Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It’s almost difficult to believe a college like this was only fifteen miles from their hometown. The guide was eagerly telling the other students about the nearby hubs, but it wasn’t anything the lone local hadn’t already seen before. Instead their attention was focused on sketching an assault rifle, or rather, trying to sketch one. When the roads reached the point where they were littered with potholes the scrappy notebook was closed with a sigh. The thing's been taken care of for years beyond its use and was littered with splotches of paint and doodled artillery. All lovingly traced by their hand as they looked it over. 

“Valo” was written in the box on the cover, although V1 hasn’t gone by that name for some time. Bit of a running joke between them and their sister. They’ve kept it going ever since. Just past the window a sign let them know the school was only about five miles away. An atheist going to a catholic college. If it wasn’t for the scholarship they won with their paintball team for state finals V1 wouldn’t have even considered it, but free was a hard price to beat.

Becoming a ballistics specialist has always been a dream of theirs, and the college just so happened to have a forensics science department they could study with. This could be their chance to turn their hobby into a career. All V1 had to do was stomach a few holier than thous away from their moms’ homemade bánh bòs, and they’d be well on their way to proving the hours they spent playing Rainbow Six every weekend wasn't spent in vain. The bus pulled in through the gates parking at the roundabout driveway as everyone was finally let off. They'd seen pictures, but the sheer size of the place was hardly captured. It amazed them for all but a minute before the guide bored them once again with more of his droning.

Their eyes began to wander as they looked for anything of interest. The vending machines had their favorite snacks, but it wasn’t like they were all that picky anyway. Flowers looked nice, they guessed. From the prim and proper dress code to the quiet tidbits of passing gossip it was all a passing white noise of interest, until V1 caught sight of someone interesting reading alone at the fountain. Stacked like a power house with a skirt that fluttered in the gentle breeze she didn't come off like everyone else in this stuffy reclusive place, so serene in comparison. 

They gave a quick glance towards the distracted guide, before they drifted away from the group to approach her. A neutral expression glazed over the womans’ face as she kept to her book, before the briefest of smiles highlighted her rich umber skin against the glow of the early morning sun behind her. They wouldn't have put it past her to be reading a bible, but to their surprise it was one of the books those fanatics at the library were trying to have banned last week. That had been an annoying session zero to sit through. Sharp eyes met up with their own before they were ready for her to notice them, and unsure of what else to do V1 waved.

“Hey there.” They added, before their hands dug right back into their pockets.

She slipped a finger between the pages to hold her place before carefully flipping the book face down.

“Hello.” She replied, reluctantly.

V1 tipped back and forth awkwardly between the balls of their feet to their toes, earning a raised brow from the woman.

“So,” they began, taking out a single hand to casually point it towards the book, “how’d you like A Feast For Fools?”

Her eyes, a silvery shade of gray the likes they’ve never seen before, darted quickly towards the book before meeting back up with them. As if they’d just unveiled some sort of secret.

“How do you know about that?” She questioned cautiously.

It was a popular series of choose your own adventure kids books. Kind of hard to miss.

“I got about halfway into the series. Would have kept going, but my sister spoiled the one I was on before I could finish it.” V1 explained.

Glancing back down then up again to them, she carefully flipped the book over towards the cover. Hoard of the Two-Headed Dragon. The one where Elias has to decide between the treasure and his friends. It brought back memories, enough for them to let out a subtle chuckle.

“No spoilers,” They added with a wave of their hand, “but I ended up getting one of the bad endings.”

She scoffed as her gaze met back up with them, but that smile from before slowly came back.

“How do you make the wrong choice in a choose your own adventure story?” She remarked with a skeptical wince, “The path you’re meant to take is usually pretty obvious.”

V1 remembered having the bright idea to steal the gold for the town. Redistribution from the wealthy to the peasants and all that. Apparently, the author didn’t see it that way.

“Well,” they said with a tilt of their head, “sometimes you have to make a few mistakes before you get it right.”

Straightening up considerably, she looked them up and down. There was an effort to discern something there, but they were sure the answers she was looking for wouldn’t come so easily. From their buzzed crop fade, the flannel jacket wrapped around their overflowing t-shirt and their ripped, ankle-cuffed jeans V1 was the epitome of androgyny. As she wrung her wrist anxiously and curiously tilted her head, they were pretty sure they knew what she was about to ask.

“So… miiisst-..er, missss…?”

They tried their damnedest not to smirk, though they couldn’t help but smile. Extending their hand after an awkward moment, they figured they'd let her linger on it for long enough.

“My name is V1.” 

That only seemed to confuse her more, and the hand that she’d begun to reach towards theirs started to shrink back.

“That’s… not a name.” She rejected, leaning back.

“Sure it is.” They insisted with a jerk of their thumb towards themselves, “It’s my name anyway.”

They found it cute how such a simple thing could put a furrow to that noble brow of hers and it was almost a shame they had to go and notice that. Why did sheltered conservatives always have to be their type?

“Who introduces themselves with a nickname?” She argued.

There was a fiery spark in her eyes that they couldn't help but chase with some of their own, as their polite smile widened into a playful grin.

“I’m afraid that’s the handle I was assigned at birth.” V1 explained with a sigh, bracing one of their legs up onto the fountain beside her, “Straight out of the test tube.” They added, leaning their elbow into their raised thigh, “Only thing about me that hasn’t changed since.”

With their teeth bared into a cheeky grin, V1 tilted their head and propped it slyly into their hand. They didn't miss the gentle flush that brought to her face, but they kept that to themselves.

“And what do you mean by that?” She asked suspiciously.

From that good girl scowl of hers, she knew exactly what they meant. Still, that didn't mean V1 wouldn’t spell it out for her. They were nothing if not brutally honest… when they wanted to be anyway. So V1 leaned in close, as if what they were about to say was at all a secret.

“It means;” They whispered in a hushed breath, “I’m the queer, genderless, little atheist you’re folks warned you about… BoOOooOOoo!”

In a teasing flourish they pulled away to flutter their fingers right next to her ear, earning a hand shoving their face back even further. It nearly toppled them into the ground but still, they couldn't help but laugh. Stomping up to stand her full height she easily towered over their five and a half feet, but that didn't stop them from cocking a confident hand against their hip as they looked up at her.

“I can’t believe they’re letting idiots like you in here.” She barked with a huff, while quickly packing her things. “Atheist. You could have gone literally anywhere else!”

The woman stuffed her book deep into the confines of her backpack before slinging it over her shoulders.

“On my budget?” They remarked, before shaking their head, “Not very likely.”

She groaned, rolling her eyes as she ran an irritated hand through her short, tight, curls.

“So, you’re one of the scholarships. How unsurprising.” She remarked before she bent down, placing her hands on her hips as she glowered at them, “I’ll be keeping my eyes on you. So, don’t even think about spreading any heresy here, because the moment you do, I’ll know about it. Are we clear?”

Oh they could tell they were going to enjoy this.

“Looking forward to it.” V1 answered with a wink.

That earned them a furious pout, one she tried to cover up as she shot back up with some semblance of civil maturity, but they could tell they’d managed to get under her skin from those balled up fists. Turning on their heel, V1 hummed an old happy little tune as they went off to catch back up with their tour guide. Though, they’d only managed to take a few steps when the woman came rushing behind them. 

“Wait!” She shouted.

So V1 stopped, letting her catch up to them as they glanced back ever so slightly.

“Well now,” They began, “didn’t expect you to miss me so soon. Ready to give me a name, or should I just start calling you Casanova?”

Sure it was cheesy, they weren't exactly a natural when it came to flirting, but the remark earned them another blush all the same.

“It’s Gabrielle.” She offered curtly, “Not that you even bothered to ask.”

Elegant and handsome. They think that suited her rather nicely.

“Well, Gabrielle,” V1 tried, liking how the name sat on their tongue, “I’ve got a tour to catch up to, but I’ll be sure to spread the good word of anarchy later, okay? See you around.” 

From threats to sternly worded promises they could hear it all as they trotted away. Alright then, no heresy. Noted. That still left them with eight other sins to pester her with.

***

“You insignificant-… fuck…” Gabrielle grumbled, muttering the last part quietly to herself.

People like this were bad news for the school. Their antics tend to be enough to sort them out of the establishment, considering the type of college this is, but she wasn’t going to take any chances with this one. How dangerous! Gabrielle almost thought she’d found a friend she could talk to here. Of course it was nothing but a troublemaker. It was her fault for openly reading such trash. 

Gabrielle knew the stories were harmless, she’s read enough of them to know that, but she needed to be more careful when reading these particular books out in the open. They weren’t exactly… christian, in the traditional sense. If only her life wasn't so busy and stressful right now. Then maybe she wouldn't need to waste her time with childhood comforts. Reading was Gabrielles’ only escape these days, and sure, she still had Wednesdays and Fridays in the afternoon, but that didn’t completely ease the stress. Not while she was actually at school, where it was the worst.

A buzz in her pocket surprised her enough to jolt slightly. Gabrielle didn’t expect to get any messages before classes began. Flicking on the screen she saw a text from her father.

“Meet me in my office.”

Not a promising start to the day. If he was calling her there, this was likely going to be a serious conversation. No sense thinking like a daughter then. Steadying a breath, Gabrielle put up her phone and began to make her way towards the guidance counselors’ office. She’s always hated this. He used to be the guidance counselor for the middle school back in town too, and she couldn’t count how many times he’d called her personally over the intercom to “have a word with her”.

The more she worked herself up over the impending conversation, the worse it was going to be. So it was best not to think too hard about it. To calm her nerves Gabrielle remembered the last chapter she'd read. Elias and his friends were traveling through the winding caves of confusion. Though she couldn’t see what was so confusing about it. Two of the paths were clearly traps to lead people astray towards false promises of treasure and riches. 

The dull and vine riddled path was obviously going to lead towards the healing springs. Gabrielle had common sense enough to go the right way. Not like that little fool V1. She knows that’s not a real name, just like she knows “they” isn’t a real gender. You don’t get to choose. You’re born the gender you are because it’s the will of god, like it or not, and she did like it of course.

After all, what was there not to like about herself? Her father was proud of her, she was almost finished with her studies, and soon she would begin her missionary work. All of that accomplishment, who she was. It was something Gabrielle could only achieve by being herself, not someone else crafted in her own image. That wasn’t for anyone to carelessly decide. She understood that.

The guidance counselors’ office was just a few steps up the stairs and with an almost shaky twist of the knob there he was. Sitting up right, typing at his computer, as the light overhead obscured his tinted gold rimmed glasses. He released a single hand gesturing towards a chair and after closing the door, Gabrielle took a seat. She tried to start but her father held up a single finger before she could. So, she quickly shrunk back into the chair and waited. While he continued to type away on his keyboard as the clock ticked the seconds into minutes, providing the only noise in the cramped office for the longest while. 

Her father was a serious man. A priest who sought to guide his flock all hours of the day. Often dressed in black, even when he wasn’t behind the podium, it made his pale pallor complexion stark white in comparison. Already topped with a full head of gray and barely in his forties, it was clear that the weight of an entire town and its young promising minds had made its impact on him. The tag on his desk read, Azarel, but she knew better than to call him anything short of father. He finally swiveled his chair away from the computer and folded his hands together over the files scattered along his desk.

“This is the start of a new year, Gabrielle.” He began with a rumble of poise, “I had hoped you would understand that to mean you were expected to take on more responsibilities.”

She tried not to balk at that, even as her brows drew up in surprise.

“Father,” Gabrielle was careful with her tone, always careful during a disagreement, “I have been making the most of my time. I’m already helping the town committee organize stands for the county fair, taking numerous electives, singing in the choir every Sunday, and volunteering my free time at the animal shelter.”

Her father grunted, reclining upright against his seat as his chair made a similar creak of disapproval.

“And yet you have time to lounge about at the library twice a week.” He curtly added.

In muted frustration her fingers clutched onto the arms of her chair, but whether she spoke up or not the lecture was coming all the same. With a sigh he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a well worn small bible. Flipping it with ease he found just the passage he was looking for before reciting the words within.

“Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the realm of the dead, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom. Ecclesiastes nine, ten.”

No doubt the passage was well worn and highlighted at this point. He’s cited it enough times that even she’s memorized it by proxy. Having served its purpose the bible was neatly tucked away, back into his pocket, before his attention was directed back at her.

“I will allow you to pick the day,” He relented before he raised a stern finger, “but one of them must be put to better use.”

The raw fire that stung her eyes as she blinked back her tears made Gabrielle feel like such a child, but the thought of losing even more time for herself felt like agony. Still, she took in a shuddering breath and regarded her father with a smile.

“Of course. Thank you father.”

He nodded, returning her smile with a small one of his own. The angle tilted his frames down, and she could see the tired earthy hazel behind the glass, before they were pressed back up neatly against his nose. The nod was a quiet dismissal, and one that she took without another word. Students had begun to shuffle in from the campus as Gabrielle navigated towards her first class. Between Wednesday and Friday, she had no choice but to let go of Friday. Wednesday was the one free day both she and her new friend at the pet shelter had off together, and she wasn’t about to miss her only chance to see Fareeha outside of church.

This was just Gabrielles’ life at the moment. Sure it’s always been difficult, but soon all the effort it’s taken to get here will be worth it. All she needed was a little faith and a lot of caffeine.

Chapter Text

True to her word, there wasn’t a single hall that first week of school where Gabrielle wasn’t keeping an eye on them. When V1 caught her attention by dunking some trash it was the perfect motivation to land all their shots perfectly, despite the distance. Those broad, intimidating, shoulders of hers as she folded her arms and watched made such a simple game feel like a matter of life or death. Weirdly enough, that almost made them want to miss. Just to see if Gabrielle would make a promise out of that threat. Then when the next day rolled by, she actually tried to sick a teacher on them.

“Professor, I saw this student skating on the handrail! Just now! No one should be wearing roller skate heels in the building!”

Yet, all the old man had managed to find once they’d bared their soles were a pair of sneakers.

“Miss Gabrielle, please.” He’d sighed as he pinched his brow, “I have no time for this.”

V1 kept their snickers quiet, but the glare Gabrielle threw their way was more than enough to let them know it hadn’t been quiet enough.

“Sir! You can clearly see-!” She tried to argue before the old man brushed her off.

Infraction after infraction, they just barely managed to make it through these first two days by the skin of their teeth. Normally V1 didn’t go out of their way to be noticed by much of anyone, but there was just something about Gabrielle. She could be yards away and they’d feel those eyes on them in an instant. A presence like that had a way of demanding their attention. Dealing with a religious nut shouldn’t be anything new considering their small town was famous for the cathedral and the college, and yet somehow she was. So that begged the question; why did she seem so different? 

Gabrielle spat the same rhetoric as the rest of their classmates, but her actions and their words didn't seem to line up. It wasn’t long before V1 noticed she was only as social as she needed to be. Often finding excuses to walk away from the dolled up cliques when their conversations would phase into casual slander. Every chance she got, Gabrielle was reading. Hell, since they’ve met her the only thing that seemed to ease the tension she carried was getting lost in her books. Books she didn’t feel comfortable enjoying openly, and in a place like this V1 couldn’t blame her.

The posters strung up through their high school halls were subtle compared to the blatant oppressive overtones throughout the college. Across every hall all they could see were the eyes of saints peering down at them as they made their way from one class to the next. V1 hated to think what living in the dorms was like. Waking up in the middle of the night to find those eyes judging some poor bastard just for wanting a midnight burrito. Couldn’t be them. V1 was smart enough to save up for their own apartment over the past three summers, like a person who actually wanted to enjoy their midnight burritos. 

So, with the catholic culture decorating the interior of every wall, and being the topic of just about every conversation, V1 decided they'd rather enjoy their lunch outside from now on. Finding the shadiest canopy of trees they sat down and enjoyed the breeze. Digging out their greasy hometown burger V1 tore into their first bite, savoring the solace and their meal with an appreciative hum. The silence lasted for all but a moment before a sudden crunch in the grass caught their attention. Lazily, they cracked open an eye and realized they weren’t alone. At this point V1 was hardly surprised she actually came all the way out here just to check on them. 

Gabrielle stood by at first, simply staring them down for an awkward moment. Wearing a look that teetered between stress and confusion, she seemed on the verge of second guessing herself. Only tipped further into uncertainty when V1 slid back against their tree and gave her some space to sit. Maybe she was only interested in keeping them from acting up, or maybe she did secretly see them as something friend adjacent. Who could really say, but after a beat of hesitation she took two steps forward before finally taking the offer. While they had their fair share of questions V1 decided to leave her be for now, silently carrying on as they ate their burger.

As soon as Gabrielle let herself relax she immediately fished for her book, and it was clear she appreciated having some space to read in peace. Just as much as V1 appreciated her, oddly enough. Sure, Gabrielle was an asshole who kept trying to get them in trouble over petty shit but, she was also the only person here that would even look at them. There wasn’t any misgendering bullshit from her either, despite the fact that they were pretty sure she didn’t understand a word of it. Honestly Gabrielle seemed more upset that an atheist was attending a catholic school and yeah, fair enough. They couldn’t exactly fault her for that one.

Three buzzes in a row from their pocket quickly caught V1s’ attention so they dropped their food over the bag to check on their phone. It was more messages from their sister. She’s been texting them nonstop since last week. Asking them things from what backstory they were going to have to what class, sub-class, motivations and specializations they wanted to build their character towards. Man, V2 was really going all out for this campaign, wasn’t she? Neither of them have played anything more than some one-shots together so this was bound to be different to say the least. 

The last message was a single question, but notably an important one.

“when are you free?” 

Well, that was a good question. When were they free? Most of their time after school was spent working at the paintball range, and with their assignments only just beginning to pile up it needed to be a day during the week. Sometime around the afternoon definitely. Fridays and Mondays were permanently on their schedule at the range while Tuesdays and Thursdays were iffy since they were listed as on call for those days. That left only one solid opening that could work for them.

“Wednesdays?”

Half a burger later and they got their answer.

“works for us. see you there!”

Before they finished their lunch they let her know that they’d answer the rest of her questions later tonight. A triple chinned winky face in reply said she was cool with that. Good. Now that that was over, V1 could breathe a little easier knowing the hard part was taken care of.

***

Oh thank god today was over. Quickly shoveling her things off of the desk and back into her bag, Gabrielle hurried out the door heading straight for the city bus stop. It was clear to her now that she’d overestimated how much cramming she was capable of. Thanks to a certain miscreant politely sharing their private space with her over the next two lunches, she’d managed to finish the rest of her book before today was over. While it was inconvenient for the rest of the afternoon as the hours ticked on she began to consider it more of a blessing than a curse. Now that she was on the bus back to town, all Gabrielle could think about was getting to the next part in the story.

Sure, the adventures were nothing groundbreaking, but that wasn’t what drew her to the series anyway. In each book Elias and his group of ragtag misfits, no matter the story, were always changing. Plot lines from one book to the next would develop in the background and seeing the characters grow and change was her favorite part. Elias had a nasty temper about him right from the beginning. It surprised her at first, considering he was the main character, but she could admit she found that sort of relatable. He also came from a home with a strict family, and said all the things she’d only ever thought right out in the open.

Gabrielle could only imagine what it would be like to speak her mind like that. She rarely did, if ever. At least before meeting V1. Although, that was different. They always found a way to push her nerves until there was nothing left but to say something about it. Standing up to them was easy. Her father was a different matter entirely.

Not that she wanted to disrespect him, never that, it’s just… she wonders sometimes if he respected her? Gabrielle never thought to ask herself something like that before it came up in the books, when Elias’ father realized he’d been pushing too many expectations on his son. It was honestly one of the most heartfelt chapters in the whole series. Although, life wasn’t likely to imitate fiction if she tried to do the same. Gabrielle could picture it now. Would he quote something vaguely nice like Colossians three, twenty-three or would he be blunt with a classic like Proverbs twenty-one, twenty-five? 

One way or another he’d have his answer before Gabrielle could even explain her question. Just like every other time she’s tried to talk with him. There was no sense dwelling on that now though, she was here. The next two hours were hers, and she’d be damned if she was going to waste them. Stepping in through the doors, she took in a fresh breath of vanilla and lavender, before letting it out with a relieved sigh. Fareeha was already waiting for her next to the aisles, looking just as happy as Gabrielle was feeling right about now, if only she wasn’t too tired to show it.

“I hope I didn’t keep you waiting, Faree.”

She shook her head, jostling her dupatta from the sudden movement, and Gabrielle smiled back at her fondly. Fareeha had insisted on the nickname when they’d met this last spring saying it was what her friends called her. That is, after she spent a good forty minutes gushing excitedly about angels. Gabrielle hardly minded though, it had been nice. After years of lessons being drilled into her head, she was glad that someone found the knowledge she had interesting. With her being so easy to talk to and so refreshingly warm Gabrielles’ never known anyone quite like Faree. 

The encyclopedia wrapped in her arms still had a blue sticky tab left inside so Gabrielle pinched the strip between her fingers to point it out.

“Looks like you missed one.” She teased wiggling the tab.

Surprised, Faree flipped open the book to carefully pluck the strip from the paper and Gabrielle saw her namesake illustrated on the page. Draped in white robes with curly blond locks he looked about as far from her as any man could possibly be. Her father had said she’d been named with the purpose of spreading the word, just like the holy messenger. It was funny, when she was a kid she spelled her name just like this so many times. The extra L’s and E’s must have thrown her off or something. Her father drilled that lesson into her head too.

“It gets to be its own challenge keeping track of them all.” Faree remarked with a muted chuckle, “I take it you’ve already finished yours?”

As Faree pointed towards the book she was holding Gabrielle regarded it with a bit of a huff.

“Yeah,” She grumbled, “barely lasted me a week.” 

“I told you you should have borrowed the others when you had the chance. There’s only five more books in the series and someone’s already taken Chaos of the Backwards Maze.”

Gabrielles’ heart nearly stuttered in her chest.

“But not Patience is a Furious Road, right?”

The smile on her face held some mirth to it, softened by the genuine sincerity of her golden honey eyes.

“No,” Faree assured, “It’s still there.”

“Oh thank god.” Gabrielle muttered with a sigh.

She was currently hanging on by a thread and the only thing keeping it from snapping was a series of children’s adventure books from the nineties. Gabrielle could see how that might be a problem, but for now the only thing she wanted to do was turn this book in and check that book out. So after doing just that, she quickly snatched up the next book off the shelf before plopping down into her favorite fuzzy bean chair. By the time Faree caught back up to her Gabrielle had already gotten through the first two chapters. Though once she realized that, she suddenly set the book down to pace herself. It wasn't long in Gabrielles’ self imposed boredom before she began to look over Farees’ shoulder, and while she didn’t recognize any of the star charts she was looking at, Gabrielle could still admire the pretty photos of deep space.

“I know you’re worried what other people might think of you Gabrielle, but anyone who would think less of you for doing what you love surely doesn’t have an opinion worth valuing.”

The unexpected remark was enough to catch her off guard. Gabrielle sat there blinking blankly towards Faree who simply carried on as if she hadn’t said a word. She would take it to heart if she could, but it wasn’t a matter of other people. Rather just the one. What would her father say if he knew all her free time was wasted on children’s stories? Surely his words wouldn’t be nearly as kind.

Maybe she should put herself to better use. The book in her lap sat patiently by, but Gabrielle set it aside on the small table between her and Faree to reach into her bag. There were assignments she could get started on. Besides, this book needed to last her a full week now. Everything happens for a reason after all, and it was best to make the most of it. So with some resolve, she decided to get started.

Hovering her pencil over the page, Gabrielle tried to come up with an answer for the question she’d been assigned to debate, “Should everyone be vegetarian?” but found herself coming up short. Why couldn’t they choose their own topics? Gabrielle didn’t know how to argue for something as vapid as this! Glaring at the page didn’t fill it any faster and before she knew it she’d begun to chew the end of her pencil in frustration. Her absence of a train of thought was broken up by an odd clattering sound. It stopped just as soon as she noticed it, so she put it out of her mind to focus back on the paper.

The question wasn’t going to answer itself. Against was clearly the way to go. No one diet works for everyone, it’s clearly too restrictive to be considered fair. Gabrielle jotted that down, and once again the same noise perked her ears. This time she waited only to hear nothing again. Irritating. How was anyone supposed to think with random clattering going off throughout the library? Who could be so rude?

Focusing back on her work, Gabrielle grumbled as she tapped her pencil onto the page. Something… Something. Damn it, this needed to get done! She could feel herself waiting and a long moment passed before Gabrielle realized she was holding her breath. Though just before she let it out she heard it. That noise.

“That’s it.” Gabrielle declared as she quickly rose to her feet.

Faree quickly followed after her as she made her way back towards the main lobby, clearly surprised.

“What’s wrong?” She asked nervously.

“That noise, don’t you hear it!?”

“I can’t say I’ve noticed anything-”

“T-t-that clattering sound!” Gabrielle stuttered with frustration, “How could you not hear it? It’s so distracting!”

It was driving her crazy!

“Is it really a good idea to confront random strangers like this?” Faree cautioned.

“Someone has to,” Gabrielle proclaimed in her harshest whisper, “and if anyone’s going to give them a piece of their mind it’s going to be me!”

Walking past the lobby before climbing up the small ramp, they’d made it to the game room and sure enough, there was a group playing a game at the tables. Not just any group, but a group with a familiar little pest. V1 seemed to notice her right away, having the gall to smile and wave at her. In response, Gabrielle simply folded her arms with a grunt. That caught the others' attention, both of them turning to face her and Faree with enthusiastic intrigue and mild interest alike.

“Oh, hey there!” A girl, looking vaguely like V1 addressed, “We’re not being too loud, right?”

Well, as a matter of fact they were being too loud, but before Gabrielle could correctly say as much Faree hesitantly stepped forward to get a better look at the sheets strewn across their table.

“What is all this?” She asked curiously.

The girls’ smile somehow got even brighter.

“Have you not heard of tabletop role-playing?” 

Faree shook her head and as the girl went on to explain Gabrielle rolled her eyes. It was that stupid devil worshiping “game”. Just a cheap excuse for people to act out their sick and twisted fantasies. She already knew all she needed to know about this crap. As soon as Faree was done listening to this nonsense Gabrielle was going to tell them off for making so much noise, and then the two of them would go back to reading together. Or well, sitting together at least, Gabrielle would have plenty of time to read later.

The only thing stopping her from telling all of them off right then and there was a look. That one singular smug look V1s’ been wearing since she first realized what they were playing. Gabrielle found herself glaring furiously the more they stared back at her, and the longer it went on, the more she wanted to say something about it. Until that smirk broke out into a scoffing grin and she finally did.

“What?” She asked bluntly, gritting it out through her teeth.

It halted the conversation beside her to a standstill as the table and Faree shifted their attention between the two of them. V1 actually hummed a little chuckle before their piercing charcoal gaze looked her dead in the eyes.

“Finally found something you’re not good at, huh? It’s okay to admit it.”

The tension in the room snapped as Gabrielle lost her composure.

“I’ve never even played this stupid game!” She argued.

A harsh shush startled her, cutting through her defense as she quickly turned around. The librarian poked his head through the entryway from the other room, eyes covered from the angle of his visor as his long beard followed the jerk of his head.

“Sorry, Mr. Minos.” Gabrielle whispered, carefully.

That seemed to be enough for the librarian, who merely nodded before rolling back to his desk. Gabrielle shifted her attention back to V1, glaring back at them with even more ire for nearly getting her into trouble.

“What makes you think I’d be bad at something I’ve never played?” She added in the harshest whisper she could muster, “I get the concept. It’s a dice rolling stats game. It’s not complicated.”

V1 planted their elbows onto the table before resting their face into their palms. 

“Well, when you put it like that, you can’t exactly be good at it either.” They pointed out, “So unless you give it a chance, I’ll just have to assume it is too complicated for you.”

