It took a moment for recognition to settle in, Jessica’s new haircut still surprising to see in person, as was the hot pink of her hair. Ashe wasn’t happy that she would be spending time with two of her tormentors, but at least Crystal was going to be at her side for the coming meeting. Speaking of, she had to peel herself away from the woman to get off her bike, and she really wasn’t happy about that.
Riding the bike was mildly uncomfortable given the stitches in her leg, but she was doing better. Getting off was awkward because of that, but she managed it with only a mild limp before getting her feet solidly under her. They’d ended up meeting at what could charitably be called a restaurant deep in Viuda territory. The Tangled Web was considered, but Ashe was hesitant to trust the establishment until she learned more about the Viuda’s ties to the traffickers.
“Interesting choice,” Ashe said, taking in the absurdity of it. “Didn’t know this place was still in business.”
Crystal snorted, pulling her helmet off. “I tried to think of a place where none of your classmates might be. Can’t have them recognizing Jessica, can we?”
Shaking her head, Ashe could only smile. “Good call.”
“I do have good ideas on occasion,” Crystal said haughtily. “Besides, I told them this was for someone’s birthday.”
Ashe froze, her eyes widening. “You wouldn’t dare.”
“Jessica, not you,” Crystal said quickly. “I’ve seen you shoot, I know better.”
At that Ashe barked out a laugh and smacked her friend’s shoulder. “Smart girl.”
Crystal rolled her eyes, but was smiling almost radiantly. Ashe couldn’t help it when her heart skipped a beat and she sucked in a breath. It was random moments like this one where she wasn’t expecting it that caught her off guard. She knew Crystal was beautiful, but it still floored her that she seemed to be interested in someone like Ashe.
That she said yes to going to prom.
Jessica caught sight of her then, eyes going wide as her body stiffened for a moment. Then she relaxed and smiled tightly, waving as she did. Rachel’s reaction was measured, but Ashe could see the tension as she too waved.
“Sorry we’re a bit late,” Ashe said. “Had a minor detour on the way here.”
Crystal snorted, and Ashe elbowed her. Rachel knew why she needed the ‘detour’, having been the one to mess up her clothes in the first place. Thankfully Ashe had a small wardrobe at Crystal’s house now, just in case. That still meant she had to stop somewhere to change into her current outfit.
She’d picked a pair of shorts, showing off the healing injury on her leg. The stitches were starting to come out on their own, which was still freaky when it happened. Dissolving over time, they sometimes just all came out at once. It happened on her arm too, which was also on display thanks to the sleeveless shirt and denim vest she was wearing over it. The vest was only there to hide the holster tucked against her side.
Injuries like that were likely in her future as well, especially if she continued to do field work with Robbie and Keiko. She wasn’t sure if she would, even if they did make for a good team. There was a lot that Ashe wasn’t sure about in the near future, all she could do was take it all one step at a time.
“I still think the library would have been better,” Ashe said.
“Eh, we can have the next clandestine meeting there,” Crystal said, shrugging. “Or at whatever property we end up buying.”
Ashe raised an eyebrow. “That eager to bring your little brother in on this?”
“I don’t keep many secrets from him,” Crystal said. “His friend on the other hand…”
“We’ll figure it out,” Ashe said.
They entered the restaurant, Ashe having to bite her tongue at the sight of a statue of the mascot. She wasn’t sure if they still had people putting on a suit or not, too many kids were quick to assault those employees. Hardly worth making minimum wage only to get punched in the dick by an angry toddler.
“Reservation for Hamilton,” Crystal said.
The girl at the register checked a list then nodded and waved over a young guy with his face covered in pimples. Immediately Ashe was glad they didn’t plan to actually eat there. They were led into a private room where several menus were set out as well as a soda machine all to themselves. Jason and Todd were already present, a plate of breadsticks being shared between them.
“Anything to start you off?” the waiter asked, his voice incredibly nasalled.
“We’re good for now,” Crystal said, handing him a twenty. “We’ll poke our head out the door when we need something.”
“You got it ma’am!” he said excitedly, stepping out.
Crystal stood there, blinking as she stared at the door.
“He called me ma’am,” she said, her voice distant. “I can’t be more than five years older than him!”
