Work Text:
Flufftober & Fictober 2022: Day 2
Prompt: "You've told your parents?" + #26 "I'm doing it. Shut up."
"Come on, Ryder. Let's get a move on," Natasha called to her young, teenaged apprentice. A soft grumble echoed slightly as she trudged down the empty hallway. "This is the second time this week you've been late. Kahlee's bound to notice. And you know what that means."
"Yeah, yeah. Extra work. Gimme a break, Nat, I was up half the night practicing that freaking bead-in-the-bottle trick," the younger Biotic replied, stifling a yawn. Natasha let out a heavy sigh.
Whose idea had it been to put her in charge of a thirteen-year-old, again??
"For the love of- I've told you a million times, Natalie! Leave the practice for training time. Sure, agility and endurance are important, but-"
"But I'll exhaust myself if I use my abilities too often. I know, I know." Natalie playfully bumped against her elder's arm as they approached the entrance to Orion Hall, where the other Biotic children would already be hard at work.
"You know, even I have to be careful with my Biotics, Natalie. I just hope you start listening to me someday," Natasha teased as they walked into Orion Hall. Pairs of students and teachers were already practicing all around the room, and just as Natasha had expected, Kahlee's reproachful gaze fell on her and her tardy protege.
Natasha offered a polite nod in her direction before she led Natalie toward one of the oversized staircases. Eyes followed the pair as they walked up and claimed the same table they'd been using all week, with the same glass bottle and a bowl of brightly colored plastic beads resting at the center of it. They ignored the stares, which soon stopped as everyone resumed their own training.
"Well, let's see if all of your extra practice paid off, shall we?" Natasha asked as she sat one of the beads down on the table in front of Natalie. The younger glanced down at it, taking note of the new accessory on her teacher's finger. Her eyes lit up as she took in the small, singular diamond.
"This again? When are we gonna do something else?" Natalie asked in an exasperated tone as she slumped back in her chair, crossing her arms and glaring at Natasha.
"Hmm, maybe when you can actually show up on time, Ryder. Or when you don't get fatigued after only a few minutes of work, since this is a precision and endurance training. Whichever comes first," Natasha quipped as she took her own seat opposite Natalie, claiming a bead for herself and sitting it on the table.
Without a moment of hesitation, the bead was enveloped with a soft blue aura and began to lift into the air. It rose slowly to the top of the bottle and dropped effortlessly into the small opening. Natasha glanced at Natalie across the table and smirked as the youngster stuck her tongue out in response.
"Cheeky," Natalie mumbled as she leaned forward and tried to focus on her own bead which still sat in front of her. A light aura flickered across the surface a few times before finally solidifying. Natasha held her breath as she watched the bead lift off the table, slowly inching upward. Her heart sank a bit as the aura suddenly faded and the bead fell back down to the tabletop.
"That was excellent, Natalie! Great job!" Natasha cheered encouragingly as the teen sat back in her chair again. She ran her hands through her long, dark brown hair and let out a frustrated sigh.
"Yeah, right, Nat. Barely made it halfway up the bottle," she mumbled quietly.
Natasha reached into her pocket and pulled out an Alliance-issued granola bar. Not very flavorful, kind of dry, but packed full of the extra calories Biotics need to sustain themselves.
"Here," she said as she offered it to the frustrated girl opposite her. Natalie eyed her carefully before taking it and ripping the plastic apart to get to the granola. "I know you prefer the blueberry, but all I've got left is the strawberry. Sorry."
Natalie shrugged her shoulders and bit into the bar. Her face scrunched as the flavor hit her palate and Natasha chuckled.
"I meant what I said, Ryder. It takes an incredible amount of control to pick up something as small as a bead and maneuver it," Natasha said as the teen continued eating her granola bar.
"Thanks," she replied, chewing the rough, dry granola. Her eyes fell on the ring on Natasha's finger again. "So, that's new."
Natasha followed her gaze, almost having forgotten about the thing. Though she was still adjusting to its presence. She normally kept it on the chain of her dog tags but had forgotten to move it back in her own hurry this morning.
"Oh, a bit. Happened over the Holidays," she admitted bashfully. She didn't often discuss her private life, even with the people here on Grissom Academy.
"What did your parents say about it? Isn't your dad like a Major or something?" she asked with a giggle. Natasha shifted uncomfortably in her chair. "You've told your parents, haven't you?"
Natasha shook her head in response. Natalie gasped in shock.
"But it's been weeks! How have you not told your own parents?" she asked. Natasha let out a sigh and grabbed another bead from the bowl at the center of the table.
"I'm doing it. Eventually. So shut up, and get back to work," Natasha answered shortly. Natalie gave her a reproachful look, one that would've rivalled Kahlee's. "I just want to tell them in person, okay? Not over the vid comms."
Natalie watched as Natasha skillfully maneuvered a second bead into the glass bottle between them. She finished the last of the granola bar she'd been offered and sat the plastic down carelessly.
"Well, it must be nice to be so close to your parents," Natalie commented as she focused on the bead. Just as before, the aura flickered over the surface before taking hold. It lifted from the table and wavered as it moved up and up and... made it 3/4th of the way up the bottle before she lost it again.
She let out another exasperated sigh and ran her hands down her face.
"Hey, you can do this, Ryder. Just focus."