At this point the whole table, Faree included, was staring at her. Gabrielle stood there nervously for a moment longer than she’d care to admit before her pride got the better of her. Slapping her hand over the table she kept her gaze dead locked with theirs.

“Fine then.” She relented as she leaned in, “Let’s play.”

Chapter Text

They can’t believe that actually worked.

“Wow. So what,” Mirage cut in to say, “these guys are just gonna join the game without a discussion or anything? That’s not all that fair to spring up on you.”

Quickly digging into her bag their sister came prepared with pre-made character sheets and two extra sets of dice, because of course she did.

“I can work with this Mirage! Oh I can work with this!” V2 eagerly accepted.

Three sheets of paper were thrust into Gabrielles’ hands unexpectedly with Faery receiving much the same. The dumbfounded look on her face was priceless, but V1 figured they’d keep their mouth shut for now.

“The party has a rogue slash artificer and a barbarian.” V2 went on to explain, “We could really use a cleric if either of you are interested. There’s also a druid, a bard, a wizard, and a fighter which I’d specifically recommend if you aren’t so sure about spellcasting because they’re really beginner friendly!”

Both of them were hit with a little bit of everything at once as V2 caught them up to speed, but Gabrielle seemed like she’s played her fair share of board games before. The other girl, Faree, took a liking to the cleric right away while Gabrielle struggled with what class to choose. They were sure she was going to take V2s’ advice not to pick wizard for a first time session as a challenge, but any enthusiasm for the class was lost when she looked at the stats. Apparently playing a character so squishy didn’t appeal to her at all.

So Gabrielle picked the fighter instead. That worked just fine for V1, since he appeared to be the most well rounded character out of the three. Sliding deeper into the booth, Mirage and V1 made space for the both of them. After passing a slip of paper for the new players to quickly read over, V2 reestablished the setting. It was a simple dungeon crawl for the most part, that was easy enough to introduce both of them into the scene. Faree was shy, but Gabrielle snapped into her role right away.

“My friend and I were sent to recover the blacksmiths’ heirloom shield.” The fighter explained, “His son lost it during a fight when he last explored these ruins.”

Their warforged could believe that.

“He wouldn’t be the only one. It’s been a problem for the whole town.” The artificer elaborated, “Someone’s already died here. The mayor sent me and Eshia to put a stop to this creature before it decides to try and attack the town.”

Faree nervously tapped her fingers against the table, so V1 and Mirage waited to see if she wanted to say anything.

“W-we… we can help.” The cleric added.

“Awesome!” Eshia declared to pump her up, “The more the merrier! We’ll have this beast crawling back to the pits it came from in no time!”

The first encounter they ran into was nothing too serious. Just a couple of rats, but V1 swore Gabrielle had formed a personal vendetta against them. One of them had managed to crawl up her fighters’ legs to bite him and the look of contempt she gave her dice when her character only managed to flail about was utterly hilarious. While V1 was happy to be an ass, their artificer was a bit more helpful. Firing their pistol, they lent him a hand and shot the furry little bastard off of him.

“Um- thanks.”

The awkward response was a little out of character, but they hoped she’d get that they weren’t about to antagonize her in game. 

“Anytime, casanova.” Their artificer replied.

Gabrielle frowned but if this was going to be a true do-over they wanted to get it right.

“Speaking of,” They added, “I never caught your name.”

While her character sheet clearly said Dorian, V1 wasn’t about to meta game. Even for something as simple as a name. Getting into character was half the fun. They may not have Mirages’ acting chops or V2s’ detailed descriptions, but they could at least play a character. Gabrielle glanced down to her sheet before biting the inner corner of her lip nervously. The time she was taking to think about it confused them until her fighter answered them.

“Gabriel. I’m… Gabriel.”

Well, that was kind of boring. Still if that was who she wanted to be, who were they to talk shit? They described their character clapping their hand over Gabriels’ shoulder before they spoke up.

“Nice to meet you Gabe. I’m S.A.E.T.T..” 

V1 took the confused look on her face to be something her character would share.

“Stands for, “Stealth and Espionage through Thievery” but everyone just calls me Saett. With that second t being nice and silent.” They elaborated, miming a zipper they flicked off like a key for some added flare.

“I’m sorry, were we supposed to introduce our characters now?” Faree asked the DM out of character nervously.

The group turned to her as V2 shook her head with a smile.

“It’s okay if you need more time. This is just the first session. Nobody knows what they’re doing right now. We’re all just feeling it out.”

“Oh. Okay.” Faree shrunk down into her seat as she noticed everyones’ attention on her, “Sorry.”

“No, don’t be!” V2 assured, “You can ask me anything at any time. If it makes it easier, you can just slip me a note and I’ll answer whatever questions you have, alright?”

Faree nodded, still clearly anxious but looking a little more relieved than before. With the party properly introduced their next challenge was to solve a puzzle. In a room cluttered with miscellaneous junk were five statues of robed men in various poses with inscriptions written on plaques underneath them. In order for the bars over the door to open each statue needed to be given a specific object. The only problem was two of the statues mirrored one another, and only one had an intact inscription.

“Give me that which tells my story.” Eshia recited, “So we know that could mean either the book or the pen.” 

Most of the other objects scattered throughout the room had slotted nicely into each hand and were fairly simple. The hat went with the pinched fingers above the head, the apple in the hand that was positioned just in front of the face, and the lute for the strumming fingers. All that was left were these last two statues. Both having their hands held in front of each chest with pinched fingers hovering over each palm. Both having the capacity to hold either the pen or the book.

“The pen is the one that writes the story,” Gabriel proposed, “so maybe the pen goes here?”

“Wouldn’t the book be the one the story is written on though?” Saett pointed out.

Gabrielle glanced through her character sheet, humming thoughtfully to herself while everyone else began doing much the same. After the artificers’ investigation they were all aware of the poison darts carefully hidden throughout the room, so taking a guess wasn’t exactly ideal. After several minutes of going back and forth juggling around different ideas Faree decided to speak up.

“Could I- check the broken statue?”

With so much attention drawn to figuring out which object went with the inscribed statue the three of them neglected to put much thought into the other one, but the beam on their sisters’ face let V1 know that that was the question she'd been waiting for. 

“How do you interact with it?”

“I… I touch the statue?”

V2 did a little shoulder shimmy, excited that her puzzle was well on its way to being solved.

“As you reach your hand toward the broken statue you realize, as it phases through your hand, that it is only an illusion.” She explained.

A sense of relief washed over the collective table after they’d finally found an answer. 

“This statue is a fake.” The cleric declared to the rest of the party.

“Which means-” Gabriel began before everyone else joined in, “they both go with the real statue!”

Once the book and pen were placed in the hands of the last statue the gates closing off the door were finally opened. Everyone, both in and out of character, praised Faree for being the one to figure it out. It seemed like just the thing she needed to finally ease into her character, and V1 was glad she was having fun. Gabrielle too for that matter. She was a fast learner, and Gabriel wasn’t a half bad character. A bit of a chivalrous goody two shoes, but that was fun for their sneaky artificer to play off of. 

Though, he just had to say something when Saett decided to pocket that locket. Whoever the hell Gina was, their character was hard pressed to care. A gold jewel encrusted locket was bound to fetch a decent price at the nearest market. Still, their artificer decided to hear Gabriel out.

“It doesn’t matter if we know who she is,” He argued, “it’s clear that she meant something to the poor soul that died here.” 

A sound moral argument, but Saett wasn’t about to be preached to by some stranger.

“The dead can’t mourn.” They shot back, “Better to let their valuables serve the living.”

Gabrielle steadied a breath, and V1 was surprised to see not anger, but disappointment on her face.

“He carried her with him into this place and lost his life. That locket is no more an object than you are, Saett. How would you feel if Gina thought the same of you?”

Oh shit. That actually managed to catch them by surprise. Did he just make a rogue feel bad for trying to steal?  

“I… didn’t consider that.” Saett admitted.

“Look,” Gabriel added, “I’m not about to be the little angel on your shoulder who tells you off for all the bad things you’ll do. All I ask is that you think about it. We still have a ways to go before we’re done here.”

It was then that they realized she wasn’t trying to strong arm them. Gabrielle was actually getting into character. Sure as hell came a lot more naturally to her than it did for them. They remember being way more like Faree when they first started out, and for a while too. Her fighter let them keep the locket, and honestly V1 could tell that meant something to their “skin of steel, heart of gold” type character. Being seen as a person to be trusted and not as a function to be used was one of the core arcs they were going for after all. 

So when the subject was dropped Saett decided to take his advice and gave it some honest thought. Of course, V1 had already made up their mind what their character would do, but figured it would be best to save it for after the dungeon. Once they’d navigated their way through more traps and hissing rats the basement of the abandoned castle looked to be just up ahead. Crossing through a series of thick cobwebs and dust the only thing that provided any light were the sconces on the walls all leading up to the main event; a slumbering green hag nestled under a pile of feathers and bones. More of each were strung up all along the ceiling and from the horrid stench of the bubbling cauldron in the center it was clear that this was a vile creature. One that held no shame in its proclivity towards human consumption. 

V2s’ description of the woman sounded oddly familiar, and after a moment they realized they recognized her.

“It’s that creep from the market who sold us that bullshit healing potion.” Saett remarked.

The one that had taken Eshia down to only two hit points after she’d used it.

“Oh, I’m looking forward to this.” Eshia grunted with a grin as she readied her battle axe.

“What should we do?” Farre questioned, looking between Mirage and V1 for a lead.

They had the advantage since the hag was asleep, but that was only from where they were currently standing. Making their way through this room was bound to set off the bone chimes. Saett could get a good shot from here with their pistol. It wouldn’t kill her, but maybe it would still get in some good damage.

“I can take the first shot from here, but she’s going to be pissed as soon as she wakes up.” Their artificer relayed.

“Well then, fire when ready.” Gabriel accepted with a shrug, “The sooner she’s dealt with, the better.”

So fire they did, getting a nice bonus for their sneak attack, and with that the combat was started. Everyone rolled their initiative and that put Eshia up first. She charged in, burning her bonus action to go into a rage and brought her axe down into the hags’ shoulder, chipping off a fair bit of her health. Next was Farees’ turn and using her first cleric spell she cast Faerie Fire, giving Saetts’ pistol a bit of a boost during their round when the hag failed her dex throw. Given the high armor rating they were more than happy to take it. This fight was going to need all the help they could get. 

The gravely old woman was still kicking after a good shot into her chest so now it was Gabriels’ turn. Gabrielle had been studying not just her character sheet, but the printed off pages from the players handguide V2 had given her as well. As they’d been making their way through the dungeon she’d been getting better at navigating encounters and utilizing the skill sets she had as a fighter to make the most of her character. Now that it was her turn she had Gabriel use his sword to run in and slash the hag. Her attack just barely hit, but she used her action surge to get in another one and it was a good thing she did. Gabriel beat out the ac again and dealt a total of fifteen points of slashing damage. 

So far, after a single round of combat, that took the hag down by forty three points. Not bad for their first round. V2s’ hag voice had a cackly sort of gurgle to it, and the way she hunched her shoulders every time she spoke made the torrent of damage she dealt to the party just a little easier to deal with. Faree did the work of healing Gabriel after he’d taken a nasty slash with her claws while Eshias’ psyche took a bit of a hit through some vicious mockery. Saett was able to defend themselves thanks to their ac beating out her attack while Faree got by with little more than a scrape. Another round of combat saw the hag losing thirty two points of health this time, and all the while V2 was gushing up just how gnarled their attacks were leaving her.

From bitter jabs, to hissed out curses this old biddy certainly had a mouth on her. After her next series of attacks she tried to turn invisible. Eshia wasn’t left with much choice but to swing blindly, so her attack missed. Faree quickly put a stop to the hags' nonsense once her turn came along, casting detect magic on her before she could try to escape. That left the final blow between just Saett and Gabriel. Because at this point the hag had to be pretty low. 

V1 glanced over across the table to Gabrielle, and really took in the intense look of concentration on her face. It was subtle, almost buried in her focus, but there it was. That smile, so soft and earnest as it managed to peek through yet again. Sure, their pistol should be able to take the hag out without much problem, but they had an idea. Taking out their whip they used house rules to grapple her. Then once their turn was over V1 scribbled up a note.

“Hey V2?”

Peeking over her DM screen she gave them her attention.

“What’s up?”

“Can Gabe and I do something cool?” They asked, passing her the note.

Gabrielle tilted her head toward V1 with a bit of confusion before their sister looked it over and gave them the thumbs up. V1 smiled up at Gabrielle, then took the note from V2 and passed it over to her. She read it, then read it again before looking up at them with surprise.

“Can… can we even do that?” She hesitated to ask.

All V1 did was nod. If the DM gave them the okay then that was the final word as far as their table was concerned.

“Okay. Yeah. Let’s do it!” She said, suddenly very excited.

Tugging at their whip, Saett dragged the hag over toward the two of them as Gabriel struck her with his sword. Her roll managed to hit and the damage was well over enough. So V2 asked that ever so delightful question everyone hopes their DM will ask.

“How do you want to do this?”

Gabrielle didn’t seem like she was expecting to have such narrative control, but the shock was quickly taken over by a spark of creativity.

“I raise my sword, ready to swing, and just before the blade connects I declare, “Justice!” and cut off her head!”

Maybe not the most unique sort of battle cry, but it certainly fit the moment. More importantly, she sold it well. The hags’ head rolled to the floor in a bloodied heap before it crumbled into dust. Leaving nothing but her clothes. The party found a strange key in her pocket, carved out of wood, and when they used it on the tiny door they found under her boney bed they found a whole hoard of treasures she’d stolen from the town. The important items were stored away in a chest and brought out of the castle with them.

The party came back into town like a hoard of Santas, as they redistributed important heirlooms and treasures back to their respective residents. Gabriel and Farre brought the shield they promised back to the blacksmith who gratefully offered them the agreed upon gold as well as a permanent discount towards his wears. Soon the chest had been thoroughly looked through and as a reward for their efforts the mayor tried to shortchange them. Saett attempted a persuasive argument only for their dice to fall short of favoring them. So when that didn’t work, Eshia just intimidated her. That ended up doing the trick well enough, and then some.

Everyone left the adventure one level higher, setting them up for a much better level three, with enough gold to prep for the next adventure. Though before the session came to a close, V1 said Saett was going to look for Gina. They could almost sort of tell their sister hadn’t planned for her to be an actual character, but if there was one thing she was good at it was making memorable encounters. Gina was a sweet girl who’d stuck around in this dinky small town to keep her promise. After receiving the necklace she understood that her fiance wouldn’t be returning, so she’d just have to start their adventure with him in her memory. The poor girl thanked Saett with a kiss on the cheek rather than a pocket lined with gold before she left to prepare for her up and coming journey.

It was simple, but a nice moment for their character all the same. V2 had even given them an inspiration for the exchange. Clicking the screen on their phone once everything was said and done they were surprised to see how quickly their two hours had gone by.

“Oh shit.” Gabrielle remarked looking over their shoulder.

“Yeah,” V2 agreed, closing her DM screen, “I’d say this is a good place to wrap the session up.”

“I think I’d like to make some changes to Eshia if that’s alright?” Mirage asked, carefully slipping her sheet into her shoulder bag, “Flavor her up a bit, you know?”

Batting those fluttery lashes was completely unnecessary.

“Sure! Text me later and we’ll see what we can come up with, okay?”

Considering Mirage had their sister wrapped around her little finger. Well, thank the flying spaghetti monster that she didn’t use those powers for evil or else this would be a real nightmare campaign.

“Thanks Vee Vee!”

The two were such sickly sweet girlfriends that V1 could practically taste the barf in their throat. 

“I have to go home.” Gabrielle announced, quickly scrambling out and away from the booth.

“Wait! You forgot your character sheet!” V2 tried to protest.

There was certain guilt there as Gabrielle glanced back between the paper and the DM.

“I-... I’m sorry, um, V2 was it? It was a well constructed game but I-...”

Their sister stood up before taking Gabrielles’ sheet from the table and handing it over to her.

“You’re welcome anytime.” She offered, “Having you at the table was a lot of fun. For everyone.”

V1 didn’t usually let their sister speak for them but this time they had to agree, and they did so with a nod and a smile. There was a pained wince in Gabrielles’ gaze as she looked back towards Faree. She took the sheet and folded it into her pocket, but ultimately shook her head.

“I’m sorry.”

Gabrielle left without another word as an awkward pause of silence hushed over the table.

“Girl knows how to make an entrance and an exit. I’m actually kind of jealous.” Mirage teased.

The tension seemed to settle after that as the girls talked with Faree. Not much for conversation V1 turned and leaned their head against the window, noticing Gabrielle after a moment as she passed by. Her gaze lingered towards the table until it met down with theirs. They smiled and waved just like before, but all that got them was a look of hopeless, confused, longing in return. Then she was gone. They’d give her about a week before the dice goblin itch got to her. 

At least, they hoped anyway. V1 liked seeing this side of Gabe.

Chapter Text

The front door still had a habit of creaking loud so Gabrielle didn’t bother trying to sneak in. Sure enough her father was already there, leaning against the dining room archway as she hung her coat by the door.

“Any excuse you have for arriving home at such an hour I’d love to hear it.” He remarked, sternly folding his arms.

While the truth was sure to land her in quite a fair bit of trouble, she wasn’t about to lie to her own father. So with a heavy sigh Gabrielle readied herself for a scolding.

“I’m sorry Dad, I was-”

“Asking for forgiveness after the fact is hardly commendable.” He argued.

“I understand that.” She accepted, “I just wanted to explain-”

“In this house,” He spoke cutting in yet again, “you are to be home by seven, unless pre-arranged engagements dictate otherwise.”

So… it was just a rhetorical question then? Glad to know that once again he didn’t actually want to hear her out. Gabrielle soothed the furrow in her brow and bit back a frown as she took in a sharp tense breath. Then carefully let it out.

“I won’t let it happen again.”

“See that you don’t.” He curtly replied.

The remark caught Gabrielle by surprise causing her to jolt back. Startling her at first before the shock gave way to irritation. Stepping past her he made his way up the stairs, and she couldn’t help but clench her fists for some form of purchase. Her body was shaking from the mounting frustration as a thousand thoughts left Gabrielle far too disoriented to put any of them into words. Although, when there was so much left unsaid where could she even start? Five steps up he stopped suddenly, catching her attention as he added ever so softly,

“A young woman like yourself must be careful Gabrielle. These are dark times we are living in.”

He stood silently for a moment as he held onto the bannister. There was something almost nervous in his frown and slowly Gabrielle felt the clenched fists at her sides begin to loosen.

“If anything were to happen to you I… I don’t know what I would do.”

Her shoulders sagged, weighed by a guilt so heavy and awful, as her anger left her. How could she let him worry over her like that? Over what, some silly board game!? Gabrielle truly was the worst daughter anyone could ever ask for.

“Please forgive me father.” She requested, bowing her head as she placed her hands politely over her lap, “I was careless. This won't happen again.”

A pause of silence lingered throughout the house as Gabrielle blinked her eyes, still glued to the floor, open. She tipped up her head at the sound of a thoughtful hum as her father followed the sound with a nod.

“All is forgiven.” He accepted with a relieved sigh, “I've already eaten dinner, so if you need me I'll be in my study.”

This would likely be the last she'd see of him tonight then.

“Goodnight Dad.”

Gabrielle wondered if she'd managed to catch a brief smile or if she was only imagining one from this angle, but whatever way that tight line might have been bent in it was gone the moment he spoke.

“Goodnight Gabrielle.”

He disappeared up the stairs to another greeting of creaky hinges, before a gentle click closed the door behind him. Gabrielle felt her smile drop. Overcome with an array of feelings, and none of them good, she wasn't in the mood to heat up a balanced plate of leftovers. Scrapping any semblance of effort she cobbled together a peanut butter and honey sandwich and decided to call it a night. Once she was up the stairs she made sure her steps were careful down the hall before she stopped beside the study. It was just before her room, and like always, Gabrielle took a moment to consider knocking.

Though she quickly lowered her hand as she shook the thought from her mind. There was always some excuse not to and considering she wasn’t supposed to bring food upstairs, that seemed good enough for tonight. So she continued on, slipping through her door before locking it behind her with a satisfying click. Barely making her way inside she pressed her back against the closest wall and slid down to the floor. Sounding off a sigh that slowly drug out into a groan. There was nothing quite like the feeling of being in her own room, and despite the bitter reception she enjoyed the relief of finally being home. 

Her sleeping hoodie was just close enough to reach from here, resting over the back of her chair. Gabrielle usually had a whole process for this but god was she tired today, routine be damned! The only thing that mattered was avoiding the mirror so as long as she didn’t look it was fine. It was angled right across from her but that was fine, she’s done this more than enough times with her eyes closed. After tossing her shirt into the hamper Gabrielle fumbled with the clasps behind her back before sending the spent underwear flying as well. It didn’t seem to matter whether a bra was tight, loose, silk or cotton, they were always such a hassle to wear. 

Once the hoodie was on she opened her eyes. The navy cotton hung over her in loose ripples. Comfortable and wide without any of the overt dips and curves of her uniform. Gabrielles’ had this thing for years and even the summer heat did little to stop her from slipping it on whenever she could. The shape of her reflection settled into something vaguely normal when she took a second to glance up, and feeling satisfied Gabrielle didn’t linger on the view. It was vain to stare at oneself, even if it didn’t evoke a sense of pride when she did so.

The skirt followed next and after a quick sweep to make sure she didn’t leave anything behind, Gabrielle found what had gotten her in trouble in the first place. Gabriel, her dumb made up character, still folded up all nice and neat in her pocket. Why hasn’t she thrown this away yet? She pressed her thumb into the paper but did little else in terms of crumpling it into the bin. While there was no chance she was ever going back, she’d already proven her point afterall, the experience hadn’t been terrible. If she was being honest, she’d actually had a lot of fun playing with everyone there. 

Which was insane, Gabrielle knew that, but she didn’t realize that they’d all have a hand in telling the story together. V1 actually listened to her for once. In character anyway, but the fact that they’d taken her advice, that it mattered. Gabrielle couldn’t put into words just how much that meant to her. Easing her grip, she ran her thumb along the paper almost apologetically before setting it down on the nightstand. In its place she took up her sandwich, quickly finishing her dinner before she climbed into bed and let her troubles soothe into soon forgotten dreams.

The morning alarm rang things back into their routine. With her back turned, the comfortable hoodie was replaced with a fresh shirt and bra, as a new skirt shimmied up into place. The plate from last night and her backpack were carried into the bathroom so Gabrielle wouldn’t forget them as she thoroughly brushed her teeth. A tad longer than usual considering she’d forgotten to last night, but once that was done the plate was washed, rinsed and stacked before she was out the door. Her fathers’ black chevelle was already gone, but that was just fine by her. The days of being driven to school by the school's very own guidance counselor were long gone, and good riddance.

After realizing the bus stop wasn’t too far from a decent coffee shop along the way, Gabrielle had planned out her schedule with the perfect amount of leeway to pick up a coffee in the mornings. Nothing too fancy, but sweet enough to make her forget she hadn’t had a proper breakfast. From the shop, to the bus, to the college, the downed cup was tossed in the first bin she passed and it was time to start the day. Assignments were collected as notes were taken, and while she did her best to stay on task Gabrielle caught glimpses of V1 every now and then. They were clearly fine with keeping to themselves, so she didn’t have to bother them. Gabrielle had her own friends.

Friends that she was more than happy to spend time with. Even if Gabrielle had nothing to say in their circling conversations of lavish vacations, diets, and who was dating who. By the time the next day had passed into the afternoon, she was barely aware of just how out of her head she’d been until Faree flicked soap onto her nose.

“There you are.” She teased, shifting her attention back to the dog she was scrubbing, “I asked if you’d changed your mind on going back.”

Faree was returning to the game next week. Gabrielle had been afraid of that. Still, even as she shook her head she did so with a soft smile. While she couldn’t go back, Gabrielle wasn’t about to take that choice from Faree. After everything was said and done, Gabrielle knew her well enough to trust her judgment. 

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Faree remarked, a touch sadly, “but it won’t bother you if I talk about what happens right?”

“No!” Gabrielle said, rapidly shaking her head before realizing that it looked like a flat out rejection, “I-I mean no, I don’t mind.” She added, perhaps a bit too quickly.

If Faree thought anything of it the only thing that gave it away was musing little hum, before she was right back to describing the constellations for the current season. Next Wednesday came and went and for the first time in months Gabrielle went straight home. She’d already finished her book, even with the time she’d been taking to read it, but she couldn’t go back. Not when they were there. Playing that game. Having a good time without her.

Now didn’t that just make her sound like a petulant brat? They had no obligations to wait for her, and she damn well couldn’t just go back. Gabrielle had already made up her mind and they were moving on without her. As they should. She didn’t care where the story was going and what those characters were up to. There were up and coming exams to study for, assignments to work on, arrangements for the fair to arrange.

Gabrielle didn’t have time for childrens’ books and tabletop games. Her father would certainly frown at her over such a childish dilemma. If she didn’t start proving herself now, how was she ever going to convince him to respect her? That was motivation enough to put any thoughts of games aside for the night, and the night after that. Though the following Friday proved a touch more difficult. Faree certainly had a lot to talk about throughout the afternoon.

They’d gone to a haunted cruise ship where passengers were lured away to their watery graves. A necromancer pirate captain had taken control of the ship with plans to create a worthy crew of undead pirates at his command. When they’d defeated the captain, the crew was finally released from their cycle and the passengers were saved. So many questions ran through Gabrielles’ head as Faree went into every detail. Like, how long had the ship haunted the river for, or where had the old man gotten the cruise tokens from. Was he in on it?

All questions Gabrielle couldn’t quite ask without coming off as hypocritical. She’d already said that she couldn’t play, and that made involving herself by proxy a bit unfair. So she just opted to listen. The same way she has many times before with Faree. Only this time it wasn’t the same, not when it left her with such an odd sense of regret. As if she had a choice in the matter.

Although, the more she thought about it, the more she had to wonder. Did she have a choice in the matter? Three more nights passed as Gabrielle asked herself that question. Each time alone in her room. Laying with her hands folded together in the pocket sleeve of her hoodie. Staring up at the faded glow-in-the-dark stars above her bed until she blinked back into the light of day. 

A new Wednesday followed the same routine, but Gabrielle wasn’t content to leave that question to linger. So she made a decision. She was going to sit with V1 for lunch today. A simple choice really, and yet somehow just having that thought running every now and then through her head was relief enough. V1 passed her by through the halls one class before lunch and Gabrielle was surprised to see them smile and wave, even after she’d spent the last week avoiding them. So, in keeping with what she wanted to do, she did the same.

It was a simple moment, but one that strengthened Gabrielles’ resolve through her uncertainty. They were in the same spot she’d found them in last time with a take out tray of tacos in place of a burger. Once again V1 moved their legs to make room for her, as if this were just a regular day between the two of them, and not knowing how else to respond Gabrielle joined them on the ground. She folded her knees into her chest, resting her hands over the top of them as she waited for them to finish eating. While she wasn’t about to rush them, it was awkward to have to wait like this. After they finished their first taco she figured she’d waited for long enough.

“How’ve you been?”

That got V1 to look up at her, though their confusion made her realize that must have been a strange question. Now Gabrielle was the one making it seem as if this were just a regular sort of thing between them.

“Pretty good.” V1 answered after a moment to swallow.

What was she supposed to say now? “That’s good,” was too basic while “I’m glad you’ve been doing well,” was too formal. “That’s just great,”? What no! That came off as sarcastic! This shouldn’t be so difficult, why was this so difficult!?

“You know,” They went on, catching Gabrielles’ attention away from her thoughts, “last week was okay, but it wasn’t as fun.”

Wait, what? That couldn't be true. Faree had said it herself, and the session she’d described sounded like a good time to Gabrielle. She wasn’t sure what to say to that, ready to call V1 out for lying to her before they added,

“Without you.”

