Chapter Text
Ines skipped to Mama Maho’s, a spring in her step highlighting her mood. She paused a moment outside the door, admiring the sign, before she stepped inside. The bell on the door jingled as she pushed the door open, a blast of warm air striking her in the face. She smiled. The pink and red seats and tables were just as she remembered them, the posters of magical girls past smiling to greet her. No matter the occasion, she loved coming here, but today was not just any day. Today she meant business.
The bell at the door jingled as it closed behind her, alerting the boy at the counter to Ines’s presence. He looked up suddenly, then let out a breath, thankful he didn’t have to do much for this particular customer. He waved, turning his attention back to a notepad covered in sketches and scribbles. “What can I help you with, Ines?”
Smiling, Ines walked over to the desk. “Is Mama here today?”
Without looking up, the boy shook is head. “Sorry, Mom’s not in today”
Smirking, Ines poked the boy’s pad. “What’cha drawing, Carl?”
He pushed her away and pointed the eraser end of his pencil at her. “It’s Carlos, and nothing that should concern you.”
Leaning over, Ines peered down at the picture. A startlingly accurate recreation of Magical Girl Wild Wolf looked back at her, ready to pounce. Ines prodded the sketch girl’s head. “You didn’t quite get her hair right, but I’m sure Annie wouldn’t mind.”
“Hey, back off!” Blushing, Carlos shoved Ines away as she laughed.
“I’m sure she’d be flattered, actually.” Pointing over at a poster of Team Wild hanging on the wall, Ines continued, “You did a pretty good job capturing her essence, it’s probably easier to admire your crush and get all their features just right when you’ve got a good image of them right in front of you.”
Carlos flicked Ines in the forehead with the eraser of his pencil and she winced, rubbing it. “What are you even doing here anyways?”
Ines crossed her arms. “Hey, can’t a magical girl come by and get the dessert themed after her if she wants?”
He leaned to look past Ines at the door, then back at her. “Yeah, but you never come here alone. Did your girlfriend abandon you?”
“She’s not my girlfriend –”
“Could’a fooled me.”
“– she’s my teammate. But if you must know, I’m here on business.”
Carlos raised his right eyebrow. “Business?”
Ines nodded. “I’m meeting a potential new recruit today.”
Carlos kept his eyebrow raised. “New recruit? For your team?”
Smiling, Ines nodded again. “Yep! New girl in school asked if she could join Team Bubble. I’m not really sure about her, she seems a bit short –”
“You’re one to talk.”
“– but I figured I may as well hear her out. They say you can never have too much help out there.”
Carlos raised his eyebrow again. “You sure that’s a good idea?”
Ines raised an eyebrow. “Why wouldn’t it be?”
“Have you asked Felicity what she thinks?”
Shaking her head, Ines shrugged. “Better for me to check her out first before I bother Felicity with this stuff. Besides, she’s busy.”
“She’s busy?”
“Yeah, she has a date.”
Carlos raised an eyebrow. “You let your girlfriend go on a date?”
“For the last time, she’s not my girlfriend!”
Laughing, Carlos smiled. “Too easy. But seriously, haven’t you and Felicity been doing the team thing on your own for a while now? Do you think someone else is gonna just fit in?”
Ines shrugged. “Hey, worst comes to worst it doesn’t work out and we go our separate ways. But maybe we can help a new girl out for a bit while she’s looking for a good team, or give her an idea of what it’s like out there without going alone. Lots of girls end up in a bad place because of their first few nights and better for us to help rather than leave someone to go it alone. You know the stats as well as anyone.”
Carlos sighed. “So what you’re saying is, a nice girl asked you out on a date and you said yes.”
Ines puffed up her cheeks and let out a breath. “It is not a date, it’s a business meeting, we’re just gonna be professional and stuff. She just wants to join the team.”
“I can’t believe you let this girl trick you into a date.”
“It is not a date!”
“It totally is a date.”
“Is not!”
“Quarter says it’s a date.”
“Is not!”
Carlos rolled his eyes. “If you say so, but don’t say I didn’t tell you so.” He ripped the top page off his notepad-turned-sketchpad and jotted down a note. “So you want anything else besides the Bubble Blaster?”
Ines shook her head. “Nah, but I’ll let you know if I change my mind?”
He nodded and shouted to the back, “Santos Special for two, hold the frites!”
