[A/N]: Yo, y'all, this was supposed to be three separate chapters, but I decided to bundle them together in the original Ao3 upload. I didn't feel like changing that here, so... 3x length chapter for CH.11, I guess. Woo!
[Edit]: Okay, so, some weird formatting bs came up in the process of uploading this chapter and things got weird. Should be all fixed now, though...
— — — — — — —
"It looks like he's developing quite nicely, Master Bruce," Alfred commented flatly while changing Bruce's bandages and treating other smaller wounds. Footage of a black-and-purple blur running around the city played on a laptop's screen before the two of them.
Bruce nursed a sore spot in his ribs that had yet to fully recover, saying, "He's quite something. His technique improves by the day based on what Oracle occasionally sees, and he's becoming smarter about the job. His choice of location for a hideout could use some work, but I won't fault him for it."
"And the other merits?" Alfred asked, finishing his work on the replacement bandages for Bruce's left arm.
"They still need work, but I don't feel like I have to stop him as long as he doesn't cross any lines," Bruce explained as he sat up from the bat-bench. "Right now, he does more good for Gotham than otherwise, and I don't see him biting off more than he can chew."
"... and if you weren't already busy with your other pressing responsibilities?" Alfred prodded, his meaning more than obvious.
Bruce snickered. "He might have made a good Robin... but he's already past the point of needing someone like me. Besides, I hear he goes by 'Manticore' now."
◎ ◉ ◎
Lucian once more spent the night at the restaurant, appreciating the fact that he now had a good pick for a home base before his power nap.
He went through his routine again that morning, which unfortunately wasn't as lively as the previous day. The weekend was over, and Maxie could only work for half the day starting from when school hours ended. Lucian ended up being teased for her absence, and the staff only doubled down once she'd finally gotten there in the afternoon.
One needed only look at the situation closer.
Max and Lucian were the only two people in Inigo Suarez' employ who were barely a year apart in age. They both had sob stories for why they work with him.
Lucian had no history at all, and nowhere to go.
Maxine needed work to help her parents make money, and one of them— quite frankly —probably didn't even deserve their daughter's help.
The pair's first meeting also happened to be utterly endearing to the staff, primarily Inigo.
There was no better material to embarrass the youngsters in the work crew. Fortunately for Lucian, he had thick enough skin to weather it, and Maxie seemed to shrug off the teasing well enough.
The work day went by much like it had last time. There was some staring from both parties, each one looking away when they felt like they'd been caught— though Maxie did end up getting caught staring more often than Lucian did, owing to his superhuman senses.
By nightfall, Maxie hopped off of work alongside everyone in the night crew, and Lucian was left to his own devices...
...
"Let's see... cleaning spray, check... brushes, broom, mop, some buckets... Yeah, that should be it for now. I can just snatch some towels or make some thugs topless tonight and use their shirts to wipe the glass clean."
Once he had locked up, Lucian went out to various stores to pick up some stuff that he needed for his hideout. Towels would've been cheap, but who buys towels? All of the ones his family owned in his past life were either handed down to them by extended family or friends, or recycled from old and unusable clothes.
"I'll just get the floor and walls done today. I'll worry about the door and windows tomorrow, then decorating comes after that."
Slinging his Bag of Stuff™️ over his shoulder, Lucian made his way back to his hideout through the scenic route. When he was close enough, he put on his cowl in a hidden area and hopped over the rooftops to access the apartment building.
It took him around an hour to get the floor and walls all cleaned up, and most of that time was spent scrubbing, scraping, and rinsing. Superhuman strength and agility really helped with speeding up menial labor.
Satisfied, Lucian spent the next hour just lazing around until he decided to get in at least one round at Paulie's ring.
...
"Ahhhh, there he is!" Matchstick called out as Lucian approached, once again wearing his Phantom getup.
"Welcome back, kid," Gomez greeted, patting the spot next to him on the new bench for the fighters' waiting area. Matchstick stood off to the side because he refused to sit, for some reason.
Lucian graciously took the seat, since it wouldn't hurt to do so. He had to wait a few rounds before he was up anyway. "Just paid the fee with Rita. Kinda busy right now, so I'm only doing one round today."
"Are you gunna be here every night, kid?" Matchstick asked. "More and more people have been comin' in to see ya fight, y'know? Not that many since we're just a small operation, but damn if we haven't been making more money in the last month than we ever did before! Hahah!"
"'Stick's right," Gomez agreed. "It'd be great if you kept coming."
"I see no reason not to," said Lucian. "I could really use the money anyway, so I have no plans to stop anytime soon... though there might be times when I'm unavailable. Personal business; I'm sure you understand."
Gomez simply nodded, and Matchstick gave Lucian a "Yeah, we getcha."