Words once again failed her and it wasn’t from a lack of trying. What did she say to that? What could she say? All the doubts she’d kept quietly tucked in the back of her mind were silenced in an instant.

“V1?”

“Yeah Gabe?”

A jolt shot through her at the nickname. It was a feeling she couldn't quite describe. No one’s ever called her that before. It sounded so much better than Gabby. Though for now she put that thought aside.

“I know I said I couldn’t come back.” She began, “But… if I could-…”

Gabrielle could hardly bother to finish what she wanted to ask, as the guttural embarrassment of crawling back took hold, but thankfully she didn’t need to.

“Anytime.” They answered with a smile.

V1 took up their next taco, and after Gabrielle let out a sigh of relief a smile of her own began to take shape.

“Okay. I’ll see you there.”

Maybe V1 didn’t expect her to commit to an answer so soon considering the double take they gave her, but the sound of their laughter afterward etched itself into her brain. A warm sort of chuckle that rumbled from the chest. It was nice.

“Alright,” They replied after a moment to settle down, “I’ll let V2 know you’re coming back then.”

As she watched them send out the text, Gabrielle couldn’t help but feel excited. She was really doing this. Oh god, she was really doing this. Well, there wasn’t exactly a rule saying that Gabrielle couldn’t play tabletop rpgs. Just that she couldn’t be out late, and Gabrielle was nothing if not respectful of the rules. If it was truly her time then why not make some decisions of her own on how to spend it?

Chapter Text

Apparently Gabriel, the noble knight that he was, had a weakness for cats. So when a lovely old woman asked him to watch over her house full of them, he could hardly refuse. So far Gabrielle herself has stuck around for three whole sessions, and they almost hate to admit that they were right but yeah; she really did bring something special to the table. Riffing off of Gabrielle was one of their favorite pastimes during the campaign and the fact that she was tossing barbs right back kept V1 on their toes. The only downside was that she couldn’t stay long after a session. Gabrielle made it clear that she had to leave before six forty, no exceptions.

While that wasn’t too hard for V2 to work with, V1 hardly cared about extending the campaign. Three hours was more than enough time for all of them to play. It was just that, well, since she was normally reading otherwise they wanted to get to know her a little bit. V1 would catch whispers of conversations every now and then between Faree and Gabrielle. Stuff about volunteer work they did together and angel mythology, which at this point they were pretty sure was a bit of a special interest of the other girls’. They knew the vibes because as far as guns were concerned; same.

Their session wrapped up a little early when they managed to cheese their way just a bit through the big encounter V2 had planned. V1 figured their little sis might run into some balancing issues sooner or later. Nothing she couldn’t figure out with some extra time. V2’s got a level head on her shoulders and a knack for pulling clever solutions out of her ass. So if anyone can get things back on track, it was her. Though that did leave them with some rare spare time before Gabrielle had to go home.

V1 was shit at talking, but they weren’t about to miss their chance.

“You volunteer?” They remarked around the murmured conversations around them.

Gabrielle looked around, realizing they were talking to her when she found their attention focused solely on her.

“Oh, um, yeah.” She answered. 

“Where?” V1 quickly added.

It was only after she blinked back at them in silence that they realized they might have come off as a bit blunt, so to tone it back they added,

“I mean I’ve, uh, never done that sort of thing. I was curious.”

Anxiously V1 dug their fingers into the back of their neck and looked away. Their best attempt at sounding casual with how eager they were made them feel off putting and pushy, though if Gabrielle was bothered by it she didn’t exactly show it.

“It’s for the animal shelter.” She clarified, “I’ve volunteered every summer since I was fifteen.”

“You must have kept that going for a while then, right?” They remarked.

“About five years now.”

So she was twenty. That was just a year older than they were.

“What all do you do?”

For a moment Gabrielle glanced beside her towards Faree, but when she didn’t notice, still engrossed in her conversation with Mirage and V2, she turned back to V1.

“We help groom them mostly.” Gabrielle explained, “Stuff like baths, hair trimming, and nail clipping. We also play with them, feed them, clean their pins- just simple things to help the shelter maintain their general day to day care.” She explained, listing each point on her fingers.

V1 could see themselves doing something like that if they had more free time. They’ve always wanted a pet. 

“Doesn’t sound half bad actually.” They remarked, “I’d love to play with a hoard of dogs.”

“Well, it can be a lot of-” Gabrielle tried to say before Faree cut in excitedly.

“The shelter’s always taking in new volunteers if you’re interested. All you need is a senior volunteer to vouch for you and they’ll basically let you in! Background check withstanding of course.” 

The two of them stared between each other and Faree before Gabrielle let out a nervous chuckle. 

“Like I was saying, it can be a lot of work.” She elaborated, “I won’t sugar coat it V1; you will get poop on you. It literally happened to me on my first day, and I’ve seen it happen to a lot of other people too. This isn’t an easy job.”

It was a warning, they were well aware, but somehow it managed to sound more like a challenge. That gave V1 the courage they needed for what they were about to say next.

“I’m free this Friday.” They offered.

An open invitation, if Gabrielle would have them. 

“And you’re sure?” She asked carefully, “Because the first day of training is going to be spent on baths. It’ll be messy.”    

They gave a confident shrug. V1 didn’t cut their hair for nothing. From paint, to mud, to cthulhu-only-knows what was in that mossy pond, they’ve mucked through it all.   

“I’ve helped maintain a paintball park since I was sixteen, Gabe. I think I can handle some soapy water.”            

Despite the way she tried to appear stern they noticed the faint hint of a smile hiding in plain sight.

“We’ll see…” Gabrielle remarked.

Oh, it was definitely a challenge now. V1s’ walk home that night left them buzzing with the only thing they had to match that energy being their upbeat playlist of breakcore. All this excitement over what basically amounted to chores. This thing with Gabrielle has officially crossed into the realms of a full fledged crush, hasn’t it? Damn it they were hopeless. Still, if she was half as fun, clever, and charming in person as she was in game they’d be an idiot to pass up the chance to at least be her friend, because at this point they wanted so much more than silent lunches under the trees. 

Sure, V1 liked the time they spent together just fine. They couldn’t deny that seeing Gabrielle in a subtle yet noticeably different light was special in its own way. Catching that little hum of a laugh every now and again as she flipped through her books had become a grounding anchor in this sea of strangers. Gabrielle was clearly comfortable being herself around them. It was a good start, but being near her and knowing her were two vastly different things. It’s been weeks and V1 still barely knows anything about Gabrielle, other than a few of her hobbies and the fact that she at least tolerates them now. 

On the surface that wasn’t much, but the feelings she brought out of them were almost overwhelming. V1 had spent the past week after she left thinking they’d fucked it up. Gabrielle wouldn’t even look at them when they crossed paths in the halls, until suddenly she did. The day she came back. Gabrielle was clearly trying to step out of her comfort zone into something more genuine. That was great and all, but that didn’t change the fact that V1 didn’t think they would get this far.

When the next Friday arrived V1 actually set the alarm for once, taking the time to throw on something nice off of the floor for a change. After four frozen eggos for breakfast, the peak of fine dining, they hurried off to school. Catching up to the bus just in time to meet up with Gabrielle before their classes began. V1 took a moment to catch their breath as they looked her over. Even in that big comfy hoodie of hers Gabrielle still managed to dress with an air of sharp presentability in her neatly pleated skirt, short heels, and dark tinted stockings. 

“I’m not sure if you being out of breath from running all the way here is an impressive feat or a health concern.” She remarked almost nervously.

“Probably both,” They panted between breaths. “Morning.”

From where V1 was hunched over their knees, they were pretty sure their own skirt had a mustard stain on it somewhere. Though, between all the paint ball splatter they were sure no one would notice. 

“I don’t think I’ve seen you in a skirt before.” She noted curiously.

Skirts were a tough thing to wear past their dysphoria, but V1 wanted to try and work through it today. Not an easy thing to do most of the time, but with a little help from their own oversized sweater and a splash of mascara to highlight their facial hair, V1 felt confident about their style. 

“Once in a blue moon I get to feeling cute. It can’t be helped.” V1 shrugged nonchalantly.

The vibes for today were leaning towards pretty boy. In a butch sort of way. It took a lot of effort for them to curate such a look, but even under that thick hoodie Gabrielle made it look easy. If they only had a body like hers. V1 would never hide their arms if they had muscles like that.

“It's a cute skirt.” She agreed.

Wait what?

“Yeah?” They remarked, a bit dumbfounded.

“And… you look very nice today.” She added.

Oh… Oh, they weren’t expecting that, at all. Gabrielle took the opportunity while V1s’ brain was frying to quickly excuse herself, and they could hardly be bothered to try and stop her. It was one thing for them to feel good about themselves. Or for their sister to back them up. However, it was another thing entirely for Gabrielle, of all people, to say that she agreed. They didn’t imagine her saying that, right?

Well, if they did, that didn’t stop the pleasant wave of confidence that washed over them. An unusual feeling to be sure when their style leaned closer to their afab roots. People didn’t tend to give V1 much notice, but they couldn’t help but feel eyes on them when they went out of their way to dress up. The insecurity they pretended wasn’t there still made a home for itself in their head, and loved to say it could read other people's thoughts. It was exhausting at best. Aggravating at worst.

Not today though. Not when someone without a thing to gain or a reason to lie says the nicest thing for no damn reason. Maybe they were only putting her word on a pedestal because they liked her, but honestly they didn’t care. It felt good, and that was enough. The first half of the day rolled by with ease. Then again, how could it not when it contained their favorite subjects to start the day with? 

Such as physics, their dearly beloved. They used to use the paintball field to create practice equations back in highschool. Just for fun. Most people couldn’t see the use in it, but it damn sure helped them track rival teams during matches. That was what won the ULTRAKILLERS the state finals after all. How they ever got such an edgy name past a small town conservative school they’ll never know, but they were pretty sure their boss had something to do with it. 

Sisyphus has always been a tough bastard, man doesn’t take shit from anyone. If anything, he seems to love a good uphill battle. It was no wonder why V1’s always looked up to the guy. He’s been a great boss to work for for the past four years and it’ll be a shame when they eventually have to part ways. Sisyphus has done so much for them in helping them get to where they are today, and they realize a job that hardly feels like work is a luxury few people ever get to experience. Hopefully they’ll get a chance to pay that kindness forward to someone else one day.

As their thoughts drifted in and out between memories, notes, doodles, and equations the bell for lunch jerked them out of their head. V1 brought their usual hometown burger, but this time with a couple of pieces of leftover Bánh Bột Lọc they’ve been slowly snacking on since V2 had passed some along to them. V1 was down to their last four, but they were too good to conserve for long. Gabrielle was already ahead of them this time, still making some headway into a pretty sad looking sandwich just under their spot in the shade.

“Hey Gabe!”

She looked up, offering a small wave from behind her lunch. Using her sandwich to cover her face, Gabrielle managed a few words in greeting. Muttered under a premature chew of food before it was promptly swallowed.

“Sorry.” She added as she set her lunch down over her knee, “I don’t mean to talk with my mouth full.”

“Nah you’re fine.” V1 dismissed with a wave of their hand, “Compared to me, you’re a thing of grace. Bet you didn’t even notice the mustard stain on this thing.”

Wait. Why the hell did they point that out? She was going to think they were a slob! Well, because they were, but they didn’t have to just outright say it! V1 expected her to scoff at them but Gabrielle didn’t say a word. Instead, she rolled the cuff of her sleeve back to reveal a small blue splotch, before looking back up at them with a bit of a sheepish smile.

“I’m not all that tidy myself.” Gabrielle admitted, “I’ll have to live with this cupcake icing for the rest of my life. Or, at least until the end of the day.”

She added the last part with a bit of a smirk, and they couldn’t help but laugh a little at that.

“At least it’ll smell nice.” V1 remarked as they sat down.

“Like sugary by-product.” She teased, “My favorite scent.”

“Mmm… Sweet, sweet, chemical goodness.” They tacked on.

That got her laughing, and the sound helped ease the nervous air. V1 set their burger off to the side and went straight for the pork and shrimp dumplings in their tupperware. They were still chilly from their lunchbox, but V1 preferred them cold anyway. The clear dumplings were unraveled from their banana leaves before being set back in the tupperware.  V1 had been so caught up in unwrapping their prize that they'd hardly noticed the curious glance that was tilted their way until Gabrielle spoke up.

“What is that?” She asked.

V1 had just about gotten the fish sauce unscrewed from its tiny container when they looked back up at her.

“Bánh Bột Lọc.”

When that didn’t clear things up V1 held one of the translucent dumplings up and gave it a little wiggle

“They’re Vietnamese dumplings made with pork and shrimp.” They explained.

She looked interested and before they knew it they were extending their hand.

“You wanna try one?” V1 asked.

Gabrielle tentatively reached out as she extended her palm.

“Um, sure.”

The dumpling was dropped and V1 went right back to opening their fish sauce.

“It’s usually eaten fresh out of the steamer but I like them when they’re firmed up from the cold.” They explained, hoping to cover their bases if she didn’t end up liking it.

Though that wasn’t much of a problem. Gabrielles’ eyes lit up from the moment she took her first bite.

“This is really good!” She remarked.

For as much as it was a relief, the sense of pride they felt for their moms’ homemade cooking was even stronger.

“You had doubts? Don’t tell my mom then, cause you’ll make her cry.”

“I’d never!” She defended, “Even if I didn’t like it.”

“I see.” V1 said with a heavy sigh, “So you are just trying to spare my feelings. I’ll just have to tell my poor, poor, Mẹ the truth then. Since you won’t. The heartbreak will be easier on her if the band-aid is ripped off now.”

Immediately Gabrielle snapped forward as she thrust a stern finger their way.

“I know you’re just messing with me,” She relayed, “but on the off chance that you’re not, don’t you dare! Your mother did an amazing job making these and if you tell her I said otherwise I will end you.”

They certainly believed her, and surprisingly that only endeared them to her more. Who wouldn’t be flattered by such a bold defense of their own moms’ homemade cooking? So if they happened to offer her another dumpling as a quiet peace offering, then maybe that had a little something to do with it. Gabrielle was happy to accept another, this time giving the dumpling a soak in the fish sauce. V1 kept her delighted hums in mind. Making a mental note to bring more leftovers for the two of them to share the next time the chance rolled around.

Their usual routine continued throughout the rest of lunch, but as the hours passed each class that came and went got them more and more amped for the end of the day. V1 couldn’t stop shaking their legs, glaring at the clock on the wall as each second ticked into a minute. The nanosecond the bell rang they were gone, almost leaving their backpack behind from the rush, but thankfully they collected their stuff before they’d gotten too far. Crossing through the halls they ran into Gabrielle and followed her outside to the bus stop. The moment they were on the bus Gabrielle was all business.

“Mr. Cerberus knows that you’re coming in and you’ve already signed the papers,” She explained, “so we should be able to get started right away. It’ll mostly be me showing you around since you’ll be shadowing under me, but I did get permission to teach you how we bathe the dogs today. So just be ready for that.”

They got the gist of it. That paperwork had been a headache to sort through, but when was paperwork ever the fun part? V1 already knew what they were getting into with the shelter. They were more interested in getting to know her.

“What made you want to volunteer at an animal shelter?” They asked.

Gabrielle leaned back, resting her head against the seat as she stared up towards the roof.

“It wasn’t something I’d planned on doing.” She admitted, flicking her hands about as she spoke, “I’d wanted a pet when I was a kid, so my dad signed me up to teach me how to be responsible. We didn’t end up getting one, the timing was never right, but I’ve had a lot of fun taking care of the animals at the shelter.”

V1 knew that song and dance. Their dad had them help take care of his fish for months before he finally got the house a dog. Only for them all to realize that he was allergic to pet dander. Deep cleaning the house of poor Mysterious Druid Knights’ fur turned out to be a lot harder than they initially thought. Hopefully he’s still doing alright out there with his new family.

“That sucks.” V1 remarked amicably, “But I’m glad you can still kinda make up for it.”

Gabrielles’ smile brightened as she tilted her head toward them.

“They’re some of the sweetest cats and dogs I’ve ever met. I’m sure you’re going to love them.”

V1 began asking Gabrielle even more questions. Some of them on topic, others just a hair off topic, but they felt like they were getting more of a handle on who she was. Apparently she was pretty busy outside of school. Helping the town committee set up the fair, volunteering at the shelter, singing for the cathedrals’ choir. Hell, she even practiced fencing and weightlifting in her free time. They haven’t touched a gym since gymnastics, but if they had to do all that on top of flips they would have already died from the stress of just thinking about it.

“Holy shit. How do you stand it? That’s way too much for just one person.”

Gabrielle shrugged.

“It’s… fine. I manage.”

Or cope, because goddamn that sounded like hell.

“I’m fine V1.” She reiterated, “Honestly. You don’t need to worry about it.”

Gabrielle spoke with a taut nervous smirk, while V1 hadn’t even realized they were wearing their concern so obviously.

“Alright.” They relented, “But if you ever… you know-” V1 paused to roll their wrist, trying to find the right way to say it, “want to talk about it, just to let it all out, then I’m here for you. Okay?”

The thin line of her lips softened back into a natural smile.

“Okay.” She accepted.

Their stop came up, dropping them off a block away from the shelter, and once they’d finally made it the place was just about what they were expecting. Lots of excitable barks and dogs jumping at the chance to get pets. Gabrielle handed them a uniform before pulling off her hoodie to reveal her own. They slipped it over their shirt before following her into the kennels. V1 wasn’t about to stick their hand in the enclosures, but gently offered their knuckles for the curious pooches to sniff. That warmed the bulk of the animals up to them, and there was nothing quite like the slobbery kisses of a happy dog. 

Gabrielle showed V1 how they were fed, where the tools to groom them were kept, and gave them a tour of the playground out back. Then it was onto the bathing. They’d be washing three big dogs today. Well, Gabrielle for the most part would be washing the dogs. For now they were only allowed to help her. That didn’t stop them from getting soaked in a thick spray of water of course, followed by the inevitable poop.

The moment they realized there was a brown smear on their brand new shirt it was too late. They had been warned, and this was the consequence. Gabrielle laughed once she noticed, but made sure to get them a new shirt. A couple of new shirts actually. Just to hammer the point home. If the phrase, “I told you so,” could be said without words, Gabrielle had certainly managed it after handing them a fourth shirt.

V1 quickly got cleaned up and helped Gabrielle with the other two dogs. They were some playful little guys and the way Virtue, the german shepherd, tried to eat the water was utterly hilarious. Once they were washed and patted dry they were led to the playground. Gabrielle showed off Minotaurs’ favorite rope toy and played some tug of war with him. V1 really took a liking to Big Johninator, despite the fact that the pitbull had pooped on them. They couldn’t help it, he just had such a cute derpy face.

He loved belly scratches, so V1 was careful to find a nice patch of grass to give him all the scritches he wanted. When everybody was completely dried and thoroughly played out, they led them back to their enclosures for some much needed water. Gabrielle went around checking the food dispensaries restocking kibble for the animals that needed it, before leading them to the last cat on the block.

“There you are.” She gently cooed towards the cat.

They were a gray little scrap of fluff. Shaky and tired, but still mewing in earnest as she opened up their cage.

“We got her in just about a week ago.” Gabrielle explained, “She’d been abandoned in a box. The owners must have been trying to get rid of the litter. She was the only one left.”

Carefully, Gabrielle held the small cat in her arms, nodding to give V1 the go ahead to pet her. They did, and immediately the cat craned her neck to fit into their hand.

“She’s had a tough start, but she’s a survivor.” She praised, giving her little chin scratches, “It’s going to be a challenge finding a good home for her. Most people won’t be willing to give her the medical attention she needs.”

V1 gave her a few more pats. Gabrielle seemed particularly drawn to this one and they were starting to feel a bit of a connection themselves. Maybe they could get to know her a bit more too. Once she’d finished prepping the cats’ soft mix of food, V1 lent a hand as the two of them cleaned up the workstation. They left it cleaner than they found it before signing off for the night. With her dads’ black chevelle already outside waiting Gabrielle they didn’t have long to chat once the work was done, but that was alright. 

V1 had already gotten more than they could have hoped for out of the evening.

“Thanks again for coming out to see the work we do.” She said after she’d gotten her sweater back on, “I’m sorry Faree wasn’t here. I forgot that she started working every other Friday. Hopefully you guys can share a shift together sometime.”

“I’m sure I’ll see her around. This was a lot of fun. Can’t wait till the next time.”

“Even with the poop?” Gabrielle teased.

V1 rolled their eyes with a good natured chuckle.

“Oh yes. Can’t get enough of that poop.” They remarked.

Gabrielle laughed with them before a car horn cut her off. 

“I’d better go. Dad’s getting a little antsy.”

Geez, what a fucking jack-ass.

“Good-night V1.” She said, departing with a wave, “Stay safe.”

“See you next monday, Gabe.”

V1 waved until the chevelle had driven off and out of the parking lot, finding it cute how they both continued it from either side of the glass. While they didn’t exactly have Fridays off, maybe they should consider officially requesting it. V1 was pretty sure they could get used to this.

Chapter Text

The checklist Gabrielle had printed off this morning to keep track of everyones' preparations for the fair was quickly becoming scrawled with new points at each stall she visited. The concession stand forgot to get buns for the hotdogs and were currently out of commission until the vendor came back from the store. The face painter called off at the last minute, which was a bit of a problem considering she was also supposed to handle the balloons. The bakery stalls’ canopy was broken and wouldn’t prop up right. They either needed to find a way to fix it or she was going to have to help them find a replacement. Add on top of the fact that over half of the vendors for the games were running late, and Gabrielle was about to loose her fucking mind.

Going over the list, again and again, nearly overwhelmed her, but she knew that working herself up wouldn’t help anything. So to calm herself down, Gabrielle walked herself through it slowly. She can handle this. She can handle this. Gabrielle just needed to focus on one thing at a time. She could do that much.

Hotdog buns. No one was eating hotdogs before ten anyway, they still had plenty of time. Face painter and balloons. She can assign someone else to handle those tasks, and if she can’t parents are taking their kids here for the carnival games and confectionery sweets anyway. Late staff. This event is happening over the weekend so if she has to she’ll just tell the staff to focus on the stage events until the vendors arrive.

That just left the bakery stall. Gabrielle could find a way to fix that. Two of the legs had gotten damaged and were bent, locking them in place. They could only pull out about half way now making them shorter than the rest. Gabrielle looked around when an updraft of wind gave her an idea. Most of these stalls were being held down by metal steaks and there were still plenty to go around.

Grabbing a few spare rods, Gabrielle stuck them into the ground and wrapped the broken legs around them. While not the prettiest fix, they got the job done. She made sure to adjust both sets of ties and once her work was secure the stall was ready to open. The elderly couple thanked her for her help, but Gabrielle had to pass on the free cookie. She was on a mission without commission. Though she wouldn’t mind paying for one later, if she had some spare time today.

Gabrielle crossed one task off the list then set out to find someone on staff who could run the balloon station. It was an easy job to do and had a nice spot in the shade, but she still had a bit of trouble finding someone who could take it. Slowly the vendors for the game stations began to arrive, much to her annoyance as it was to her relief. They had six booths for games and one of them was bound to get less attraction considering the lack of hygiene it assured parents of anyway. Why not spare the costs of apples no one would be willing to bob for and get a vendor to cover a high traffic stall instead? Maurice may not be the happiest face to greet children with, but they’ll hardly care about that when they’re getting their balloons.

Another task said and done. All that was left was for the confectionery vendor to come back with the hotdog buns. Gabrielle went over her list again, as well as the additions she’d added along the way as she was walking about, and breathed a sigh of relief when she heard the vendors’ obnoxious radio blaring off in the approaching distance. The street cleaners’ music was a booming blare of bass, but a thankful thing to hear pulling into the parking lot. Gabrielle wasn’t sure if he ever gave her a name, but everyone else seems to call him that and he didn’t seem to have a problem when she did the same. Names that were a little different were hardly much of a concern for her these days anyway. 

Gabrielle checked him off the list, went over it again, and finally scratched out the final checks. The first day was always the hardest when organizing an event but funnily enough, this was a far cry better than last year. She was flipping her paper over to make a new checklist when she heard Mirages’ voice in the distance. V2 was leading her by the hand toward the fair’s center hub and saw Gabrielle just as she’d noticed the two of them.

“Oh! Hi Gab!”

She smiled up at them with a friendly wave. The familiar name was nice, even if it didn’t quite leave the same impression as the other nickname she’d been given. Gabrielle still couldn’t explain what she even liked about it. Maybe how blunt it was? She couldn’t say, but if there was any sense to be made of it, then she wasn’t sure what that was.

“Hey there,” Gabrielle greeted, setting her pen down for the moment, “I’m glad you two could make it.” 

Mirages’ stone-washed torn jeans and spike bracelets were a startling contrast to V2s’ puffy lavender dress. If she recalled it right, V2s’ outfit looked like a character from one of the stickers off the back of her laptop. Gabrielle would recognize those long purple pigtails and the yellow and pink bows hanging off of them from just about anywhere. Knowing the hours she had to have spent crafting such an intricate costume, the character had to be someone special. That left Gabrielle genuinely curious. Despite not completely understanding the appeal of anime, maybe she wouldn’t mind learning a little bit more about the source of such inspiration.

“My mom’s got her crystal booth here, so I’m taking V2 to go check it out.” Mirage explained.

Ah, so the woman behind Mindflayers' Oracles was her mom then? With how warm and bubbly she came across, it was a bit of a surprise. Mirage herself was more of a calm and introverted presence. Though she supposed most people weren’t usually like their parents.  

“She’s beside the confectionary booth.” Gabrielle remembered.

She’d specifically requested it months ago, like she did every year.

“Doesn’t surprise me.” Mirage shrugged, swiping back loose strands of chestnut bangs, “Woman would inhale pretzels if she could.”

When the pair of them began to head off, Gabrielle checked back in with her notes only for V2 to cut into her thoughts.

“You coming with us?” She asked.

The question caught her off guard. Gabrielle honestly hadn’t expected it. She pointed back toward herself with the pen just to be sure she’d heard her right.

“Yeah you.” Mirage said with a smirk as she slung an arm around V2s’ shoulders, “Unless you got somethin’ better to do.”

Technically no, she didn’t. As long as Gabrielle stuck around to help the staff and was there when the stands needed to be taken down again for the night, she was pretty much free. Gabrielle noticed the way V2 glanced nervously toward Mirage and she really couldn’t blame her. She knew Mirage was a touchy sort with V2 but she should really be more careful with her costume. That crazy wig of hers couldn’t have been easy to style like that. 

“I suppose I don’t.” Gabrielle remarked, with a tinge of anticipation.

“Then come on.” Mirage urged.

Folding her checklist, Gabrielle tucked it into her pocket before quickly hopping up to join the both of them. The wind carried a slight chill now that they were nearing the end of October. Gabrielle could still feel it as the breeze cut through her layers. Still, it was relieving to wrap herself up in just about every sweater she owned without having to drown in a sea of sweat.

“How far have you gotten on that Edward Elric cosplay, Vee?” Mirage asked.

The name wasn’t familiar to Gabrielle, though rather than ask, she waited to see if her answer would clear things up. 

“Wig’s done.” She began, tapping on her head with a satisfied grin, “And after finishing up the patch on the coat last week all that’s left are…” V2 paused to think for a moment before snapping her fingers, “the boots! I don’t want to have to go out of my way if I can help it, so I’ve been hitting up some thrift stores. I’m hoping I might find something close to what I’m looking for but if I don’t I can just cobble something close with a different pair of boots. They kind of look like Links’ but black. I think. Can’t remember off the top of my head, but I’ll figure it out.”

“You make the wigs too?!” Gabrielle asked, because honestly she had to at this point. 

She couldn’t so much as stitch a rip, let alone craft something as complicated as what V2 was talking about.

