Work Text:
Realistically, Chapa should have expected to get caught sooner. She was managing to break into an amusement park with half-decent security every night; she had always known that if the park's management ever fixed the fence, or if they realized one of their security cameras was broken, she'd be in hot water.
So- yeah. She should have seen this coming.
But she didn't. She got too comfortable, let her guard slip for too long, and got completely blindsided by something that should have been obvious from the start.
Of course they would notice the camera was down, eventually. Of course they would send someone to go figure out why.
And of course, of course, because she apparently couldn't catch a single break ever-
-of course that person would be Shoutout.
"Hey!" The shout isn't quite the sonic scream that she's known for- but it's warningly close to it. Because that's what it is- a warning shot. Giving the person she just caught breaking into private property a chance to turn around, to stop causing trouble and go home.
But going home isn't an option. Not for her.
And she can't turn around- Shoutout knows her, she would recognize her, and-
No. No, she can get out of this. She just has to- she has to do something-
Slowly, she reaches for a rock at the base of the fence- if she can throw it past the alley's opening, past where Shoutout's standing, maybe that'd be- some kind of distraction? Maybe-
The moment her fingers close around the rock, a neatly targeted blast of air knocks it back to the ground.
"Yeah, nice try. Turn around."
It doesn't matter if she turns around or not; she can hear Shoutout's footsteps getting closer, and Chapa knows her hair and clothes are probably distinct enough for the hero to recognize her even without seeing her face.
So, with the last bit of stubborn pride she can scrape out of herself- she turns around.
Shoutout blinks, eyes clearly still adjusting to the darker lighting, and then-
"What- Chapa? What are you doing here?" The question is only slightly sharper than usual; a far cry from the underlying threat in her tone a moment ago, but still a bit on edge.
A beat of silence. A beat of frantically grasping at her own thoughts for anything useful. A beat of finding absolutely nothing.
And suddenly panic is clawing up her throat, Shoutout is staring at her and the fence is pressed against her back- there's no way out of this. She can't explain this. She'll know. She'll know.
"…Chapa?" Softer, that time, and Chapa has to swallow back the urge to spill absolutely everything in the hopes that she'd understand, because- well. It's Shoutout.
But also- it's Shoutout. And she's always been sweet to Chapa, to everyone, but- she's a hero. Always going on about how her duty to the city is her first priority. She's impossibly good, and Chapa's not, and- she could tell people. She could try to make her go home, she could get the police involved-
She can't breathe. She's going to be sick, she's going to throw up-
And then she has to blink, because- Shoutout was just in front of her, where- oh. Next to her.
"Hey. I'm gonna sit here, okay? Um- you might want to sit down too, you look really shaky."
On autopilot, Chapa nods. Then her brain catches up to what Shoutout just said, and- yeah. Yeah, sure. Not like this could get any worse if she sat down.
She slides down to a sitting position, back still firmly against the fence. Beside her, Shoutout is flicking her hands slightly against the air, tensing and untensing her fingers- she did that when she was nervous, Chapa remembers suddenly.
A moment goes by like that, the two of them sitting there. Then quietly, carefully: "Chapa. What's going on?"
Chapa opens her mouth before she really knows what's going to come out of it, and all she manages to choke out is: "I can't go home."
Shoutout pauses. A quick glance reveals the immediate worry glinting in her eyes.
And suddenly, stupidly, Chapa finds herself wanting to ease that worry. "It's not like- whatever you think. My parents. They didn't hurt me." And then the panic starts spiking back up in her chest, because- why would she say that? Why wouldn't she just let Shoutout think it was too dangerous for her to go home, why wouldn't she just let herself be taken seriously for once? "I just- I can't be there. I can't."
It's better like this, she wants to say. She has her phone now, she can talk to Sage. She has Bose to sneak her into his house for sleepovers when it gets too cold. Her parents aren't looking for her; she doesn't have to talk to them, she doesn't have to think about them- she can actually breathe like this. Without the constant reminder at her back of how convinced they were that she was impossible for anyone to want.
But she doesn't say any of that; the words catch in her chest and never even make it to her throat. She should say it, she should at least try to explain herself better before it's too late- but she can't. Her thoughts are quickly turning back to static, and she can't get anything coherent to unstick itself from the buzzing mess of it all.
"So- you came here instead?"
Chapa tugs at a nearby clump of grass, fingers shaking slightly as she rips it into pieces. "I've been coming here." She bites out. "Every night."
Shoutout exhales quietly. "That's…I mean, you know that's not-"
Smart? Good? Legal? She doesn't know how Shoutout plans to finish that sentence and she doesn't care, because- "You can't tell anyone."
