Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Been five minutes.”

He sighed. “And?”

“Only saying.” San Antonio snorted, arms crossing as he leaned against the wall. The dappled shade and sunlight flecked across his skin, from the oak tree providing shade from the morning sun. “May as well just go without him. Call back Worth, and we can actually have fun.”

“We’re not doing that. I promised them six people.” The capital sighed, checking his phone again. Not much point in it, given that Houston was a few feet away with her own out- but it was worth a shot. “And I already processed the paperwork in order to prove y’all have rabies shots- I need him to come.”

“But do you.”

“Oh, lighten up already, ‘Tonio.” Houston chuckled, reaching out to flick at his straggling bun of hair- earning an eyeroll in turn. She shot Austin a little smirk, wavy hair falling to the side as she tilted her head. “There’s plenty of spots ‘round here to work at. I’m sure you could avoid him easily enough. And you’re not gonna have anythin’ else to do on a Sunday, are ya?”

“...Could’ve gone to mass.” San Antonio clicked his tongue, before waving a hand dismissively. A slight huff. “But I know. I know. Good cause.”

“Yeah.” Austin looked over at the other present member of their impromptu group he’d called together just an hour prior, sitting cross-legged by the roots of the tree. It hid the height of his stick-like frame, back slumped slightly and long hair falling across his rough skin. “Is it too hot, Paso?”

His head snapped up, blinking as his amber gaze met the capital’s from behind his sunglasses. “No, no. Good.”

“As if anything would be too hot for him. Resident sandman.” Houston snorted. “You’re not gonna turn into sand during the shift though, are ya?”

“...No prometo nada.¹” The border city just shrugged, still seated against the tree. “Is… work, going on all day?”

“No, it’s not all day. Not for us.” Austin assured. “We get to have lunch- they were kind enough to order some for us on the house. And then our shift lasts until four. And y’all are welcome to dip out then, but… if you stick around, they’re gonna do a release later at Congress Bridge!”

“Ooh. You drive a nice deal, Cappy.” Houston’s eyes gleamed for a moment, stars winking amidst her crimson irises for a moment. “We’re definitely all gonna stay for that.”

Austin blinked. “It’s not mandatory.”

“Well, not with that attitude.”

San Antonio cleared his throat. “Don’t have to force anyone to stay. But most of us will, I think.” He raised an eyebrow as he looked back at the capital. “Seven minutes.”

“We still have three left before our shift, and everyone else is already signed in. It’s fine.” Austin frowned. He wasn’t budging on this- surely, if anyone, Fort Worth could convince the last one of their bunch to go. Surely.

A glance back at the rescue facility they were just outside. There were a couple of workers today inside, but still, quite sparse. He was glad he went in to check on it this morning- if there weren’t any volunteers available, it’d take longer to look after the bats, and he certainly didn’t want that. And with everything in place, he didn’t want to let down the refuge.

“We’re back!”

The capital glanced over just in time to see two figures appear on the street. Fort Worth waved at them with a smile, tugging along a paler hand towards the building. Though the owner of said hand looked a little less than pleased to be there, annoyed look visible despite the sunglasses.

“You’re back. I just arrived.” Dallas snorted, arms crossing as the other city finally let go of his hand. His head turned towards Austin, lips thinning further as he brushed off the edge of his jacket sleeve. Too bad Fort Worth still couldn’t convince him to give up some fashion, given how likely it was to be ruined today. “How fucking long is this going to take?”

“You already know what you signed up for.” He kept his smile, hands clasping together. “Anyway. Now that we’re all here, we can go.”

“Bat time, c’mon!” Houston snagged her arm around Dallas’s, yanking him along despite the protest no doubt on the tip of his tongue. Fort Worth chuckled, following them in. San Antonio just rolled his eyes, muttering something in Spanish to El Paso as he traipsed along- and Austin brought up the rear, grinning slightly as he straightened up.

This was his home, after all. Home was helping. Even if the hands he’d brought along weren’t as focused on helping.

“Signed him in?” He glanced over at where Houston was with Dallas by the little kiosk near the entrance, the latter still wearing an unenthused expression as he tapped through the screen.

“Yep. We can just, go, right?” She chuckled, pushing herself off the wall. “I mean, I’ve been here, Worth’s been here… how much more training do we really need?”

“That’s only half of us, H. Still gotta give the others a rundown.” Austin shook his head. “They should have some people prepared to-”

“Austin!”

He glanced up at the call, smiling as he saw a familiar bunch of workers walking through the hall. “Hey! We’re here!”

“My god, there’s more of y’all.” The nearest woman- Cassandra, he remembered- giggled, awe shining in her eyes as they darted across the various cities. Houston and Fort Worth were the only ones to wave back enthusiastically. Dallas’s eyes just narrowed. El Paso blinked, while San Antonio gave a little nod of acknowledgement. “Oh, damn… Well, welcome! Since all of you are signed in, I’m assuming we can get started?”

“This is so weird.” One of the workers whispered behind her. “They all look so normal…”

The capital pretended not to hear, just nodding at Cassandra. “Yeah. C’mon, guys.”

Houston was the first to traipse along, happily heading in front of Austin to strike up a chat with Cassandra. He watched her sling an arm over her shoulder in easy comfort, feeling himself relax a little more too. Today would go just fine.

“They know what we are, no?” San Antonio muttered, having caught up to walk beside him. “You told them.”

That wasn’t meant to be accusatory, was it? “Yeah.”

The other city gave a soft hum, but said nothing more. Austin relaxed again. As they passed through the hallway, his gaze flickered through the rooms, eyes closing for a moment. He knew this place, and knew it well. There was nothing to worry about.

“So! What’re y’all each wantin’ to do?” Cassandra had turned back to the group, beaming at them. “With a full house tonight… we got some work to do. Always in need of someone to help move and clean the storage around, some of y’all can help check with new deliveries if they’re trained, move some around in the flying enclosure, grind up the mealworms, feed the adults, feed babies-”

“I volunteer for that one!” He turned to see Fort Worth rocking back and forth on his toes, eyes glittering. A beat of silence, before the cowtown’s gaze flicked over to Dallas beside him- and he looped his arm around his. “Dallas can help.”