“Sometimes. Depends on the costume.” She elaborated eagerly, “For Edward, all I had to do was braid a premade wig, cut it, style it, then give it a good spritz of hairspray. Sango here was a bit more complicated. I decided to make this one myself from wefts of yarn. I used as little material as I could to keep the pigtails light while giving it the illusion that it’s full. If I pull back the strands here,” V2 continued, demonstrating just that, “you can see the wire and styrofoam I used to give it the right shape. These things are nearly touching the floor so they’ll have some weight to them no matter what, but I didn’t want them to end up hurting my neck.”

So much thought, all put into a costume that she would only be wearing for a day.

“That’s incredible!” Gabrielle gushed.

She hadn’t meant to raise her voice like that, and quickly slapped her hand over her mouth out of embarrassment. Though rather than scoff at her for such a ridiculous reaction, V2 seemed just as excited. 

“Thank you!” She said, doing a little hop that bobbed Mirages’ arm, “It took about a week to make from scratch, but I’m really happy with how this one turned out!”

Mirage smiled between the two of them, rubbing onto V2s’ shoulder encouragingly after she'd settled back down.

“Tropical-Rouge! Pretty Cure is a bit of a simple show, but Mirage and I have been watching it ever since we first got into it. Isn’t that right?” V2 asked, tilting her head up towards the other girl.

Mirage shrugged.

“It’s alright.” She said with a gruff tone.

V2 gave her ribs a playful little jab with her elbow.

“Oh don’t give me that, miss, “wait, go back! I wanna see what that one is!”!” 

As V2 pulled Gabrielle down by the collar of her jacket, she found herself hunching down to play along.

“Don’t let her fool you, Gab. Mirage is actually a huge softie for adorable magical girl animes.”

“N-no I’m not!” She staunchly tried to defend.

“We could have started Chainsaw Man by now, but no. Mirage just had to have her cute little beach adventures.” V2 teased.

“Vee…” Mirage groaned, burying her face into her hands.

Maybe it was rude of her to assume such a thing, Gabrielle knew better than that, but from the way the two of them clung onto one another and even the familiar way they teased each other. They almost seemed like a couple. She wouldn’t normally come to that kind of conclusion, but these new friends of hers were different from the usual crowd she's known. That is to say, Gabrielle hoped she could call them her friends. They've never hung out like this out of game before, and it didn’t feel like her place to ask such a personal question. So perhaps it was best to temper her assumptions for now. 

Although, if it were true, she supposed that wouldn’t be such a bad thing, right? They seemed very happy together. A christian was meant to love thy neighbor, not judge thy neighbor. That was Gods’ word, and if there was anything that wasn’t Gabrielles’ place to question, then it was that much. She watched as V2 leaned her head against Mirages’ shoulder, and the look Mirage gave the girl as she brushed her fingers through V2s’ wig was nothing short of tenderness. Gabrielle couldn’t help but stare with a sense of curious wonder. Was it okay for her to want such affection to be love? 

She supposed she’d have to pray on it sometime. 

“Hey Mom. I woke up today.” Mirage announced once the three of them had gotten to the crystal booth.

“Finally!” The woman behind the stall teased, “I could use a break.”

“Exploiting your own kid for free labor. I see how you are.” Mirage remarked, shaking her head as she scolded her mother with a playful tone.

“Won’t be long kiddo.” She assured, before adding a hesitant, “I hope.”

Mirage shuffled in behind the booth as her mother zipped out. There wasn’t much time to get a word of greeting in as the woman rushed off towards the nearest bathroom, clearly in a hurry. Gabrielle and V2 shared a surprised glance toward Mirage who hardly seemed phased. Taking the open seat, Mirage leaned back into the chair, perching her foot against the table like she owned the place.

“My mom puts just about everything off till the last minute.” She explained. “Hence the mountain of pretzels when she remembers she’s got a stomach.”

“Aww!” V2 cooed, the response startling both Gabrielle and Mirage who weren’t expecting it, “You were trying to get us out here so early because you were worried about your Mom. You’re so sweet!”

Mirage folded her arms across her chest in a cool air of defiance, but V2 clearly knew her all too well.

“Do you want your surprise or not?” She asked, doing her best to hide a pout.

Someone got embarrassed easily. Would Gabrielle be like that if she ever got into a relationship? She’d never been on anything other than the odd date before, and even those were just school dances and church events. Not anything official. Well, not that V2 and Mirage are dating! Why did some small part of her insist on imagining that? How rude of her!

“I get a surprise?” V2 asked, pointing to herself with a cheeky grin.

“Yes you dork. Ah, good. She remembered.” Mirage remarked, mumbling the last half to herself as she pulled a small black box up from under the table.

She slid it over toward V2 with something of a nervous tint to her smile.

“Hope you like it.”

V2, despite bouncing on the balls of her feet, was careful as she slowly went about unraveling the red ribbon from the box. Slipping the lacy ribbon off, she pulled away the lid to reveal a tiny figurine carved from amethyst. While Gabrielle had no idea what it was supposed to be, the gasp beside her revealed that, whatever it was, it must have been something really special to the intended recipient.

“This is so beautiful.” V2 praised in hushed awe.

Tracing her fingers along the smooth stone V2 looked over every detail, and even from where Gabrielle cluelessly stood she had to admit there was a fair amount of work put into the piece. It almost looked like some sort of witch creature in its’ large pointy hat.

“You’ve been playing Arceus for a few months now and Orko seemed like she was your favorite, so I wanted to make you something special.” Mirage elaborated.

“You made me a little Mismagius!” V2 beamed, rubbing the figurine affectionately against her cheek.

At the warm reception, Gabrielle noticed a relaxed confidence settle back over Mirage as she leaned back into her chair.

“I sure did.” She accepted proudly, before throwing in, “With only a little bit of help from my mom.”

“Of course.” V2 accepted with a smirk.

One that quickly warmed its way into something softer the longer the two held the others' gaze. The implications that Gabrielle had previously put out of her mind quickly found a place in her thoughts once again. What if they were together? What was she supposed to do then? Was she judging them by thinking about that right now? Would god be angry that she was supportive of this yet to be confirmed relationship?

How did any of this work? It was wrong to judge people, but if they did something the bible disapproved of she couldn’t associate with them anymore? Was ignoring thy neighbor supposed to be the same as loving them? No, that didn’t feel right. You can’t just go around picking and choosing what parts of a person to love. As far as Gabrielle was concerned that sort of “love” seemed very shallow.

It took a second nudge against her arm to notice V2 calling her attention beside her. Gabrielle blinked back into awareness and found herself now the center of their collected focus.

“This fair’s got you pretty stressed out, hasn’t it?” V2 asked, gently setting her hand over her shoulder.

Gabrielle was a little too apprehensive to be completely honest at the moment so she nodded, hoping that would be enough to appease her. However, she wasn’t too convinced that it was. There was almost a knowing glint in V2s’ expression as she looked her over.

“Hey Mirage,” She said as she looped Gabrielles’ arm in her own, “I’m gonna go take Gab for a walk. Come find us later, okay?”

Mirage nodded. Folding her arms onto the table as she offered a solid thumbs up before sinking her face into the makeshift pillow she’d created for herself.

“She’s not really a morning person.” V2 began as she guided Gabrielle away, “I should have known she was up to something when she said we should get here early.”

Rolling the amethyst figurine within the palm of her hand she admired it for a moment, before carefully slipping the precious stone into her backpack.

“She really is the sweetest, isn’t she?”

It was stated rather than asked, but that didn't stop Gabrielle from answering her anyway.

“She is.”

That gained her a smile, enough to encourage a small reserve of courage in Gabrielle.

“V2?” She began.

“Yeah? What’s up?”

She really hoped it was alright to ask this.

“I couldn’t help but notice, and correct me if I’m wrong,” Gabrielle carefully threw in, “but are the two of you… um, dating?”

V2s’ expressions went through a series of changes. At first she seemed confused then nervous, and suddenly that courage from earlier drained as Gabrielle quickly realized she may have overstepped her bounds. Though, before she could apologize for making careless assumptions, V2 spoke first.

“Yes, for little over a year now.”

The words rattled in her head until Gabrielle could properly sort them out. 

“Does that bother you?” V2 asked, creating a noticeable distance between the two of them as she stepped back, “With you being-... religious and all?”

When Gabrielle finally processed V2s’ answer she was left with mere seconds to respond and without hesitation, she did.

“No. It doesn’t.”

The ease of that answer surprised herself just about as much as it did for V2.

“I-... I don’t want to be that kind of person. The kind that's always looking for a reason to hate.” Gabrielle remarked, doing her best to try and explain what she was feeling, “I’ve always been told that love is the most important thing he tried to teach us. So if I act out of love, then I know I’m keeping good faith.”

It hurt to see the worry still etched in V2s' eyes. That anyone could ever find love conditional.

“I’m so happy for the both of you.” Gabrielle clarified, her smile returning as she put her whole heart into those words.

Now that she thought about it, they must have been sacrificing a lot just to include her. How many people have ever gone that far out of their way for her comfort, and such a superficial one at that? It drudged such a slurry of guilt in Gabrielle just to think of it.

“And I’m sorry I ever made you feel like you had to hide your relationship from me.” She added.

It went without saying that in times like these, she could hardly blame them. The news was filled with frightening stories happening to innocent people. People like her friends. Gabrielle was sure of that now. She loved each and every one of them unconditionally, even with how little she knew them outside of the game just yet. The thought was enough to bring tears to her eyes, threatening to spill down her face as she tried to hold herself together.

“Y-you guys are the nicest people I’ve ever met and you all mean so much to me and I’d never want any of you- anyone to think that I’d- th- that I’d ever be so- so- awful and- and-”

Gabrielle sniffled back the tears, but it was so hard not to cry when V2, who’d begun to fan her hands towards her face, was beginning to sob too.

“Oh Gabby…”

Preference for nicknames aside, when V2 wrapped her arms around Gabrielle she had to say, the tiny girl made for quite the hugger. People passed and stared, but neither of them gave much mind to it. Everything this embrace entailed was far too important for Gabrielle to focus on anything else as she shifted her arms to hold onto V2. Hugging her just as tight as she tucked the girl into herself.

“To be honest, I was scared.” V2 admitted, “I didn’t know what kind of person you might be away from the table. So I asked Mirage if we could… not say anything. Just for a little while. It hurt not to hold her hand, or kiss her goodnight, or having to think about how long we were holding each other every time we hugged. It felt awful to hide like that. I felt awful for making us.”

Gabrielle quickly shook her head.

“No. No you're not. I’m so sorry.” She repeated.

Patting her wig, Gabrielle did her best to try and reassure her. She wouldn’t stop trying. Not now or ever. Despite the mess, past the snot and the tears through it all, the open air felt so amazing to breathe in.

“Thank you.” V2 very nearly whispered with a sigh, “This means so much to me.”

Gabrielle had no idea this would mean so much for her as well.

“Me too. It means so much for me too.”

They took a little while longer to settle back down, but the smile they shared between one another as they finally pulled away meant everything.

“We’re gonna have a lot to talk about before we get into the next session, aren’t we?” V2 teased with a quiet laugh.

“I suppose we are.” Gabrielle agreed, joining her with an awkward chuckle of her own.

“Well then, you wanna tell my girlfriend the good news Gabby?”

It hadn’t felt right to mention it before. It almost didn’t now, but despite the tight pull in her chest urging her not to, Gabrielle decided to speak up.

“Can- can you not call me that. Please?”

In an instant V2 nodded.

“Oh, of course. What would you prefer?”

Prefer? Somehow that’s become a bit of a loaded question. Because people obviously couldn’t go around calling her Gabe, now could they?

“Gabe…relle.”

It was her own name! Why was she being so weird about saying it? V2 was quiet, and that left her feeling like a nervous wreck wondering what she might be thinking. Did that sound stupid to her too?

“So… Gabe or Relle?” She asked carefully.

Finding an open window, her mouth ran with it before her brain could.

“Gabe.”

There was an odd pause between the two as they stared at one another in silence. Broken by a smile that seemed to know a little more than she did at the moment. Dungeon Masters and their damned secrets.

“Alright Gabe. Let’s go find Mirage.”

Letting V2 lead the way a smile, dumb, wide, and all her own found its way across her face. That name. Gabe. Such a silly thing to want to be called, but somehow it just felt right.

Chapter Text

There was just something about seeing kids cry that V1 has never really liked, and it was only worse when it happened after they’d tried their best to win. Fair games were hardly fair games, but try telling that to some poor little girl who’d just spent her last five bucks trying to win a giant stuffed bear. The guy running the counter was one of those particular sticklers for the rules. If that target didn’t go down, he wouldn’t budge. The kid was a good shot, but two of the targets she was hitting seemed to be rigged. From where things stood that grand prize bear was out of her reach; but not for long.

V1 had done the math and they’ve simulated their winning strategy. Time to win this kid a bear. The girl had her head tucked down into her hands as they approached the booth, wiping her eyes with her palms. She was just about to leave when they spoke up.

“Hang on a minute. I got this.”

The kid looked up at them curiously as V1 slapped their own bills onto the table, sliding their bag of fudge off to the side.

“Set me up.”

The man blinked numbly at them for half a second before handing them a gallery gun. There were several stationary targets, but the rotating ones in the back were worth the most points so V1 didn’t waste their time with the lower score targets. There were only ten of them but they paid for fifteen shots and with Chernabog as their witness they were going to get their fifteen shots! They waited for the targets to spring back up and the second they did V1 shot them right back down, until they reached the very last bullet. All while the kid excitedly cheered them on from the sides. The scoreboard rang up to a solid fifteen thousand, more than enough to win the ten thousand high score grand prize, earning V1 the bear.

The kid seemed happy enough just to see the game beaten, but the look on her face when they handed her the massive teddy bear was priceless. She had to put her whole back into it just to carry the thing but thankfully her parents were right there to help her out. With a cone of consolation ice cream to enjoy and a plushie the size of a fully grown man to take home, this was looking to be the best day of that kids’ life and they were proud they had a hand in making that happen.

“So you’re the one winning the grand prizes every year.”

Gabrielles’ voice called their attention as they turned back to face her.

“That doesn’t surprise me.” She remarked, still not yet having looked up from her notes, “Thank you by the way for that. The committee would never allow us to get new prizes otherwise, and I’d rather the kids not take home moldy toys.”

After finishing up whatever she’d been furiously jotting down she approached the booth.

“Manny, we talked about this.” Gabrielle began, tipping her pen towards him with a frown, “If the kids start crying just hand them one of the smaller plushies.”

“Not allowed.” He answered stiffly.

“I don’t care if it’s allowed or not, just do it! If anyone asks then you can tell them I told you to do that.”

The pair of them held their ground with a staring contest, before he gave up with a sigh.

“Fine.”

“Thank you.” Gabrielle grit out through her teeth.

She turned back to V1 with a sigh of her own, before scratching a line off on her crumpled mess of a paper.

“Every year with this guy. They keep him just because he’s so stingy. What a prick.” The last part was muttered under her breath as she began to walk away.

V1 quickly followed after her, glad they finally found her after they’d been searching for the better part of the morning and made sure not to forget their bag of goodies they’d left on the table.

“So this is what you were talking about with setting up and managing all the booths, huh?” They began, “And you do this every year?”

Scribbling more notes onto her paper, she gave the pen a thoughtful twirl between her fingers before she answered them.

“For the past two years. This is my third, and likely, my last year working with the fair.”

“Finally tired of it?” They remarked with a smirk.

“More like I won’t be here for it.” She corrected, “I’ll likely be in Mexico around the same time next year.”

That was certainly news.

“Mexico?” They questioned.

“To begin my missionary work.” Gabrielle answered with a shrug, “My father’s been planning this trip for years. First I’ll be working in Mexico, Peru, and Brazil. Then, after about three years, I’ll be working in Africa.”

Holy - were they even going to see her again after all that!

“Spanish wasn’t too difficult to learn in highschool, but Portuguese is a whole other challenge entirely. I just hope I don’t screw up any of my pronunciations too badly. Thankfully, I still have another year to learn.”

It was clear that Gabrielle seemed invested in going. It wasn’t exactly as if it was their place to stop her, especially if it was what she wanted to do. Still, some selfish part of them hoped that maybe there was a little bit of wiggle room in that, “father’s been planning” she’d casually let slip.

“And, you’re looking forward to this trip?” V1 asked carefully.

They waited for a long moment and then there it was, a tired, gruff sigh. It was just barely concealed but more than enough to let V1 know that they’d been right.

“If I’m being honest, I’m not.” Gabrielle answered, “But what can I do at this point? It’d be rude not to. He’s put so much effort into this trip and it’s not like I can refuse.”

“But you can.” V1 argued, “You don’t have to fly halfway across the world to prove that you’re willing to help people. You’re already doing it right now.”

“But it’s not the same.” She countered. “This is just work to put me in good standing with the school. It doesn’t lead to the kind of difference going out there will make.”

“Missionaries aren’t as noble as they lead you to believe Gabe.”

All of a sudden Gabrielle stopped dead in her tracks and stared V1 down with wide eyed confusion.

“Wait. What are you talking about?”

What would have gotten V1 an angry rant two months ago instead was met with patience. They wouldn’t take that trust for granted. Gabrielle deserved to know the whole truth of what she was getting into.

“You’re better off donating to verified charities so that local people can do the work and get the pay they deserve for it.” They went on to explain. “Not to mention helping people, but only under the pretense that they should accept your god, isn’t very charitable. I mean, homeless shelters don’t go around hurling bibles at people in order for them to get access to a bed, right?” 

V1 might have gone on a bit of a spiel, but they couldn’t help themselves. Their mom had her own share of stories of missionaries back when she used to visit her family in Vietnam. There were a few of them that their Bà had thrown rotten fruit at once or twice apparently. They didn’t seem to get the message that their god was not wanted on her doorstep, but that was alright. There were plenty of spoiled banana peels to go around.

“I never thought about it like that.” She mused thoughtfully, “I always imagined I’d be helping people build irrigation systems and schools because they couldn’t. I guess the congregation does stress how important it is to spread the gospel to the local communities, but I wasn’t planning on forcing my religion on anyone.”

“But they are.”

Gabrielle gave another pause as she considered their words.

“I know you want to help.” V1 continued, “Whatever you choose to do, I know you’ll do that much. So don’t take my word for it. Look up the facts along with arguments in favor of missionary work and against it. Then make an informed decision. That’s all I’m asking.”

“Of course I’m going to look that up!” She insisted, “You didn’t think you could just say something like that and not expect me to fact check you on it, did you? Are you insane!?”

V1 couldn’t help but laugh, because damn did it feel good to know she wouldn’t take shit from anybody. Not from them and hopefully not from her congregation either.

“That’s what I wanted to hear.” They teased through an earnest grin.

Gabrielle, despite what may have been a rather tense conversation, hardly appeared uncomfortable as the pair were walking. Though she did seem like she’d been given more to think about than when they’d first seen her this morning. V1 would pry if they hadn’t already dug into some of the hooks and barbs she usually came tangled in. Unraveling her from the damaging ideals she’s come from wasn’t a process they were willing to botch by rushing into it. Gabrielle was worth the time and effort to handle with care. If she wanted silence or a change in subject, they’d just leave that to her.

V1 noticed how she glanced toward her paper at the most recent note she’d scratched off after meeting up with them, before she looked back toward them. 

“You know,” Gabrielle began after a while, “you’ve always talked about being a good shot, but I never expected to see it in action.”

V1s’ grin perked up a little wider as a sense of pride caught a hold of them.

“That’s the kind of skill you can expect from the leader of the state finals champions.” They remarked, jerking their thumbs toward themselves, “That scholarship didn’t fall into my lap for nothing.”

“I’ll say!” She chipped in eagerly, “Those were some incredibly precise shots V1! How did you learn to shoot with such a steady hand?”

The genuineness of her praise cut straight through their bravado like a hot knife to butter.

“Oh, you know. Just, lot’s of practice.” V1 remarked, nervously running a hand along their forearm, “I’ve been going since I was twelve so I’ve had some time to learn.”

“And considering that you work there I’m sure you have all the time in the world to hone in on your skills while doing what you love. I’m almost jealous.”

Just then, V1 was struck with an idea.

“Jealous you say? Well, we can’t go having that. Envy is a sin after all.” They mused with a thoughtful tut of their finger.

Gabrielle quirked her brow curiously urging them to continue.

“Hey, here’s a thought. Why don’t you swing by the range sometime? Maybe I can show you how it’s done. We’ll shoot some paint and cover each other in bruises. What do you say?”

Most people would find that pitch to be horrible, but V1 was quickly coming to find that Gabrielle was not most people. The way her face lit up at just the thought of a little bit of risk was like catching lightning in a bottle. Like catching a glimpse of her true face behind that careful mask. 

“If I can find the time then yeah. I think I’d like that.” She accepted.

V1 wasn’t sure how, but they’d find a way to earn that spark in her eyes, and show her just what she’s been missing out on.

“Hey! Everyones’ here!”

Calling out to them from one of the bakery booths was their sister. Hand in hand with Mirage as Faree stood nearby holding a basket of fresh bread. Dragging her girlfriend along, Faree followed behind the pair, careful not to drop the spoils of her shopping trip as the group caught up together. V1 didn’t expect their sister to keep a hold of Mirages’ hand, but maybe she’s finally testing the waters just a little bit. They had a feeling that Gabrielle was harmless. Hell, V1 was as blunt as all come with her about themselves when the two first met, and she’s still hanging around.

Though, if anything, they were just glad V2 was warming up to her. If they managed the smoothest pull of the century and convinced Gabrielle to give them a shot, then they’re pretty sure they’d want their sister to be cool with their girlfriend after all.

“That makes things a little easier,” V2 remarked with relief, “now we can just have that discussion today!”

Wait, discussion? What discussion? There was supposed to be a discussion? When the hell was anyone going to tell them that there was going to be a discussion!?

“Do you mind if I make a sandwich before we do? I haven’t eaten today, and I was sort of shopping with my eyes.” Faree pleaded, hugging onto one of the loafs longingly.

“Sure, that’s alright with me.” V2 agreed with a shrug.

“You got the elderberry jam I was talking about? Cool. I got some cookies if you’ll trade me a sandwich?” Mirage offered.

“If any of you want a sandwich too then I’m more than happy to make you one.” She insisted, “You don’t have to give me anything.”

“Oh, Oh!” V2 chipped in eagerly, “Let’s make it a picnic! I got fresh apricots we can dig into!”

“I still got some fudge.” V1 added, lifting and shaking the baggie they had in their hands.

Gabrielle looked around the group nervously before rushing up to the bakery stand.

“What should I get for this?” She asked over her shoulder.

“You don’t have to worry about-” V2 tried to say before they cut her off.

“Yo, get the pound cake!” V1 urged while cupping their hands around their mouth.

She gave them a sour look, but they knew Gabrielle better than that. She wasn’t about to let this go, and they didn’t want a needless back and forth. Making her selection, a beautiful pound cake along with a small jar of honey was added to the stockpile.

“This should be enough to pass around,” V2 assessed, “There’s some spare tables over there we can use.”

She pointed them out, and the group made their way towards the seating area. Neatly setting their selection of goods down, everyone gathered around and began organizing the spread. V2 rushed off to bum a few paper plates, napkins, and cutlery from the confectionery booth and soon the table was set. Faree cut the bread, Mirage spread the jam, V1 passed out the fudge and Gabrielle cut the cake. They hadn’t realized how hungry they were until they finally tried a bite of that nutty fudge, and holy shit was it good. They’d eat fudge every day if only they could afford it.

Everyone began digging in, and for a while it was just a picnic. Mirage told the table how she’d met a guy while running her moms’ booth. He held up the shop for nearly twenty minutes explaining how each of the crystals’ energies worked and in the end he just ended up buying the tiniest piece of onyx they had. V2’d met up with a kid who thought she was a disney princess, so his mom asked if she could take his picture with her. The notion touched her heart, and she gushed about how it had made her day. As everyone got into it, relaxing, snacking, and laughing along to each other's stories, V1 had almost forgotten this was all set up for a reason.

“Okay,” V2 addressed sometime after the conversations had hushed, “so, I’m sure some of you are curious as to why I called this a discussion, rather than just a hang out, right?”

V1 noticed that the only other one to nod than themselves was Faree. Seemed like they were both out of the loop here. Their sister laid her arms over the table, folding her fingers in a formal sort of way. She was all business now.

“I wanted to lay some new ground rules now that we’re all on the same page here. That way there’s no confusion about how we’re going to be running our table moving forward.”

Sure. Fair enough. They nod to let her know that they get the gist of what she’s going for as V2 held up a single finger.

“Rule number one; Our table is an inclusive space. No one is to be harassed or discriminated against based on race, sexual orientation, gender, religion, or nationality. Anyone found to be violating this rule both in and out of game will be banned from the table. Is that clear?”

Everyone, including Gabrielle nodded, and finally V1 understood. V2 must have told Gabrielle about her and Mirage. Finally. While they knew she’d be reasonable, it was a huge burden off their shoulders to have her confirm it so openly. Support was better spoken than left assumed.

“Rule number two;” She began, throwing up a second finger, “Our table is a safe space. No one is to threaten or enact violence upon one another for any reason. If you have a problem, you talk it out. That includes player versus player. Because I absolutely hate dealing with the fallout of pvp. Anyone found to be violating this rule both in and out of game will be banned from the table. Is that clear?”

Again the table nodded, so V2 continued adding a third finger.

“Rule number three; Our table is a welcoming space. No one is to exclude other members of the group for any reason. Any person is allowed to perform any check or action that they wish to explore, no exceptions. If there are plotlines anyone wants to keep from other members of the party for story related reasons then they need to be approved by the Dungeon Master first. Anyone found to be violating this rule both in and out of game will be subject to disciplinary measures on a first offense, and will be banned after further offense. Is that clear?”

Faree raised her hand, as she usually tended to. It almost made them want to tease her for it, but they held back. This was a very serious meeting after all. They’d respect their sister, just this once.

“Yes?” V2 addressed.

“So if we keep secrets from the other players we can get in trouble?” She asked with some confusion.

“No, no. This is more of a rule for stuff like not letting other party members participate in events in the story.” She explained, “Stuff like saying they can’t go on heists, or do speech checks just because they’re character’s not built for it. If someone wants to play against type or try something new, then as the DM I don’t want people talking over my head and telling them they can’t do something. Does that make sense?”

“Oh,” Faree said with a nod, “I understand now. Thank you.”

“Of course. Does everyone else understand?” V2 made sure to ask.

The table nodded, and when it was clear everyone got it she added her fourth rule with an additional finger.

“Rule number four; Our table is a collective space. If you aren’t willing to share, then don’t bring a giant bag of cheetos and hoard them all to yourself V1!”

It was abundantly clear who that rule was targeting as the table all turned toward them.

“Oh you would make that a rule, wouldn’t you?” V1 declared, glaring in protest.

“That’s right, fucker!” V2 replied, slapping the table with a smug grin, “My table. My rules. Anyone found to be violating this rule both in and out of game will be subject to disciplinary measures on a first offense, and will be banned after further offense. Is that clear?”

The table agreed, and left with no choice V1 nodded along. Damn that clever bitch. Fine. Now that it was sanctioned by law, they supposed they could be bothered to share their elusive snacks. Although, V1 wasn’t about to let her win that easily. They’d be sure to get a big ol’ bag of funyuns next time, just to spite her.

“Alright, that just leaves us with rule number five;” V2 continued, uncurling her thumb to showcase her last rule, “Our table is a fun space. Any sensitive subject matter in regards to roleplay must be agreed upon by the whole group in order for us to include it in the game. This includes backstories, motivations and world building. Anyone found to be violating this rule both in and out of game will be subject to disciplinary measures on first offense, and will be banned after further offense. Is that clear?”

This time Gabrielle raised her hand.

