Work Text:
5.
“Hey, are you okay?” Beverly asked Tori as the woman brushed past her into the kitchen.
“Fine, why?” Tori asked, grabbing an apple from the counter.
“You seem spacier than usual, and I’ve barely seen you,” Beverly said. “You spend all your time in the lab, which is nothing new, but you used to at least take breaks.”
“All good,” Tori said, heading out the door.
“Tori-” Beverly called after her, then sighed. It had barely been two weeks since Tori’s kidnapping, and she knew it had affected Tori more than she let on. Of course it had. She’d been taken off the street. Even for a villain, that was terrifying. But Tori was Tori, and she refused to open up or show any sign of ‘weakness’. Beverly and Chloe had been doing as much as they could to be there for her, but it wasn’t easy. Not when she was spending practically all her time at Ivan’s or the lab.
A few days later revealed a rare sight: Chloe, Beverly, and Tori on the couch for a movie night. Truth be told, it didn’t used to be a rare sight. In fact it used to be a weekly occasion, but Tori had done a very good job of avoiding them. Today, they’d had to practically corner her to make her watch Seeking Meno with them.
Tori had fallen asleep about half an hour prior, and Chloe had begged off to bed. Beverly, unfortunately, was trapped, as in her sleep Tori’s head had fallen on her shoulder. She’d seemed so exhausted lately, Beverly hadn’t wanted to disturb her. As such, Beverly was editing a post on her phone when Tori started making noises.
Beverly looked down to see Tori curled up and shaking, hands clenched into fists. Her eyebrows knit together in concern. She had never seen Tori having a nightmare before, but Tori’s room was soundproofed, so maybe this was a frequent occasion.
“Tori,” she whispered, lightly shaking Tori’s shoulder. “Tori, wake up.”
When this didn’t shake Tori out of sleep, she spoke louder. “Tori!”
Tori’s head shot up so fast that Beverly didn’t get the chance to react.
“Fuck!” they both cried out in unison as their heads collided. They reeled back, staring at one another.
Tori broke the silence. “What the fuck was that?!” she asked, irritated.
“You were having a nightmare!” Beverly snapped back. “I was trying to help you!”
“Well next time, don’t!” Tori said, scowling. “I don’t need your help.”
Beverly’s anger deflated immediately. “Tori… What’s going on? Are you okay?”
“I’m fi-”
“And don’t just say you’re fine, because I know you’re not. That’s all you ever say these days.”
Tori sighed and sat back, rubbing her head. “Fine,” she muttered. “I’ve been having nightmares, alright? About the kidnapping. And I know it’s stupid-”
“It’s not stupid, Tori. You were kidnapped. That’s scary as hell.”
“I’m a villain,” Tori insisted. “I could’ve gotten out of there any time I wanted. I don’t know why it’s affecting me so much.”
“What are the nightmares about?” Beverly asked. “Maybe if you talk about it… It’ll help.”
Tori made a face and Beverly expected her to object, but to her surprise, Tori actually explained. “Mostly Deacon. The guy I…”
Beverly nodded. “I don’t think there’s anything shameful about that. Just because we’re villains doesn’t mean we’re immune to fear. I mean, look at Ivan. Practically everyone in the Guild is terrified of him.”
Tori laughed. “Yeah… I guess that makes sense.”
Beverly put a hand on Tori’s shoulder. “You don’t have to hide this stuff from us, okay? We’ve all got shit. I’ve got my family, Chloe’s got Parasol Lady. You don’t have to be ashamed. Friends help each other through tough times.”
Tori smiled slightly. “Thanks, Bev.”
“Anytime. What do you say to some drinks?”
Tori frowned, checking her phone. “It’s… Eleven o’clock on a Thursday.”
“And?” asked Beverly. “It’s not like either of us have jobs we need to wake up for in the morning. Plus, we have beer in the fridge.”
“Fair enough,” said Tori.
__________________________
4.
Tori startled as a loud voice came through the intercom. “Tori!”
“Jesus fucking Christ Beverly, you nearly made me burn the table with a soldering iron,” Tori griped.
“I have been calling your name for nearly the past minute!” Beverly snapped. “Are you aware it is dinner time?”
Tori blinked. “What, really?”
“Yes!” Beverly cried. “Really! You have been working on your metasuit since lunch. Come up here and eat.”
Tori made a face. “What are we eating?”
Beverly understood the underlying question immediately. “Chloe’s not here. I got Thai.”
“Oh thank god,” Tori muttered. “Fine, I’ll be right there, but only because you’re bribing me with Thai.”
A few minutes later, Tori walked into the kitchen. “You do realize you’re not my mom, right?” She asked as she helped herself to some fried rice.
“Yeah well, someone has to make sure you don’t starve,” Beverly said with a sigh. “How I miss the days when Ivan made sure you had three meals a day.”
Tori choked on a sip of water. “Excuse me-”
“You’re excused,” Beverly interrupted.
