “It really isn’t that big of a deal. It was just a fall.”
“I know, but…” Dom sighs and shifts her head to kiss the heel of Darlene’s palm. “I just don’t like seeing you hurt.” Her expression falters. “Especially when I’m the reason why.”
“You didn’t make me crash.” Darlene sighs. She reaches for Dom’s leg, pushing up her jeans so she can look at the cut the bike chain inflicted on her earlier. “And I don’t like it when you get hurt either - especially when I’m the reason why.”
“This is nothing.” Dom dismissively brushes her hand away from her leg. “I don’t think anything can top getting stabbed in the lungs on Christmas.”
Darlene thumps her forehead against Dom’s shoulder and groans. “That’s exactly what I meant when I said I didn’t like it.”
The redhead places a hand on the back of her girlfriend’s head, sifting her fingers through the soft brown strands before kissing her forehead. “I guess falling off a bike is better than getting whipped in the head with a gun.”
Darlene’s voice is slightly muffled against Dom’s shirt. “We downgraded from stab wounds and pistol whipping to bike accidents. That’s gotta count for something, right?”
Dom chuckles before leaning in to drop another kiss to her girlfriend’s forehead. “It definitely does.” She turns to stare at the overturned bike. “You did great, by the way. Most people don’t usually get it on the first day, but you did.”
“I ate grass.” Darlene’s face is still pressed against Dom’s shoulder.
“But you actually rode the bike on your own before you ate grass.” Dom drops her hand to Darlene’s back, rubbing in slow circles. “Like I said, I’m proud of you. You picked everything up so quickly.”
Darlene finally lifts her head off Dom’s shoulder, grinning up at her before placing her hands on the redhead’s cheeks. “I wouldn’t have gotten it so quickly if I didn’t have such a great teacher.” She pulls her in for a kiss.
Dom’s face is comically red. “You did all of the work. I was just here to make sure you did everything right.”
“And you did exactly that.” Darlene kisses her again, but she quickly pulls away a couple of seconds later. “Oh man, I gotta tell Elliot.” She reaches into her pocket and pulls out her phone, quickly dialling her brother’s number before holding it up to her ear. “Elliot, guess what?” Her expression immediately sours. “What? No - why the fuck is that the first thing that popped into your head? Whatever, you’re weird - but I can finally ride a fucking bike! Sorta.” She laughs at his response. “Well, I only got it to balance for a bit before I wiped out, but it’s a work in progress.” She shakes her head. “No, Dom is teaching me - yeah, I know she’s good. I wouldn’t have done what I just did if she wasn’t.” She nods to the redhead, who blushes again. “Hey, I got an idea - why don’t we meet you at your place and we can go for dinner or something? I could kill for some bibimbap right now. Okay, cool - we’ll see you in a bit.”
Dom stands up, brushing the grass off her jeans before helping her girlfriend to her feet. “Dinner was a good call. I’m starving.”
“Nothing like stuffing your face with Korean food after a long afternoon of teaching your girlfriend how to ride a bike.” Darlene grins before bending over to pick up the bike. “Let’s drop this off at home first, and then we can head over to Elliot’s.” Her eyes drop to Dom’s leg. “We should probably get that cleaned up too.”
“You’re just full of great ideas today, aren’t you?” Dom wraps an arm around Darlene’s waist and pulls her in before kissing the top of her head.
“I’m always full of great ideas.” Darlene starts to wheel the bike towards the edge of the park. “You better fill up at dinner later, ‘cause you’re gonna need the energy when we come back here tomorrow.”
“Can’t we take a break and come back another day?” The redhead groans. “I’m exhausted.”
“I’m on a roll, Dom.” Darlene scoffs. “I’m not gonna stop now.”
And just like that, her stubbornness is back to being a source of annoyance, not pride - well, okay, that’s a lie. Dom is still proud of her, and she always will be, but Jesus H - she needs to let up every once in awhile. This girl was nearly the death of her once before; she doesn’t need that to be a recurring thing.
“Fine.” Dom huffs. “We’ll come back tomorrow if that’s what you really want.”
“That’s what I thought.” Darlene is grinning again, and the redhead rolls her eyes before closing the gap between them with a kiss.