At that point, it was just waiting for Lucian's match to come, and when that was over, it was time for patrol...
...
[ Nightly Progress Report ]
[ Criminals taken down: 2 – EXP awarded: 100 ]
[ Money earned: $112 – EXP awarded: 112]
[ Items stolen: 0 – Nothing worth looting. Just people with a chip on their shoulders beating on a kid. We made them naked and sent the kid home with some cash. ]
[ Bonus EXP for goodwill: 50 ]
[ Rounds won in the ring: 1 - EXP awarded: 100 ]
[ Money earned: $250 - EXP awarded: 125 ]
[ Total EXP awarded: 487 ]
[ Congratulations! Your level has risen to 10. ]
[ 3 attribute points have been distributed between your Agility, Intellect, and Spirit attributes. ]
[ One for All bonus: your Power, Vitality, and Agility attributes all increase by 1. ]
[ You have 1 unallocated level and 5 free attribute points. ]
[ EXP to next level: 1,436 ]
– ৹ – ৹৹◎৹৹ – ৹ –
Host: Lucian Albrecht
Matrix: Quirk User: One for All
Level: 10
Classes: [Brawler - Level 3] ; [Acrobat - Level 5] ; [Criminal - Level 2]
-[ Attributes ]-
Power: 31
Vitality: 31
Agility: 31
Intellect: 20
Mentality: 20
Spirit: 22
Luck: 0
Free Attribute Points: 0
New class ability unlocked!
Criminal:
[2] Sticky Fingers: Thievery now comes naturally to you, even on the run! You may never fail to lift the belongings of others from them, but always remember that this does not equate to going undetected.
New non-class abilities unlocked!
Loadout: You can now designate clothing and equipment to a loadout slot. Currently, you have two. Switching between your two loadouts can be done with a thought, or left up to your synthetic intelligence assistant. You can exclude some of your equipment or attire from registration.
Imbue Equipment: Items received from your synthetic-intelligence assistant can be fused with externally-sourced items in order to imbue them with the former items' properties. Multiple imbuements cannot be stacked onto the same item.
– ৹ – ৹৹◎৹৹ – ৹ –
'And just like that, I can draw out 6% of One for All's power,' Lucian mused as he clenched both
fists to get a feel for his new strength. '54 points in my physicals from a base of 31 feels
intoxicating...'
Lucian had returned to his hideout by this point. He threw a few full-power punches within the living room, and he could hear and feel the wind scattering wildly from his movements.
"I can swap loadouts and slap item effects onto regular equipment, too. That's kinda busted..."
Testing out that ability came next; Lucian had to make sure that he understood what it did.
First, the Loadout ability registered a 'set of equipment' to one slot, meaning that whatever he wore would be included, as long as he didn't try to exploit the ability's function to the extreme. This meant that he could have his Manticore equipment on one slot, and his Phantom set on the other.
One neat thing that Lucian discovered was that Loadouts would automatically put his sets on top of whatever else he was wearing— if it could fit under the equipment. Things like shirts, pants, shoes, and inelaborate accessories like wristwatches and plain necklaces won't be 'unequipped' whenever he loaded a set.
After finishing that little experiment, Lucian locked up his apartment hideout— which meant shoving a huge slab of concrete over the door —and made for the gym near the restaurant to clean up for the encroaching daytime.
The days had begun to blur together for Lucian since he started sleeping less and less, so he promised himself to get a change of pace in the following days. Mainly, he needed to get more sleep.
Sure, his body needed less and less sleep as he grew stronger, but his mind was a different thing. Sleeping should do well to maintain his sanity and align his circadian rhythm with the normal folk.
...
Unlike Lucian's last shower, which was introspective and laced with longing, this one was much simpler. He just turned off his brain, washed off in the cold, and got some mental rest during the thirty minutes he just spent in there to chill.
Once he was done, he switched to his work uniform again. Leaving the men's lockers, drying his hair with a towel, a familiar voice called out to him. Hearing it there made his heart jump just the slightest bit.
"Hey, fancy seeing you here."
Lucian looked up to see Maxie standing before him in a loose shirt with the sleeves cut off, as well as some pretty beat-up sweatpants. Her hair was long enough to tie up in a tiny, bun-like ponytail, and Lucian's cheeks heated up a little. Fortunately, 20 base Mentality and 22 base Spirit meant that unless what he felt was really intense, no outward signs would show.
"School's out for you?" Lucian asked, and Maxie dropped the duffel bag she had with her near one of the punching bags.
"Yeah," she answered. "It's a whole thing. Gang dispute, shootout happened nearby. Classes are cancelled for a while because of safety reasons and shit..."
She then took some wrapping cloths from her pants' pockets and started fitting them around her hands. "And I've already missed so many classes... it's kinda frustrating."