The city in question jolted, head snapping over to his friend. “Wait-”

“Oh, that works.” Houston snickered, waving a hand back at them. “Go on, Cas.”

“...Alright!” The worker gave a nervous chuckle. “Well, that should be most of it. Unless you wanna answer calls too, Austin?”

“Yeah, that’s fine. The others can take the exciting stuff.” He nodded, looking back at the group. Houston looked ready as ever, Dallas was still scowling at a very innocent Fort Worth, El Paso was… standing, and San Antonio was gazing to the side in thought. “Y’all good?”

“Absolutely!”

“Yes, yes.”

“...Fine.”

“Come on, Dal.”

The capital chuckled, before nodding at Cassandra- as well as all the other workers. “Let’s get to work.”

“Look at them.”

“I am.”

“You’re too far away. Look at them.”

“I am.”

Admittedly, maybe it was more glaring than looking. Just maybe. But what else was Dallas supposed to actually do here? Fort Worth had those… babies… covered already. Melting with that sappy smile on his face at their trembling little heads, bumping into each other in their bid to get to the milk-soaked bits of sponge on the cowtown’s hand. That look of adoration was always given so freely to animals- even freer to the tinies.

Damnit. Why did he have to be stuck here?

“Dal…” He was jolted out of his thoughts as Fort Worth lifted the little ones further up in the air, pouting as he just leaned back further in response. “C’mon. Why can’t you enjoy this? They’re so cute, you might as well have fun.”

“They can be ‘cute’ from a distance, jeez.” Dallas grumbled, taking a step back. “You need more formula or something?”

“No, just- come on. They’re not disgusting, they’re adorable. I don’t get why you can’t see it.” Fort Worth sighed, shaking his head with a small smile as he turned back to the bat pups. One had lifted its face up to look at him- or really, just trying to, given how much it was squinting through those pale eyelids to see him. The cowtown gasped, ungloved hand pressing to his chest. “D’aww…”

He raised an eyebrow. “It’s just a baby bat.”

“Exactly.” Fort Worth giggled, carefully touching the little creature’s head with his finger. “Oh, and what a perfect little baby bat you are…”

Dallas just huffed, turning away. This was boring. He could’ve spent this Friday answering emails or checking on his stocks or anything else remotely productive- but no. The capital roped them into spending today here. In this… refuge. Sanctuary. Whatever. Of his worst nightmares.

If only Austin hadn’t decided to drop the ball that they were actually cities. He might actually have some plausible deniability and have a lack of a rabies shot be an actual excuse. Or pretend he got bitten.

…Actually, that was still an option.

“Can you get some formula now?” Fort Worth was gently setting down the first set of babies back onto the warm towel, scooping up another few. One of them was trying to clamber all around the glove, even as the smaller city giggled and cupped it back. “Need to resoak the sponges for ‘em.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Dallas grunted, snatching up the still-warm bottle from the countertop. “Still don’t get why we have to feed them.”

“Dallas, they’re orphans.”

“...And?”

“Dal.” He shook his head, as he finally settled the little pups in his hand. “Just… come on. Soak the spuds. Work with me.”

The city made a face, but finally inched closer until he was actually within reach of the shivering bats. God, they looked so bony up close. Reaching out warily, he tried to scoot the little sponges off of Fort Worth’s hand, freezing up whenever one of the pups shifted around. Twice he nearly poked one of their muzzles. A breath of relief as he got them away from the furry lumps and to the edge of the glove, still eyeing the thin critters as he dripped a little more formula onto the spuds. Trying not to flinch as they nosed closer. Just a few more spuds. A few more-

And then a tiny nose suddenly poked his hand.

Everything froze in his body for a split second- and then Dallas’s head snapped around to look at the tiny devil of a culprit, nearly dropping the syringe of formula as he jerked his arm back. “Little son of a fuck-”

“Dallas!” Fort Worth glared at him, hand curling around the little pups. Little damn devils. As if they were the ones that needed protection, when one just- “For god’s sake, they’re babies! They’re just curious. And don’t swear.”

He blinked, ire suddenly dissipating in favor of bafflement. “What?”

The cowtown met his gaze stubbornly. “Don’t swear. Around the babies.”

“...They’re fucking bats.”

“What did I just say?”

He rolled his eyes. “Fine. I’m not going to swear around the little hellspawn.” Dallas glared at the tiny head he could see peeking out between the other city’s fingers, miniscule ears twitching. Eugh. “But they’re not touching me.”

“You know, you had the chance to put on gloves. That’s on you.” Fort Worth gave him a narrow look. “Look, I’m not going to stop you if you go to help somewhere else. Just don’t leave the shift entirely. And stop backhanding babies.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah- I didn’t, for your information. That little asshole’s fuckin’ lucky I managed to pull away in time-”

“Dal.”

“Fine.” He gave a long sigh as he looked up to the ceiling, the amber lights dimmed through his sunglasses. Face twisting into a grimace, he set down the syringe on the paper towel and washed off his hands, each flick of water scattering droplets sharp across the sink. “Have fun with your miniature satans.”

Dallas pretended not to hear the cowtown’s giggle as he walked through the doorway, trying to tamp down his scowl a little. His steps echoed through the hallways, glancing around for some less bat-filled place. There really weren’t any other volunteers or workers today, huh? Understaffed was an understatement. He could still just teleport out if he wanted to…

…

But. Fort Worth had already convinced him to stay this long. He’d never hear the end of it from him if he actually walked out. Maybe Fort Worth would actually get sad and- yeah. No. Dallas had already been given the puppy eyes enough this morning, just to get him here. He wasn’t risking having to see them again when Fort Worth realized he left early. Those eyes were dangerous.

He paused upon seeing a door with a mesh screen on it, sunlight filtering through. Was this the entrance? No, it couldn’t be. But still, it wasn’t locked, and maybe no one would think to look for him here.

Dallas pushed open the door, to find himself in what seemed almost like some sort of greenhouse scene. There was a dirt pathway clear down the middle, with a domed net cast around the area of tall-growing grass and flowers. Some shrubs and stout palm trees stood around too, and quite a few patches of dry leaves cast shade from atop the net.