“Yes Gabe?”

V1’s brows shot up in surprise, only rising further when she hardly batted an eye at the nickname.

“Can we address that now actually?” Gabrielle asked, “There are some things I’d like to make sure aren’t going to be a part of the game if it can be helped.”

“Absolutely! I’d like to knock that one out too, if everyone else is on board? I realize I should have set all this up sooner. I’m sorry for that. Still kind of new to the whole, running a game, thing. Ya know?”

Everyone was in agreement and now that the rules were set in stone, the boundaries were easy enough to establish too. It was agreed they’d have no plot lines about sexual assault, graphic depictions of violence especially against children or animals, and no religious debates. Not that any of those topics had ever come up, but it was good to know that they never would. Once everyone was happy with the new terms the discussion as their sister had put it was finished. As V1 helped gather their spent plates they watched Faree lead Gabrielle away, but before they could say a word their sister had already taken a hold of their arm pulling them towards the opposite direction.

“Actually, can I talk to you for a minute?” She asked.

Sparing a hesitant glance away from Gabrielle, they turned towards V2 and found a rather stern look to her eyes. They could always catch up with Gabrielle later. Whatever V2 was going to say, it seemed important.

“Sure. Lead the way.”

***

“So, what did you want to talk with me about?”

Faree had been oddly quiet as she led Gabrielle to follow her, not saying as much as a word once the two were tucked away behind the large oak tree she’d taken them to. With so many important conversations happening today, Gabrielle felt like she was adequately prepared for another earth shattering revelation.

“If we’re getting things off our chests, then I feel like I should be honest with you.” Faree began.

“Okay.” Gabrielle urged gently.

She left it at that and waited for Faree to continue. It took her a nervous moment, but after some fidgeting with the ends of her dupatta she calmed herself down enough to speak.

“I’m… not catholic.”

Oh. Was that it? Gabrielle had already assumed as much.

“I know this might be… surprising… but I’m actually sikh.”

A faith that was tolerant to the practices of many religions. She’d been researching it in her spare time hoping that Faree might open up and talk with her about it someday. Gabrielle was beginning to realize she probably should have said something herself sooner.

“I know this is a lot to take in… but… I hope-”

“I’m fine with that.” Gabrielle cut in to assure.

Faree balked up at her as if she were insane, and with the way things were going today that was certainly where Gabrielle was headed.

“Y-you’re what!”

She shook her head with a sigh. Maybe she was already there.

“At this point, I don’t think there’s anything you guys could say to chase me away.” Gabrielle admitted with a shrug, “You’re all stuck with me. Especially you.”

“M-me?” Faree remarked, hesitantly pointing to herself.

“Yes you.” She assured, placing her hands firmly onto her hips, “You’re the first friend I can honestly say I’ve ever had. That makes you my best friend Faree.”

Oh no. Not the tears. Gabrielles’ put together front was crumbling! Damn it! She just had to be a sucker for the tears.

“I’m sorry.” Faree tried to say as she rapidly wiped her eyes, “I wasn’t expecting you to- I didn’t think that it would- this isn’t-”

Gabrielle threw her arms open, rolling her eyes despite the warm smile spreading across her face as she beckoned Faree in with a curl of her fingers.

“Come here.”

Faree didn’t waste any time barrelling into her arms, and the moment she was tucked in Gabrielle was right back to wiping her own face from the tears. This had to be the most emotionally charged day she’s ever had, but Gabrielle didn’t regret it for a second. Never has she felt so loved by people she could genuinely call her friends. As corny as it was to say, Gabrielle felt like this just might be the happiest day of her life.

***

“We need to talk.”

Their sister had led them across the other side of the fountain, far away from the picnic table and everyone else. She’d taken a seat on the stone and following her lead, so did they.

“I’m listening.”

“There’s something I need to tell you about Gabe.”

She said it again. So it hadn’t been a slip of the tongue.

“Does it have something to do with the fact that you called her Gabe again?”

While they were guilty of that too now that they thought of it, V1 realized it was different when V2 said it. She usually called her Gabby. Something’s changed.

“Valo.” The rare use of their full name completely caught their attention, “I think she might be trans.”

V1 brows quickly flicked up with surprise.

“That’s a hell of a thing to assume before she’s said anything, Vân.” 

If she could throw their name at them out of the blue then so could they.

“I need you to understand that I don’t say this lightly.” V2 remarked, “If she is trans then Gabe could be in a very dangerous position V1. Her father’s a priest, and you already said he seemed a bit, well…”

“Controlling, manipulative, douchey.” V1 spat, each word spoken with more bitterness than the last, “Take your pick.” 

“Regardless,” Their sister said cutting in, “if my hunch is right, then we need to be there to support her. And that means-”

“We’ll have to be prepared for the fallout.” V1 finished.

V2 nodded. They’d had their suspicions, but it was always a funny little thought in the back of their head. Not a terrifying reality for her safety to consider.

“If Gabe needs a place to stay, my apartment has plenty of room. If she’s okay with that.” Their brain did a double take as suddenly that pronoun felt strange to say, “Wait. Should we be using she or he right now?”

“She. Unless Gabe says otherwise.” V2 clarified, “I’m already assuming a fair bit just considering this scenario. I’m only telling you because the two of you are close, and you’re the only other person she lets call her Gabe.”

She was letting them do that, wasn’t she? V1 hadn’t even noticed.

“Okay.” They remarked with a nod, “I’ll try to find a way to bring it up with her.”

“Gently.” V2 warned with a stern finger, “Even if I’m right, this is a sensitive time for a trans person. You of all people should know that.”

Ah. They thought they recognized that protective aura. V2 was the first person they’d come out to. V1 couldn’t count the times she’d been sent to the principal's office on their behalf. Splattered in blood that wasn’t hers from crooked noses that refused to mind their own business. Guess she’s still just as much of a guardian angel now as she’s always been.

“Yeah. I remember.” 

V2 hummed quietly in reply, and as she looked out into the horizon past the cloudy blue sky V1 laid their head along her shoulder. She raised her hand and gently patted their cheek as she leaned against them.

“Yêu chanh.”

There wasn’t an easy way to say “they” in Vietnamese, so the two of them went with combining chị, sister, and anh, brother. It may have come out sounding more like lemon, but that was alright. Just hearing how excited V2 was to have found a way to address them was good enough for V1.

“Love you too, Vân.”

***

It’s been a long day, but a rewarding one. The bus would be here to pick Gabrielle soon but Mirage and Faree were kind enough to keep her company while she waited. The clouds had thickened over the course of the day to the point that it was now raining. Thankfully Faree had come prepared. As the three huddled in close under her umbrella Gabrielle could hear the music coming from Mirages’ headphones and the sound had her curious.

“What are you listening to?” She asked, trying to sneak a peek over the shorter girls’ shoulder towards her phone.

“You’re not gonna like it.” Mirage remarked with a sing-songish sort of tone, “Let’s just leave it at that.”

“Oh, come on!” Gabrielle groaned with a slight throw of her head, “I already told you guys I’m not that prudish. I can at least try something before I write it off completely.”

Mirage looked her over rather skeptically, but eventually handed Gabrielle the headphones.

“Okay. But if you try to dunk my phone in holy water I will kill you.” She warned.

“Duly noted.” Gabrielle accepted.

Mirage paused the song, something titled along the lines of The Hand That Feeds, before clicking the back button to rewind it. Then after Gabrielle had secured the headphones she hit play. The rhythm of the guitar crept in nice and slow before those first words hit her like a truck, “You’re keeping in step, in the line, got your chin held high and you feel just fine,” and before she knew it, the rest of the song had stirred something furiously within her that she didn’t even know had been lying dormant. Gabrielle only realized the playlist had moved on to the next song when Mirage slowly took her headphones back from her.

“So… what did you think?” She asked carefully.

Faree and Mirage were both equal parts curious and cautious of the wide eyed stare Gabrielle met them with as she blinked back between the two.

“Who sings that song?” Gabrielle asked.

Mirage looked toward Faree for any clue of what might be going through Gabrielles’ mind, but she simply shrugged.

“Trent Reznor.” Mirage answered, turning her attention back towards her, “It’s Nine Inch Nails.”

Gabrielle quietly nodded as she committed the name to memory.

“Alright. I think that’s my favorite band now.”

Chapter Text

Despite the fact that V1 had a unique talent for burning water, their mom always insisted on waking them up at the crack ass of dawn every thanksgiving to help her chop up sweet potatoes. V2 would make the nước chấm that’d get mixed in, and once they were caramelized and set to roast, it was onto slicing bananas. So many bananas. While their mom didn’t trust them with the stove that didn’t stop the grunt work from needing to get done, so it was always left to V1. Of course, they didn’t mind because that just meant there were more banana slices for them to sneak under the table while their mom wasn’t looking. Once again V2 worked her magic on their efforts, and their hard work was turned into a sweet and creamy bowl of banana-coconut tapioca pudding. 

As more hands made their way into the kitchen the mix of smells coming from their dads’ homemade stuffing and their moms’ lemongrass roasted turkey left V1 realizing that they’d missed this. Just being home. Hearing their mom close by muttering songs in a language V1 had never been the best at speaking, but knew so well brought them a feeling of ease. The black beans and sticky rice on the stove were close to being done, V1 was pretty sure, so they slid past their sister to take the steamer off the boiling pot. Sizzling on the opposite burner were the fried onions that would go on top, theirs and their dads’ favorite, though V1s’ mom was quick to swat any unwarranted taste testings away. The rice and beans were slid into a serving dish, as V2 rushed behind them to pull out the potatoes, before their dad replaced the pan with the store bought assortment of pumpkin and cherry pies V1 had brought home.

A question in vietnamese from their mom asking if the pudding was put in the fridge yet was answered with a solid yep in english by their dad as he started working on the coconut milk mixture for the bánh bò batter. More steam meant more heat, and their kitchen was always a sauna by the time everything was done. Though that had the tendency of making the harsh chill of late November all the more rewarding to step into. Which was just fine by them. Hanging their legs off the steps of the porch after a good three hours of work in the kitchen, V1 perched their arms along the railing as they took a moment to stop and breathe. It wouldn’t be long before their house would be littered with tiny droning cousins, all hopped up on sweets and cartoons, so they wanted to enjoy the quiet while it lasted.

V1 glanced at the phone in their hand, flicking the screen on and off as they debated sending a text. She was probably busy, they’d certainly been. Still, Gabes’ name sat idly by in their contacts as their thumb scrolled back and forth across the screen, leaving V1 just a click away from knowing how she’s been the past few days since classes went on break for the holidays. It’s been weeks now that they’ve been sitting on this potential land mine of Gabes’, but they had no idea how to even begin unpacking it with her. So V1 just sat by. Staring at her photo as they waited for an answer that just wasn’t coming to them.

“Gettin’ some fresh air, thing one?”

V1 tilted their head back towards their dad with a tired smile.

“Something like that.”

He moved to join them so V1 scooched over to give him room.

“Tired of us already I see.” He began before catching a glimpse of their phone, “Or was there something else on your mind?”

Following his gaze they saw how Gabes’ contact picture extended over the screen, and it was obvious that their dad might have been onto something. It was a rushed selfie V1 had taken of the two of them that had caught her by surprise. You couldn’t see it from how it was zoomed in on Gabes’ face, but V1 remembered how they’d grinned from ear to ear in that photo.

“Yeah,” They relented, flicking off their screen, “you caught me.”

“I’m sure if you wanted to send him a message, he’d appreciate it.” Their dad remarked.

If V2 was right about Gabe, they were sure that assumption would be met with a fair bit of appreciation. Though V1 wasn’t about to go around confirming that for her.

“Gabes’ a girl.” V1 replied.

“Ah,” He said with a nod.

“For now,” They added, “We’re thinking she might actually be he.”

“Got ya.” He supplied with another nod, “So this is another one of those, oh how did your sister put it… egg situations?”

While queer subjects weren’t on a first language basis with their older more sheltered parents, they’d always been mindful to remember their kids explanations on things. V1’s always appreciated that.

“Yeah.” They agreed, “Haven’t found a way to ask her about it yet, and um…”

“You’re worried about her.” He finished.

V1 gave a slower nod this time, clutching the phone in their hands a little tighter.

“Well,” Their dad remarked with a clap along their shoulder, “they say it’s the thought that counts. It can’t hurt to ask if she’s okay. That might just make all the difference.”

V1 had been worried they were blowing their concerns far out of proportion, so it was good to have a second opinion they could count on.

“Yeah. Okay. I’ll do that.” They remarked with another firmer bob of their head, “Thanks dad.”

“Anytime. Now if you’re done lounging around, the pies are almost done. You better get in there before Vee Vee makes off with the cherry again.”

“She better fuckin’ not!” V1 announced, as they stood to their feet, “I paid for it so half of that pie is mine!”

“Language.” 

“Frickin’.” They corrected.

“That’s better.” He commended with a pat to the back, “Don’t need your aunt blaming me for her sons’ bad mouth.”

“Too late.” V1 said as a cheeky smirk drew across their face.

“Yeah, I know. It’s for accountabilities' sake. She’ll catch him soon enough, I just wanna cover my bases.” He said with a sigh.

“You’re a smart man Benji.” They remarked with a wag of their finger.

Chuckling under his breath at the compliment, he led them back inside. 

“You had to get something from me, so it might as well be my common sense.” 

‘Cause that’s how being a stepdad worked, right?

“Checks out to me.” V1 agreed with a snicker.

“Alright, come on. Scoot.” He said as he tilted his head towards the door, “It's freezing out here.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Hold your horses, old man. I’m comin’.”

That was the good thing about coming back home. It was always so warm inside.

***

“The turkey’s a bit cold in the middle.”

Gabrielle popped her head up from her plate towards the other side of the table.

“Oh. Sorry.”

She’d never been much of a cook, but someone had to do it. Gabrielle knew her father would help if he had the time, but even during the holidays there was always something that needed tending to in that office of his.

“Just thought I would let you know.” He added.

“I appreciate that.”

She absolutely did not, but she’d run out of time to buy the pre-cooked turkey she’d normally get, so she’d had to make it herself. These were the consequences of poor planning. The green beans on her plate, drained from a can and microwaved with butter, were by far the least appetizing things on her plate. Gabrielle had been rolling them around for the better part of a half hour since this thanksgiving lunch had started, but she couldn’t find the will to actually eat them. A scrape of a plate across the table startled her as she noticed her father getting up.

“There’s pie in the fridge if you want some.” Gabrielle remarked hopefully.

She couldn’t do much for a turkey, but she could make a damn fine pumpkin pie.

“That’s alright.” She’d heard from the kitchen.

The sound reverberated across the walls, hollowing the house in the wake of the coming silence that followed. They used to have guests when she was younger, lone members of the church with nowhere else to go. Guess they found somewhere after all. Gabrielle could hear her father running the water, soaking dishes as he did his part. Taking her plate she hurried towards the trash. Her father hasn’t gotten onto her for wasting food since she was a child, but the thought that he would always left her disposing her scraps as quickly as she could.

Gabrielle added her plate to the pile before she began to store the leftovers away.

“Did you want to play a game after we’re finished?” She asked. “I found a Clue board based off of Sherlock. That could be fun.”

When she glanced over towards him she caught him shaking his head.

“I’m afraid I can’t. I had to move our dinner to earlier in the day after receiving a call. There’s a matter that the deacon has asked for my assistance in sorting out tonight.”

“Wait. Are you serious?” Gabrielle asked incredulously. 

“Yes. This concerns a family having a crisis.” He went on to explain, “That’s all I can say. I will return shortly after, but there is no telling what we are dealing with.” 

She wanted to ask “what about their family”, and for a moment she almost did. Though years of holding back her tongue gave her just the resolve she needed not to. The air had become even more rigid to breathe as the two finished their chores, all without so much as a word. When he left Gabrielle waited for the roar of her fathers’ chevelle to fade away before she used the opportunity to grab the nearest throw pillow and scream bloody murder into it. Was it really so much to ask that he spent even one night at home with her. In a room she wasn’t locked out of!?

Soon her muffled shouts had begun to produce tears and Gabrielle hardly cared as she smeared the mess off of her and onto the pillow. Once the decorative throw was spent, she tossed it back to the couch. Stomping back into the kitchen Gabrielle snagged the tin of pumpkin pie she had the audacity to make from scratch out of the fridge along with a can of whip cream and a fork. 

“To hell with manners!” Gabrielle shouted to the empty walls, “Someone in this damn house is going to enjoy my efforts, and it might as well be me since I’M THE ONLY ONE HERE!!”

After slamming the door closed, she took her spoils up the stairs and off to her room. If he asked about the pie later, she’d just say he misheard her. There never was a pie. At least now that he was gone she could get out of this stupid bra. Once Gabrielle had torn off her sweater she’d hurried to fumble with the bra, though it hadn’t been fast enough. She could see her reflection staring back at her, and the way she curved when baggy sweaters let her think otherwise.

Gabrielle had often been told not to let her hands wander, the connotation always being that she’d do something lude if left to her own devices. Though as her hands did just that, there was nothing pleasurable to be had in the experience. It was more that her body had changed so much since she’d become a woman that Gabrielle didn’t even know who she was looking at anymore. Was this supposed to be her body? She used to lay her hands flat against her chest and look up at the stars above her bed, but there wasn’t space to do that anymore. Hesitantly touching her chest Gabrielle pressed her breasts inward and tried to imagine it, the flat space she’d had before.

Glancing back at the mirror back to her reflection she wondered what a chest like this would look like under a shirt. No shape, and preferably no curve. Just a nice solid flat space. Wouldn’t that be nice? Not to have to deal with all of this weight hanging off of her chest. It was a thought that often crossed her mind, a distant curiosity.

A buzz from her nightstand caught her attention, and despite the phone not having eyes to see her with, Gabrielle quickly scrambled to pull her usual hoodie over her head before clicking the screen on.

“Hey Gabe hows the food coma going from your end?”

Seeing V1s' name across her screen brought a semblance of solace in Gabrielle that helped her ease her way back into a smile.

“I’m having pie right now that I made myself. So I’d have to say pretty good.”

Gabrielle drizzled a slice in way too much whip cream before taking a bite and true to her word, it was pretty damn good.

“Homemade pie. Fancy.”

Gabrielle sent a snapshot of her work and was treated with a wall of yum faced japanese character emojis. It made her laugh ever so slightly between bites of her pie, so she covered her mouth despite the lack of company. V1 sent her a few photos of their families table in the next message. There were the carvings left of a beautiful looking turkey, some roasted sweet potatoes, black beans and rice, and some kind of pudding with bananas in it.

“That looks so good! I’d show you mine but we already put everything away :(”

Not that there would have been much to show. An over cooked turkey, that was somehow cold in the middle, microwaved green beans and mashed potatoes where the special ingredient was black pepper and salt. She’d experiment more, but given that her dad always had something to say about her cooking she’s grown rather accustomed to not trying.

“That pies got me actin unwise. (•̀ᴗ-) Save me a slice? I promise to bring you some of my moms banh bo tomorrow.”

There was no telling what that was, but if V1s’ mom made it, she trusted it to be good.

“Sure thing. I’d be happy to. :) Is the game still going to be around the same time or earlier?”

Gabrielle forked off another piece of pie, dipping it into the leftover mountain of whip cream from the other slice she’d had.

“V2 is saying she wants this one to be a little earlier. About 1. That way we have plenty of time before you and I have to help out at the shelter.”

Oh good. The two of them were still on the schedule for this Friday so she was glad that V2 had remembered. This next session was going to be so exciting. Now that Gabrielle’s gotten a handle of the game, V2 has been helping her run through a few changes with her character. They’ve been planning this plot together for weeks and this was finally going to be the session to make it happen. Gabrielle just hoped that everyone would like what they’d come up with.

“Perfect. That works out for me.”

A different ping entered the chat from Mirage. She’d sent a picture of a pizza with her and her mom. Mirage was making horns with her other hand from around the older woman's shoulders as the two were pressed cheek to cheek and smiling.

“Fuck the pioneers! We’re makin pizza!”

V2 joined the chat soon after.

“Ugh! With pineapples? Monstrous.”

Mirage sent a gif of a boy in yellow throwing a towel with the caption, “You dirty bitch!” before adding another text.

“You take that back!”

“Never! ( •̀ᴗ•́ )”

Gabrielle actually liked pineapples on pizza, thank you very much.

“Pineapple belongs on pizza.” She defended.

“Yeah 2 its 3 to 1. You have no power here.” V1 argued.

“You’re all insane!” V2 declared.

Gabrielle could see from the up and coming dots that Faree had finally entered the chat.

“I don’t really care for pineapple.” She agreed.

“See.” V2 remarked, “ Someone here has good taste. (￣个￣)” 

“Eggplant is pretty good though.”

“...???...” Mirage entered.

“(つ≧▽≦)つ” V1 added.

“But it is.” Faree defended.

Gabrielle wasn’t about to leave the poor girl hanging.

“She’s not wrong. I’ve had it with her before. It’s actually pretty good.”

“You’re going from pineapple to eggplant girl! You’re gonna raise some eyebrows.” Mirage noted. 

“Thats funny as hell, ” V1 agreed, “but shit Im down for trying it. Maybe well find a compromise for my tasteless sister.”

“Screw you uno! (-`^´-)”

“I know a nice brick oven shop that makes their pizzas with eggplant as a topping. My family orders there every other week. We can go sometime if any of you would like.”

She was so polite and earnest that everyone in the chat immediately scrambled to agree, because of course they weren’t about to turn her down. As the afternoon ran on between bites of pie and long strings of conversations between her and her friends, Gabrielle figured that maybe this didn’t have to be a bad day if she didn’t want it to be. Besides, with her father gone, who was to stop her from listening to that album she’d saved on youtube now? Kicking her legs to Trent Reznor's vocals as she and the rest of the group made stupid inside jokes easily made this the best thanksgiving she’s had in years. Gabrielle only wished the feeling could last, but she wouldn’t go thinking about that now. For now, she’d just enjoy this.

***

Gabriel’s been acting rather distant lately. It all seemed to start one night after he’d woken up from a dream. Or rather, a nightmare. Ever since he’s insisted on wearing his helmet more and more. Saett’s tried everything to get him to take it off, but the man won’t budge. Something was wrong, and it felt like they were the only one who's really noticed. 

Though with everything that’s happened on this adventure, someone wanting to keep his helmet on would likely be the last of their concerns. Eshias’ brother betrayed both her and her tribe by giving their land away to King Ogron, the big bastard tyrant. Now that cocky little brat is sitting pretty as one of his loyal dukes. Grace lost all faith in her order when they refused to save her ailing husband on the king's orders, and after his death she turned to darker arts as a means of keeping in contact. She was eventually able to let him rest and decided to use her new abilities to help guide other wayward souls during their journey. As for Saett, they were still reeling with the existential dread of nearly being reprogrammed to death that one time when they were kidnapped by the secret royal order, so that was certainly something to process.

Then finally there was Gabriel, who just seemed so haunted and alone. They couldn’t help but try and reach out to him yet again tonight. He’d taken the first watch, so Saett decided to join him.

“Hey big guy. Long day, huh?”

“It’s- been fine.” He stiffly remarked.

“Look-”

“I know what you’re going to say, but I’m fine. Honestly. This scar just has me a little self conscious is all.”

Yeah. He’s said that before, but is it really the scar?

“Come on. Scars are badass.” Saett assured, “I’m sure you look sexy as hells.”

When they tried to reach for his helmet Gabriel pulled back, taking a hold of their hand to stop them.

“Please…”

It was such a gentle request. They would ignore him if they didn’t care so damn much about him. Though, being as persistent as ever, they still tried their best to satiate their curiosity with just one last question.

“It’s not a scar, is it?”

While his eyes were hidden, the flinch he’d reacted with was not. A crack of thunder disturbed the quiet night as a carriage of mechanically drawn horses pulled up from the road. They’ve been compromised. Again.

“Shit! How do they keep finding us?!” Saett cried out, startling back in alarm, “I’ve disabled every single one of their trackers!”

“Wake everyone up! I’ll keep them from getting to the camp until you get back!” Gabriel directed.

Saett raced to do just that, waking Grace and Eshia to bring them in on the fight. These soldiers were relentless. They weren’t a part of the royal secret order for nothing. Grace began marking targets for death while Eshia chopped them down with her guitar axe. 

“How’s that for an encore!” She declared with another swing.

“You will leave our friend alone!” Grace added, striking a man down with her lightning staff.

Saett kept an eye out for Gabriel who really seemed to be letting loose on these assholes. They couldn’t blame him honestly, they were getting pretty tired of being hunted down too.

“His majesty requests his property. Whether that be intact or in pieces, he has no preferences.”

Gabriels’ swords, cutting into either side of the guards’ neck, were only being held back by his best efforts, but the knight was quickly losing his patience.

“Well you can tell him that he’ll get this cheeky prick over my dead body when he joins you in the pits!”

The guards' attempts to resist Gabriels blades lost him a few fingers and a head before the man crumpled to the ground in a lifeless heap. It was endearing, if a bit frightening, but Saett had other things to worry about right now. There was one guy left. Surely they could find a way to get some answers.

“How do you keep finding us?” Saett demanded, thrusting his pistol under the guard's chin, “Answer me now, before I blow your damn head off!”

The guard let out an unsettling laugh as he steadied his grip along Saetts’ arm.

“You won’t want to kill me where we’re going.”

Just how much blood did this guy lose?

“Do you not understand the words that are coming out of my sound chip? I. Will. Kill you.” They enunciated clearly.

“Not if I do first. Ad regem!”

Saett was caught by surprise as the guard slapped the center of his chest, ejecting a pair of metal wings from his back, before the two of them were launched into the air. In their struggle to grab a hold of their only anchor they’d lost their gun and now they were being taken back to the castle's laboratory. Again. It was a miracle that they’d managed to escape on their own before, Saett wasn’t sure if they’d be able to do it a second time. If Eshia didn’t manage to catch them, that was just fine by them. A death at their own hands would still be better than becoming the equivalent of a walking corpse.

“W-what are you doing fool! Stop- struggling!” The guard protested.

“I won’t go back to that table!” Saett declared as they started tearing chunks out of the flying mechanism, “So say your prayers asshole!”

Sparks flew off into the open skies as the device malfunctioned, launching itself from the guard and into an explosion overhead. As the two were falling, and the man beside them was screaming for dear life, Saett looked up into the vivid night sky and reached their hand for the stars. They expected to crash into the ground in a heap of smashed pieces but instead, Saett found themselves crashed into a broad chest.

“Easy there. Can’t say I’ve ever let you down before, right?”

Saett tilted their head up to find Gabriel, his hair almost glowing? No, something above his hair was glowing and that sound. The steady flap of wings. He’d caught them mid air. Because he can fly?

“I think it goes without saying that I have some explaining to do.”

All Saett could think to do was nod, quite a bit shell shocked at the moment, but grateful to still be alive. Eshia was already wrapping up the guard by the time the two of them had touched back down, and after finally learning the little shits had bugged their tool kit, Saett and everyone else was ready to know what the hells was up with Gabriel.

“I wasn’t always human and apparently my true lineage is beginning to seep through. I’ve been reborn to atone for something I’ve done. I don’t quite know what that is yet, but it’s coming back to me. In bits and pieces in my dreams. I’ve been called to serve the people of this land. That’s all I really know.”

“You started hiding your face months ago,” Grace began, “why did you not tell us?”

“Shame mostly.” He admitted with a sigh, “An arrogant part of me wanted to say something the moment my power began to return, but I realized that that was the part of me that didn’t deserve this gift. The part of me that still craved the attention. I’ve come to realize that if I am to make up for the mistakes I’ve made, then I need to humble myself. So if you don’t mind, I’d like to keep the helmet on. At least, when we’re out in the open like this.”

“Yeah. Do what you gotta do.” Eshia said with a shrug, “We got your back broody two-shoes.”