“Well, you are a bit of a cougar,” the boy Ashe recognized as Jason said, gesturing at her. “Nice to meet you by the way, Ashe.”
“Likewise,” she said with a snicker. “Though, three years is a stretch for that title.”
“Kitten then,” Jason said with a wide grin.
Crystal threw an empty cup at him, which was easily ducked away from as he landed in Todd’s lap. Todd shoved him off him away, chuckling. Jessica was silent, not that she was very outspoken since they rescued her. She needed direction before her old self poked her head back out in any capacity.
Rachel just shook her head. “So, why are we meeting these two? You were vague about that.”
“Ah right,” Ashe said, turning to Crystal. “You sure?”
“It was my idea to meet both of them in the first place,” Crystal said. “Jason knows this already, but I’m with the Viuda. My handle is Riptide.”
“Ha, called it,” Todd said. “No offense Crystal, but I’ve seen your tattoos.” He then looked Ashe over. “Inferno?”
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“Got it in one,” Ashe said. “Todd, you brought up the people trailing you. If you’re that worried, I was going to ask you to hang out with Rachel a bit more. Safety in numbers and she can be a beard if you’re worried people are starting to suspect the two of you are an item.”
“Wait,” Jessica said, glancing between the two Ellingtons in the room. “Did the fucker have any straight children?”
“Nope,” Crystal said. “He isn’t aware of that just yet.”
“He’d blame our mother regardless,” Jason added. “It’s what he always does when we have any failings.”
“Like my eyes,” Crystal muttered. “My one flaw, as he put it.”
Ashe didn’t hesitate, reaching out to grab one of Crystal’s hands. She then looked deep into her jade eyes, letting her voice carry the truth and conviction of her words.
“Your eyes are beautiful,” Ashe said. “Never let anyone tell you otherwise.”
“Gay,” Todd faux whispered to Jason, who groaned. Ashe didn’t dare look away from Crystal’s eyes, which Todd was absolutely watching, and then he had to ruin the moment. “Now kiss.”
Crystal blinked, then looked at Todd, her eyes narrowing. “You first.”
Todd rolled his eyes, then looked at Jason, seeking permission. Jason sighed, then leaned over, capturing his lips in a chaste kiss that was broken seconds later. Todd grinned even as a warmth spread across Jason’s cheeks. Ashe’s own had warmed as well, her eyes flicking over to where Crystal sat beside her.
“Your turn,” Todd said with a shit eating grin.
Crystal glanced over, their eyes meeting for an instant as Ashe looked away, her cheeks now burning. It was almost infuriating how she could stand strong in the face of death, kill people without breaking her stride, yet the thought of kissing the absolutely incredible woman next to her was enough to make her freeze.
“Fun as it is to watch Ashe gay panic,” Crystal said, her voice slightly amused. “I want to wait until prom to kiss her.”
Ashe’s breath hitched, the declaration that it wasn’t a matter of it, but when, set her heart thundering in her chest. Even after she agreed to go to prom, Ashe hadn’t truly expected a relationship to come from it much as she wanted one. Crystal was a friend, granted she did flirt playfully from time to time, it always felt casual. Like something she did because it was enjoyable.
“Prom?” Jason asked, then his eyes widened. “Oh shit, right. Ashe, you go to Halsey, right?”
“I do,” she said, glad for something to focus on that wasn’t thoughts of her friend’s lips.
He nodded, smiling wide. “So, only registered couples of the straight variety can attend with people not from the school, so I was hoping you could get me in by posing as my date.”
Her expression fell almost immediately, looking away. “I can’t do that, sorry.”
“Why not?” he asked in what sounded like genuine confusion.
Did he not know? Todd must have, given he was a student at the school, yet he hadn’t mentioned it to his boyfriend even after making contact with her? She bit her lip, still refusing to meet his eyes.
“You said it yourself,” she said, her voice trembling slightly. “Only straight couples can be registered. Crystal and I could go, but I couldn’t take either of you.”
“I don’t—” He cut off, his eyes opening wide as he muttered something under his breath that she didn’t catch.