Something prickled on the back of his neck, as he looked around the area. Clearly some place for the bats to get fresh air, right? Despite that, he couldn’t see any of the little demons. Hopefully they were only in here when someone was watching, then.

The city walked over to stand in the shade of one of the trees, huffing as he took of his sunglasses to examine them. Tugging a cloth free from his jacket pocket, he started to clean the dust off the lenses, leaning back against the trunk. He’d have to wipe them again when he got home. Volunteer work, good cause, yeah, yeah- but he’d at least get to keep himself clean while he did it.

A leaf slapped down on his head. Dallas scowled, furiously continuing to wipe off his sunglasses- before finally leaning back to brush it out of his hair. The leaf shifted slightly, frustratingly, but it still took a few attempts to actually grasp the edge, feeling the leathery wing-

That was not a leaf.

That was not a fucking leaf.

He peered into the cardboard box, looking for the little lump of fur inside. No sudden movements, of course. Being as careful and calm as he could.

And then, there she was. Tucked away in the back of the walls, bunched up on herself. Just a little dark smudge against the box, quiet and still.

“This is why we’re naming her Puff?”

Houston chuckled, tapping the cereal box with a gloved finger. “Yep. Because she came in cocoa puffs. They already got her tagged and fed, so now they want to check how she’s flying.”

“Cozy.” San Antonio took the box from her, carefully holding the flaps closed enough- though the Mexican freetail bat inside didn’t exactly seem pressed to go anywhere, squinting at him from the depths. He wouldn't be either, in her position. “To the flying enclosure, then?”

“Yeah. Just, watch a little to make sure Puff’s fine- make sure she’s flying normally, and watch to see where she goes.” Houston leaned over the edge of the box, grinning and waving down at her. Whether Puff waved back, he couldn’t tell. “She might need a little coaxing, though. So just, relax. And let her take her pace. Y’know, as a girlboss.”

“You call all the bats here a girlboss.”

“They deserve it.”

San Antonio couldn’t refute that. “More deliveries after this, or should I just watch her a while?”

“Nah, I think Cappy’s got the other one covered. Just help prepare the mealworms with me after you think she’s good.” The city gave him a little salute as she backed away, grinning. “Keep an eye on the girlboss.”

“Sí, sí.” He rolled his eyes, though saluted Houston back anyway as he walked the other direction. He glanced inside at Puff, still clinging resolutely to the cardboard wall. “...Are a smart one, though. Good for you.”

“FUCK!”

He stilled at the muffled shout from further down the hall, heel of his shoe barely touching the tile floor. Inside the box, he could hear an alarmed squeak from Puff. A glance down, to see the tiny bat staring back up.

“That wasn’t me.” San Antonio muttered drily, looking back in the hallway to see if Houston was coming back- but there was no sign of her. Or any worker. But it had sounded like it was in the direction of the flying enclosure. “Ay, ya estamos otra vez…²”

Puff bared her teeth slightly, clicking- and he just got back to walking, despite the impending headache he could feel. He already knew who’s scream that’d been. And somehow, he doubted fate would let him get out of this without facing a little fire.

Then the city reached the flying enclosure, pushing open the screened door- and that headache washed over in full force as soon as he saw the scene before his eyes. 

If the clicking and angry screeching of a singular bat didn’t catch his attention first, the flailing hands and wings would’ve. Not that he knew how the hell it happened. But there Dallas was, slapping in vain at a little blur of dark fur thrashing and flapping around his head. Through the midst, he could see his sunglasses had fallen off, lying in the grass. Panicked curses from the excuse of a city mingled with the bat’s ire, neither creature in the… fight… having noticed him walk in yet.

Por el amor de Dios.³

Part of him was tempted to go over and just pluck the flapping critter off himself. But the rest of him was content to watch and judge. And that part was slowly winning.

San Antonio glanced back at Puff. She was waddling around the box, seemingly unbothered by the nearby pendejo’s crisis, in comparison to her growing impatience. Hefting a sigh, he began to open it up, letting the freetail bat clamber up the side of the cardboard. Her little ears twisted for a moment towards the excessive cursing, glancing around. A few test flaps, warming up- and she dove off the side, arcing low in the direction of one of the nearby palm trees under the net.

He leaned back against the wall, watching as the freetail bat disappeared within the drooping fronds. Curiously, he walked closer, squinting at the dark patches between the drying leaves- only to see several little lumps of fur within, curled up in the shade. A wry smile twitched on his lips. It was almost as though the palm tree was bearing fluffy fruit, from how close and deep inside the bats were sleeping. Puff was with them, leaves shivering as she grasped a foothold on the stem. Satisfied, he watched her nose her way into a comfortable position with the other bats.

It wasn’t until a minute or so later that he realized that the cursing had stopped.

San Antonio turned, eyebrows already raised, to see Dallas leaning against the tree, jet black hair a full mess at this point and shoulders visibly heaving with breath. And still with his sunglasses in the grass. The bat he’d been fighting was nowhere in sight.

“Excessive as always.” He muttered, taking a bit of satisfaction in how quickly the pendejo’s head snapped over to him. “Better not have killed that bat, else Austin won’t forgive you.”

Dallas scowled. “As if those flying devils need help. When the fuck did you get in here?”

“When I heard the sound of a little bitch in the enclosure. Unfortunately, I can still hear it.”

“So you discovered your own thoughts, Alamo?” He snatched up his sunglasses from the grass, turning away with a snort as he started to comb back his hair. His storm-blue irises, now in full view under the dappled sunlight, were creased in a sneer. “Congratulations.”

“Fighting words from someone that took several minutes to claw a bat off their damn face.” San Antonio eyed the scratches across his face. “Did it even care enough to bite you?”

“Oh, get fucked.” Dallas snapped, tucking the sunglasses back into his jacket pocket. “Something tells me you wouldn’t care if I got rabies.”

“Would if it means you’d leave more paperwork for this refuge.”