"I-"
"You can't." Her voice cracks slightly with desperation that time. "I know, okay, I know, but- I can't go back, and I need this, and- just. Don't tell anyone."
Please, she just barely manages to swallow back, because she's not going to beg for this right now, she's not, she's not-
"I won't."
The words don't even register for a moment; that's how hard Chapa's been bracing herself for an argument. Even after they sink in, she finds herself staring blankly at Shoutout, the back of her mind still waiting for the other shoe to drop.
"I won't tell anyone. I promise. " Hands fluttering anxiously at her sides, Shoutout settles further against the fence. Then she glances out towards the alley's entrance, frowning. "I mean- they'll be wondering what's going on. AWOL and Captain Man. I told them where I was going, and I said the owner had reported the busted camera, but- it's fine. It's fine, I can just go back and tell them- um. It was a…cat? Feral cat? Feral cat in the alley. And that's why-"
And that's when it really sinks in, the truth settling like a dim warmth into her ribs.
Shoutout's willing to lie for her. Shoutout's willing to help her get away with illegal activity if it means she has a safer place to stay at night. Shoutout's willing to listen to her about how much she needs this, and Shoutout's going against her entire by-the-book golden hero reputation- for her.
And she's still talking, Chapa realizes, still nervously rambling about how she'll explain away the whole thing, and-
"-so, I'll just tell them that, and- Chapa?"
Oh, great, she's just been wordlessly staring at her this whole time, hasn't she-
Reaching for the first reaction she can think of to hide the fact that it feels like golden light is unspooling in her chest and all the fear is melting into overwhelming relief- Chapa laughs slightly. (It comes out a bit too breathless and a bit too fond, but whatever-) "Right. A cat broke the security camera. That's really the best you can come up with?"
With a hint of an exasperated smile, Shoutout rolls her eyes. "Lying's not exactly my strong point."
"Oh? We finally found the one thing you're bad at? Historic day taking place in Swellview, ladies and gentlemen. Local hero Shoutout, amazing at literally everything, has finally revealed-"
Shoutout huffs, sounding half-annoyed and half-amused. "I am not amazing at everything-"
And Chapa barely recognizes the uncharacteristic softness in her own voice when she hears herself interrupt. "No, yeah, you- you kinda are. Amazing, I mean."
Shoutout pauses. And she blinks. And she looks at her like she doesn't know how to respond to that.
Chapa just looks back at her. And she's pretty sure the sappy-sweet smile that's tugging carefully at Shoutout's expression is reflected on her own face, but she doesn't let herself think about that too much.
They stay like that for a few moments.
Shoutout's the one who breaks the silence first, eyes darting back to the opening to the main road. "I should, uh- probably get going-"
Chapa nods quickly. "Right. Right, yeah-"
"And- you'll be fine here? You're sure?"
"Yeah. I'm sure."
"Okay. Well- are we going with the cat story, or-?"
Chapa laughs under her breath. "Let's go with a raccoon. Because of the-"
"-opposable thumbs. Right. Yeah. Of course." Shoutout shakes her head slightly. "But- yeah. As far as anyone else is concerned, Shoutout never saw you here."
And a sudden thought occurs to her, so of course she blurts it out- "What about- whoever you are when you're not being Shoutout? She, uh- she won't tell anyone either?"
And as soon as she asks, she almost regrets it. Because Shoutout's reaction is fairly subtle, but it's also immediate. Her face twists slightly, smile going wry as she runs the cuff of her suit's sleeve between two fingers. "Yeah, you- don't need to worry about her. She's not important." Eyes flickering away, then back to Chapa again. "She won't tell, either. I mean- it's not like anyone's gonna care what she tells them anyways, ha-"
And the sense of recognition is gut-wrenching. Because she knows that look on Shoutout's face. Knows what it means.
"I would." She's blurted out the words before she can even think about it- fiercely honest and achingly sincere.
Shoutout just stares at her.
So she says it again: "I would care. About anything she said. I-" Her voice starts dying in her throat, trailing off as she realizes how unnervingly genuine she's being right now. But she manages to finish with a hesitant mutter of "…I think she's more important than you think."
And Shoutout just looks at her for a moment, a long moment.
And Chapa isn't embarrassed, okay, she's just- picking at the shredded bits of grass again because she needs something to do with her hands-
Then, softly: "Okay."
Chapa glances up, and- oh. She's smiling faintly now, soft and shining.
She thinks, distantly - and not for the first time - that Shoutout's smile is unbelievably pretty.
"Bye, Chapa."
Chapa returns the smile, and it feels like something in the back of her mind is settling into place. "Bye, Shoutout."