A womanly “ooooh” sounded from the back, at which Ines shouted back, “Not! A date!” and stomped her way over to her designated table, a booth far into the restaurant, left of the aisle and right beneath the Team Wild poster. As much as she made fun of Carl for admiring Annie Gray, Ines herself couldn’t help but admire her too. She was the first of the team to age out, and since then Team Wild had been slowly losing members to the passage of time. She ran a finger over the glass, tracing Annie’s signature across the bottom. The poster happened to be signed by all five members, which even Ines didn’t have for her own. She probably never would now that the third member had retired; she was one of the signatures she’d missed. She sighed, wondering whether Annie might agree with her about the state of her dinner commitment and hoping that Felicity was enjoying her own dinner plans.
A ringing bell drew Ines’s attention to the front door. Ines peered out from her booth to spy the new arrival. A small blue-haired girl held her black leather jacket tight to her chest, shivering slightly to stay warm in the cold. She brushed a strand of blue hair away from her face and brushed down a few wrinkles in her matching dress, causing a small black purse on her side to swing around a bit on her side. She straightened out the sleeves on her jacket before she noticed Ines and waved. Suddenly, Ines felt under-dressed. Realizing she had been staring, she shook her head free from the clouds and waved the new arrival over, smiling.
Ines gave the girl a moment to get comfortable before she started talking, simply observing her as she sat down. She couldn’t help but notice that she was wearing really nice makeup that really brought out the blue in her eyes. The girl coughed, bringing Ines out of her own head, and she smiled as kindly as she could. “So, uh, you’re interesting in joining my team?”
The girl nodded, then brushed down the skirt of her dress again. “Y-yeah. I mean, um, yes, I was hoping you might, um, have space for another girl on your team. Or, uh, or I could work with you. Or, uh, just help out or maybe learn from you or something. I mean, uh-”
Ines cut the poor girl off. “No need to be nervous. I’m not gonna, like, test you or anything. Why don’t we just start by just talking a bit? I just wanna get to know you for now, and then we can talk about bigger decisions, okay?” The girl smiled at that, her cheeks turning a bit red. Noting a bit of warmth in her own cheeks, Ines continued. “So, what’s your name?”
“S-Sandra. Um, Sandra Blake.”
Ines held out a hand. “I’m Ines Santos, nice to formally meet you.”
Sandra looked a bit uncertain, but gingerly took Ines’s hand and gave a soft shake. Ines looked up for a moment, as if the ceiling might help her figure out what to say, and looked down to find Sandra looking down at her lap. “So, uh, what’s your title?”
Sandra shook her head. “Don’t have one. I, uh, just got the Dream a little while ago.”
Ines didn’t know she was that new. “So, why do you want to join Team Bubble?”
Looking up, Sandra started sputtering. “Uh, well, I think you’re both really cool, and, uh, when I became a magical girl I didn’t really know any other magical girls so I thought it’d be good for me to work with someone else, and, uh, I really thought that my powers would work well with yours and Felicity’s, I mean, uh, I think they fit your team really well and, uh I wanna help you girls out.” Stopping, she took a deep breath and tried to return her breathing to normal.
Intrigued, Ines raised one eye brow. “Oh? What sort of powers?”
Sandra made a bunch of motions with her hands, drawing little circles with her fingers. “I can, um, make bubbles. And the bubbles float around, and I can sort of move them around and pop them? I uh, haven’t fought any monsters yet so I don’t know what they do to monsters, but they seem tough enough to ride on? I can bounce on them without breaking them at least.”
“Oh, that sounds cool!” Ines could see Sandra’s eyes light up a bit at her praise, and something in Ines warmed at that. “Yeah, if they’re tough enough to ride on they can probably carry stuff inside them, right? So we could put my bombs in them or Felicity could launch them around and stuff.”
At about this time, Carlos walked by the table, dropping off two glasses of water and a pair of straws. “Hi, miss, you want anything to eat or drink?”
Sandra shook her head, then immediately looked up at him. “Um, actually, sorry, I, uh, haven’t really looked at the menu or anything? But I, uh, I’m not really feeling like food right now.”
Carlos looked over at Ines who shrugged, then turned back to Sandra with a smile. “Well, if you do want anything, do let me know. It’s a quiet night so just give me a holler, name’s Carlos. I’ll be over by the counter.”
Ines smiled as he turned to leave. “Bye Carl!”
She could see him grimace from behind, but he dared not turn around. When she turned back to Sandra, Ines could see her studying her. She pointed at Carl as he walked away. “Do you know each other?”
Smiling, Ines nodded. “Yeah, we’ve known each other quite a while. I, uh, actually know the owner of this place.”
Sandra looked at her, wide-eyed. “You know Mama Maho, owner of Mama Maho’s Magical Girl Diner?”
Ines smiled. “Yeah, I’ve known her since I started doing MAGICS stuff. Oh, the, um -”
“Magical Adult Girl Integration and Counseling Services. You and Felicity both volunteer there.”
Ines looked at Sandra curiously. “Yeah. Um, how did you know that?”