“Oh?” He tensed slightly as that sharp gaze turned to him, lips twitching in a thin smirk as he leaned a little closer. “No other reasons you ‘would’, huh?”

San Antonio jerked back, smacking his arm away. “Shut up and stop complaining. It’s a damn bat- por Dios, you knew what you were signing up for here. Do you have to overreact over everything?”

“No sympathy, huh?” Dallas gave a dramatic sigh, leaning back against the palm tree. “Sometimes I wonder how you can still call yourself a Catholic…”

“Between you and the bat? Any sane Catholic would choose the bat.”

“And you think you’re so sane, are you?”

The city glared at him. “What are you suggesting?”

A beat. Finally, Dallas leaned back, a vague flicker of disappointment in his gaze. “Nothing you don’t know.”

San Antonio crossed his arms. “Then I’m going to keep doing what I came here to do.”

Before Dallas could respond, a blur of dark brown fur and wings flashed between their faces- and another shriek interrupted the enclosure. By the time San Antonio had processed it, the bat was gone, and Dallas was several steps further back, clutching his chest. He stared for a moment at the other city’s wide gaze- never as good as covering up his true emotions without those stupid sunglasses- and slowly, listening to his slow-calming breaths, something dawned on him.

“You're afraid of bats.” The moment he said it, Dallas’s head snapped over.

“No, I’m not.”

“You are. Clearly.” He insisted, eyes narrowing. “Never liked helping these causes that much, but it’s a Sunday, and still you tried finding excuses when Fort Worth-”

“I’m not free charity, Alamo. That means nothing.” Dallas scoffed. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“So you’re not terrified of another landing over your face? Not of another hanging off your shades? Not of-”

His words were cut off as he was roughly shoved back, stumbling a little against the grass. “Shut up.” Dallas hissed.

San Antonio stared at him for a moment- before he snapped out of it, stepping back forward. “Coward.”

Those stormy irises hardened. “Say that again.”

“Coward-”

A punch collided with his cheek before he could finish, sending him reeling back with a yelp. He stared at Dallas for a moment, anger simmering as his jaw throbbed. Then his own hand clenched into a fist.

God better forgive him for this one time.

They were just so tiny.

The thin limbs, the purple dye on their ears, the squinting eyes and craning heads- all so tiny.

“Sorry, I can’t take the glove off.” He chuckled, rinsing out the formula bottle and setting it down to dry. Fingers carefully stroked their heads, cooing as they nudged back. “Oh, but I wish I could… I’d risk a little rabies just to hold y’all.”

Fort Worth calmed enough to begin humming something akin to a lullaby, watching them clambering around his hand as he gently rocked them side to side. Lord knows why Dallas didn’t like bats- let alone the baby ones. They would’ve been indistinguishable from mice if not for the wings, but it was even more adorable to watch them waddle with those little grips, nosing around for warmth. He could feel himself melting even further at the tiny half-squeaks, half-clicks they were giving off as they settled for naptime.

A small sigh, continuing to sway with them as his throaty tune slowed. The lumps of fur were rising and falling slightly with their miniscule breaths, bunched together in a fluffy mass. He reached out to boop one of their noses-

“Cute.”

He jolted at the raspy murmur, whirling around to see a lanky figure in the doorway, carrying a few boxes. His sunglasses were off and hanging from the dip of his tank top, revealing the warm orange irises gazing at him, back slightly hunched with his cargo.

“Ah- Hey Paso! I’m just, uh…” He could already feel his face flushing, glancing around at just how otherwise empty the room was. How long had he been standing there?

“Busy?” The border city’s head tilted, setting down the boxes under the sink. His eyes still glittered with open curiosity as he pushed his fluffy locks of dark hair out of his face. “No?”

“Well, I mean… not really. Just putting these little guys to sleep. But I fed them earlier with Dal.” Fort Worth glanced back down at the little babies beginning to squirm again in his hands, quickly trying to pet them back into sleep. “Sorry, sorry- it’s okay, shhh…”

“Oh.” He managed to not startle this time as El Paso neared, eyes darting to the pups in his hands. “Didn’t know, this was the baby room. Little room.”

“Orphans specifically, but yeah. They are cute, huh?” Fort Worth stifled a giggle as the other city stared at the tiny bats, his russet fingers carefully pressing on their heads in some imitation of pets. Had El Paso not known that this was the baby feeding room? He supposed he probably wasn’t paying attention to anything other than the boxes he was delivering- but what else would he have called cute in here?

…

Wait.

“Yes. Small.” The border city hummed, leaning back as one tried to clamber up his hand. He didn’t have nearly the same abhorrence for the pup as Dallas though, letting it form a solid grasp, brown head pressing between his fingers.  “Cute too, them.”

“I- uh-” Fort Worth swallowed, pushing back the fluttery warmth in his chest as he nodded, watching the little baby try to settle in El Paso’s palm. “Yeah. They really are.”

He nodded at the cowtown, before trying to carefully nudge the little pup out of his hand and back into the pile of babies. “Orphan to orphans.” He wiped off his hands on his shorts. “Caring for them? All day?”

“Maybe. I mean- if you need help with more boxes, I can come. I just…” Fort Worth looked down as the brown pup just settled right on top of the other babies, a little wing poking into another’s ear with a squeak. He could already feel the smile warming further on his face again.

“Sí, sin problema.⁴ Have fun. With more cute ones.” El Paso nodded, stepping back. His gaze turned back to the doorway as he took out his sunglasses again. “Lunch is… when?”

Before Fort Worth could respond, a muffled shout could be heard through the open doorway. Actually, quite a few muffled shouts of angry candor, the longer they stood listening. El Paso blinked, glancing over in their direction. Then back at him.

“Oh boy.” Fort Worth sighed, looking back down at the babies. Well, he guessed the world was determined to keep him from getting attached to these little guys for too long. “Can only imagine who it is this time…”

“Sarcasm?”

A small chuckle. “Yeah.” He carefully scooped off the little bats onto the heated towels again, relieved just a little as they seemed to remain mostly asleep. Then he looked back at El Paso, pressing a smile across his face. “Well, guess we might as well see what’s got them fighting this time.”