Tori stared at her, mouth open. “Damn, I didn’t realize you cared so much about my eating habits.”
“Oh, no,” Beverly said. “This is purely in my own self interest. The less hungry you are at night, the less I have to hear you banging around in the kitchen at three o’clock in the morning.”
Tori narrowed her eyes. “Clearly I have to soundproof the kitchen as well.”
“Uh, no,” Beverly held up a hand. “Clearly you need to stop eating at ungodly hours. Some of us have to work in the morning.”
“You work from home, Chloe’s the only one that gets to make that excuse,” Tori said, rolling her eyes. “But fine, I’ll put a minifridge in the lab,” she said, getting up to get more food.
“That is not what I meant!” Beverly yelled after her.
__________________________
3.
“Fuck!”
Tori looked up. “What happened to you?”
“I tripped!” Beverly snapped. “On a goddamn… I don’t even know what that is!” She gestured to a bundle of wire wrapped metal on the ground. “Our living room is not your lab!”
“I know, I know,” Tori said. “But the lab is currently being vented because of a bit of an… explosion.”
“Explosion?”
“It’s not a big deal! We purposely went for this place because the garage was structurally sound.”
“That is not-” Beverly pinched the bridge of her nose. “The point is that it is midnight and you need to clean up this shit and go to bed.”
“This is not shit, this is a very integral to the making of-”
“I don’t care, Tori!” Beverly snapped, exasperated. “I don’t care if you’re making a laser, or a wrist shield, or a sound dampener or whatever, Tori! I am tired, it is midnight, and you are making a fuckton of noise. Go. To. Bed!”
“Jesus, alright,” Tori muttered.
“Or, better yet, move everything into your bedroom. At least then I won’t hear it. Though I’m pretty sure you said you had a Star Scouts meeting in the morning, so good luck with that if you don’t sleep.”
“Sleep is for the weak,” Tori said, waving a hand.
Beverly rested her face in her hand. “Tori?”
“Yes?” Tori asked.
“Go to bed!” Beverly shouted, then stomped back to her room.
“A wrist shield,” Tori muttered, but obediently began cleaning everything up.
__________________________
2.
An irritated sigh left Beverly’s lips. It was the third irritated sigh that minute. “Tori.”
“Yes?” asked Tori, continuing to pace, causing the sound that was grating on Beverly’s ears.
“You’re pacing,” Beverly said.
“I’m aware,” Tori said.
“It’s driving me crazy,” Beverly said, setting down her laptop and resigning herself to not finishing the blog post she was working on. “I think you’re wearing a hole in the floor.”
Tori groaned and threw herself down on the couch next to Beverly. “I’m nervous. My meeting with Wade is in two hours, and there’s nothing I can do to make the time go slower or faster, and the prototype is finished so I can’t even distract myself with working on it.”
“It’s going to be fine,” Beverly assured her. “It’s a great product, you know that. It works well, it looks gorgeous, thanks to yours truly. There’s nothing he won’t like.”
“Wade Wyatt is one of the greatest minds of the generation,” Tori insisted. “What’s the likelihood of him seeing promise in my invention?”
“You’re a genius. He’ll see the necessity of it. And who wouldn’t want to work with a famous person? His sales will be off the chart.”
“I guess,” Tori sighed. “I just wish it was time already. The wait is killing me.”
Beverly snapped closed her laptop. “Seeing as I don’t appear to be getting any work done in the next two hours, I can distract you. How about Cards Against Humanity?”
“That’s a three person game at the minimum,” Tori pointed out.
“Thankfully, we have a third roommate,” Beverly said cheerfully.
Tori blanched. “Chloe is way too innocent for that game.”
Beverly grinned. “I know. It’ll be hilarious,” she said, turning and yelling Chloe’s name.
__________________________
1.
It was only because Tori’s door was ajar that Beverly realized she wasn’t in her room. Considering it was five in the morning, that was slightly abnormal. After searching the rest of the apartment, which didn’t take long, Beverly headed down to the lab.
As expected, Tori was hard at work. Beverly knocked lightly on the wall and Tori jumped, whirling around. “Fucking hell Beverly, what are you doing up? You scared the shit out of me.”
“I could ask you the same thing,” Beverly said, walking over to Tori and leaning against the wall. “Even for you this is late. I don’t remember the last time you were down here at this hour.”
Tori shrugged. “Been a weird day.”
“What do you mean?” Beverly asked. “What sort of weird?”
Tori winced. “Donald confessed he had feelings for me.”
Beverly’s eyes widened. “No shit.”
“Yes shit! Can you believe it?”
“Of course I can believe it,” Beverly said with a laugh. “Anyone with eyes could see that he was into you. I’m just surprised that he admitted it.”
“You knew?” Tori cried. “And you didn’t tell me?”
“I figured you knew! He’s really not subtle,” Beverly said with a shrug. “So how do you feel about it?”