"Is it really that bad?" Lucian couldn't help but feel curious. "Your grades, I mean."
"I mean... I might still make it... but between the near-constant class suspensions and needing this job just to live, there's also a good chance I won't."
By this point, Maxie had finished wrapping her hands and went to put on some gloves. Lucian matched pace and helped Maxie put them on, and she just went with it and let him.
"Any chance I might be able to help?" he offered, and Maxie gave him a funny look.
"Have you ever been to school?" she asked incredulously. Then, in a moment of realization, she blurted out, "I mean, no offense, but..."
Cutting in as she trailed off, Lucian elaborated. "I'm a fast learner. I only had to drop out last year, and if you give me any of your learning material, I'm sure I can help walk you through it."
"If you say so..." Maxie sighed. "Help me with the bag and I'll think about it."
...
Lucian spent another morning mostly alone with Maxie. Some people filtered into the gym, but since they were there on their own business, everyone mostly stayed out of each other's way. Lucian had actually been trained to fight in his previous life. Coupled with what he had from the Brawler class, he was able to coach Maxie on her technique.
She was totally an amateur, but seemed to have a talent for throwing hands— she picked things up faster than Lucian had in his first life. She also had this intensity about her the entire time, and Lucian couldn't help but think that this part of her only added to his infatuation.
Eventually, Maxie's session had to wrap up. Seeing that she was dead tired but actually hadn't brought anything to eat, Lucian questioned why she thought this was a good idea.
Her answer?
"I got really frustrated... there was some trouble back at home, and I didn't know how to deal with it, so I just came here..."
Lucian felt sorry for her, obviously. Luckily, he still had a lot of money saved up. He treated Maxie to some actual food to both help her recover her energy and build up her muscle. He also warned her not to do anything like that in the future. If she really felt the need to do so, Lucian reassured her that he or anyone else they both knew at work would be willing to lend a hand.
...
[ Someone's making progress with the new quest~ ]
'Shut it, you.'
[ I love you too, host.💜 ]
'When did you develop this personality trait?!'
...
After the admittedly long encounter with Maxie at the gym, Lucian set off for work after both of them have had their fill of breakfast. Maxie still had quite a bit of time to kill, so she just hung out in the tiny back room until her shift started.
As for Lucian, he fell into routine once more. The hours passed by like falling asleep during Math or History class, and he ended up back at Jodie's again before he knew it.
...
"Luce!" Jodie beamed as Lucian pulled up in front of her apartment building. She knew to wait for him, since he always arrived between ten to fifteen minutes after she made her orders.
"Come in for a second and have a look at your costume."
Letting out a little 'whoop!' of excitement, Lucian obliged and followed Jodie with her meal in hand.
Once inside, Jodie beelined for a rack with several outfits hanging from it. She quickly singled out a familiar jacket. It was much thicker now— reinforced with actual quality leather, and insulated on the inside. It was predominantly purple, and the texture was matted. The tougher areas had been dyed a glossy black, and the sight of it had sparkles forming in Lucian's eyes.
"I matched it as best as I could with your drawings," Jodie said while dusting off the jacket and approaching Lucian. "Your art was really good, by the way. Not how a tailor or designer would draw theirs, but your notes made them really easy to understand. It really helped that they were a treat for the eyes. You even had your measurements, and they were taken properly too! Good foresight."
Lucian inwardly thanked the program for that— it had projected a tape measure in his mind's eye for that.
Accepting the half-done costume as Jodie handed it over, he was stunned with awe. "I can't thank you enough for this, Jodie," he said while turning the black and purple jacket over to inspect every detail.
"Oh, don't mention it," Jodie said bashfully. "It's been a long time since I could do this for anyone..."
Lucian let out a little sigh when he heard Jodie's tone break just the slightest bit. He slung his costume's jacket over his shoulder and spread his arms open.
Jodie took a bit to process the gesture, but a choked "Oh..." eventually escaped her, and she accepted the invitation.
It was... good, for both of them. Lucian didn't really know how life has been for Jodie this whole time, but she lived in Gotham city. Even to just the slightest extent, he knew that it couldn't have been good good; only as good as the city would allow it.
As for Lucian himself? Well... let's just say this was the first time he's made any gestures like this in a long, long time.
He could feel Jodie hiccup or sob a little before finally pulling away all teary-eyed.
"You sure know how to get the waterworks running," Jodie sniffled with a smile. Though after a few moments, she managed to wipe away the tears and put on a practiced smile. "But enough about that. Go ahead, try it on."
Right away, Lucian removed his plain black hoodie before unzipping the thick, durable jacket and putting it on. It fit him with just enough room to spare in case he grew bulkier in the future. Anything bigger than he imagined himself liking and he'd have to get a new jacket made, but for now? It should last him.