The arguing voices did not seem to be dying down in the slightest as Fort Worth’s pace quickened down the hallway, the border city hovering close behind. He was glad for his presence, despite everything. Even if he was just silent support for whatever they’d find, as the voices grew closer and closer.

“-the hell up, I am not afraid of-”

“-if pretending you’re not is going to make you any less-”

“You’d know about pretending to be something else-”

“Hijo de puta,⁵ you take that back-”

“Dallas!” Fort Worth finally skidded to a halt by a doorway, sunlight suddenly streaming into his face. Despite it, he managed to turn his glare towards the two cities in the enclosure. San Antonio’s hair was down in straggling waves around his face, fist balled up in the collar of Dallas’s shirt, shoving him against a tree. His friend- ruefully best friend- wasn’t innocent either, nails raking into the other city’s arm. “Goddamnit, what are y’all doing?”

Both froze. San Antonio was the first to push himself away, lip curling at Dallas. “Damn pendejo won’t admit that he’s just afraid of ba- ¡Ay, Chinga tu madre!⁶”

“It’s nothing. And we don’t have mothers.” The offending city snapped, scowling as his opponent clutched his shin in apparent agony. The shin he’d just kicked. “Alamo just can’t keep his mouth shut.”

Fort Worth stared at them for a moment, before just shaking his head slowly. “Good lord. Okay, new question. What were you supposed to be doing?”

“I just wanted some fresh air.” Dallas sniffed. “You should ask Alamo that, he’s the one that actually had stuff to help with.”

“Coming from the one that’s in an enclosure you can’t even handle.” San Antonio retorted, finally straightening up and walking over to grab what looked like an open cereal box further away in the grass. “I’m sure the refuge is happy to know a volunteer’s here doing nothing.”

“Y’all. Don’t get into it here. Please?” He still looked at Dallas, frowning- and after a moment longer, the city sighed and turned his head. Rude, to anyone else- but Fort Worth felt his shoulders relax. “That wasn’t so bad, was it?”

“It was.” Dallas snorted, turning away. “But if you want me to work, then fine.” Swiveling on his heel, he stormed through the doorway before anyone could say something further.

“Hurt?” El Paso’s quiet rasp broke through Fort Worth’s attention, turning it back to San Antonio, still carrying the box.

“No. Just the usual scraps.” He huffed. “Released a bat in here earlier- that’s what I was doing. But I should get going to help Houston.”

“You sure? I know he’s… himself.” Fort Worth gave a tired chuckle. “Had to keep him in check the entire time we were workin’ too. What were you tryna say earlier anyway?”

A sigh. “Está bien, not important. At least the fight was done sooner rather than later.” San Antonio started walking towards the doorway leading back inside too. “Have fun getting more done.”

El Paso gave the other city a wave as he passed by, before looking back at the cowtown, brow furrowed with slight concern. He just gave a smile back.

“Don’t worry about it. I’d be more weirded out if this wasn’t how things were going.” Fort Worth chuckled. “Besides, hopefully I’ll get to stay with the babies uninterrupted now.”

The border city nodded. “Babies are nice. After… that.” He glanced through the doorway again. “More boxes to move. See later?”

“Oh- yeah.” He nodded at El Paso, despite the slight pang of disappointment he felt. “Probably see you at lunch!”

A soft hum, before the border city was out of sight. It took a few more moments until Fort Worth remembered he never got to tell him when lunch was.

“This is a good day.” Houston mused, swirling her can of lemonade. “Really good day.”

“You think?” Austin looked back at her, eyes reflecting far more exhaustion than her own as they trailed around the break room. “They almost killed each other again, and we still have two hours left.”

“Oh, don’t get dramatic. You know things could’ve gotten way worse.” She chuckled, setting down the can in favor of taking a bite of pizza from her plate. The cauliflower crust was a very nice touch with the mushrooms. “Besides. The facility doesn’t have a reason to be worried, right?”

“I guess that’s true. Just wish he hadn’t… y’know. Nearly killed the bat.” The capital was still looking over at one of the other tables. She followed his gaze, to where the culprit was sitting with his sunglasses freshly cleaned and on his face again, sitting with far too much dignity as he took a sip of his iced tea. Fort Worth was talking beside him, bringing just the slightest smile to the city every now and then. “But for one day… I guess it’s working.”

“You were the one insistent on not leaving anyone behind.” Houston shrugged, leaning back in her chair. “And things should be mellow now that it’s lunch. He did help in his own way, didn’t he?”

“I can hear you from over there, you know.”

“Dal, stop it.”

She snickered, not bothering to look back as she shot both Dallas and Fort Worth a peace sign over her shoulder. Austin’s own expression was slightly at ease with his small smile, chewing on his own bite of pizza for a moment. “Yeah, I guess so. Just a little worried that we wouldn’t pull it together. Really glad everyone said yes.” His fingers tapped the edge of his plate. “...You think it’d be possible to end up doing this again with everyone?”

“...Maybe not so soon, but! Why not?” Houston grinned. “Not like it’d be my first rodeo. Or Worth’s. Technically all of us, now.”

A small snort. “Yeah, I know. But that’s nice, it really is. I’m just worried for these places around here. It’s hard to whip up as much excitement these days, sometimes.”

There was a moment of silence, only undercut by the continued eating of themselves, and the other workers around. Houston’s lips pursed. Most of the workers were chatting, laughing, eating together just the same as themselves- but sometimes they could continue to give furtive glances towards the cities, curious and searching and… almost wary.

She wasn’t blind to how they looked at the cities. A little inhuman, maybe. A little different, maybe. Yet she was able to just wave at them with a smile, while Austin kept mulling over the pizza on his plate, lost in some sort of thoughtful frown.

“Come on, Cappy.” She set her hand on his shoulder, letting him pause. “You ain’t takin’ credit for how you brought us together anyway. You’re dedicated. You’re taking time right with us. And hell- if this is the only day where it’s a low volunteer count, I think you’re doing great. Just relax, alright?”

A slight sigh, as the capital sank into his seat a little. “Yeah. I know.” He drank from his glass of tea, face lifting into a smile. “I’ll have to ask how many bats we’re releasing at the bridge tonight- if there’s enough, it’d be fun to have each of us be able to hold one to fly.”