“We’re just glad to know that you are alright, Gabriel. Thank you for trusting us with this.” Grace assured.

Saett approached Gabriel, a little hesitantly, before sinking into the man for a hug. Words couldn’t express the gratitude nor the relief they felt in this moment. Saett just did the first instinctual thing that came to mind, and it felt so good when Gabriel wrapped them up in return. Grace and Eshia joined in and it was a snug little hug out as Larry the guard struggled against his bindings below them.

***

“Gabriel is an aasimar! Shut up!” Mirage nudged Gabes’ shoulder as the table tried their best not to get hushed again.

Minos had already shushed them twice, and he was a three strikes sort of man. They were lucky that Gabe was in good standings with the guy.

“I knew you weren’t just being edgy for no reason!” V1 cooed as they shook her shoulders, “You sent those soldiers after me because I almost figured it out, didn’t you?”

V2 shrugged nonchalantly at their accusatory finger as she helped herself to their funyuns. It was bugles she didn’t like. Bugles. Damn it they were an idiot.

“Nope,” She said through a mouth full of rings, “that was a random encounter. You still had one more bug left on you. They planted five. I kept having your mechanic hint how you should be more thorough when cleaning your stuff, but you insisted on checking yourself for the bugs. Any more obvious and I would have just had her tell you to check your tools. That’s on you dude.”

V1 still believed that japes were afoot, but that hardly mattered. Important thing was, no more secret royal order and their stupid self destructing horses. Why couldn’t their sister just let them have nice things? Though they supposed, more important than even that, was how well Gabe and V2 had implemented the change for her character. This was bound to open the doors for a whole slew of possibilities. They just hope that V2 was prepared for them to be the little devil on Gabes’ holy shoulder, because a golden opportunity like this was too good to pass up on.

The usual questions were asked after the game and as far as the table was concerned, it had been a fairly decent session. Gabes’ amazing pie was absolutely demolished by the table, but she only had eyes for the bánh bò V1 had brought. They loved watching her second guess each ball she took before melting at the first bite every time. It was a special thing to see in its own right, and it did V1s' heart good to know that the dish had been another success. With their game wrapped up, Gabe and V1 waved the table good-bye before they both headed off towards the bus stop. While the two waited for their ride, V1 split their earbuds and spared one for Gabe.

They always let her pick the songs, but lately that hasn’t been as much of a bother. Whoever introduced Gabe to alternative rock was certainly doing her a solid favor, and had their eternal gratitude. Still, V1 noticed how she’d kept the volume low, so they tilted their head towards her to ask what was up.

“Is he okay?” Gabe asked, “My character, I mean.”

V1 could have assumed what she was talking about, but the clarification put into perspective that she was nervous to even ask.

“Yeah. I like him a lot actually.” They answered.

“Really?”

There it was, that hopeful little smile. They knew their sister was onto something, but damn. There was no denying it now; Gabe was projecting hard. So with all the sincerity they could muster, hoping that just maybe it’d get through to Gabe too, they answered.

“Yeah. I like Gabriel.”

Gabe, who seemed satisfied with that, turned the volume back up, nodding back along to the music without a care in the world. Yeah. They liked Gabriel. V1 just hoped that Gabe would come to like him too.

Chapter Text

Their car ride for the past ten minutes had been quiet, but there was something about it that left Gabrielle feeling more awkward than usual. Her dad was taking her to the library, a place where their lives had noticeably begun to diverge. He’d insisted that it was no trouble for him to take her there, considering the both of them had free time to spare, but that wasn’t like him. Her father was a man that made himself busy; he didn’t let himself have free time. Gabrielle was here for research, so at the very least he wasn’t opposed to her visit today. After what felt like hours they’d arrived in the parking lot.

“Thank you for the ride, Dad.”

“It was no trouble, Gabrielle.”

She made for the door handle when his hand perched along her shoulder to stop her.

“Dad?” She asked, careful not to sound as cautious as she was feeling.

“I wanted to talk.” He said simply enough.

Oh… that was never good.

“About…?”

“There’s been talk.”

“Okay?” Gabrielle began carefully, not sure where he was going with this, “Talk about what exactly?”

“Your friends.” He remarked.

Gabrielle felt her heart sink. She knew exactly where this was going, but her denial would fight tooth and nail to believe otherwise.

“They’re very nice people Dad-” She tried to say before her father cut her off.

“That girl is an atheist.”

Gabrielle felt her fists ball into her skirt. That wasn’t the right word. 

“I… hadn’t noticed that.”

His other hand, where it still gripped onto the wheel creaked the leather under his grip.

“She never goes to church.”

The words he kept using were wrong, and Gabrielle refused to use them. 

“Could go to a different church.” She suggested, feeling herself beginning to shake.

He finally turned his gaze over to Gabrielle, his hazel eyes glaring under the lens of his glasses. Unamused if she were to take a guess.

“While I appreciate your optimism, it hardly feels like you’re taking this seriously.”

Gabrielle has practiced this conversation dozens of times. She was ready for this. She could do this.

“Father,” Gabrielle began, doing her best to calm her nerves before she continued, “I’m going to meet with people that don’t share our views. If you have any faith in my abilities to lead them to Christ, then you’ll have to accept that. I need to actually talk with these people if I have any hope of converting them to the Lord.”

It felt like such a dirty thing to say, but Gabrielle knew she wasn’t about to convince her father that she could have friends with different beliefs than her. If she wanted to win his approval then she was just going to have to meet him where he stood, and if that meant telling a little white lie well, what else could she do at this point?

“I don’t like you spending time with such people.”

What if he drove them out of this parking lot? What if he grounded her and locked her up in her room? What if he shipped her off to do missionary work? What if he said no? What if he said no? What would she do if he said no?

“But,” He added, and Gabrielles’ breath caught in her throat as he paused, “I suppose, that you are right. You will be expected to meet with people who have… different beliefs. As an up and coming pastor, it will be your job to convince such people of the truth.”

Gabrielle sat silently, simply hanging off the edge of her seat as she waited for the verdict.

“You have my blessing to continue your efforts.” He relented.

It was as harrowing as it was relieving to hear those words, but Gabrielle did her best to offer the man a pleasant and polite smile.

“Thank you, Father.”

He nodded, and finally reaching the end of this conversation Gabrielle quickly reached for the door handle again.

“One more thing.” He added with a stern finger.

She nearly grit her teeth in her effort to bite back a groan.

“Yes Father?”

“Try not to sit with your legs spread out. I understand that you’re a tall girl, but ladies do not sit like that.”

Yes, she is a tall girl. That’s exactly why she needed to sit with her legs spread apart in this tiny ass car! She’d scream right now if she could. 

“Of course.” She replied instead, “I’ll be more mindful in the future.” 

Gabrielle didn’t stop to wait for him to pull out of the parking lot. She didn’t want to waste another minute listening to his stupid rules or his stupid conditions. God damn it was talking to that man all the same as pulling teeth! Nothing at all like the pictures V1 had sent her of their thanksgiving. She still had each of them saved in her phone, just to catch a glimpse of the warmth inside of that tiny window. They actually seemed like they enjoyed spending time with one another, rather than tolerating it.

Stepping right back through the doors of the library was like finally coming home. Gabrielle always knew how to find just what she was looking for, at least most of the time. Today she was going to need some help. After fishing out the last edition of her favorite series, Gabrielle walked up to the librarians’ desk and placed it on the table. She had to admit, she was a little disappointed after she finally finished the series, and as she handed in her book even Mr. Minos seemed to understand.

“I believe thou hast turned in thy last tale, Gabrielle. A tragedy we must all face. One only mended through the discovery of new stories.”

She scrunched her brow, only now taking in the costume that the older man was wearing. He was dressed up like some sort of Greek philosopher, for whatever reason. Noting her confusion Minos pointed towards a paper tacked onto the bulletin behind him. It clarified that there was going to be a reading of The Odyssey later today. Gabrielle wasn’t even aware themed readings were a thing here.

“A good performance makes for an engaging read.” He explained, “Thou art welcome to join this afternoon, if thou wish.”

Gabrielle politely shook her head.

“No thank you. I’ve come on business.”

He nodded his head in a rather thoughtful sort of way, with his finger curled under his chin as he up played his actions.

“Ah, I taketh that thine own performance is better suited for thee? Pray tell, I had almost forgotten of your recent inclusion in the games of table top.”

He was really committed to this bit wasn’t he?

“Yeah…” Gabrielle remarked awkwardly.

“I am glad to hear that although, I must request, wouldst thou consider regaling to thine friends to mind thine volume? The library is a hallowed place of silence. I care not to banish thee.”

There was a sudden dry catch in her throat that she nervously swallowed down. The man wasn’t one for idle threats, and Gabrielle wasn’t about to test his patience.

“No, I- wouldn’t want that either.” She agreed, “I’ll tell them to keep it down.

“You have my gratitude.” Minos replied as he took the book she’d set down.

Gabrielle would be sure to tell them all next Wednesday. However, today wasn’t Wednesday. That was tomorrow.

“By the way,” She asked quietly leaning in as close as she could over the tall desk, “do you have a… um. I-I uh… don’t know how it’s called but… a- um…”

Minos was patient with her. Simply using the idle time that it was taking for her to ask to begin sorting the books stacked on his desk, and thank god for that because the way just trying to ask this question was making her body shake was almost more than she could bare. Gabrielle had come here for a reason today. She could do this.

“… a gay section?”

Minos was still arranging books onto the book trolly beside him, hardly batting an eye as he focused on the task.

“Dost thou inquire of the l.g.b.t. plus section?” He answered.

Gabrielle searched Minos thoroughly for even an ounce of cynicism or judgment, but when there was none to be found she breathed a sigh of relief.

“Yes.” She agreed with a gentle nod, “Could you point me towards it please?”

“Of course Gabrielle.” He remarked, looking back up at her, “Thou shall find what thou seek between the graphic novels and the young adult section, across from mine desk.” Minos instructed with a guiding finger.

“Thank you Mr. Minos.” Gabrielle commended gratefully.

“Anytime.” 

His smile was as warm as always, and it was a relief to know that she’d been worried over nothing. Turning towards the area he’d pointed out, it wasn’t all that far from the usual section that she and Faree used to sit at before. As she traced her finger across the spines Gabrielle noticed how colorful the section was across the different span of books. Within the shelves sat biographies, novels, comics, and what she’d hoped to run across, a handful of books that were a bit more on the informative end of things. Homosexuality wasn’t a foreign concept to Gabrielle and neither was its lesbian counterpart. V1 was a living testament to the concept of non-binary with their all or nothing approach to gender, so the last thing that remained uncharted in her vocabulary was one simple word.

Trans; the first part that evoked change. Of the winter into spring, of a caterpillar into a butterfly, of a child into an adult. The second part however, was what had her curious to begin with; gender. It had been on her mind lately. No. For a while now.

Gabrielle wasn’t blind to the strange relationship she had with her body, but who could she really talk to about any of this? She hasn’t even dared to consider a google search. What if her dad found out? What if he didn’t like what she found out? What if that little kid who’d spelled her name wrong all those years ago hadn’t? For years these were questions she wasn’t meant to ask, so for years Gabrielle didn’t.

One book in particular stuck out to her so hesitantly, she pulled it from the shelf. The spine of “Trans Bodies, Trans Selves” slid from the shelf and as soon as the book was in her hands Gabrielle was quick to crack it open. Reading the first random passage she came across, she held her breath as she took in what she found.

“Our first coming-out process is to ourselves. Coming out might lead to changes in our self-understanding, different ways of presenting ourselves, name or pronoun changes, or modification of our bodies, but if and when we choose to undertake these changes is up to each of us.” 

Steadying a breath, she read it again. The first step was to oneself.

“Can- can you not call me that. Please?”

It was just a nickname she didn’t like, wasn’t it? Unless… Could that really be the reason why that name bothered her? That she was… Gabrielle repeated the word over and over and over but that wasn’t her, was it?

“Different ways of presenting ourselves,”

Her sweaters came to mind, but she didn’t mind wearing a skirt so that didn’t mean anything, right? She just hated having curves. Having… breasts.

“name or pronoun changes,”

“So… Gabe or Relle?” V2 had asked.

“Gabe.” She’d quickly answered.

“or modification of our bodies,”

Memories played out in her head of laying flat on her back as she looked up at the stars. Followed by memories of pressing her chest flat and wondering what a shirt without them would look like.

“but if and when we choose to undertake these changes is up to each of us.”

Never before had she even considered these feelings as something other than a passing oddity. Hasn’t everyone wondered what it would be like to have a different body? Wasn’t it normal to think about it at every pass of the mirror? Didn’t everyones’ reflections come out looking odd? Enough for them to avoid looking at themselves so they wouldn’t have to think about it? Gabrielle kept reading, until one sentence in particular struck her hard.

“Not all of us were able to express these feelings, and some of us felt we had to hide our identity from friends and family. Some of us felt a great pressure to conform and fit in to mainstream gender norms as a young person—to “act like a lady-”

“Act like a lady Gabrielle. Ladies don’t slouch in their seats.”

“Act like a lady Gabrielle. Ladies don’t hit.”

“Ladies don’t play in the mud.”

“Ladies don’t rough house.”

“Ladies don’t go to church in shorts.”

“Ladies don’t spell their names that way. That spelling is for boys, Gabrielle. And you are not a boy.”

The words on the page began to blur as Gabrielle blinked back the tears.

“Oh my god… I am a boy. I-I’m a boy!”

It didn’t feel real, saying those words out loud, and despite the tears that just wouldn’t stop and the climbing anxiety of just what the fuck she- no… he was supposed to do about that, Gabrielle has never felt such relief.

“Son, while I am proud of you please. Mind your voice in the library.”

Gabrielle nearly jumped out of his skin as he noticed the sudden presence beside him. Minos continued acting as if the revelation of the century hadn’t just occurred as he continued to replace his stack of books back into the adjacent shelves where they belonged.

“H-h-how much did you hear!” Gabrielle carefully whispered as loud as she could.

As loud as he could, he doubled back to correct. Although, Gabrielle supposed he didn’t have that much of a masculine voice. Minos likely didn’t think so.

“Enough to say congratulations.” Minos remarked before turning his head over toward Gabrielle, “So, congratulations. I’m happy that you’ve come to discover yourself today. It’s not always an easy thing to do.”

“What happened to the Shakespeare speak?” Gabrielle asked with a quirk of his brow.

The older man shrugged.

“I can spare the theatrics for a special occasion.” Minos replied, “Although, if thou wishes?”

He flashed him a playful smirk and Gabrielle winced at the thought of having to listen to even more medieval speech.

“No, no.” He said with a firm shake of his head, “I can do without all that right now.”

“Very well then,” Minos relented with a laugh, “consider my performance on an intermission.”

Gabrielle let her shoulders sag with some relief. His shoulders. Well, actually, they weren’t very masculine shoulders now were they? Anyone could see that and would probably think the same thing. 

“Thanks.” He remarked, turning his back against the book shelf to slide down to the floor.

Gabrielles’ eyes blinked up at the ceiling as she stared toward the fluorescent lights ahead of him. Damn it, he kept slipping back and forth through pronouns. He liked one thing but his own thoughts kept gravitating towards another. Was he wrong or was he just used to being wrong? This was all so confusing.

“What am I supposed to do now?”

Minos set the books he was handling aside as he sat down in the closest chair he could slide over towards Gabrielle. The older man leaned forward, pressing his elbows into his knees as he carefully clasped his hands over one another, all while he continued to wear that ever patient smile.

“This needn’t be a race, son. You’ve only just discovered the blue sky ahead of you. Perhaps take it in for a while?” Minos offered.

So what? He was just supposed to accept it? Something as monumental as this? She was falling in reverse while the rest of the world was anchored on solid ground. How was he supposed to accept that?

“Where do I even start?” He muttered with a crackling whisper.

“Have you considered a name?” Minos replied with a question of his own, “If you’re going to re-introduce yourself, it would be best if you had a name. Unless the name you already have now suits you.”

“Gabriel.” He remarked without a hint of hesitation.

The older man nodded as he gestured his hand for him to continue on.

“My name- is Gabriel.”

Not tagged on with pretty extra e’s and ls’. Just plain, simple, enough; Gabriel. By god he was Gabriel, and it was incredible how that simple change made all the difference. He felt himself slipping up less and less as he repeated his own name in his head. That name wasn’t hers. It was his, and for once, he felt like he could genuinely say that he liked his name.

“It’s so silly.” Gabriel said with a wide grin, “I don’t understand why that alone makes me so happy.”

“You will in time.” Minos said with a gentle pat to his shoulder.

The older man stood back to his feet as he took a hold of his book trolly.

“Are you going to be alright, Gabriel?”

A heady mix of feelings came about in him as Gabriel registered those words. He shook his head, even as that smile never left his face.

“I honestly don’t know,” He answered, “but thank you Mr. Minos.”

“Anytime.” Minos replied back, like always.

Left to himself, Gabriel glanced down at the book in his lap. There was no way he could take this home without his father noticing. That thought had him quickly crashing down to Earth. His father. Holy shit he was going to have to tell his dad about this. Hugging the book to his chest, Gabriel closed his eyes as he drew in a deep breath. Then let it out.

“Just take it in.” He reminded himself.

It was easier said than done, but he was okay. Gabriel was going to be okay.

Chapter Text

“Alright I’ve canceled the session for today. Remember what I said V1. Gently. Good luck.”

They’d been rereading the last message they’d gotten from their sister for the past three hours. After letting the chance to bring up the question pass time and time again for over a month now, V1 realized they were scared. Not of what one way or the other Gabes’ gender was, but rather how she’d react to it being brought up. She was so happy now in a way they knew she hadn't been for a long time. They didn’t want to fuck that up by saying something that might not even apply to her. After all, what if Gabe was just a very butch woman?

Was it even their place to be putting this question out there? She’s twenty for fucks sake, surely Gabe would be asking them all questions if she was doubting herself now. Then again, she’s also been sheltered her whole life. By a man who’s planned that life for her no less. As far as V1 knew, he might have convinced Gabe that the Earth was flat. There was no telling just how deep that rabbit hole went, and while she was doing her best to crawl out of it, that didn’t change the fact that she was still fighting him while thinking she had to play by his rules.

V1 was an outlier in all of this. They had the perspective to see the whole picture, but it was difficult to tell the thorns from the vine. If they came on too strong they might push Gabe right back to her father. Knowing what was something she was ready to process and what would scare her off wasn’t an easy thing to discern, and they weren’t willing to lose her. Not when Gabes’ come so far towards finally creating a life for herself. Not when so many people cared about her.

So now they stood waiting at the bus stop. Waiting for Gabe who was steadily approaching from the distance. She’d just gotten the text, they could tell from the disappointment on her face, but they’d make it up to her. V1 promised to take Gabe to the range, didn’t they? Well, tonight was the night.

“Hey V1. Did you read the group chat yet?” 

“Yeah, session’s canceled.” They said with a shrug.

Gabe let out a sigh as she scanned over the message.

“Guess she and Mirage have an exam coming up tomorrow. I hope they do well.” She remarked, perking up with a thoughtful smile.

“I’m sure they’ll do just fine.” V1 assured, “Mirage just tends to stay up later than usual when she’s cramming so the extra hours to study will keep her from pulling an all-nighter.”

Mirage certainly had an exam as far as they were aware. Maybe that was why V2 was so ready to accept their request. She hated the taste of monster, so anything to keep her girlfriend from chugging them throughout the day was probably a win in her book. At least they didn’t have to completely feel like they were lying to her.

“So, uh, what are you going to do now?” Gabe asked.

There was a hopeful look on her face that helped encourage V1 somewhat.

“Actually,” They began, taking out a stick of gum from their pocket, “I wanted to ask if I could take you to the range today. That is, if you still wanted to check it out.”

“Oh,” She remarked with surprise, “you want to do that today?”

They offered Gabe some but she shook her head with a bit of a wince. Spicy cinnamon wasn’t a flavor for everyone they supposed.

“Yeah. It’ll be a lot of fun. You can see what I do.” V1 offered.

Her disappointment from before quickly shifted towards excitement.

“Of course! I’ve been looking forward to this actually.”

That caught their attention.

“Really?”

“Yeah!” She assured eagerly, “It’s just… well, my Dad. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that he’s a little… over the top about these sorts of things. So it’s probably for the best if he thinks I’m doing something else.”

Over the top. That was certainly one way of putting “seven o’clock curfew”, now wasn’t it?

“Well, tell you what Gabe, I’ll make sure to keep my shots as far out of daddys’ sight as possible. How’s that sound?” V1 remarked with a grin.

“Sounds like a challenge.” She clapped back with a smirk.

“Not for me. Bet you five bucks I can land the same shot twice in one spot.”

V1 loved it when Gabe folded her arms. By the nine, she was an absolute unit.

“Ten says that you can’t.”

“It’s a deal.” They agreed with a thrust of their hand.

Gabe just rolled her eyes before slinging her arm around their shoulders for a tight side hug. Oh… this was nice. From up close they could catch the scent of citrus and pine needles coming off of her favorite hoodie. They could tell. It had that worn down sort of love that only came from overuse. Though, before V1 could get too comfortable, Gabe had already begun to pull away.

“So how do we get there?” She asked.

Shaking their head out of a daze, they managed to blink back up and into focus.

“The bus. Should be a ten minute drive.”

V1 usually walked, but the sooner they got there the sooner they could win that bet. As well as have that very important conversation with Gabe, they reminded themselves because yeah. That too. As per usual, V1 split their earbuds with her as the two waited for the bus. Gabes’ tastes were definitely signaling off a few changes in her. Numb by Linkin Park, Broken Boy by Cage The Elephant, and of course Nine Inch Nails. 

She didn’t skip past Closer this time and V1 couldn’t help themselves from being the one to gawk up at her for a change. They absolutely flustered the hell out of her from all the attention but true to her choice, Gabe didn’t back down. Just to mess with her V1 began to mouth along to the lyrics by the second verse, and that absolutely got a blush out of her. Soon enough, they managed to convince her to sing along, and hearing her say, “I wanna fuck you like an animal,” was certainly an experience. Eventually their bus arrived, and the pair did their best to settle back down, but like a couple of school children they’d let themselves become a mess of snickers and giggles.

“I’m sorry.” Gabe said with a grin from under her hand, “I’ve never been able to listen to that song by myself. I always freak out right after he says the penetration part.”

“You don’t have to apologize for throwing on a good song. Besides, I got you to say the fuck word.” They remarked with a nudge.

“Oh, shut up. It's not like I haven’t cursed before. I just choose not to.”

“Sure, sure.” V1 said with a shrug, “You're a good noodle, after all.”

“Damn right I am.” She agreed.

The next few minutes rolled by, and if The Hand That Feeds just so happened to get played as it usually did when the two of them jammed out together well, V1 didn’t mention it. They wondered if now might be the right time to talk with her. It couldn’t hurt, right?

“Hey Gabe.”

“Yeah?”

“So, I wanted to talk about-”

Suddenly V1 felt something heavy slam into their shoulder.

“What the-!?” They tried to say before whoever it was that bumped into them cut them off.

“Move out of the way.”

V1 glared at the beanie clad stranger who’d just entered the bus.

“The fuck you starin’ at freak? I said move!”

They opened their mouth to snap back at the jerk before Gabe beat them to it.

“I don’t think I heard an apology.” She spoke with a cold tone.

“‘Scuse me biiiii …-”

Gabe chose that moment to stand up from their seat, towering over Mr. baggy jeans with ease.

“You smacked your bag into my friend. The right thing to do when you make a mistake is to apologize for it.”

When all the guy could do was gawk in terror, Gabe tilted her head.

“Well?” She added.

After a long moment to collect himself, the man tucked his head down into his chest.

“...s-sorry.” He muttered before scampering off towards the further seats in the back row.

With the stranger dealt with, Gabe sat back down, as if she hadn’t just stood up for them like a total badass, before unpausing their playlist. Drunk n’ Disorderly by The Chats continued right where they left off as Gabe bobbed her head to the beat. All without a care in the world.

“Hey Gabe?”

“Oh right, you’d wanted to talk about something didn’t you?”

They shook their head. Maybe now wasn’t the time. 

“I just wanted to say thanks. For being the kind of friend I know will have my back. It means a lot to me.”

It was probably better to save that conversation for the range anyway. Neither of them needed some dickhead butting into their business. Gabes’ smile took on a sincere sort of warmth as she regarded them, and it was easy to see how they could forget that the two of them weren’t alone right now.

“You can always count on me, V1. Always.”

They knew that. Now it was their turn to be there for Gabe.

***

After all this time, and all the hype, he’d finally made it to the paintball range. It was all anyone used to talk about back in highschool, but naturally, it wasn’t a sport befitting a lady. Even if Gabriel was a lady, what was the difference between getting shot with paintballs and getting jabbed by fencing? Because despite the padding and flat tipped swords, having a metal rod thrust into your shoulder with brute force had the tendency to leave just as many marks.

V1 gave him a full tour of the place, excitedly hopping around the lot to show everything off.

“This is the kids target practice gallery. They love taking pot shots at Barney over there.”

From where they were pointing Gabriel could see a stuffed purple dinosaur that was coated in various splotches of paint. He’d feel sorry for the little guy, if his childhood didn’t have a special place in his heart just to loathe the bastard. There was something almost universal about hating that dino. Even he couldn’t escape it.

“And over here are the training grounds. These barrel towers have saved my ass a number of times. No one else was able to climb these things, so I’d hide up at the top and snipe people down. Sisyphus had to make a new rule against sniping, all because of me.” V1 explained with a bit of pride.

“Sounds like someone was a bit of a cheater.” Gabriel rebuffed.

“Was not.” They huffed back, “I just helped bug test a new rule is all.”

“Sure.” He relented with a shrug and a smirk, “Let’s go with that.”

The next area that came up was the storage house, with a light that was still on.

“Ah, that must be Sisyphus.” V1 said eagerly, “Come on, Gabe. I’ll introduce you.”

Before he could respond one way or the other, they’d taken his arm as they led the way. Gabriel followed, feeling nervous suddenly. A new person. He was… going to have to introduce himself now. The thought made him anxious, but he couldn’t just not meet the owner of the park, right? That would be rude.

“Hey! Sisyphus!”

The man that turned to greet them made for quite a hairy, tanned, man. Wearing a beard that twined down into a nicely worn braid laced with golden beads, he almost looked like a dwarf. That is, if dwarfs were somehow taller than he was. An impressive feat, considering Gabriel himself was quite tall.

“I didn’t expect to see you today.” The man remarked, with a voice that rumbled from deep within his chest, “I take it you’ve come by to show your friend over there the range?”

“Yeah! I wanted to show- ‘em around. To see what I do here.”

That phrasing seemed a little… strange, but not exactly unwelcome. Maybe they weren’t sure if he wanted other people to call him Gabe? He could easily clarify that.

“Hi. My name’s Gabe.” He introduced with a nervous wave.

The owner looked him up and down. Yeah, he definitely wasn’t buying that, was he?

“You were Minos’ little assistant. About four summers back. He still talks a great deal about you.”

That was back when he worked with the library reading books to kids during the summer. He used to love that job.

“That was… a long time ago.” He recalled, noting who he was then in regards to who he was now.

Sisyphus looked as if he was mulling something over with himself, before he made up his mind with a simple grunt. Tossing a ring of keys over towards V1 they caught them with familiar ease.

“Just be sure to lock up the storage house when you’re done.” 

“You got it, boss man.” They assured, “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

The man waved them off before heading to his car and taking off.

“He just trusts you with something like this?” Gabriel asked, almost astonished at the thought.

Yet all V1 did was shrug.

“Yeah, I’ve known the guy for years.” They remarked, “Way before he opened up the paintball shop. He used to be the elementary soccer coach. Back when my parents had to take on more hours to cover some bills that had started piling up, he and Minos would watch my sister and me after school.”