"Just right," he said while turning slowly so Jodie could properly admire her handiwork.
"It looks perfect on you," the old lady cooed. "And rightly, too. This had to be my best work yet after you handed me half of your savings!"
That's what Lucian had told Jodie when he handed her a fat stack of cash for the materials— stuff that she either hadn't used for an outfit before, or just not in a decade or two since she closed down her business.
She was reluctant to accept it at first and almost insisted to foot the bill, but eventually relented when Lucian explained the cost of materials to her. She definitely couldn't handle that on her own; not on her pension that was most likely getting skimmed by the people in charge of handing it to her.
It also helped when Lucian bullshitted explained that it was only a fraction of some money he'd saved up from a long time doing odd jobs.
"I seriously can't thank you enough," Lucian insisted. "Today's delivery's on me, Jodie. Mr. Suarez gave me a raise, so it won't be an issue."
"Oh, fine," Jodie relented. "Now get on out of here with your jacket before I pay you double!"
Lucian exchanged pleasantries with her one last time before leaving, and was told to expect the last part of his costume to be ready within the next few days.
◎ ◉ ◎
"That's some progress on the costume quest," Lucian muttered while riding Mr. Suarez'
motorbike along the highway.
He immediately registered the new and improved jacket to his first loadout slot, as well as his cowl. He also planned to do the same for his boots and camo pants. At least, until he can get the matching pants for his jacket as well.
As for his second loadout slot, he assigned his black hoodie and white mask to it. Loadout items could be stored in a dedicated subspace within the program— Lucian didn't want to question how that worked —or retrieved from within a certain range if he'd taken them off and left unattended somewhere.
Unassigning or replacing items registered to a loadout slot would cause the removed items to pop out in front of him, so he had to be careful about that, at least.
While riding on the rickety old motorbike, Lucian thought of how much of a pain it'd be to wait until he hit his target level before finally finishing off the costume, but his program mentioned something pretty big.
[ Notice. You can have me hold onto the quest rewards and claim them later, ] it said in response to his mutterings.
He groaned so hard in response. "Well, why didn't you say so sooner??"
In response, he got the impression that the program just shrugged at him.
"Well, at least that's a good thing... I can focus on gearing up properly now. Getting some real protection on the suit would be really great."
...
It was mid-afternoon as he rode back to the restaurant, which should be some time after Maxie had to start her shift, so he returned intending to have a short chat with her about that morning.
He parked the motorbike out back and came in through the restaurant's rear entrance. Once he was in, he spotted Maxie right away with how much her bright orange hair stood out. Everyone else in the work staff had dark hair like Lucian did (with Inigo's baldness as a shining exception), so telling her apart from everyone else was easy.
"Looks like they put you on the counter today," Lucian said as he approached Maxie from behind.
"I'm covering for Emma," Maxie said in response, already starting to load up the next batch of deliveries for him.
After a bout of awkward silence, Maxine said in the middle of loading, "So uh... about what you said earlier. I'm not exactly sure how you can help at all."
Lucian cocked his head, prompting her to explain, "See, I don't actually have my own stuff...?" she said unsurely. Halfway through the delivery batch now, she continued, "I... can't afford all the books and shit. Even with this job. I have to share materials with a few friends, so that's how I've been getting by."
"I thought you went to a public school...?"
"Yeah, but did you forget where we live?" Maxie couldn't help but chuckle defeatedly. "We still need to pay for so many things..."
Lucian thought for a moment. "Alright, how much?"
"Huh...?" Maxie looked confused.
"For the school stuff that you need immediately. I got a lot of money lying around from working here and doing odd jobs at night," he elaborated. "I'm sure I can help you somewhat without really hurting my savings."
"Look, Luce. I appreciate you trying to help, but I'll just work for it on my own. I-"
Interrupting her, Lucian told her to follow him into the back of the restaurant. She was about to snap at him for trying to take her away from her post, but Inigo stepped in.
"Oh, would you look at that! Looks like I got a sudden urge to take over counter duty for you." Maxine was understandably reluctant, but Inigo seemed insistent.
"Listen, kid— I feel like my life would be put on the line if you don't let me man the counter here. Besides, our golden boy wants to show you something. Go on; follow him."
Maxie tried to come up with some sort of retort, but suddenly, everybody seemed to be fully on board with Inigo working the counter, despite being best suited to managing the kitchen like he usually did.
Defeatedly giving up on resisting, Maxie settled for shaking her head in disbelief as she robotically followed Lucian out the establishment's back door.
...