“Aww. That’d be nice.” Houston snuck a glance back over her shoulder. “...Might be able to subtract one from that number, since I don’t think anything’ll convince Dallas to hold one again.”

“I think we’ll all be thankful for that.” There that glint of slyness was, again. Austin stood up with his finished plate. “Want me to take yours to the trash?”

“Go ahead, I’m done. How long does lunch last?”

“Maybe ten more minutes? Almost done, no doubt.”

“Great, great.” Houston got up too, looking over at Cassandra. “I oughtta get back to doin’ something again.”

The lead worker finally looked up from the emptied pizza boxes being closed up, meeting her gaze. The city put on her brightest smile, saluting her as she walked over.

“Hey! Houston again, right?” The mortal half-saluted back, starting to stack the pizza boxes. “Hope everyone’s been having an alright time.”

“Yeah, don’t mind ‘em- they knew what they came to do. We all did.” She chuckled, picking up some boxes too. “Where we dumpin’ these off?”

“Oh- you don’t have to do that, I got it.” Cassandra shook her head quickly. “You can just stay with your friends, y’all’ve been doin’ enough this morning.”

“Oh, come on. What do you think we were made to do? We are y’all.” Houston gave a wry smile as she just added another emptied box to her stack.  “Well, you’re a part of Cappy at least, on that tiny scale. But we came here because we wanted to. This is nothin’ compared to running a few million people, trust me.”

“Well… as long as you’re sure.” The worker still looked a little perplexed, but nodded as she led her out the hallway, towards the back. “I mean, we do this because we want to too.”

“And I love it! But let’s not pretend there’s so much difference between us all in a single day, y’know?” She shrugged. “Sometimes it’s nice to have a little bit of normalcy again.”

Cassandra was quiet for a moment, before nodding. “It is.” She murmured, fingers drumming on the side of the box. “So… we’ve got several bats that we’ll be taking to release tonight. After this, would you like to help clean them up one last time?”

Houston grinned. “Another chance to help the girlbosses? Absolutely.”

The worker laughed, pushing open the door- and for a moment, Houston could see her stature completely relax too, like Austin’s. A grin of satisfaction rose on her face.

There were a lot of people at the bridge.

He sat cross-legged on the grass, the texture cool and ticklish against his skin as his head raised to above. Greying clouds dotted through the red and orange streaks of sky, disappearing sun leaving the ground where they were largely in shadow.

Still warm. But to him, it was far cooler than he could find back in the mountains.

El Paso’s gaze fell over to the few cities milling around the bat carrier box. Houston was chatting with the workers nearby, glowing with her endless enthusiasm. Austin and Fort Worth were sitting cross-legged in front of the mesh- and the latter city held a hand up to the wire, cooing as a wing poked out here and there to try and latch around. San Antonio stood further away in the crowd, gaze distracted as he looked at the waters flowing underneath Congress bridge.

The only one ‘missing’ was the other city that’d struggled to come in the first place. He’d simply opted to stay inside the car they drove here in, sunglasses on and scrolling through his phone, almost too far away to tell that it was him. Curious, the border city watched a little longer to see if Dallas would do anything- even just look at them or up to the sky- but he never did. Was he staying for anything but some vague sense of obligation?

Well, no matter. At least it made another fight much less likely.

After a while, the murmur amidst the crowd began to grow. The border city looked back up- and little blurs could be seen starting to dart out from the bridge. Flickers of camera lights started to rise too, from the onlookers around, awed and delighted to record, no doubt.

He didn't mind, though. He still had a good view where he sat, watching the bats flit through the purples and pinks of the setting sky. All while feeling at ease to watch among the ants.

"Alright, here we go! Who's up first?" He glanced over at the lead worker grinning from the carrier, starting to undo the hatch. "One at a time, of course- but, considering y'all… I think you could go without gloves. Just this once.”

An excited gasp could be heard- and El Paso watched as Fort Worth’s hand shot up first. Houston just laughed and patted his back, while San Antonio inched a little closer. The capital, meanwhile, was scooping out the first of their planned releases tonight.

“Go for it, Worth.” Austin chuckled. From a distance, El Paso could see little wings flapping within his hands. “Is Dallas still not…?”

“It’s fine. He still helped, and that’s what matters.” Fort Worth shook his head with a small smile, carefully taking the bat from the capital. “So, do I just hold them out?”

“Yeah- try and scoot over this way, so she can have an easier path.” Austin led him closer to the edge of the crowd, pointing towards the sky. Bats were still flying out plenty by the hundreds. “Just hold her out to the air. She’ll do the rest.”

“Alright, alright.” The cowtown kept his palms open, smiling wide at the little bat within. “Ready, honey? You can do it, I know you can.”

He couldn’t see the bat inside for a moment, everyone of their group seeming to hold their breaths. Then, dark shadows of wings flickered from Fort Worth’s hands- and soared up through the reddening sky. She was visible for just a moment amidst everyone’s cheers, before becoming invisible amidst the rest of the flying creatures.

“One down, six left!” A worker laughed. “Who’s next?”

El Paso didn’t make any move to stand yet, just watching the cowtown that remained staring at the sky. Then back at his hands. Up and down, back and forth. The wistful, fond look on his face didn’t fade, even as he slowly walked back to let San Antonio take the next bat.

“She looked so tiny.” He murmured, face still so soft. A slight giggle, almost to himself as his hands lowered back to his sides. “But so strong…”

“All are.” The border city hummed back- watching as Fort Worth startled slightly, before his gaze flicked down to meet his own. “But, are ready. They are ready.”

“I know. They’re just… Lord, how small some of ‘em get.” The cowtown scratched the back of his head, as he sat down beside El Paso- just in time for another bat to be released to the sky. His gaze flickered with delight again, clapping alongside the others. “They seem so fragile in our hands, yet they’ve got no less spitfire. Even when we can’t see it.”

El Paso just nodded, tentatively patting the other’s shoulder- who tensed briefly, before relaxing again. The silence between them held, as he continued to watch the bats above. They seemed to be infinite, in these moments. More infinite than the crowd that came to witness them.