Sandra looked away, her cheeks turning a bit red. “I, um, I looked up a bit about you. Before I came. Actually, uh, before I asked to join your team at all.”
“Oh, you did some research? How did you first hear about us?”
“Oh, uh, my, uh, my sister! She’s a big fan and I was looking for a team and she suggested you.” Sandra’s cheeks turned red at that but Ines didn’t notice, already latching onto another point of conversation.
“Oh, cool! I have a sister too. How old? I assume she’s not a magical girl too if you’re looking to team with us.”
Sandra shook her head. “No, she’s younger, one grade below. Or, uh, she was before I transferred.”
Ines nodded. “I totally understand. My sister still goes to our old school, so I have to do the math to swap between systems too. She’s same age as me, exactly actually, plus a few minutes. Never lets me forget it.” Sandra giggled at that, which made Ines smile. “How are you feeling about all this by the way?”
“Wh-what do you mean?”
Ines pointed at herself. “Being a magical girl. Trying to find a team. Eventually going out at night and fighting monsters. Y’know, all the normal stuff.”
Sandra turned a bit red and looked down at her water, which she had not yet had the opportunity to touch. “Good so far, I think. I mean, I’ve tried out my powers a little, but I haven’t really gone out yet? Mostly been adjusting to new school and trying to make new friends and uh, all that stuff.”
Ines nodded. “I was lucky I didn’t have to deal with that too much.”
Sandra nodded back. “Yeah, you had Felicity, so you two were already a team when you got there.”
Ines stopped nodding. “Right. Yeah.”
Sandra laughed nervously. “Sorry, I uh, I mean I asked my sister a lot about you and, uh, I, I mean she knows a lot. Big fan. She, uh, she told me a lot before I came, so I, uh, picked up a lot. She was really excited I was gonna get to meet you.”
“Right.”
At that moment Carlos stopped by their table, placing a big glass foaming with bubbles and topped with ice cream on the table. “One Bubble Blaster for the lady on my right.” He dropped two straws on the table, winked at Ines, then walked off. She made a mental note to punch him the next time they were alone.
Sandra looked at the straws, then looked at Ines expectantly. Ines shrugged. “Um, I guess if you want some.”
Bright-eyed, Sandra grabbed one of the straws and drove it into the ice cream float, taking a big sip and savoring it for a moment. “Wow, never thought I would really get to have one of these.”
Ines laughed. “An ice cream float?”
Sandra shook her head. “No, a Bubble Blaster! They’re so cool. I’m not, like, a big fan of orange soda but I tried to make one at my house once and it kinda overflowed everywhere when I scooped the ice cream in and my sister had to help me clean it up before our parents found out.” She looked at Ines smiling and turned a bit red.
“You and your sister seem really close.”
“Yeah, uh, we are. I mean, she’s my sister, I love her.”
Ines remembered her sister laughing at her own mishaps in the kitchen. “Yeah, I know what you mean. Once time I was trying to help my sister out and I blew up a kitchen.”
Sandra laughed. “I don’t think I’ve ever done anything that bad!”
Ines laughed too. “Yeah, Ari and I didn’t really have a good explanation for that one.” She took her own straw and drove it into the Bubble Blaster, each taking a pause to enjoy it before they continued.
“So, Sandra Blake, do you have any questions for me? Like, anything you want to know about being a magical girl or our team or whatever?”
Sandra took a moment to think, Ines enjoying a bit of time to drink her namesake drink/dessert combo before Sandra could take all of it. “Um, yeah. How close are you and Felicity? Like, are you two…y’know…”
Ines shook her head and her hands in front of her. “No. No, no no no no no, absolutely not, we are friends, just friends, teammates and that’s it. No. No.”
Sandra nodded, letting out a breath. “Oh. Okay, cool.”
“Yeah, so you wouldn’t have to worry about anything being awkward like that.” Ines noticed Sandra turn a bit red at that comment. “Any other questions?”
Sandra shook her head, then looked on expectantly. “So, um, what do you think? About us teaming up, I mean.” Sandra turned a bit red again and Ines smiled.
“Well, I’ll have to ask Felicity about it? But I will definitely ask and get back to you.”
Sandra bounced up and down a bit in her chair, then noticed Ines staring and coughed. “I, uh, I mean, great! I’ll, uh, wait to hear back from you?”
“You, uh, got a bit excited there.”
“Yeah, I, um, I’ve wanted to work with you all since I, I mean, since my sister told me about you.”
“Your sister?”
“Yeah.”
Ines looked Sandra in the eyes, leaning a bit over the table. Something wasn’t quite right. “I have a few more questions for you.”
Sandra tilted her head, but nodded. Ines took a breath.