Maxine stepped out into the alley directly behind the restaurant. The skies were overcast as usual— the brightest it could ever get in this city. She uneasily rubbed one forearm with the opposite hand as she approached where she thought Lucian would be, her gaze staying low.
"Luce, seriously... I—"
Before she could even finish wording another attempt at convincing Lucian to give up on the idea of wasting money on her, the plea was cut off abruptly. She saw him just leap off the restaurant's rooftop and land on his feet without even so much as flinching when he landed.
There was such a loud 'clap!' that she thought he had snapped the bones in his legs.
Sure, the restaurant was just a single floor, but that was still quite a height to fall from without getting hurt. On his feet no less. Maxie was sure that if she'd attempted such a thing, she'd end up wishing that she never had legs.
Before she could even wonder further or point it out, Lucian began speaking.
"Here, this is my savings," he announced while walking over to where Maxine stood still, cradling a worn backpack. It would have actually been more accurate to call the backpack decrepit.
Seeing the state of it made her want to deny his aid even more.
That idea had to be scrapped, though; the moment Lucian opened the middle zipper, Maxine's eyes went wide. "Just how much money is that...?"
Inside the backpack was a mess of cash— uneven wads of twenties and fifties were messily crammed in there like confetti, and Maxie could even see a few rolls of hundreds.
"Not sure," Lucian hummed in response. "Maybe a few grand?"
Maxie's brain short-circuited. "... a few grand??" She had to take a step back. "Lucian, how did you even get this much??"
She suspected something terrible already; a reasonable assumption for a Gothamite.
Lucian had to bullshit his way out of this again. For someone with boosted Intellect and Mentality, he sure didn't act like it sometimes. It seemed to be covering for him this time,
though.
"I've been doing this a while now, Max—" he began to explain, pausing to make sure that he has her attention. "—Mr. Suarez ain't the only guy I've ever worked for. I've been at this since I started high school."
'That lines up, at least... that's like, four-ish years? Maybe five. Yeah, let's go with four. If I've been surfing places to crash and haven't paid a single time for rent, that should track.'
Maxine's eyes scanned Lucian for any signs of deception— facial tics, body language, anything —but couldn't find any. He noticed this.
'I'm starting to feel bad for lying about this, but... damn, superior ultra-fine muscle control for the win.
In the end, all that Maxie could do was sigh.
"Fine," she grumbled. "If that's how you wanna do this, fine." She then got all up in Lucian's personal bubble, growling, "But you'd better not start bellyaching about this if it comes to bite you in the ass."
Lucian would have raised his hands in mock surrender had he not been carrying something. "I won't; promise. Seriously, it's not that big a deal."
'Seriously, what a headache,' thought Maxie. She desperately wanted to grumble that out loud.
Lucian was cute. Like, quite a bit. Then, she learned that he was nice, too. Not like 'nice-guy' nice— he was just genuinely good-natured in general. She saw that in how he interacted with their coworkers, and how some customers seemed to be looking for him specifically at times, both over the phone and the counter.
That sort of magnetism was something that Gotham would've typically beaten out of a person... Seeing him offer his help to her like this made her feel really guilty.
Still, he was insistent. Persistent, even. He wanted to play the game like this? Fine. See if she cared.
Well, she did, but she couldn't say that out loud, her poor heart.
"So it's settled, then?" Lucian grinned.
'That goofy fucking mug of his... damnit.'
"Yeah... yeah, that's that."
"Alright, when do we go out?"
It took a bit for Maxie to register the question, but she managed to respond before long.
"Tonight. When my shift ends, you're quitting yours too and we're going."
"Sweet!" Lucian exclaimed. "It'd be our first date, then," he added, waving at Maxie once before 'parkouring' up some crates and debris to return his backpack to its hiding place.
The assembly of footholds was something that he'd arranged in case he ever had to climb up with someone watching. They were set up in a way that didn't make the path obvious, using preexisting environmental elements to break up the arrangement. Seeing him expertly traverse the environment though, Maxie could clearly understand the layout.
Lucian ended up skipping past her with a smile, going back into the restaurant to pick up his current delivery batch. He beckoned Maxie to return with him along the way, and she couldn't help the slight smile tugging at the corners of her lips.
She finally returned to her post at the counter, Inigo going back to keeping the kitchen orderly.
With Lucian gone, riding off into Gotham on Mr. Suarez' motorbike, the realization finally hit her.
'Wait, did he just say it'd be our first fucking date?!'
◎ ◉ ◎
Later on the night of the same day, Inigo greeted someone out front of the restaurant. It was dark out by then— even the bright yellow street lights could barely penetrate into the creeping darkness. "Alright. Thank you for bringing this over, Monique."
Lucian couldn't see too well from where he was, wiping down a table, but this 'Monique' person seemed huge from what little illumination reached her.