“Did you… get to do more than lift boxes?” The strangely shy question came from the cowtown again, still looking at the carrier slowly dwindling in remaining bats. “I just hope it wasn’t boring for you.”

“No, I enjoyed. Drove for rescues too.” El Paso shook his head. “...You were left alone, no? No more fighting?”

“Not loud enough to bother me, at least.” Fort Worth’s mouth twitched in a smile. “I’m surprised we managed to keep things steady after Dal antagonized Antonio again, but… I wish he didn’t hang back so much.”

El Paso nodded, looking back at the car for the city in question- only to blink in mild surprise. Dallas was still there, leaning on the car- but now his attention was off of his phone, and turned towards someone else in a scowl. Someone who returned it, arms crossed and standing just a few feet away- San Antonio. How badly were they arguing again this time?

“Despite it all, I liked today a lot.” The other city continued, seemingly unaware of his best friend’s new company. “But, y’know, for me it’d be better if that dumbass could get along with the rest of y’all enough in order to release a bat too.”

“What if… don’t get along, but don’t not?”

Fort Worth gave a half-hearted chuckle. “I guess you do have that going for you. It’s not even a big deal or anything, hell, he likes being a difficult bastard and it does get funny sometimes. Sometimes I just…” A slight sigh. “Forget how stubborn he is about maintaining that.”

“...If he’s not enjoying, not your fault?” El Paso prompted, looking over at his hands. The cowtown was worrying his fingers together in his lap now, complexion almost grey in the growing twilight. “You had fun, with bats- bats bebés. Not bad thing, at all.”

“That’s true.” Fort Worth chuckled. “Wish he didn’t keep getting into fights, but… can’t have everything, huh?”

“Pass! It’s your turn!”

He blinked, glancing up at Houston’s excited call. And then, at the smiling worker, hands cupped with a little wing poking out. They were all looking at him now. El Paso froze underneath the attention for a moment- before beginning to slowly stand.

“Go on. All you have to do is hold them.” Fort Worth urged, grin wide on his face now.

The border city gave a small nod, taking a couple steps towards the workers. With another glance up at the brightening stars in the night, he held out his palms.

“Ready?” The worker grinned, beginning to open her gloved hands. “Hold ‘em up and out. The clearer path they have to fly, the better.”

El Paso just nodded again, watching as the little freetail bat waddled onto his palms, clicking and poking around. He could hear Fort Worth coo in adoration behind him, and his own lips twitched in a smile, holding his hands aloft as he watched the microbat flick its tail back and forth, deciding. A moment passed. Then the wings started to move, its tiny head raising towards the sky-

A rippling cheer went through the crowd as the bat flapped free from his hands, wings outstretched as it swooped down by the riverbank- then pushed upwards to join its brethren soaring to eat more insects. He blinked, staring after it in mild surprise at the speedy trajectory. Houston let out a whoop of joy.

“Hell yeah, sandman!” She grinned, bumping his shoulder. “That wasn’t so bad, was it?”

“...Not at all.” El Paso hummed, looking back at Fort Worth, still lying back in the grass. “Was nice.”

“At least that’s something you can hold over Dallas if you want.” The cowtown chuckled, pushing himself up as El Paso sat down again. “You were able to hold a bat for more than five seconds.”

“Why hold that… over, him?”

“It’s just a joke.” He shook his head, still smiling slightly as his gaze trailed to the skies. “Doesn’t matter. We all did good today, that’s what matters.”

The distant city looked around, at the various citizens taking videos and chatting as bats continued to pour into the sky, laughing and watching. Then to the other cities. Austin standing tall and proud from the midst of his own people. Houston cheering as the last of the refuge bats were released too. Even the distant figure of Dallas waiting by the car, and San Antonio glaring at him on the other side.

“Sí.” El Paso nodded, fingers brushing through the cool grass. “We did.”

Chapter Text

Was it worth it?

Really, was staying out longer than he needed to, worth it?

He blew out a puff of air, leaning against the side of the car. His phone slipped into his pocket. Again and again, the distant cheer of the crowd rose, as the bats flew out and around. Infinite in the sky. But he just averted his gaze from the flapping mass with a grimace.

It wasn’t like he needed keys to get out of here. Hell, he could teleport home in the literal blink of an eye. Yet… away from the flying devils, away from the random crowd of the capital’s folk that had this baffling awe for something that happened every night, he still saw them. Worth sitting in the grass beside sandman, seemingly beaming up at all the bats. Austin handing off another bat to one of those mortals that worked with them in the morning, throwing up a peace sign as it shot off. Houston conversing with another worker, crimson gaze bright.

Good for them, good for them. Getting to release those hellspawn into the world. At least he got to watch the apocalypse from a safe distance.

Dallas rubbed at his eyes, fingers drumming against the window. Sure, those demons were fun, until they turned on you at the worst possible time. Reluctantly, he tugged off his sunglasses to clean again, grimacing at the tiny scratches he could see on the dark frames. That little bat that dropped onto his face was lucky he didn’t want to catch a homicide case any time soon, even if it was a… bat.

“How many times are you going to fuss over those?”

He glanced up, brows raising at the figure that was approaching. With a swift push, the sunglasses slid right back over. “Horrible evening to you too, Alamo.”

The other city scoffed as he paused beside one of the trees, wavy hair half-falling out of its bun. Some strands clung to the side of his throat, while others flailed behind his shoulder in the wind. “Never going to get why you care about your sunglasses that much. Use them all the time, of course they’ll wear down.” San Antonio brushed a lock behind his ear, looking him up and down for a moment. Had he already released one of the flying devils? Some Catholic he was. “Are you going to stand here all night?”

“Why? Looking for little ol’ me again?” Dallas sneered. Whatever momentary peace of mind he’d gotten from checking his stocks was fast-fading now. “Might as well tell them what you think I’m afraid of already so everyone can rag on me.”

“Dios- and you say I expect the worst.” He crossed his arms. “Scared of a bat. Whatever. Who in hell is going to kick you down for that?”