“I don’t- I don’t know,” Tori said, throwing her hands up in the air. “I mean, I like Donald, I like him a lot. He’s a good guy and a good friend. But my life is so fucked right now, I barely have time to deal with everything going on. And how am I supposed to date him with this huge secret between us? He’s a hero, Bev. If I get even closer to him I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before he finds out who I am, and he will never trust me again.”
Beverly nodded. “I know. It’s the same with Austin.”
“I mean, he’ll probably never trust me if he finds out anyway, but if we’re in a relationship… I couldn’t do that to him.”
“I understand,” Beverly said. “What did you tell him?”
“Basically a nice version of ‘it’s not you, it’s me.’”
Beverly nodded. “Probably for the best. Still, I am sorry. That must have been tough.”
“It… wasn’t great,” Tori agreed. “But it is what it is. He’ll get over it. Or he won’t, and I’ll never see him again.”
Beverly rolled her eyes. “Chill out, doomsayer. It’ll be fine, he probably just needs some time. In the meantime, you should really go to bed.”
Tori sighed. “I know. I’m coming.”
They walked up the stairs together and reentered the apartment. Tori stopped Beverly before she went off to her room.
“Hey, Bev?”
“Yeah?”
“Thanks. For looking for me, and for talking things through with me.”
Beverly smiled. “Anytime, Tori. That’s what friends are for.”
__________________________
6 1.
“Beverly?” Tori knocked on the door a second time. She knew she was home- she’d heard her on the phone. When there was no response, Tori slowly opened up the door a crack. “Are you naked in there? I will scream if you’re naked in there.”
Beverly’s muffled voice came through the crack in the door “Not naked.”
Tori opened up the door the rest of the way to find Beverly underneath a pile of blankets. She couldn’t even see her face. Looking around, she saw that Beverly’s phone was on the other side of the room, clearly having been thrown.
Tori closed the door behind her and crossed over to the bed. “Did something happen?” she asked cautiously. Tori was definitely not usually the one people went to for comfort, but Beverly hadn’t left her room all day. Chloe wasn't home, and there was no way she was asking Austin or Ellie for help. She supposed she could’ve contacted Thuggernaut, but the man had never been to their apartment before, and Beverly probably wouldn’t have wanted to go to the Guild.
She saw Beverly’s almost imperceptible shrug from beneath the covers. “Family hates me.”
Tori couldn’t help a snort as she sat down. “I’m sure they don’t hate you. What happened? Were they the ones you were on the phone with?”
Tori saw a tiny movement that may have been Beverly nodding. “Ambrose. We had been talking about meeting, but he said they weren’t ready.”
“Right…” Tori said slowly. “But hasn’t that been what he’s been saying consistently? What did he do to make you…” She gestured at the lump that was Beverly’s body.”
“He didn’t say anything,” Beverly said.
Tori cocked her head to one side. “I’m confused.”
“It was the rest of them,” Beverly continued. “He must have thought that he hung up the phone, because after our conversation I could hear my family talking. My mom called the dragons monsters, whatever, I can understand that.”
Despite her words, Tori didn’t think Beverly was as okay with it as she made it seem, but she kept silent.
“But then my dad said that he was scared to have me around my little siblings,” Beverly said, and Tori could hear her getting choked up. “I hung up then. I think Ambrose must have realized I’d heard, because he called back. That’s what caused…” An arm emerged from under the blanket to gesture at the phone on the other side of the room. “We had a shouting match, he said I should understand where my dad is coming from, that if it were the other way around, I would do anything to protect them. I just can’t believe they think they need protection from me.”
Gently, Tori reached forward to tug the blankets off Beverly. She looked a mess. Her hair was mussed and partly stuck to her face, and she had definitely been crying. Tori wasn’t much of a touchy feely person, but she hugged Beverly then. Beverly froze for a second, then hugged her back.
“I’m so sorry,” Tori murmured. “I can’t believe he said that. You’re well past the person you were when you first got your powers, the fact that he thinks you would hurt your family…”
“They’re never going to forgive me,” Beverly mumbled into her shoulder. “They’re always going to think of me as that monster.”
“That’s not true,” Tori insisted. “They’re being really fucking stupid right now, but they’ll come to their senses. Assholes.”
There was a pause, and Tori was slightly worried that she may have offended Beverly, but then she heard giggling. She pulled back slightly, and looked at Beverly, confused. “What? What’s so funny?”
If anything, that only made Beverly laugh more. Tori rolled her eyes, amused. “You’re ridiculous,” she said, starting to laugh as well.
Suddenly, the front door opened, and they heard Chloe’s voice. “You guys! Who’s hungry? I found this recipe for pickle juice marinated chicken, it looks really good!”
Tori and Beverly’s eyes met, terror evident in both their expressions. “Forget your family, we got bigger problems,” Tori muttered, and Beverly pulled the blankets back over her head with a groan.