She Who Dwells By Water

“They’re going to keep coming.” Rhode said softly. She was broken, her spirit crushed. All she had left was the hope that since she hadn’t seen Ava, these bastards hadn’t gotten to her. “You have to...” She coughed dryly, every bit of her parched, dying for a swim, or even a sip of water. “-let yourself go numb.”

Rhode grunted as a heavy weight was thrown on top of her, too weak to protest or push the weight off herself. When it was finally gone, she blinked her eyes open enough to see the woman who’d been sharing her cage. “I-It’s okay.” She replied softly, her voice barely above a whisper.

“Oh so you’re having lunch because you’re out to get me.”

“Oh, yes, I laced your drink with an extremely powerful laxative. It was going to be a mystery, but you’ve forced my hand now.”

“That’s unfair, I’m only a few minutes older.” Ava twisted through the water smiling.

“Hey, I don’t make the rules.” The elder tetra laughed, her own moves unintentionally mirroring Ava’s. “Luckily there are still places untouched by the less reverent humans.” Rhode said with a grateful sigh before grinning over at the blonde. “No, I’m just going to show them to you and swim away. Of course we’re going in there, you guppy.” She teased with a grin before diving back under, racing through the water and propelling herself at incredible speed with her powers.

“I resent that. I can definitely be serious!!! Especially when I’m armed.”

“You said that three turns ago– you can’t count each as a new round, Rhode. C’mon, nobody likes a sore loser.”

Rhode gave the man a fake pout and a wide eyed look. “Last one? I pinky swear.” She said earnestly as she held up the aforementioned digit.

Rhode grinned when Ripley reluctantly agreed. “Fine, next one, I promise.” She sighed. “We’re just too attractive for our own good. And all these creeps think they’re just so fucking charming. Eugh.” She shuddered a little.

“Probably for the best. Though they weren’t all bad. Though Disney movies do make having wild animals living in your home seem a whole lot more fun, I found that out the hard way.” He teased, leaning away from the doorway and gesturing her in, even carefully taking her hand. “Here, I’ll lead you through to safety. If it gets too scary, just squeeze and we’ll run for it.”

“I think it’s only fun if you can actually communicate with them.” The tetra looked a bit taken aback at the man’s forwardness, even as she went with him. “You know, I might be old fashioned, but I feel like you should at least introduce yourself before you lead a woman into your home.”

Kay nodded, trying to take it all in. It sounded like a lot. and he wasn’t sure if it was even a good idea. If Rhode for some reason decided they couldn’t stay anymore, he and Ava would have to find a new place and maybe even leave town. And he didn’t want to get his hopes up. Better to just settle for what he could have. “I’ll think about it.” He smiled to hide any of his concerns and belatedly started tidying up the markers and papers he’d scattered. He liked having things to do. That had been his salvation when things had all gone so bad. Taking things apart, putting them back together again, making them better. He’d once disassembled and reassembled the toaster three times in one day just to relax. After that, it had worked better, except that the toast would fire out of it so fast that you had to catch it or it would hit the ceiling. He’d maybe overdone it on the spring coil. That was why he wanted the car, really. Something so broken it could take him month, maybe years, before it worked. Something that was easier to fix than either him or Ava. He smacked his forehead. He hadn’t meant the bombing, idiot. It had just slipped out. “No, sorry, I meant, your friends - never mind, it’s okay. I should go make dinner anyway.”

"Good.” She didn’t know how much he meant those words, but she’d be damned if she didn’t push him to give it a try. It didn’t have to be now, gods knew they had their whole lives ahead of them, but she hoped it would be sooner rather than later. She helped him to clean up, looking confused when he smacked his forehead before realizing what he’d meant. “Oh. I-” She faltered a little. She did and didn’t. She knew talking helped, and indeed tried to encourage Kay and his sister to talk about whatever troubled them, but she felt a motherly instinct to hold off from talking to them about her own troubles. They carried such heavy burdens, there was no reason for them to share hers. But if they were ever going to feel comfortable opening up with her, she had to do the same. Right? She settled on talking about them a little, glossing over the main details and how much she worried for the twins in the wake of that attack. “I just miss them. Sometimes you guys remind me of them and...” Her voice trailed off and she let out a shaky sigh, tears already pricking at the backs of her eyes when she let herself dwell on it for too long. “You think it’ll get easier and it never does.” She said, patting at her eyes, willing herself not to cry.

“Come on, I have to fend off creeps at work all the time, you take the hit this time.” Rhode said, batting her lashes at Ripley.

“No, no, you wanted to do this, so we’ll do it. I can be serious about it.”

“It’s only one more, that’s not terribly unreasonable. But fine, this is the last one. One, two, three.” Rhode counted before making out a fist.

“I’m already in your good graces.”

“So you think anyways.”

“I’m not being nice, I’m being practical. I’m sure you have other things to do too, Rhode. And it’s not not on the way either.”

“As do you. And I don’t even have a day job, so all the more reason for me to take it.”

He smirked at her use of the word gods. She definitely looked like one of those New Age hippie girls. That just confirmed it. She probably majored in sociology. “Maybe I’ll show you the pictures sometime if I ever find the box they were in. Then you won’t have to imagine.” He grinned back. “So it appears. You wanna come in? I don’t have a bottle of champagne to break against the door, but I’ve got some scotch if you want to toast my new abode.”

“Oh, no, I think I could live without exactly knowing what sort of hovel you had to suffer before this one.” She laughed. “I don’t know, is it safe to enter? I’m afraid that roof will cave in.” She quipped, even as she took a small step closer.

“Stop being a sore loser. I won fair and square, deal with it.”

“I’m not! Two out of three is standard!” Rhode protested with a laugh, even as she pulled out her wallet. “Fine, fine, fair and square.”