“You seemed hellbent on it earlier when you found out.”

“You got defensive over it just because I brought it up-”

“Fine!” Dallas snapped. “I’m scared of those goddamn hellspawn. They’re fucking everywhere around here and they just stare and bite and scream and fly. They fucking fly. How the fuck am I supposed to relax when there are a thousand flying mice in the sky that’ll fucking bite you, Alamo?”

For a moment, the air was silent, save the distant chitters of said hellspawn still flying out from the bridge and the cheers of everyone else celebrating them. He tugged his jacket further up his shoulder to hide the involuntary shiver down his spine, more glad than ever for the frames obscuring his expression.

“...Peachy.” San Antonio finally muttered. “Out of everyone, you decided to unload it on the one person that already knew.”

He snorted. “Glad to confirm your new blackmail to hang on for the future.”

“Would’ve told the others already if I wanted to.” The other city rolled his eyes. “But you are afraid of bats.”

“Drop it.”

“Not until you own it.”

The rest of the cities always chuckled that they were only ever as stubborn as each other, and as much as he loathed to admit it, maybe they remained right. Dallas clicked his tongue, pushing his sunglasses further up his nose. “It’s none of your business. If I didn’t know better, I’d say you actually cared.”

“Stop pulling that.” San Antonio scowled. Ah, there he was. “Everyone would just understand that as a reason for you not staying with them more than your charming personality.”

“Oh, so you do care. It’s a bad look on you.” Dallas smirked. Back to the same shit as always. It was almost feeling fun again.

“Once an asshole, always an asshole.” The city snorted, walking to the other side of the car. Dallas wasn’t paying much attention, about to reach for his phone in the boredom- until a sharp click rang out. His head jerked around to look at the blinking headlights. Then at San Antonio, opening the passenger door and sitting inside with a yawn. For a moment he just deflated in his seat, gaze unfocused- until he looked over at Dallas. “What?”

“Since when did you get the keys?” He demanded.

“Just asked a worker, idiota.” The other city retorted. “And I’m not handing them over.”

“Hmm.” He didn’t even care about that jab for a moment, eyes narrowing on the door on his own side. Suddenly, Dallas yanked it open, ducking into the seat at top speed. San Antonio yelped, jumping back- and he almost let himself laugh at the flash of anger in his gaze.

“What are you-”

“Shut up Alamo, standing gets tiring.” He grinned, pushing a hand out towards the other city to shoo him away. The car jerked to the side as he did, and he spared a glance to see that San Antonio had all but plastered himself against the car window to avoid it. “What’s wrong?”

“Maldito pendejo.¹” He hissed, barely audible as his shoulders slowly untensed. Almost a little too hastily, he brushed off his shirt, sitting up straight and glaring resolutely forward. “As if you know how tiring standing really gets after hours of it.”

Oh, so he did want to be a bastard too. “You don’t even run your food truck all day. It’s only up in the afternoons.”

“What do you think I spend the morning doing? Waltzing through the garden?”

“With how easy it is to set you off, maybe you should.”

“I’m not the one that threatens murder over an insult to his precious sunglasses.”

“Yeah, you just threaten murder over me.”

“So?”

Dallas leaned back with a gasp of mock outrage. “Bitch.”

San Antonio gave a sharp little laugh, irises glittering with mirth. For a moment, his own scowl faltered at the sight of it. “As if you thought otherwise.”

“Y’know what? I did. Because your threats always fall empty.” He raised an eyebrow, raising his sunglasses enough to truly lock eyes. A smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth as the other city’s shoulders tensed. “When’s the last time you even tried? This morning doesn’t count.”

“Cállate. Would’ve if we weren’t in the refuge.” San Antonio crossed his arms, face averting. “I’m not that murderous.”

The glasses dropped down. “Coward.”

“No more than you.” He muttered, leaning against the window. After a beat, his gaze darted over, now unreadable. “But I wouldn’t threaten the murder so much if you stopped.”

“Careful, there. You might sound like you actually want that to happen.”

A small snort. “No, horrible idea. Neither of us would last.”

“It- Oh, fuck you. Hey.” Dallas leaned towards him, jabbing a thumb back at his own chest. Despite the offended tone of voice, he had to suppress a bubble of amusement. “You’re saying you don't want to see this face around anymore? You don’t want to see my wonderful eyes again? How fucking dare you."

“Ay, cierra la puta boca.²” San Antonio groaned, head tilting away. “You’re ridiculous.”

“And you’re boring.”

“You’re basic.”

“You’re-”

His retort was cut off as a hand shoved his chest, harshly knocking the breath from his lips. Indignance sparked, smacking the city’s fingers away as he pushed himself forward again- only to nearly bump into his forehead. Dallas paused with a blink, face finally drawing back an inch to look.

Oh, damnit.

San Antonio crossed his arms as his head tipped back against the window, annoyed sigh fluttering a strand of loose hair out of his face. The fading glow of daylight beyond his shoulders painted his face in shadow, almost hiding the slight flush across his cheekbones. “Never know when to quit.”

“Please, you’re just as bad.” Dallas snorted. After a moment, he shuffled out of the tight space, glare returning as he looked out the window. The bats were still flying, people still cheering, whatever. So his eyes raised to the darkened sky beyond them, tiny dots starting to become visible in the near-black expanse. Maybe if he counted them long enough, he could pass out.

“Not going to tell them.” Dallas jolted upright at the sudden mutter, almost turning to snap at the other city- though something in his tone stopped him. “Still dumb, but so is everything you do. So whatever. They’re not going to know that you’re scared of flying mice.”

“Gee, thanks. You’re great at keeping secrets.”

“Only when it matters, pendejo. And this barely does.” San Antonio flicked his shoulder, before his hand fell back to the seat. “Don’t count on anything else.”

Dallas looked over, but his gaze was resolutely narrowed to his own window. Underneath his shirt collar, he could just barely see the hint of rosary beads on his skin, wooden swirls glossy with polish despite the years upon years he’d probably had it for. His own jaw clenched for a second, before turning away too.

“Got it, Alamo.” He scoffed. “Not a word.”