Work Text:
Rembrandt didn’t know how to react to this new kid Swan and Ajax had found. She seemed shy at first, but the way she started blabbering about comic books as soon as she saw Rembrandt's little collection took the tagger aback.
Since Ajax and Rembrandt had the only spare room available between the more trusted members of the Warriors, it was decided the kid would stay with them. Rembrandt knew it wasn’t fair to keep calling her “the kid” since not only was she officially given the name Fox, but she was also only a few years younger than her and technically an adult. But Rembrandt believed she had to earn her name. Which Fox did, merely a week after she started living with them.
Fox had been sent with Ajax and Rembrandt to a simple tagging mission so she could learn the warriors territory a bit more. Fox was still on edge about everything new that had been going on in her life and didn’t talk much with the other two, simply observing them and their surroundings. That’s how she spotted members from another gang sneakily coming their way as Rembrandt was tagging a brick building and Ajax was standing guard on one side of the alley.
Quickly she tapped Rembrandt's shoulder whispering to her “We have to go. Four of them are coming for us, at least one has a gun.” Rembrandt only nodded, not wanting the other gang to know they'd been spotted. She rapidly put her painting can in her bag as Fox whistle to catch Ajax attention.
As soon as Ajax turned around to see them, one of their stalkers tried to grab her, but before he could a rock flew to his head distracting him just long enough for Ajax to step away from him and kick his gut.
“Run” Ajax screamed at the other while running at them as Fox got ready to throw another rock. Rembrandt caught Fox’s arm and dragged her toward what she wished was safety.
The three women kept running as Fox started leading them between buildings seemingly knowing every possible path in Coney. After making sure they weren’t being followed anymore, they made their way back to their place.
Even if she was completely out of breath and still very much on adrenaline, Rembrandt was smiling from ear to ear. “Yo I didn’t know there was someone knowing more about this place than me. I see how you escaped Ajax and Swan for so long.” Rembrandt told Fox with a laugh, making the new recruit smile shyly.
“You saved our asses back there kid. I mean I could probably have taken on these wimps by myself if they didn’t hide like little bitches, but you did good.” Ajax slapped Fox back as they walked, almost making her stumble over. Ajax grinned, “We can say your first official mission was a success, how about we celebrate!”
“Ajax, Fox doesn’t seem like the kind of person who likes party that much” Rembrandt jokingly scolded the enforcer bumping her with her shoulder.
Fox was looking at her feet and if the two warriors were a little farther they wouldn’t have heard her say “I’d like that”.
Ajax stuck her tongue out to Rembrandt before wrapping an arm around Fox's shoulder “I knew I liked you kid!”
Rembrandt watched them walk to their apartment as Ajax asked Fox how she wanted her party to go. The tagger smiled to herself, she too started to like the kid.
The night after, Ajax had invited every single one of their friends to their place, throwing together a huge party to celebrate Fox. Everyone was drinking and having fun, so much so that only Rembrandt saw Fox step out towards the rooftop. Intrigued, the tagger followed her a few minutes after.
When she made her way up, she saw Fox laying on her back watching the black sky. Before she could approach, Fox tapped the empty space at her side, inviting her to lay down. Which Rembrandt did with an eyebrow raised. “What you doing here?”
Fox smiled softly. “Sometimes I just gotta step away from the noise and the stars are so beautiful don’t you think?” Fox had turned her head to face the tagger as she asked her question.
“They are.”
Both looked back at the sky. A comfortable silence enveloping them. After a few minutes, Fox pointed to a constellation “See those seven stars that look like a bowl with a handle? It’s called the ursa minor. And there, at the furthest point on the handle, there’s polaris. You can never get lost with polaris because it barely moves, always telling us the north. What we see seems like only one thing but it’s actually three stars orbiting around each other. Isn’t that cool?”
Rembrandt looked at that kid, her fellow warrior, with her hair she kept down for the occasion sprawled around her head and her eyes reflecting the light of the stars, and she thought to herself she would do anything for her. “It is.”