Eventually, Monique's silhouette receded, accompanied by the clacking of hard soles against the sidewalk. By then, Inigo had turned around and started towards Lucian.
"Luce!" he called out, waving a sizeable paper bag up in the air. "I got something for you, muchacho!"
Lucian stopped what he was doing, wiping the sweat off his brow using the white towel slung over his shoulder. Inigo plopped the paper bag down onto the table between them. From the way the collision sounded and how the contents shifted, Lucian figured it was likely clothes. Inigo gestured to the paper bag with both hands. "Go on, open it!"
Inside were some really nice pieces of clothing: button-up shirts, both long-sleeved and short. There were slacks, regular shirts, polo shirts, and even two belts and ties. Every single one of them outclassed even the best that Lucian had owned in his previous life. He started wondering where his employer had gotten such quality apparel at this quantity.
"Heheh. Whaddya think?" Inigo grinned up at Lucian as he turned over a grey, long-sleeved button-up, putting it up against his body to check if it could fit.
"I had that all passed by Jodie's earlier, since she had your measurements already— said you had her refit some clothes before. That's from my old wardrobe, though the slacks are brand new. Stubby legs and all that."
Lucian folded the dress shirt back up, laying it gingerly down on the table. "I don't mean to sound ungrateful, boss," he started, "but, this really all for me?"
"'Course it is! And— heh —I don't mind you trying to make sure. It's good instincts; even I knew you had to feel like it was too good to be true."
There was a brief pause, and Inigo rolled his neck before continuing. "'Course, this is true. You deserve it, kid. And think of it as me just wingman-ing for you, alright? I'm a bit of a sucker for watching young love blossom."
"So you mean to have me dress to impress tonight?" Lucian chuckled.
"How could you not? You have to for your first date with a cute girl!"
Lucian smiled wryly. "You know I was just kidding about that, right?"
"Oh, someone didn't seem to think you were!" Inigo's grin widened. "Li'l Maxie blushed up a storm for a good while after you left. It's why I sent her home for a bit, too— told both of you to meet up in two hours. I just know she can't show up looking less than nice for you. Now, go on, you little rascal. We'll pick out some shoes for you after you freshen up. I've got quite the collection; something's bound to fit."
◎ ◉ ◎
Maxie almost wanted to bail. Almost. If Lucian had owned a phone, she might have texted him by then that she wanted to cancel— not that she could at that point, even if he did own one. On top of that, it was only when she'd gotten home and cooled off that she realized, he was likely just joking flirtatiously when he said that it'd be their 'first date.'
Of course, realizing that, Maxie ought to relax even a little, right? Follow through on their agreement.
Wrong.
Now she was even more nervous. Everyone in the restaurant's staff was in on it now. They'd gotten invested. Maxie knew that she shouldn't care, and had it been any other guy, she would've bailed right away without a second thought, even if she had to call the restaurant's phone. But this was Lucian. For some inexplicable reason, she just couldn't.
The reason?
She felt embarrassed about getting all nervous after misinterpreting Lucian's words, but she couldn't tell him that. She'd have to make up an excuse. But then, that would probably hurt him— even if it was only a little, Maxie didn't have it in her to do that —and the entire staff would likely be on her ass about it.
They wouldn't be mean about being on her ass. It would likely all amount to more teasing, which she could just shrug off. But still... it was harder to do when things came down to him.
"What's got our baby sister all frazzled like that?" asked a voice from behind the cheap, beat-up couch that Maxie had been sitting on. The last voice she ever wanted to hear at this moment in
particular.
'Oh my fucking god,' Maxie groaned in her mind. 'Not now, you fucking asshole, please!'
It was her sister, Bailey. The gap between them was only a year, but boy did it feel like several times that. She looked like a much taller, bigger version of Maxie— as in muscular with a healthy layer of fat, nearly a head taller. Additionally, her hair was much longer if a bit dull, and she also lacked the freckles. Lastly, she didn't have Maxie's brilliant green eyes— she'd inherited their father's dark browns instead.
"Come on, who's the lucky guy? Oh, or is it a girl?! If it's a lucky lady, I am so winning my bet with Brodie—"
"You two were betting on me?!" Maxie snapped, interrupting her sister.
"Pffft. Yeah, we were."
Bailey rolled her eyes as if such a thing were only a matter of course, this smug smirk spreading across her face.
"You're usually so cold to guys that either the right one just hasn't come along yet, or you were into girls. That look on your face? And the blushing? I can just tell. Older sisters oughta know their siblings inside and out."
There was a lull in the conversation— not that it felt like one to Maxie —and Bailey took her little (literally, in comparison) sister's silent glaring as a challenge.
