Work Text:
Athena has spent a lot of time preparing for this date. In her defense, it's her first date ever, and she's pretty nervous. And it's with Juniper!
Things have really been getting brighter since she returned here to put her mother’s ghost to rest.
Juniper is different from the child Athena knew, but Mr. Wright’s already given her a lecture about reconciling childhood friendship with adult romance and why the ideal of that childhood is actually a bad thing to want back.
It was mostly projection about his relationship with the Chief Prosecutor. Which is a little bit weird, but…Athena can roll with the punches. Mr. Wright being in love with the Chief Prosecutor is definitely not the worst punch from the past month.
One good thing about living in LA is that it's warm year-round, and even though it's February the weather is just fine for hiking.
She taps her foot, clad in a hiking boot, and waits for Juniper. She said she was on her way around fifteen minutes ago. So depending on traffic, she could be here anywhere between the next ten to twenty minutes.
Sue Athena for getting here early, she was nervous, okay? She can work out some of her system before the date.
A car screeches to a halt on the dirt. Juniper stumbles out, looking slightly nauseous.
"Are you okay?" Athena asks.
Hugh salutes Athena from the driver's seat. She responds by flipping him off. He drives away at a notably slower speed.
Juniper nods. "He wanted to get me here quickly. And so did I, to be honest, but he was driving a little too fast. I don't usually get motion sick."
"You ready?" Athena asks. "I want to make sure you're going to be alright. We can do something else."
Juniper shakes her head. "I want to do this with you, you know. I…want to be with you."
"I don't care where we go," Athena says. "I like you a lot. I might have planned for our picnic to be at the top, but it can be here too. Or we can go somewhere else. It doesn't matter as long as I'm with you, Junie."
Juniper pulls down the brim of her hat to hide her face. "I…I still want to go hiking with you."
"Then let's go," Athena says, pumping a fist.
Juniper lets go of her sunhat and smiles shyly at Athena. "Let's do this."
Being in nature seems to relax Juniper, and Athena's always been a little bit outdoorsy. Nature was one of the few places where it didn't feel so bad. The constant buzzing of bugs and the rustling of plants in wind is more consonant than the humming of electricity in buildings she’s grown to ignore.
Juniper likes wandering around to look at the plants. It makes the hiking slow, but Athena had predicted this, and so she picked one of the shorter trails.
At the end of the trail is a clearing in the sun. The wildflowers are blooming; it's gorgeous.
Athena picks one and tucks it behind Juniper's ear in a movement of instinct. "There. Now I can look at two pretty things at once."
"I should…pick some of these and dry them out," Juniper says. "I have a bunch of bookmarks made from pressed flowers like this."
"I remember you making one," Athena admits. The flowers they put into one of Simon's law books, the way he roared when he found out. It was funny back then (but well…now Athena gets the cost of textbooks). "We left it in Simon's textbooks. Remember?"
Juniper laughs. "I do. They were the first ones heavy enough that I spotted."
"Speaking of textbooks…where are you going after you graduate?" Athena asks.
"Well…I think I'm going to go into public defense," Juniper admits. "They teach judging at Themis, but everyone has to be a lawyer first. Preferably under the government. And I know…I couldn't do what they did to me, knowing what it's like to sit in the defendant’s chair. So I'm going to try and help them out instead."
"That's…really sweet," Athena says. "It’s funny. We were always so different, but we both ended up going into law."
"You left," Juniper says. "And I knew it was because he and your mother were both gone. I thought…if I had been presiding maybe something would’ve been different. That’s why. I never really thought you'd end up becoming a defense attorney." She flicks Athena's badge. "You really carry that around everywhere, huh?"
"Never know when you'll find a dead body?" Athena proposes. "With our luck…"
"You better not jinx it," Juniper says with a grin. "I don't want to see another real courtroom until at least after my graduation. You'll be there, right?"
Athena softens. "Of course I will. I want to see you walk up there as the valedictorian of the class of 2028, Juniper."
Juniper sighs. "That whole case…the whole faculty has been in a tizzy with Professor Means. There’s a long-term substitute in right now. She’ll either get permanently hired or will be gone next year. I’m so glad this was my last year."
"You’re going to have a lot to talk about in your speech." Athena nudges Juniper lightly. "Don't worry about it. You’re going to be okay. And if you ever need help studying for the bar, I've heard study dates are fairly popular…?"
Juniper kisses Athena lightly on the nose. "You’re so sweet, Thena."
Athena boops Juniper in response. "You make me that way."
Juniper blushes. "I don't know about all that. You're such a…a nice person. You didn't have to take my defense either of those times."
Athena entwines her fingers with Juniper's. "I wanted to. And I would do it again if you asked me to. I would take so much prosecutorial verbal abuse if it meant making sure you didn't go to jail or die. It's pretty hard to date someone in prison."
Juniper smiles. "Then I'm glad I'm not there."
The hike back to the car is faster, since there aren't as many stops to observe wildlife. It's slowed down by the fact that they stay holding hands through the whole hike, but it isn't a terribly difficult hike in the first place, so it's easy to stay moving and keep holding hands.
They get into Athena's car.
"I promise I'm not as bad as Hugh," she jokes as she gets in, dumping her backpack in the backseat. "I'm a little bit of a speed demon, but I'm not reckless. I'd never risk your life for a date."
Juniper smiles. "I didn't expect you to be. That was probably the worst ride of my life. He isn't usually that reckless."
Athena starts the car and the return journey to the city. When she arrives at Juniper's house, Juniper says goodbye with a kiss on the cheek.
It takes Athena a moment to recover before she can drive back to her apartment.