“Wait? Mr. Minos? Why was he th-” Gabriel had begun to ask before a look from V1 cleared that thought right up.

Oh… That was why Mr. Minos always said he had a partner. Gabriel just thought he was talking about some elusive business associate. Suddenly all those conversations about going home to eat roasts with his partner made a lot more sense. Gabriel always wondered why they shared dinner together every night. God he was stupid.

“So yeah.” V1 continued on, “I kind of grew up with the guy. He’s sort of like an uncle.”

“Well, if that’s the case, then how come Mr. Minos always gets onto you when we’re at the library?” Gabriel argued.

“Probably because you’re his golden child, you book worm loser.” They retorted.

“I am not!” He tried to insist, but the smile on his face said it all.

The fact that just the thought of that being true was enough to make Gabriel happy probably said a lot about what the old man meant to him. Especially here lately. When he’d felt cornered and pressured by his dad, it was Minos who’d suggested the Elias series to him. That had gone a long way towards helping him work through the stress over the past two months. Minos was always ready to lend an ear or suggest a good book. He was someone that meant a lot to Gabriel.

“Are too.” V1 remarked.

Gabriel hardly had it in him to argue. How could he when they were absolutely right.

“Fine. Are too.” He agreed.

Satisfied with that, they smiled up at him as they led him inside.

“Come on. Time to cash in on that bet.”

As if in a trance, V1 guided Gabriel through the ins and outs of firearm safety and handling with practiced routine as they dressed him up in the proper protection gear. He was taught how to hold the gun when firing. How to screw in the compressed air tank onto the gun. Where the cocking knob along the side of the gun was and how to release the gun from safety with the pull of the trigger. It was a lot to take in, made even more difficult with the way V1 had wrapped themselves around his back to help explain everything to him.

“When we’re not on the field and you have a loaded paintball gun, you’re gonna cover it in one of these.” V1 remarked as they showed off a sleeve with a long string looped around it.

They gently guided his hands to show him how to wrap the gun and as they moved their arms along his own his heart nearly skipped a beat.

“The kids call it the barrel cover. The adult kids call it the barrel condom.” They added, tilting their head beside him with a playful few flicks of their brows.

Gabriel wasn’t sure how to retort back to that when they were inches apart, and had been for several minutes now. Honestly, it was a little hard for him to think at the moment.

“Ha.” He’d managed to croak out before V1 finally stepped back.

“Think you got a handle on it?” They made sure to ask.

“I think I do.” He assured.

“Good.” They remarked, setting up their own gun in a matter of seconds, “Let’s play ball.”

Their speed was impressive, and certainly didn’t set this match in his favor, but Gabriel didn’t come here to win; he was here for the absolute thrill of it all. V1 led them to their stage, and from the moment they set foot in that arena something fierce had taken over him. Gabriel felt it from the spark in their eyes, and knew that he wasn’t the only one. They were looking at him like prey, and so was he. The pair stood adjacent across the field, weapons at the ready, and loaded to fire. They each removed their respective covers, and the moment they let the cloths drop, the pair of them ran. 

Darting off towards the side, V1 took the first shot. Gabriel just narrowly dodged it by sliding under the cover of a ring of barrels, much to his own surprise.

“You’re very first shot and you manage to miss?” He taunted, “You’re getting rusty, machine.”

Gabriel heard a shift in the dirt and focused his attention toward it, deciding to move in the opposite direction. That mistake had gotten him his very first paintball tag after V1 had successfully tricked him into thinking that they’d gone forward. It stung his lower shoulder, but kept him alert. Gabriel quickly fired in the direction it had come from only to miss himself. He expected a taunt thrown back at him, but was met with silence. He should have known better. 

Gabriel was in V1s’ element now.

“Show me what you were made for!” He shouted.

Gabriel heard another shift, but took cover behind a barrel this time. Picking up a small rock he tossed it away from him and when V1 stepped out to investigate he opened fire, gaining his first shot. From a distance, they almost looked impressed.

“Come on machine,” Gabriel called to them as he stepped out into the open, “fight me like an animal!”

V1 smirked, before hitting him with a barrage of fire as he did much the same. Blue and yellow paint littered the playing field as the pair went from hunting each other down to absolutely losing it with laughter as they pelted one another with welts and bruises. Eventually Gabriel surrendered. There were only so many bags of ice he could sneak off to his room before his dad got suspicious, and he wasn’t looking to tempt fate. Lifting up his sweater to assess the damage, Gabriel had to admit that V1 had been pretty consistent. Right in the stomach. 

Yeah, he was definitely going to feel that in the morning, or rather, now. Gabriel hissed when cold fingertips suddenly touched the wide patch of welts across his stomach.

“This’ll help.” V1 offered. “And by the way, I’ll be taking that ten bucks now.”

Gabriel passed them their well earned Hamilton as V1 tossed him an ice pack they’d pulled from the cooler in return. He took it gratefully, gently easing the towel wrapped ice baggie against his skin to soothe the sting. Taking his wrist, V1 guided him towards a set of park tables and took a seat along the top of them. They patted the empty space next to them and like always Gabriel took it, lying on his back to look up at the sheer amount of stars overhead of them. That meant that it was late, but he didn’t mind. Gabriel didn’t want to leave just yet.

“Thanks. For bringing me here.”

“Of course Gabe.” They said as they patted his knee, “I’m happy you came. Thanks for giving this a chance.”

Gabriel smiled, shaking his head with a humorless laugh.

“You say that as if this hasn’t been one of the best days of my life.” He countered, “When you and I both know just how much I’ve needed this.”

Their hand hadn’t left his knee, as that warm presence held a firm grip on him. Keeping him tethered as his mind tried to tumble upwards. Even if he was falling, he knew that V1 wouldn’t let him go. He’d wanted to tell everyone at the same time, but he didn’t mind if the first one he told was them.

“Gabe?”

“What is it, V?”

Maybe it was the same question that they’d tried to ask before, but hadn’t gotten the chance? Regardless, they seemed nervous so he’d let them take as long as they needed. God knows how patient they’ve been with him.

“Do you ever find yourself thinking that maybe… you weren’t given the sort of body you’d been expecting?”

He’d almost wondered if V1 was talking about themselves, until he thought about how that question resonated with him. That’s when he realized, they knew. Maybe they’d known for a while now.

“That…” V1 continued, “if you could change the body you have now, you would?”

Gabriel smiled such a dopey heartfelt little smile as he placed his hand over theirs. It caught their attention as they turned back to face him.

“Yeah. I have.” He answered.

V1 shifted around until they were facing him, their hand still stubbornly laying over his knee, as Gabriel did his best to keep it there.

“If you had that body, right now, what kind of person would you be?” They added.

He got the idea behind what they were asking, but some cheeky part of him wanted to mess with them, and so the cheeky part won.

“Well,” Gabriel mused, “for starters, I suppose I’d be kind.”

“Kind?” They questioned with a tilt of their head.

“And brave.” He added.

“What else?” 

“Loyal, friendly, charitable, funny, patient,” He said with a knowing smirk, noticing the way V1 had begun to purse their lips, “and just an overall good person really.”

V1 shot him an unimpressed look that Gabriel did his best not to snicker at.

“Gabe.” They spoke curtly.

“Yesss?” He teased with a bit of a wider grin.

“You are already all of those things.” V1 remarked bluntly.

Hearing such a frank and sincere compliment, as if he’d just stated the obvious, touched Gabriels’ heart. For anyone to think so highly of him, especially the way he thought of V1, was a little unexpected.

“Oh… Well then I’d lose the breasts. They’re a bit annoying for a man to deal with.”

“You fucker!” V1 cried out as they whipped the towel of their ice pack at him.

Gabriel couldn’t help but laugh, and even with the sting it surged along his stomach to do so he didn’t regret it for a second.

“Dude! Do you have any idea how much I’ve been stressing about this! Here I am thinking I’m gonna blow this christian boys' mind and shatter the fabric of reality, but no! You’re out here makin’ an ass out of me!”

“You make it too easy.” Gabriel clapped back with a snicker.

That earned him another whip, but two could play at that game. Gabriel took his towel, gave it a good whirl, then flung it into their side where he’d managed to get a few shots in earlier.

“Ahh!”

“How do you like it?” He retorted.

“Oh, I’ll show you like it!”

Suddenly V1 lunged, scrambling to grab a hold of his wrists as they pinned him down. They used their leverage to climb on top of him as they stared him down. Their eyes as dusky as the midnight sky, with just the slightest hint of hickory, as they caught the light around them like stars.

“There,” V1 huffed, cocking a wide grin as they loomed over him, “that easy enough for you, Gabe?”

Glancing down from their eyes, Gabriel found something else that caught his attention with every breath they took through parted lips. He traced his hand up along the back of their neck, gently wrapping his fingers along the side of their face as he began to sit up.

“Call me Gabriel.” He said before pulling them in for a kiss.

V1 jumped for just a moment before their hands suddenly tugged him in closer, grabbing him up by the collar of his hoodie. Each time the two pulled back for a breath V1 tried to say his name, but each time Gabriel quickly pulled them back in. They kept trying even as their hands found their way through his hair, tugging him even closer. While Gabriel moved both of his hands up to cup the sides of their face, suddenly craving the lingering taste of cinnamon against his tongue. Eventually they broke away from one another as they panted for breath, and it was only then that he’d realized what had just happened.

“O-oh my-... V1, I am so sorry! I-I-I didn’t mean to-”

Planting their hands along either side of his head they managed to make Gabriel feel like a cornered animal. Dear god, why did he like the idea of that?

“Gabriel.”

They’d finally managed to get it out, and wow did he like the way they said his name.

“Y-yeah?”

V1 leaned back into him as their lips pressed against the corner of his mouth, and that gentle kiss was enough to make him shiver.

“I’ve gotta take you home tonight, don’t I?” They asked.

“...yeah…” He whispered, a little out of breath as they placed another faint kiss along the otherside.

“Then shut up and kiss me. If I’m on borrowed time I want to make the most of it.”

V1 didn’t have to tell him twice. Running his hand up against the prickles of their hair, Gabriel dragged them back down to do it all over again. He’d lost track of time by this point but honestly, he didn’t fucking care.

Chapter Text

Walking down the street the two of them had a handle on one another like they were drunk, and frankly speaking, V1 almost felt like they were. They’d been trading jokes back and forth for some time, listening to music as they laughed into the night. It was all in a bid to distract themselves from the inevitable, otherwise V1 was sure Gabriel wouldn’t be holding onto them quite as tightly. As much as they wanted him in their bed with a good time in mind, that paled in comparison to the dread of sending him home. Hell, they’d sleep on the kitchen floor if he asked. If it meant avoiding that looming mansion.

Still, V1 would let him go tonight. They’d let him lie in his own bed and conquer his own demons if that’s what he wanted. However, Gabriel hadn’t let go of their hand. Not while he was unlocking the gate, or while they were walking up that great big hill, or even when he knocked on the door. There was a dreadful silence looming in the air as distant steps made their way closer from the inside but V1 just slipped their fingers through Gabriels’, as he did the same with theirs. The door opened to a scowling man, so used to looking up that he hadn’t even noticed V1.

“Gabrielle, it is nine fifteen.” He scolded, “You know you’re not supposed to be out this late.”

“I know that.” He answered curtly, carrying his voice with a practiced monotone, “I also know that I’m an adult, and that that’s a ridiculous curfew for you to be placing on me.”

His father hardly bothered to address what he’d said, instead soothing his brows under pinched fingers.

“We will talk about this in the morning.” He groaned.

“No Dad. I want to talk about this now.” 

He glanced back up at that, and only then did he notice V1 standing next to his son. They didn’t hide their determined glare from the man and neither did he his irritation. His eyes flicked down between their hands, firmly interlaced between one another, before he shifted his gaze back up to Gabriel. He sighed, but otherwise seemed unamused at best.

“Just go upstairs Gabrielle.”

“Dad-!”

“No.” He remarked taking a step forward. “I don’t want to hear another word.” 

The pair of them stepped back, and V1 found themselves letting go of Gabriels’ hand to stand between him and his father. The man quickly noticed, sparing a passing glance to scowl at them, insulted by such a bold insinuation, before turning his attention back towards his son with a stern finger.

“You are grounded. That’s the end of it. Now, I want you to go upstairs and-”

“I’m not FUCKING going upstairs!”

V1 could feel Gabriel shaking against their back. His father hardly seemed to expect that, though the only hint giving that away was a slight raise in his brow. Otherwise, he was careful not to express any sort of response.

“Gabrielle-”

“It’s Gabriel.”

The air had grown stale once again before it was broken by yet another sigh.

“No it’s not.”

V1 could feel Gabriel sink into a devastated slump behind them from the blunt dismissal, and they would be damned if they weren’t about to do something about it.

“Yes, he is.” They remarked as they took a step forward.

The man shifted his attention back to them, and the irritation he’d worn for his son glowered into something far more vitriolic for V1.

“I don’t know who you think you are to step into my daughter's life,” He began as he advanced forward, “feed her poisonous lies,” He continued as he jabbed his finger into their chest, “and drag her reputation through the mud,” He said, jabbing his finger into them again, “but you are not welcome in my house.”

V1 harshly smacked his hand off of them, before stepping up to him.

“Get in my face like that again and you’re not going to like it.” They promised.

“Are you seriously trying to threaten me in my own house? I could report you for this. I’m sure the school’s been looking for a reason to get rid of you.” He remarked as he got right back in their face, “But I’d be willing to forget this, however. If you leave my daughter alone.”

No fucking way was he actually trying to blackmail them from seeing Gabriel! What a corrupt, controlling psycho!

“Like hell I’m going to leave him with an abusive asshole like you!”

Gabriels’ father suddenly grabbed a hold of their shirt and began lifting them off the ground by the tips of their toes.

“Now you listen here! I will not-!”

A barrage of things all happened at once. Their feet landing back on the ground. Gabriels’ shoulder cutting in between them and his father. Him shoving the bastard clear across the floor then shouting… something. Honestly, V1 couldn’t register it. Then finally, Gabriels’ hands gently clutching onto their shoulders as he tried to pull them out of the haze.

“V? V! V are you okay? Please. Say something!”

V1 looked up at him, still in a bit of shock, but eventually they were able to collect themselves enough to nod.

“Yeah,” They uttered after a moment to blink back into focus, “...yeah I’m okay. Just a bit shaken up.”

Gabriel began to furrow his brow with a measure of guilt as he turned away, but V1 took a hold of his chin. Tilting his head right back towards them.

“Hey. None of that. I’d fuckin’ do it again.” V1 assured.

“You shouldn’t have to.” He nearly growled back.

Gabriel was pissed, and good for him because quite frankly, he needs to let himself be a little pissed about all of this.

“I know. But I’m not the one you should be telling that to. He’s the adult between the two of us.” V1 spat as they shifted a glance toward his father, still dazed on the ground, “He should act like it.”

He’d begun to sit up, and as he did Gabriel stepped forward.

“Dad. I’m leaving. I’ll be back for my clothes tomorrow, but consider me officially moved out.”

The man at least had the sense to be confused at first before suddenly he chuckled, honest to god chuckled, with a dry and humorless effort. V1 could see the way Gabriels’ body tensed up as his father just looked at him from where he was splayed out on the floor. 

“And just where do you intend to go at such a late hour? With your friend over there?” He indicated with a tilt of his head in their direction. “Imposing yourself on her doorstep without even asking? Have you learned nothing of basic decency, or is that just the sort of shameless behavior I should be expecting from you now?” 

This man had to be the foulest, lowest, creature that V1’s ever met. Is this what Gabriel has had to deal with all his life? A father so callous and spiteful that even loving remarks found a way to be backhanded? No wonder Gabriel was so desperate to shove his head into just about any book that he could find. V1 wouldn’t want to be suffocated here either.

“Your son isn’t imposing shit.” They happily argued, “I’ve already talked with my landlord and he said Gabriel can move in right now if he wants to. I’ve paid the fees and turned in his application already, so all he has to do is sign the lease.”

“V…”

V1 could see Gabriels’ awestruck gaze from the corner of their eye, but set their sights on the sheer bewilderment of his father.

“And by the way, I may be an atheist, but here’s a little bible verse for ya; Colossians 3:21. Read it sometime, you jackass.”

V1 held their hand out to Gabriel, and once again his fingers wove back into theirs. They didn’t spare the prick a second glance, but Gabriel did. Though it was only to pause and shake his head before he turned away and led the two of them back out the door. They barely managed to take five steps through the yard before the front door opened.

“Gabrielle.”

V1 felt him tense, but Gabriel refused to turn around. He kept walking, and so did they.

“Gabrielle.” His father repeated, his tone doing its best to command a sense of authority, one that he was quickly losing.

V1 could see traces of the fear on Gabriels’ face, but he held himself with a stern resolve as he walked up to the front gate.

“If you step out through that gate then don’t expect to be welcomed back! This house is not a revolving door for you to step in and out of as you please. Do you understand me!”

Gabriel did stop then. Hesitant for a moment as he took a hold of the bars. His expression shifted about in the span of a few seconds as he was made to process thousands of emotions, all flooding in at once. Worry, terror, confusion, alarm, and more than anything else, absolute and utter heartbreak. V1 knew he wasn’t much of a material man. Gabriel was quite frugal with his simple pleasures and plain fashion.

No. This was about losing his home. His family. His life up to this point. If Gabriel stepped out of these gates, he wasn’t welcome to return. To any of it.

Gabriel stared past the bars for a long moment before he shifted his gaze over towards them. V1 knew they couldn’t guarantee him the future, but they could love him. For most people, that was a pretty low bar, but V1 and Gabriel weren’t most people. For the two of them, that was enough. Enough for him to take that final step through the gate. Gabriel politely locked it behind him before removing his key from the keyring on his backpack, and tossing it back through the bars. 

Behind them V1 could hear rushed steps begin to follow them as Gabriels’ father shouted after his son once again, though a quick flash of their camera encouraged the man to back down. Lest he risk his precious reputation. If only they would have thought of that sooner. Despite that however, Gabriel didn’t slow down as he began walking down the street even faster, but that was alright. He was at least headed towards the bus stop. They could take it from there and let him have a moment to regain some control, two birds and all that. 

V1 didn’t say anything as they kept going. Simply squeezing his hand to let him know they were there for him. From the tight grip he kept on them, they knew he appreciated it. When Gabriel finally took a slower pace they were still about half a block from the stop, but V1 was grateful just to hear the calmer breaths he’d begun to take.

“Are you okay?”

Of all the things he could have asked.

“Are you okay?” They parroted back to him.

Gabriel let off a shaky laugh.

“No.”

Yeah, that was about what they were expecting.

“That was a lot.” V1 assured, “It’s okay if you’re not okay.”

“That’s good to know.” He said as he blinked back the tears, laughing yet again in that forced sort of way. 

V1 leaned against his shoulder as they wrapped themselves around his arm.

“You don’t have to save face for me, Gabriel. Come on. Don’t hold back.”

“Hold back what?” He asked, genuinely confused.

Oh. He really was not used to this sort of self love, was he?

“Anything.”

When they reached their stop, V1 slipped into his arms and held onto him just that little bit tighter. It came in waves. First a slight sniffle or two, followed by a hiccup. Then, once the sounds had gotten wet and he’d begun to dig his face into his sleeve, came the wailing. He grabbed a hold of them with clawed fingers, desperately seeking refuge, and they gladly gave it to him. Pressing themselves into his chest, V1 slipped their hands under his arms until they had a firm grip on his shoulders. 

Gabriel buried his face into their neck, and cried out even louder. The sound muffled against their jacket as he made a mess of it with an ugly flood of tears. V1 did their best to stop themselves from crying too. This wasn’t about them right now. Still, V1 never wanted this for him. They would have gladly taken being wrong and his dad being the sweetest guy in all the world anyday over this. 

God damn it, how could he do this to his own son?! Gabriel didn’t deserve this.

“Hey. T-that’s not-… fair.” Gabriel said, suddenly pulling his face up to take a sharp inhale, “If- If I have to- m-m-make a mess of myself in public th-then the least you can do- is join me.”

“Come on, Gabe.” V1 shot back, with a noticeable crack in their voice, “I’m tryin’ to be strong here.”

“Well stop it! I really don’t want to be alone right now, and-...”

He’d given up halfway through as he nestled back into their shoulder, and that was really all they needed to let themselves have a silent cry alongside him. V1 was shaking as he held onto them and by the time the bus pulled around they were both an absolute mess. The driver gave the two of them a side eye glance, but V1 just ignored her and guided Gabriel off towards the far back of the bus. The momentary lapse had him settling back down as he cooled his eyes against the glass. Once again V1 squeezed his hand and just like before, with a long shaky exhale, he squeezed back.

After a few minutes of silence, Gabriel finally spoke up.

“V1… am I imposing-”

“Don’t.” They quickly cut in, “Don’t let him get in your head, Gabriel.”

He kept his gaze on the passing motion through the window, blankly tracking the smears of light through the glass with tired eyes. 

“I think it’s a little late for that.” He whispered.

V1 leaned back against the seat with a heavy sigh.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” They agreed.

The neon lights passing over Gabriels’ skin illuminated the haunted gaze he wore as he lost himself in his thoughts, and despite them sitting right next to him he seemed lonely. Sliding over towards Gabriel, V1 laid their head against his shoulder as they looked up at him.

“Well, if he has anything to say you can always talk to me about it.” V1 offered, “I’ll be happy to tell him to shut the fuck up.”

They felt his shoulders give a little shake as he laughed. It was a broken and worn out sort of laugh, but it made them smile all the same to hear it.

“That’s what I should have said.” Gabriel remarked, “Instead of that other thing.”

V1 shot him a puzzled look, and after a beat of silence he finally turned back from the window to face them.

“What? Did you actually not hear what I said?” He asked, slightly taken aback.

“Fuck no. I kind of went into torpor the second he grabbed me.”

It was a little easier to joke about it now, but if that bastard ever tried to get in their face again it was on sight.

“Well,” He went on to explain, “I ended up saying something along the lines of, “Don’t touch my datemate!”, and looking back on it, I don't think that sounded as cool as I thought it would be.”

Gabriel laughed at himself as he shook his head, but all they could think of was the implication of what he’d just said.

“Wait… you want to be my boyfriend?”

He looked them up and down rather incredulously.

“Who wouldn’t?”

They were a little speechless, to the point that Gabriel had suddenly gotten nervous.

“Oh wait. Did us kissing not mean-… I-I-I guess it doesn’t have to mean anything. If you don’t want it to. It’s just that- I thought- um-”

V1 clapped a hand over his mouth to stop him from talking.

“Gabe, give me a minute. I didn’t think I would get this far. I’m processing.”

He was quiet for a moment before muttering against their fingers.

“A good sort of processing or a bad sort of processing?”

“Good. Very good.” They assured.

“Okay. Cool.” He remarked, “...Can you get your hand out of my face now, please?”

V1 quickly removed their hand as they tried to absorb this crazy mess of a night. The two of them sang closer out loud together. Then V1 got to play paintball with their crush. They found out he’s got an amazing sense of humor. He dove head-first into tongue for their first kiss. Then dude just straight up bodied his dad to protect them.

With the last thing to top it all off being that he actually wanted to be with them.

“Hey. I’m not trying to rush you or anything,” Gabriel said, cutting into their thoughts, “But for what it’s worth, since you came into my life, I’ve found the will to start living again. So, even if it didn’t mean anything, I still don’t regret any of this.”

V1 quickly took his hands as they shook their head. Gripping his palms as they pressed the back of his hands up against their chest.

“No, Gabe, I’ve wanted to see this side of you. I’ve been dying to make this relationship happen, and I don’t even care that you kiss with tongue on the first date! This night has been everything to me.”

A nervous flush began to settle over Gabriels’ face.

“Wait? That’s not how you’re supposed to kiss?” He asked.

“No!” They corrected in shock, “That’s like- a second base sort of kiss.”

Somehow he blushed even harder at that. V1 let go of his hands in favor of reaching up to cup his face, earning his focus as he blinked down at them in surprise.

“But, we can always try again.” V1 suggested as they brushed their thumbs against his cheeks, “If you want.”

Gabriel placed his hand over theirs, and seemed content just to hold it there. Though after a while he began to lean in, and taking the hint, V1 closed the distance. While a kiss that was rough and hot did have its merits, there was something to be said in one so simple. The way it led to hands cradling skin with gentle care, and space to take in the different senses at play as V1 closed their eyes. Like Gabriels’ worn out hoodie of citrus and pine as it pressed against their chest. Or the sound of that soft hum of pleasure as he tilted his head for more.

When Gabriel pulled away on instinct V1 followed, before blinking back into awareness. He smirked at them as he leaned back in.

“We can always try again.” Gabriel teased, throwing their words back at them, “If you want.”

Before V1 could respond the bus jerked to a halt. This was their stop.

“Maybe later.” They remarked.

His smirk grew even wider at that.

“I like later.”

Standing to their feet, V1 realized their hand felt quite empty without his, so once again they offered it to him.

“Come on, Gabe.” They said with a tilt of their head, “Let’s go home.”

Settling from a smirk into something softer, Gabriel took their hand. V1 could admit that they’ve made a lot of bad decisions in life, but going out of their way to meet Gabriel wasn’t one of them.

Chapter Text

Waking up in a bed that wasn’t his own as he groggily came to slowly put things into perspective for Gabriel; this was his new normal now. He checked his phone from the nightstand but there weren't any new emails from jobs confirming back with him, so he clicked off the screen. Doing his best to ignore how late in the day it was as he set it back down. Gabriel found a blue sticky note waiting for him as he glanced past the table, attached to the photo of him and Faree he’d tacked onto the wall. He plucked it off and gave it a quick read.

“Gone to class just like you asked me to. Don’t worry about the trash. I took care of it. Take it easy big guy. -♡ V1”

It was a nice gesture, but one he couldn’t help feeling a little guilty over. He was supposed to do that, but everytime Gabriel tried to get onto himself for being lazy, V1 was always quick to remind him that it was depression. He’d always thought of it as just being really sad, not this lethargic sense of nothing that was carving him from the inside out. Hell, for three whole days he could hardly find the will to get out of bed, and after V1 had worked so hard to help cheer him up too. It made him feel terrible just how much he was letting them down. Then he’d have to go and tell them how sorry he was for letting them down only for V1 to deny it everytime.

Gabriel would pick up more assignments to distract himself for a while, if he hadn't already finished everything his professors sent to him last night. School projects were the only thing he could manage to get himself to do for the past few days. Gabriel couldn’t go back to campus. Not with him there. He wasn’t sure how he’d react to seeing his father again, or if he even wanted to at this point. The thought alone was almost enough to send Gabriel spiraling again. 

At least, the switch to online classes hadn’t been too difficult. Most of his professors had been more than willing to accommodate him given his excellent track record. All except for public speaking, but honestly Gabriel was perfectly fine with dropping that class. He’d never wanted to take that elective to begin with. It was his fathers' decision. Just like everything else had been.

Flipping over towards the wall, Gabriel wrapped himself up in his arms. God, what if he was imposing himself on V1? They were so nice. They’d never tell him. Slipping his hands from his shoulders down to her waist, Gabriel had to wonder if he was doing the right thing. Even if it felt good, was he just selfishly hurting the people he claimed to care about by doing all of this? 

Should he have spoken with his Dad in a different way? Maybe he wouldn’t have gotten as angry if Gabriel would have just done what he asked. He knew, even when V1 had tried to tell him otherwise, that this was all his fault somehow. It just had to be. Digging his fingers into her hips, he wanted to break his own bones. Rearrange them until they made sense. 

As that thought came to pass he recalled V1s’ voice in the back of his mind.

“Please don’t hurt yourself. Please.”