"Alright, then..." Bailey put her hands on her tough, log-like waist and leaned over, closing the almost full-head height gap between her and Maxie. "Who's the lucky motherfucker that caught my baby sister's eye?"
"That's none of your fucking business," Maxie blurted out, sounding a little too forced. She attempted to pass by Bailey seeing that her older sister had this amused expression on her face, hoping that she'd just let it go. Unfortunately for her, older siblings were rarely that lenient.
Bailey leaned back and put an arm out in front of her little sister, cutting off the path to escape. The hand of said arm landed on one of Maxie's shoulders, then the other fell on the opposite side.
"Come on~" cooed Bailey, an infuriating grin baring her teeth like the Cheshire Cat. "Tell me, tell me~!"
"I am not telling you," Maxie asserted. She desperately swatted away at her sister to try and get away, but to no avail.
"Shut the fuck up!!"
A voice cracked from the only bedroom in the apartment, sounding a bit slurred, followed by the sound of shattering glass.
"Fucking brats making fucking noise... should've just started whoring yourselves out like your mother so you can be useful."
Finally, Bailey stopped. Unfortunately, the reason for that was a whole new problem cropping up. This was evident in the way Bailey lost that annoying, cheeky grin— her face was twisted up in disgusted contempt.
"Come on, Max," she sighed. "Let's get outta here before this killjoy asshole makes shit worse for us."
That, Maxie could agree with. Bailey kept an arm around Maxie's shoulder, but it wasn't in to keep her in place anymore. It was wrapped around her protectively.
...
Bailey led her sister out of their tiny apartment, heading off to anywhere but the place they lived. She had initially planned to bring Maxie along to the skate park— their eldest sibling and only brother, Brodie, often hung out there, but the sisters ended up splitting off partway.
...
"Maxie!" a familiar voice called out from across the highway. It was a girl's, light and softsounding.
"Oh shit, it's Tammy," Bailey smiled. A rather happy one, it was. "Wanna go with her instead? I know you're not much for crowds."
Without much hesitation on her part, Maxie nodded and split off from her sister. They waved each other goodbye, and she met up with Tammy across the road from where she had been walking with Bailey.
"Tams!" Maxie half-yelled, already spreading her arms out as she approached. Tammy returned the greeting by doing the same, and the pair swayed left and right in a little embrace before separating.
"You're not usually out this late," Tammy pointed out. "Something happen at home?"
"Yeah, it's just my dad," Maxie answered, already letting her feet carry her wherever. She winced a little at the word 'dad,' and she knew that Tammy noticed, but neither of them lingered on that.
Tammy followed along as her friend wandered, her footsteps notably bouncier than those of the one in front of her. "There's something else bothering you," she then bluntly stated, and noted that her friend's shoulders tensed up.
"I-it's nothing," Maxie denied, trying to deflect the question, but Tammy was insistent. She sidled up beside her friend, leaned forward to lower her perspective, and stared up at Maxie with wide, unblinking eyes. They were bright pink— contact lenses, of course —and her soft, wavy, pastel pink hair bounced with each step. She wouldn't stop staring, humming obviously all the while, knowing that Maxie would break eventually.
And break she did.
"Fuck! Alright, fine! I'll tell you!"
"Haha! Yay!" Tammy did a little clappy-clap, skipped ahead of Maxie with a little twirl, and ended up on the opposite side of her friend from where she'd been walking. She bumped right back into Maxie, clinging to her arm.
"But not here," Maxie followed up. "You're gonna have to treat me to something."
"Okay, sweet sundae~"
...
Luckily, Tammy had more than enough allowance leftover— she treated Maxie to some fast food. She got herself a chili dog, and Maxie a chicken cheeseburger. They shared a bag of curly fries, with a promise of going for sundaes later.
"Soooo~ won't my bestie tell me what's been bothering her?"
Maxie pushed down a bite of her burger with a sip of soda. "So... there's this guy—" Her words ceased for a moment, her cheeks warming up when Tammy's eyes widened, leaning in closer.
"There's a guy now?!" Tammy mouthed to her. Maxie only thinned her lips and nodded so very slightly before continuing, doing her best to ignore her friend's too-happy grin.
"So, the guy— I sorta kinda agreed to go out with him tonight..."
"Like, on a date?!"
"Yes, Tammy... on a date..." Maxie rolled her eyes and took a quick sip of her soda again. "He wasn't even serious about it at first... but the joke just flew over my head! One thing led to another, and now I have just a little over an hour before we have to meet up..."
"Do you want to go?" Tammy asked, swirling her soda around and making the ice rattle.
"I mean... I don't not want to... just, I don't know— I don't think I should."
"There's more going on in that pretty little head of yours," Tammy stated, "but I won't pry, okay? But honey... it's a leap of faith. Come on!" She waved over one of the waiters and asked to get their food packed up for takeout.