“I could take you,” Rachel said, disrupting the uncomfortable pall that had fallen over them. “I’m currently unattached and you’re not exactly an outlier with the Patriot crowd. It could work.”
“She’s not wrong,” Jason said, looking at Todd. “Are you okay with that?”
There was a moment of silence as Todd considered it, his attention wandering from Jason to Rachel and back. He then took his boyfriend’s hand into his own and squeezed. “I am if you are.”
They smiled at one another, then were kissing once more.
It didn’t take long before Rachel cleared her throat. “Great, queer crisis solved, but that hardly seems like something that warrants such an out of the way meeting.”
“Eh,” Crystal said, shaking her hand a bit in the air. “It was more so about making sure my little brother had some extra insurance against whoever is stalking him, as well as adding a bit of a hetero shield around them, so this works out great.”
“It also gives a bit of plausible reasoning for why Rachel would be taking Jason to prom,” Ashe added. “She starts hanging out with Todd, meets Jason, and then they’re going together. Not the most romantic thing, but it will be enough to fool surface scrutiny.”
“Not sure I buy that,” Jason grumbled. “Okay, so that’s part of a plan. I still say its just some creepy paparazzi.”
“Wouldn’t be the first,” Todd agreed, “but I’d rather be safe. These guys give me completely different vibes than the last group.”
Jason held up his hands. “Hey, I’m not arguing. I trust your gut, but I’ve been dealing with this all my life.”
“I’m so glad I got away from all that,” Crystal said. “They all expect the cute southern blonde I play on his campaign videos, not—” She gestured to herself.
Ashe couldn’t help but snort. “Bad ass punk bitch?”
“Exactly!” Crystal said cheerfully.
Shaking her head, Ashe laughed. “Still surprises me that nobody has tried to do an expose on your Viuda ties.”
“Yessina has helped there,” Crystal said. “As has Preston. I know it should have come out around the time I threw that asshole into the ocean. It was a few months later that I learned Preston had a reporter killed to protect the family’s image.”
A chill ran down Ashe’s spine at the casual admission. She knew Crystal’s family had some skeletons in their closet, like a mother that died under questionable circumstances, but that seemed bold even for them. Were the Ellingtons really nothing more than a mob family in practice? It certainly seemed that way.
“Not all that different from my family,” Rachel admitted. “My father was rather insistent about letting him know if anything that could reflect badly on the family happened, so he could see that it was taken care of.”
“Like a hit?” Ashe asked.
“More along the lines of an abortion,” Rachel said.
Oh. Abortions had been illegal in the state since Theodore Ellington’s time as governor, but it wasn’t a surprise to learn that the rich and influential could still access such procedures despite that. Ashe was fully aware of the differences in privilege between classes of people. She had experienced more than a few perks from being adopted by prominent police officers.
Crystal snorted. “Those in power only care that the poor continue to pump out kids, keeping the prisons stocked with cheap labor. The rich can do whatever they want, because they can afford to tell the law to shove it.”
“Lot of good that power and influence did me,” Jessica said, almost spitting the words. “They sold me to retain what they had, because I was inconvenient.”
“Could always have them killed,” Crystal said. “One of the perks of being a criminal, we sort of don’t care as much about the law and I’d say they deserve it.”
Jessica paused to consider it, then shook her head. “I’d rather them live to see everything they built crumble to dust while they weep over the loss.”
“Harsh, but poetic,” Rachel said, smiling as she reached out and held Jessica’s hand. “Sorry I wasn’t there for you, but I’m here now.”
Crystal leaned over, her mouth just beside Ashe’s ear as she whispered. “Am I the only one getting vibes here?”
Ashe barely shook her head. “Nah, I’ve been getting them for years now.”
“Bets on when they hook up?” Crystal asked.
Ashe looked at the two, how distant Jessica’s eyes remained despite the spark that had returned to them thanks to her friend. She knew that the two had caused her immense anguish for little reason beyond peer expectations. Now, with none of that on their shoulders, she couldn’t help but wonder where they might end up in the weeks and months to come.
“Before summer,” Ashe said firmly before looking over at her friend, that same question running through her mind. Thinking better on voicing it, she decided that it wasn’t necessary. If they were going to happen, it would come about in due time.