It had been an accident when he'd cut his hand just a few nights ago, but it gave him some thoughts. He was pretty sure V1 could tell just what sort of thoughts those were as they caught him staring at the nick, and the dread in their eyes when he snapped back into focus was something he never wanted to see again. Slowly Gabriel dropped his hands from her hips, and little by little he picked himself up off of the bed. He didn’t have a job, he was borrowing someone else's home, and there were no assignments to be done. So… what was he supposed to do on a Monday afternoon? A funny thought came to mind. 

Gabriel's never gotten to go to the library just because he wanted to, has he?

***

He was fine. They were smothering him. Gabriel asked them to trust him. V1 could leave him by himself for one day. They do trust him. They just don’t trust the sort of voices that were running through his head right now.

V1 had switched as many of their classes to being online as they could, though several of their courses, namely their laboratory based classes, couldn’t be done off campus. That made for five hours of the day that they’d be away from the house. Including shifts from work. They’d already called off last Friday with the pet shelter, and if Gabriel was still going through it the Friday after next, then V1 would have to seriously consider asking for additional help. The thought of suggesting therapy seemed a little over the top at first, but at this point they’d already begun looking into different clinics and private practices to potentially start booking him with. They’d gather a handful of recommended therapists and let Gabriel take his pick, hopefully, if he wanted to.

Since that night, V1 had been steadily calling their sister, keeping her updated on how he was doing. She’d come by the next day with some clothes their Dad had given her, but Gabriel hadn’t been ready to see people just yet. The shirts didn’t quite fit, but the fresh change of clothes seemed to put him at ease. Gabriel couldn’t exactly fit most of their things after all, so they were grateful that their Dad stepped up to help. Although, Gabriel had a habit of stealing their oversized flannels, and those had the tendency to fit him quite well. Yellow suited his warm complexion, and the smile he wore on occasion when he was able to again. 

V1 had gotten video calls from their sister about twice a day so far. Gabriel would join in from time to time, and they even left him alone just to talk with her. He decided after the second call to come out to her. It wasn’t exactly an ideal way for him to do it, they were sure, but it was sort of hard to avoid after V2 had accidentally let it slip that she was the one who’d told them. Not that Gabriel seemed to mind having someone else to talk to. Especially from all the times they found him passed out with his phone smacked dead center over his face after late night talks. 

It helped them out a lot too having her and their parents to talk with, considering the stress this was admittedly putting V1 under. Not that they regretted any of it. Not for a second, but they could admit to being rather unqualified to handle all of this on their own. Maybe there was something more they could do for Gabriel without having to be there with him twenty four seven? A way to comfort him with a distraction that could keep his focus. It struck them then that they’d paid for all of the leases’ additional fees. 

Including pets. Yeah… yeah, that would work. Wow, they’ve only been together for less than a week and V1 was already considering adoption. The realization had them shaking their head, though they couldn’t help but laugh at least a little bit. Their relationship was definitely moving fast, but that was the least surprising thing about all of this. Hard not to go all in when you're t for t. 

They weren’t ready to say it out loud yet but the feeling was there, they loved him, and that meant V1 was going to do everything in their power to pick Gabriel back up after his world was shattered to pieces. They were going to help him through this, but they couldn’t do it alone. Once their classes were done for the day V1 was going to meet up with everyone at the library, then all of them would work together to figure out how to get Gabriel everything he needs to rebuild his life. There were still two more hours to go until then however, and it was killing them to wait. Still, they took a breath in and slowly let it out. Gabriel would be fine, V1 trusted him.

***

The fluorescent lights of the library were nothing compared to the sun, but it still took a moment for Gabriels’ eyes to adjust to them. He’d been lying in the dark for so long that he honestly regretted not taking some sunglasses with him. Having avoided the mirror like the plague, he was fairly certain that he looked like shit. A sad sopping mess of a girl that was trying to pass off a sweater with a button up collared shirt underneath as anything other than feminine. Everybody knew. They were all thinking it.

Regardless, he did his best to ignore the thought of someone coming up to him as he hurried off towards the furthest back corner to read in peace. Snagging some books that took his interest along the way, he tucked himself away from everyone else and started to read. It took him a while to really get into a headspace where he could really sit down and focus, but once he got there it became a little easier. Soon, he was able to brush aside the recent flood of over critical thoughts in his head and just simply be. Minos had found him sometime later, a few hours later gauging by the clock, and took the seat adjacent to him along the back wall. He didn’t say a word and just started working on a crossword puzzle as he kept him company.

Gabriel left it at that until about a quarter of an hour later. Minos had been stumped on the second to last word throughout most of that time, and he couldn’t help but notice. Glancing at his paper, it was a four letter word for an ornamental needle case. V2 had told him this once. She said she used it to feel fancy and confuse people. Gabriel tapped near the boxes to catch his attention.

“I know that one.” He remarked.

“Oh?” The older man replied with a curious quirk of his brow, “Care to share it?”

“It’s etui.” Gabriel supplied, “My friend is a bit of a tailor. She mentioned it once.”

He scanned his pen for the right row of boxes and sure enough there were four.

“Ah, so it fits. Very well done, son.” Minos commended.

It wasn’t much, but it felt good to help someone else for a change. Maybe Gabriel wasn’t completely hopeless after all. 

“And… there.” Minos said as he scribbled in the last box, “Another days’ crossword solved.” 

Gabriel did his best to perk up from the exhaustion, but he often found it difficult to hide himself around the older man. Not when he knew he didn’t have to.

“Congratulations.” He offered with a bit of a smile.

Minos folded his paper and tucked it neatly beside himself in the chair.

“I tend to find myself stuck focusing on one particular problem. Then I refuse to move on until I have it solved.” He admitted.

Gabriel knew that feeling. He had a habit of doing that too.

“But if you take a step back,” He added, “and focus on what you can do, you’ll find the answers a little more easy to come by.”

Gabriel got the impression that Minos wasn’t waxing wise about crossword puzzles.

“But what if you can’t figure it out?” Gabriel remarked.

The older man glanced over towards him with a calming smile.

“Then that’s what good friends are for.”

Gabriel supposed Minos was right, not that there was much room for him to doubt the man. He knew his way around crafting good advice, and happened to be well read enough to recite it like poetry.

“How have you been?” Minos asked, his concern thinly veiled.

Gabriel hasn’t spoken to much of anyone, but if there was anyone who could guess what he’s been through then he didn’t have to look very far.

“Not-… well.” He settled with.

Gabriel wasn’t sure if he really wanted to get into everything that had happened, but he at least wanted to be honest.

“Are you safe?”

Minos didn’t pull any punches. Cutting straight to the point.

“Yeah,” Gabriel answered with a bit of a nod, “I’m sharing an apartment with V.”

The older man eased back into his seat at that confirmation.

“Good. If there’s anything you need Gabriel, my partner and I are more than willing to accommodate you.”

Gabriel chuckled to himself as he slid back into his chair.

“I only just realized recently what that word means.” He admitted, “I don’t know how I didn’t piece that together sooner.”

“It’s by design son.” Minos consoled with a firm pat along his shoulder.

“I’m an idiot.” He muttered, tilting his head up towards the ceiling.

“Now, what makes you think that I’d go and hire an idiot?” Minos remarked with some offense.

Gabriel sighed as he shifted his head towards the older man.

“Come on Mr. Minos. Anyone can read kids books to a bunch of fourth graders.”

“I’m not talking about then, son.” He corrected, “I’m talking about now.” 

It took Gabriel a second to process that. Slowly, he sat up in his seat as he regarded the man. There was hardly a hint of humor to his face, just that same warm smile as always.

“Wait… are you serious?” Gabriel asked with disbelief.

Minos gave him a nod.

“I can hire you on as an assistant right now. The hours are flexible.” He explained. “I’m sure you remember the filing system our library has set up. There’s been some changes over the years, but mostly just to the surface level ui. The catalogs still work just like they used to. I’m sure you’ll get the hang of it after a day or two.”

Gabriel slowly shook his head as he tried to will himself to understand what was happening.

“Why?” Was all he managed to croak out.

“Because you’re fit for the job and you work well with other people, regardless of who they are. I need that kind of man for this line of work. One who’s organized, gets straight to the point, and won’t tolerate nonsense.” Minos remarked, striking the back of his hand into his palm at every point.

“D-don’t I have to go through some sort of interview or something?” Gabriel asked, a touch frantically.

What if Gabriel messed this up? What if he let Minos down? What if there was someone more qualified for this job who deserved it more? Working in his place of refuge where his favorite pastime was just sitting within arms reach like this would hardly be work at all. More like a dream. Did he even deserve such an opportunity?  

“I’ve known you for a long time now, and there’s not a soul I’d appreciate adding to our little team more. The choice is up to you.”

Gabriel had gone quiet. Not because he had to think it over. More so, he was struck by the realization of just how true that statement really was. His choices were up to him now, and if he was calling the shots, then Gabriel knew what he wanted to say more than anything.

“Yes.” He accepted. “I would be glad to work for you again, Mr. Minos.”

The older man offered up his hand and Gabriel gave it a firm shake.

“Then consider yourself hired. I’ll see you first thing in the morning. Tomorrow at nine. I’ll refresh you on your responsibilities and we can discuss your hours. And, one more thing.”

“Yes sir?” Gabriel remarked, sitting up right at attention.

The man had a way of calming him down, all with just a single patient look.

“Call me Minos. You’re an adult now. You’ve earned it.”

He relaxed at that as he rested his shoulders.

“Yes. Of course.” Gabriel said, as a grin took over his face from ear to ear, “Thank you, Minos.”

His new boss stood to his feet, and with their discussion concluded he offered a parting nod before he took his leave. Gabriel has never cried from sheer relief before, but he couldn’t help himself as the pressure of being a burden finally eased somewhat off of his shoulders. He couldn’t wait to tell V1 the good news, but he’d save it for later though. Gabriel wanted to tell his goyfriend in person. He was still trying to find a good one to work with. Because while “partner” worked for Mr.- well, Minos, it didn’t feel like their thing.

Coming up with a special name had become something of a running joke between the two of them. One that V1 had used to cheer him up during those first few long nights. God, he wanted to make it up to them for all of it. He’d have his chance now, and Gabriel refused to waste it. He’d make Minos and V1 proud. He’d make it for the sake of all the people who loved him, and that had proven to be quite a few in number.

Feeling adequately better now, Gabriel carefully collected his books and began to place them back in the shelves where he’d found them, only for him to pick up a familiar rabble of noise just across the other side of the library. Gabriel remembered it wasn’t too long ago when he’d first heard that repetitive clatter and stomped up to see what it was. Hearing them tease and joke with each other now, all it did was put a smile on his face. He could do with some familiar faces right about now.

Chapter Text

V1 had never run so fast in all of their life, but they made it to the library in record time. Enough to catch their breath before they stepped in and headed over towards the gaming tables. V2, Mirage and Faree were already sitting at the booths, waiting for V1 to arrive with the rest of them.

“Oh good. You’re here.” V2 remarked as she guided them to sit down, “How was he doing this morning?”

V1 took a seat and was surrounded by concerned faces.

“Still in bed, so I left him a note. I don’t want to wake him if he’s still sleeping so I haven’t called yet.”

“Has he usually been sleeping in this late?” Faree asked with a rising worry.

V1 shook their head.

“No, it’s always been twelve at the latest.” They explained, “But he takes naps sometimes. I’m trying to keep that in mind. Otherwise I’d end up leaving a shit ton of messages for him.” They took a second to take a steady breath, “I’m… a little worried about him.”

V1 wouldn’t divulge what they’d seen to say that. That was between the two of them, and whoever Gabriel felt comfortable talking with about it.

“So what hasn’t he got yet? What does he need?” Mirage asked bluntly, getting straight to the point.

V1 began listing note for note across their fingers of what they’d remembered him telling them.

“Deodorant. C4 hair products. Stuff like oils, wide tooth combs, and brushes without ball tips. Pads for next month, ‘cause all I have are tampons. Clothes that actually fit him comfortably-”

“Were the clothes Dad gave him alright?” V2 cut in to ask.

They shrugged.

“He likes them okay, but the shirts are a little big and the pants are a little short.”

“Would he be up for some clothes shopping? There’s a couple of thrift stores Vee Vee and I pop into from time to time that usually have some nice options.” Mirage offered.

V1 scrunched their brow to think for a moment. Some time out of the house would do him some good, and with a good excuse he’d be more inclined to agree.

“We can always ask.” V1 accepted.

Gabriel was a little critical of himself at the moment they’d noticed. When he walked past the mirror he was always checking for something. With a particular focus on his hips. V1 usually dealt with their own body type by wearing everything loose, but that wasn’t Gabriels’ style.

“You’re an up and coming actress, Mirage,” They began with a roll of their wrist, “what would you wear if you wanted to look more uh- stocky?”

Tapping her fingers onto the table she mulled it over in her head.

“Layers.” She answered, “He likes sweaters, so maybe mix and match with button up shirts underneath. He’ll want something that can extend around his waist and give his torso some width. Suit jackets are good for that sort of thing.”

Mmm Gabriel in a sharp tailored suit… Wait. No. V1 needed to focus right now.

“U-uh yeah. Suit. Cool… I’ll tell him that.”

Mirage smirked at that, but otherwise granted them a small mercy in not mentioning it.

“Is he liking the apartment okay?” Faree asked, “My house is crowded, but if he needs a second place to stay...”

She was rhythmically touching the tips of her fingers with one another before V1 gently patted their hand over the back of her wrist.

“He’s comfortable from what he’s told me,” They assured her, “and I’m sure he’d be very happy to hear that he was welcome. You’re welcome to swing by the apartment anytime you want. All of you.”

That put Faree at ease. They knew how much she meant to Gabriel. Of course he’d want to see her.

“I already had that privilege,” V2 said with a shrug, “buut since you’re offering I suppose I can crash at your place this weekend. Boyfriends’ permission pending of course.”

“If Gabe’s cool with it, sure.” They agreed with a shrug, “But you’re sleeping on the couch.”

“Where else am I gonna sleep in that dinky little apartment?” V2 teased with a smirk.

“Hey,” V1 defended with a pointed finger, “make fun of it all you want, but I got that room for a steal. You’re not gonna find a better place that includes utilities for miles.”

“I don’t mind paying for utilities as long as that means getting an apartment that comes with a fridge.” She argued.

“Neither of us can cook! Except for like- pies and shit.” V1 threw in as an afterthought, “We don’t need stoves and fridges. I got doordash and an ice cooler, and they work just fine.”

V2 rolled her eyes.

“You’re ridiculous.”

“You’re ridiculous!” They shot back.

Mirage and Faree had been silently snickering to themselves throughout most of their bickering, but that was the point where they’d finally lost it and started busting up laughing.

“Jesus. It’s like you turn into a couple of five year olds whenever you get going.” Mirage remarked with a shake of her head, “Thank god I’m an only child.”

“I’ve had more than my fair share of squabbles.” Faree reminisced, “Between three brothers and four sisters, things get intense over nothing rather quickly.”

As V2 stuck her tongue out at them like a brat, V1 swept her neck in a headlock. Causing her to laugh and slap her hands into their face as they ruffled up her hair. They looked up as they finally let her go with a satisfied smirk and that’s when they saw Gabriel. He was finally out of the house. V1 quickly scrambled up out of their seat. Gaining everyones’ attention before they all quickly followed after them.

A collective call of his name was scrambled about as everyone all at once eagerly surrounded him.

“So,” He began with an awkward laugh, “I guess that means everyone already knows, huh?”

The group looked amongst themselves rather sheepishly.

“Sorry.” V1 remarked, taking accountability upon themselves for the slip up, “I haven’t been paying attention to my words during all of this. I know that’s shitty-”

“It’s okay.” Gabriel cut in to assure, “Honestly. There’s no one else I’d trust more than all of you.”

Everyone smiled at that, and the group of friends found some ease in the reached understanding.

“We were actually talking about how we could help.” Faree relayed.

Gabriel seemed to light up with admiration, but now that V1 noticed it, there was a little more life to his eyes than when they last saw him.

“That’s so thoughtful.” He remarked, appreciatively, “I think I’m doing okay. In fact, I just got a job here at the library.”

No wonder he seemed so much happier. Gabriel having a job here? Of all places? Sounds like his kind of heaven.

“That’s awesome!” V1 assured with an eager shake to his shoulder, “I’m proud of you, man! You’re gonna do great!”

That gentle gleam in his eye had them softening up like butter. How did Gabriel manage to look at V1 like that? Like they were something truly special.

“Thank you. I just need a few things, really, but with this new job set up for me I’ll get myself together soon.”

Mirage placed her hand along Gabriels’ upper arm with a thoughtful look as she caught his attention.

“Yeah, and we want to help.” She relayed, “You’re the boss today, so obviously you get the final word, but if you’re up for it we’d all like to pitch in and help get you some new clothes and personal hygiene products.”

“But… that’s so much.” He remarked nervously.

“You deserve basic hygiene. And to look nice.” Faree assured.

He still wrung his wrist anxiously, a little unsure, until V1 took him by the hand. Gently prying it for themselves as they held it close.

“Please.” They urged, “We want to help you.”

There must have been some sort of magic in their eyes. V1 couldn’t explain why else they could get Gabriel to melt his resolve so easily. All it took was a look to have him nodding as he squeezed onto their hand.

“Okay.” He relented, with a smile so assured and ready to accept the love they were all so willing to give him.

He and V1 had begun to leave when V2 stopped the both of them suddenly.

“Hold on. I just remembered, I actually brought a little something for Gabriel.” She vaguely noted.

Going back to their table, V2 crouched under the tables digging out a cardboard box. V1 remembered that box and a few others just like it. They couldn’t believe she brought the whole damn collection. Curious, Gabriel peeked inside but ended up looking back towards the group with mild confusion.

“Why is everything in this box pink and blue?” Gabriel remarked.

Oh this sweet summer child. How did he read through a trans book and not notice their flag?

“They’re a little “welcome to the club” assortment of mine. From my trans collection.” She explained, “I used to craft all sorts of things back when I was going through different hobbies every other week. I like to give these little trinkets of flags, pins, and stickers away during june.”

“Do-... you want me to take this whole box?” He asked, a little confused.

“Whatever you want,” She offered, “If that’s a single pin, the whole box, or nothing at all. I leave that up to you.”

Seeming to understand, Gabriel hesitantly dug through the box.

“I’m a little worried about the pins.” He said as he shuffled through the assortment.

“They’re all closed.” She assured, “But yeah, I wouldn’t go punching my hand in there if I was you.”

Eventually he settled on a pin, a garland for his room, and a tiny little flag.

“I call these my pinching flags. They’re the cutest little things I have ever made. My favorite thing is to take two of them and wave them around my face with a little, “Huzzah!”.” V2 demonstrated as she shook them by her cheeks, “They’re so fun.”

After that convincing pitch Gabriel took another tiny flag and zipped his assorted collection up into his backpack. The pin however he spared more of a thoughtful glance towards, before deciding to slip it into his pocket.

“Thank you.”

“Just doing my civic duty.” She assured, leaving the box in Minos’ capable hands before they all headed out the door, “Now, let's’ get thrifty!”

***

Mirage and V2 led the way, sweeping the lot of them through their usual spots. Gabriel went through something of a transcending experience throughout the whole process. Once they were in the first store, he found himself shuffling through the women's section on instinct before his friends redirected him to the different options that were available to him. At first he was nervous. What if all these people noticed what he was carrying? Would they tell him to put them back?

Gabriel took a hard look at the jacket that had caught his eye and imagined it on him, and it felt good.

“V1?” Gabriel whispered between the clothing racks.

“Yeah? Why are you whispering?” They asked a little confused, “What’s up?”

He looked between the clothes he’d collected then back up at his lover. Ack! No. That one’s too intimate outside of closed doors.

“Am I going to get in trouble for trying on these clothes?” He asked nervously.

V1 gave a rather defiant and irritated glare at that notion.

“If anyone here tries to say some shit like that to you, then just come to any of us. We won’t put up with you being harassed. I’ll gladly tell anyone off for you. No problem.”

Gabriel noticed that V1s’ remark had caught the ear of the rest of their friends, who were all quick to agree with them. Even Faree wore a hardened glance that was ready to go to bat. Just for him. He didn’t realize just how much he needed to hear that.

“Thanks guys.”

As they offered him up an assortment of assurances, it made Gabriel realize just how negative he’d been on himself lately. He knew it wouldn’t be easy, but he wanted to try and show himself a sliver of that same kindness. If they could see his worth, surely Gabriel could find it within himself again. Taking his clothes to the changing room, he arranged the first outfit he’d come up with into a neat stack and got ready to put it on. Turning away from the mirror, Gabriel stripped. Swapping out each garment one piece at a time until he’d put on the entire thing. 

As he took a hold of the suit jacket, he gave it an experimental tug adjusting it along his shoulders, and it felt good.

“Gabe? You doin’ alright in there?”

Gabriel turned around towards his reflection, and nearly did a double take from what he saw.

“Gabriel?”

From the mirror, he could see V1s’ head poking in through the curtain to check up on him. 

“Are you okay?” They asked.

“Is that me?” He asked back.

Gabriel reached out towards his own reflection before turning back towards V1.

“Do I actually look like this right now?” He questioned.

V1 stepped through the curtain and walked up to him. Gabriel went back to facing the mirror as they wrapped an arm around his shoulders and rested their head against him.

“What do you look like?” They asked carefully.

He supposed he already knew the answer. He was looking right at it after all.

“Myself.”

His shipfriend, that was another no, took a step back and after taking a walk around him to get a good look they nodded.

“Yeah. You definitely make librarian the new sexy.”

Gabriel snorted at that.

“V1, I’m going to be a sort of librarian.” He reminded them, “You can’t go around saying they’re sexy.”

“But you are.” They protested with a pout as they slung their arm back over his shoulder. “And just think, once we get you a binder, you’ll get to do this” V1 demonstrated while running their hands up and down their chest, “while filing paperwork or some shit.”

The first time they ever showed him what a binder was, they had to explain the concept of gender envy to him too. Running his hands down V1s’ bound chest had certainly been one hell of an experience. As well as the shivers they made, causing Gabriel to realize the sort of effect he had on them. He hadn’t exactly been in the right headspace at the time for sexy however, and he was glad that V1 had respected that. They really took the time to care so much for him. He looked towards V1 rather skeptically.

“Not only would I not be doing that for any reason as a part of my job description,” Gabriel reasoned, “that’s also highly unprofessional.”

V1 tipped up on their toes and pulled his head down closer.

“Not when you’re off the clock it’s not.” They purred into his ear.

Oh, those words held such promise. The kind that wasn’t meant for public spaces. Gabriel shoved V1 out so he could get back to what they came here to do.

“Go on,” He urged, “I’ll call you when I’m done you little trouble maker.”

“Boooo!” V1 called out from the otherside.

Gabriel rolled his eyes as he shook his head, but all with a smile. Glancing back over towards the mirror he finally found someone who was meant to be there… and it felt good.

***

The day had been pretty eventful. They’d gotten Gabriel a full wardrobe of his own and for less than a hundred bucks! Saving them all the money they needed to afford just about everything else. His hygiene products, shampoo, conditioners, combs and the oils he needed for his scalp. It had been about two weeks since Gabriel last washed his hair and he usually washed it once a week. So when he asked if they could swing back to the apartment the group was fully on board. 

As he was in the shower V1 tossed on a movie to run in the background as everyone hung out. Disneys’ Robin Hood had a cozy sort of charm to it that had made it one of theirs’ and Gabriels’ favorites. They weren’t sure how long he’d be in there, V1 didn’t know the first thing about kinky hair, but they turned up the volume so he could hear it past the shower. There were certain quotes they’d begun to mutter under their breath, and it brought a smile to their face when the both of them repeated,

“You’re never around when I need you!”

It had caught V1 a bit off guard, especially the knowing looks they’d gotten from everyone else, but it made their heart flutter all the same. Gabriel had finished his shower after half an hour but he was still working on his hair by the time the movie was over. V1 popped out the disk and began looking for another movie as their sister nudged them with her foot.

“Sooo… ” V2 cut in once they’d found The Great Mouse Detective in their collected pile, “How are things?”

They glanced back at her with a dismissive shrug.

“It’s been four days. We haven’t exactly started anything yet.”

“You’re already quoting movies together.” Mirage pointed out.

“It’s a good fuckin’ movie!” They argued as they gestured towards the screen, “Who’s watching Robin Hood and not quoting it back?!”

“The rest of us?” Faree remarked with a smirk, a rare but welcome clap back from the often quiet girl.

V1 plopped back down into the couch and folded their arms.

“You guys just don’t know good taste.”

“Bet you do.” V2 teased as she threw her legs over theirs.

“Shut the fuck up!”

Digging their throw pillow out from under their back V1 smacked their sister in the face with it. She giggled before tossing it back at them, but the joke was on her because they actually wanted it back! The couch wasn’t as comfortable without this pillow anyway. It was another twenty minutes into Basils’ case when Gabriel finally popped his head from out of the bathroom, and wow. Their boyfriends’ new look left V1 a little speechless. Sporting a head of hair done up in two twist curls, he looked incredible. 

“So?” He asked as he gave his head a bit of a shake, “How does it look?”

V1 tried to talk, but it came out as two different compliments at once.

“Awesmazing…”

He quirked a confused brow at that, and thank god their sister stepped in to save them after their mouth stopped working.

“You look amazing.” She corrected.

Mirage tutted her finger.

“No. No. I think I like awesmazing better.”

“It’s cute.” Faree agreed.

That got a shy smile from both Gabriel and V1 as the pair nervously caught each other's gaze. The rest of them made room for him so he could join them on the couch, where he took a seat right next to V1. They finished the movie with Gabriel and V1 gaining a teasing look or two from their friends as they kept reciting quotes together. Later into the afternoon they went back out and tried some eggplant pizza. While it wasn’t their favorite, nothing could replace supreme in their heart, it was easily a close third. With pineapple being their dearly second beloved.

After that Faree, Mirage and V2 parted off to go home for the evening, leaving just the two of them. Along with a question they’d been meaning to ask.

“You always said you wanted a dog right?”

Gabriel thought about it for a moment before recalling the memory with a shrug.

“When I was a kid.”

“How would you feel about getting a cat?” They countered.

It took him a second, then his eyes lit up with a hopeful recognition.

“Can we?” Gabriel asked.

“I was thinking of this special girl down at the shelter.” V1 remarked, “Kitr could use a forever home, don’t you think?”

It had been a nickname that they’d come up with themselves. Someone heard V1 calling her that and the very next week they found it written on her tags. They weren’t about to correct that perfect name, so V1 kept that little bit of trivia between them and Gabriel.

“And the apartment-” He tried to say.

“Already paid the fees.” They interjected, “Did that before you moved in.”

“You know as soon as I get off work I’m going to adopt her right?” Gabriel warned, “And dedicate a portion of my paycheck just to spoil and take care of her?”

“I’m aware of what I’m initiating.” V1 relayed.

They smirked up at him, only to be taken aback at the sheer amount of love in those silvery eyes.

“I love you.”

It had been blurted out before V1 could stop themselves. Now who was rushing things after four days? Still, all Gabriel did was cradle their face into his hands as he pulled them in for a kiss. It was sweet and zesty from the hints of marinara, and when he pulled away they leaned into his palm as they held him there.

“I’m sorry. That was- way too soon.”

Gabriel just shook his head.

“I know the feeling.” He assured as he planted another kiss along their forehead, “It doesn’t have to be in love just yet. I’ve loved you for a long time too after all… my light.”

V1 let out a warm little chuckle. So, their name in english? Was that what he was going with? They could get used to that one. 

“Can we go home?” Gabriel asked, “It’s going to be a big day tomorrow. I want to be ready for it.”

Now wasn’t that just the most wonderful thing to hear? V1 pulled back to dig their earbuds out from their pocket, splitting one for Gabriel. He took it, as well as their phone, while scrolling through the playlist he'd made. A familiar routine by this point.

“Yeah.” They agreed, as a warm smile settled over their face, “Let’s get you home.”