"Wha...? Wait, Tammy, what??"
"We're going to my place! We're the same size, so I'll lend you some of my clothes. You gotta wear something nice!"
"Hold on, I haven't even—"
"Too late!"
By that point, their food had already been bagged up, bar their drinks. Tammy took Maxie by the arm and rushed out of the establishment to hail a cab.
...
The ride to Tammy's home was... awkward. At least for Maxie. Tammy seemed to be really happy with herself, humming and swaying in her seat the entire time.
The cab eventually stopped by a suburban property in Somerset. It was nicer than anything that Maxie could have ever dreamt of having, but all in all, the place was only middle class.
"Come on, we need to get you dressed up fast! We can just get a cab to go back to your workplace. You met the guy there, right?"
Tammy rattled off words faster than a hundred rounds a minute, clearly excited at the prospect of her best friend finally finding a guy to be with like she had.
The entire time, she dragged Maxie by the arm to her home: a cozy little bungalow, fenced off with old wood, the front and back yards showing signs of overgrowth. For a place like Gotham, this level of coziness was a bit of an achievement, even in the nicer neighborhoods.
Swinging the door open, full of life and energy, Tammy yelled out. "Daaaaad! I'm home!"
"So early?" a man's voice rang out from deeper within the house. From the kitchen emerged a large man, easily over six feet in height. While not fat, he had an obvious belly, though the association with rotundity was offset by the absolute broadness of his shoulders. A real bear of a man.
"Oho! You brought Maxie with you, too! Just in time, come on in! Dinner's about ready."
"Sorry, dad," said Tammy, already pushing a reluctant Maxie over to where her bedroom was.
"Maxie's got a date, and we only have a little under an hour to get her ready!"
Joseph's— Tammy's father, obviously —brows rose, and a broad grin spread across his bearded face. "Well, alright then," he relented. "Good luck with that! Though make sure to swing by on your way home, alright? I'll make a little extra for you to take home for your siblings."
"Th-thank you, Joe—" Maxie managed to utter out just before Tammy shut the bedroom door behind both of them.
Joseph couldn't help a nostalgic smile from forming. Shaking his head, he muttered "Ahh, kids," under his breath. "Let's hope they're careful... well, it's Maxie, though. I'm sure she'll keep an eye out."
...
Tammy left her and Maxie's bag of takeout on her computer desk.
"Okay!" she exclaimed. "Maxie. Go use my shower and wash up— you don't want to go to your first ever date smelling like work. I'll go pick out an absolutely adorable outfit for you in the meantime."
"Can't you go for something more... I don't know... 'me?'" Maxie asked. She still felt reluctant, but seemed to have surrendered to her fate by this point. If it hadn't been Tammy doing this to her, it would have been her sense of obligation pushing her forward.
Tammy hummed for a second, her index finger's knuckle on her lips. "Okay, sure. I think I can put something together to get your vibe right. Now get in there, soldier! Move, move, move!"
Lips thinned, Maxie did her best to suppress her emotions and hopped into the shower.
The cold water helped Maxie regulate her thoughts. She didn't come in cold, of course. She started warm, then slowly shifted to cooler and cooler water until she could handle it.
'Maybe going actually won't be so bad,' she thought to herself.
Maxie expected to be long, but the shower took no more than twenty minutes.
She didn't have to scrub, since she'd already wiped down at home; all she had to do then was lather up with some scented body wash and rinse. Her hair didn't need any work, either, apart from avoiding getting it all tangled up. It always was naturally silky and voluminous, a little miracle that she always felt grateful for. It was still a pain to maintain, though, so she always had Bailey help her keep it short. All she would have to do after dressing up would be styling it.
Stepping out from the shower, Maxie was greeted to the sight of Tammy sitting on the edge of her bed, finishing off her chili dog, A set of clothes was laid out on the mattress: a desaturated, dark green blouse with long sleeves, black high-waisted jean shorts, and skin-tone stockings.
On the floor, meanwhile, sat a pair of simple doll shoes.
Hearing the bathroom door open and click shut, Tammy turned around. "Oh, you're done! Nice!"
She skipped over to stand behind Maxie, putting her hands on her friend's bare shoulders. "I'd lend you some of my 'spicy underwear,' but I don't think you're quite ready for that yet— ack!"
Smack! went Maxie's hand, snapping onto Tammy's forehead.
"Owwwww~! You meanie!" Tammy whined, shrinking away playfully. "But for realsies. Go on, get dressed! Using the underwear you've been wearing should be fine... I'll lend you some of my other stuff, too. While we get you all dolled-up, why don't you tell me about this guy you're meeting?!"
And just like that, Maxie's torture continued.