“When’s my birthday?”
“July 16th.”
“When did our team form?”
“November 15th, two years ago.”
“What’s my favorite flower?”
“Jewelweed.”
Ines backed away. “How’d you know that?”
Sandra turned red. “My sister, uh, read it somewhere.”
Ines leaned over the table. “I only answered that question once, at a public Q&A event. They haven’t even published the interview yet. How did your sister get her hands on that?”
Sandra hung her head, looking away. Ines stared her down until she started crying. Surprised, Ines leaned back as Sandra wiped her eyes with her hands. “She didn’t need to. I already knew the answer.” She took a deep breath. “I was at the panel. Girl with blonde hair. I waited four hours in line to get in and ask you that one question.”
Ines leaned her head on the table. “What are you saying?”
Sandra sighed. “I’ve been a fan of you since you started being a magical girl. I went to your signing a month ago, I got one of the limited-edition posters and you signed it, I have one of your replica jackets in my closet which I decided not to wear today because that felt like it would have been too much and then I lied about liking your team and now I am freaking out and would you say something please?”
Ines squinted her eyes, trying to imagine the girl sitting across from her as the same girl from that interview. If her hair was blonde instead of blue…she could see it. Sighing, she put her hand on her forehead. “So, you’re the fan of Team Bubble? Not your sister?”
Sandra nodded, turning red. “I, uh, I’ve actually been a fan of you for a while, actually.”
A sharp pain went through Ines as she looked into Sandra’s eyes and saw a very familiar sight. She coughed, and shook her head. “Look, Sandra. I think you’re cool, and it’s been cool getting to know you, but, uh, I don’t know if we’ll be able to team with you? Me and Felicity I mean.”
Sandra shot up in her seat at that. “Why not!?”
Ines swallowed a bubble in her throat. “You’re cool, but I don’t know if you would fit in really well with our group dynamic? I mean, I like you and all, and I’ll help you find a team if you’re looking for one, definitely better to be out there with someone else than on your own. But, uh, I don’t know if all three of us together would really work?”
Sandra sunk a bit in her chair and nodded. “Okay. Yeah. That’s reasonable.” Then she looked up at Ines. “But, um. What about just you and me?”
“Well, I can’t abandon Felicity. She needs me.”
Shaking her head, Sandra ran her hands over her face and sighed. She took a deep breath, then let it out. “No, I mean, like, you and me. Go out. Maybe, uh, have dinner or something?”
Ines sat back in her chair, stopping her sip of her milkshake as a bit of it dribbling down the side of the tall glass. “Hold on. Are you asking me out?”
Sandra turned red and nodded. Ines ran a hand through her hair, leaning on the table with her other elbow, and looked her in the eyes. She recognized the gleam there. This wasn’t the first time she’d seen something like that. She remembered the first time she’d seen it, so many years ago, in eyes she would have recognized in a mirror if they were her own. She remembered smiling the first time, making jokes about it at the other girl’s expense. Then she remembered what came afterwards. She remembered the tears, the pain, the anguish. And she knew that she would never see that same gleam in those same eyes ever again. She couldn’t let that happen to someone else.
Shaking her head, she looked at Sandra in the eyes and saw hers began to tear up just the same. A pain struck her in the stomach but she persevered. “I really don’t think that would be a good idea, Sandra. I like you, but–”
“But what? You can’t do it? What, were you just stringing me along? Enjoying being the center of attention for once?”
Ines shook her head and tried to reach out to her. “No, that’s not–”
Sandra shot up from her seat, pulling away into the aisle of the diner. “That’s it, isn’t it? You were just using me to stoke your own ego.”
Standing, Ines put her hands out, trying to push things down. “Sandra, that’s not it, I-”
Before she could finish Sandra threw her glass of water into her face, small chunks of ice pelting her cheeks. “Screw you. I don’t want to join your stupid team anyways.” Completely in shock, Ines heard the bell ring and the door slam before she had recovered enough to survey the scene with her eyes.
Carlos walked over and tossed a dish towel at her. “You okay?”
Still shaken, Ines nodded her head and wiped the water off her face and her shirt. She looked up at the poster of her idols, hoping that their static images might offer her some advice, but found only an empty pit in her stomach.
Carlos put a hand on her shoulder. “Hey. Sorry about all that. I, uh, I didn’t mean to push you too much.”
Ines shook her head. “It’s not your fault, Carl.”
He nodded. “I, uh, I hate to be the bearer of more bad news, but, uh. You owe me a quarter.”
Ines shoved a wad of money into his chest, eliciting a grunt of pain from him as she headed for the door. “Keep the change, it’ll make up the bet.”
“Ines, wait!” She didn’t stop.