They spent the rest of the night on the roof, talking about anything and everything for hours until they fell asleep cuddled up together. Ajax found them at the end of the night when everyone was back home or asleep. They woke up in the morning with a blanket covering them.
It wasn’t rare after that to catch a glimpse of the two girls on the roof at night laying side by side, hand in hand, giggling and pointing at the sky. In those moments, Rembrandt could forget all the wrong in the world, she could step away from the gang violence, from her worries about her fellow warriors. All that mattered was her best friend by her side and the stars in her eyes.
The nights following the meeting in Van Cortlandt Park saw the roof of the Warriors’ building fill up with silence and emptiness, only disturbed by a small figure lost between an unattainable past and a lonely present.
Swan and Mercy were very much in love. There was no denying it. But since the beginning, their relationship was rocky. The thing was, as often as Swan looked at Mercy with all the love in the world, she also looked at her like she was the ghost of someone else. Which ended up pissing off Mercy to no end. Everytime Mercy tried talking about it to Swan, the warchief fled the conversation or acted like Mercy was imagining things. Which often led to arguments with no resolution, like that night. Swan had locked herself in the bathroom claiming she had to take a shower, while Mercy was standing in their bedroom, fuming.
Not feeling like waiting for Swan to come back just to start another shouting match, Mercy decided some fresh air would do her some good and climbed the fire escape all the way to the roof of the apartment building the Warriors owned.
Mercy sighed when she saw Rembrandt curled up by the edge of the rooftop, overlooking the city. The newest warrior was certain the tagger didn’t like her very much, but she couldn’t blame her. If the roles were reversed, if Mercy had watched her best friend die and her other best friend get arrested, she wouldn’t want to make friends with the new girl either. If it had been any other time, Mercy would have just left the tagger alone, but that night she was tired of having to excuse herself for existing. “Look I know you hate me and everything but I just wanted some air and I didn’t even know you were up here and I can-”
“I don’t hate you.”
It wasn’t the reaction Mercy was expecting, the surprise made her anger die down.“Oh… okay”
Mercy prided herself on being adaptable to any situation, but this one was just very uncomfortable. She didn’t know how to approach Rembrandt. This three sentence conversation was the longest they ever had. What if she fucked it all up by saying something she shouldn’t have, which was one of her speciality. For one of the rare times, Mercy decided to stay silent, hands in her pockets dancing from feet to feet.
Rembrandt didn’t move, for an instant Mercy even asked herself if the tagger knew she was still there, until her voice filled the air again. “I miss my friends.” Mercy froze, holding her breath as if any movement would break the moment, one where Rembrandt actually talked to her. “And you're so much like them. Sometimes looking at you hurts y'know.”
If Mercy knew the artist better she could have heard the love under the melancholy, the fleeting memory of happiness under the grief. But she didn’t and the last thing Mercy wanted was to add to Rembrandt’s pain.
“I'm sorry I’ll leave”
Rembrandt turned around as quickly as the words left Mercy’s mouth. Her big brown eyes were pleading, don’t leave me alone, but her voice was flat. “No stay. If you want. I could use some company.”
Mercy sat down next to her, neither of them wanting to break the peace they finally achieved. When Rembrandt laid down, eyes fixed on the stars, Mercy joined her.
Rembrandt broke the silence in whisper, pointing to a constellation above her. "See those seven stars that look like a bowl with a handle? It’s called the ursa minor. And there, at the furthest point on the handle, there’s polaris. You can never get lost with polaris cause it barely moves, always telling us the north. And it’s never alone, even if it seems like it is. The Polaris we see is actually three stars orbiting around each other."
Mercy looked at the tagger, mesmerised by the beauty of the tagger under the moonlight, her curly brown hair spread around her head, her eyes reflecting the stars she softly talked about, as if telling their secrets might make them disappear.
Rembrandt smiled. Even if the sadness lingered, this was the first real smile Rembrandt gave the new warrior since that night. "You can't see the stars if you're not looking at them"
Caught staring, Mercy blushed and quickly turned her gaze back to the night sky, making Rembrandt exhale from her nose, silently laughing at her.