#carmeneaux

I have no problem with your ship. I dont hate it or think its weird, and i see the vision, even if its not my ship of choice. im sure you are all cool people . Well, all except maria-vesna aka carchase anon.

a small victim at the heart an intricate case, isabella rouge, better known as 'red', was adopted by a senior agent at the ACME detective agency who was suffering a recent personal loss and decided to take her in. ready for an adventure of her own, she is invited to train at the academy in san francisco, where she learns a lot more than she's bargained for.

academy by goldengatewanderlust

"la curiosité est un vilain défaut." he now shrugged. "it would serve no purpose."

"i respect it, but i've always wanted to know about my mother." i drew my leg up under me, nestling into my jacket as the salty breeze tickled the tip of my nose. o'malley's aftershave faintly lingered by the collar, and i inhaled a little bit more of its cedarwood scent. "i love papa more than anything but…it would bring me some closure, i guess."

"i understand." the woman he had been studying removed her cover, revealing freshly blown out chestnut hair. she seemed annoyed by the wind, quickly gathering her locks with a hair clip and finding a seat in the interior of the car.

"do you know anything about her?"

he shook his head, doing a second take when he realized who i was really talking about. "you mean your mother?"

i couldn't help but smirk. "i mean she's pretty but…"

"that female over there looks very similar to a photo posted on crimenet for someone wanted in connection to a narcotics ring operating by the pier. you know you are supposed to be checking the front page periodically to keep up with these things, trainee."

"and there's my lesson for the day." i teased. "don't become a suspect if you're easy on the eyes."

he quietly snorted in agreement. the trolley bell clanged twice, indicating its intent to move.

೫ ;

tw: child abuse, implied past sexual assault, murder, kidnapping, drugs, violence

chapters: 29 (in progress)

The arriving of this letter may shock you, but it's my duty to sincerely apologize for all the trouble I caused you. Having judged your character and actions despite all the signs that Miss Argent tried so painstakingly point out for me. I let my ego and frustration take the best of me.

If you could find in your heart, (even after all I've done) the will to forgive me, it sure would make me the happiest men in the world.

Sincerely,

Chase Devineaux.

P.S: Please, don't hate me.

A little letter(that turned out bigger than my first draft) I imagined Chase would write to Carmen after realizing, with all due respect, that he fucked up.

Friend's Reaction

Summary: Player, Zack, and Ivy were all wondering what Carmen was up to in the last two days. All she said was that she had a date. Will they approve of her strange taste in partner?

...

"Come on Carmen. I'm your best friend," Player insisted. "Of course I won't judge you... So, how did your date go? What's his name?"

Carmen thought for a minute. It was true that they were friends, and they could trust each other with anything. But even Player might freak out when he found out the truth.

"You know how I love danger, right...?" She said, trying to soften the blow.

"Geez, Carmen, really? You're dating a bad boy criminal?!"

She chuckled. "Not exactly."

Zack and Ivy sat on the couch, also curious.

"Come on sweet pea," Ivy said. "We're here for you. We promise not to laugh or judge."

Carmen averted her gaze. Well, what could she do? If she didn't tell, they'd probably keep on prodding.

Sticking up her hands in a stop motion, she conceded.

"Alright! I'll tell you. Uh, thing is, I did something a little dangerous to get this date. I had Tigress set me up..."

"Oh..." The others looked at her sympathetically.

"She got me a disguise. So, you know, he wouldn't recognize me..."

"Uh?" The others looked confused.

"Yeah... Because my date? He's Chase Devineaux." She said quickly.

"Wait," said Zack slowly. "You trusted Tigress?!"

Carmen looked away in shame.

"Not my brightest idea, I know..."

Player shook his head.

"Wait a second, Devineaux? As in, the detective who's been pursuing you this whole time...?"

She closed her eyes and curled up. Yeah, she knew this would be difficult.

"Is it so wrong to be wanted by someone?"

"Yeah, if they want to arrest you," Ivy said quickly.

Carmen pouted.

"You said you'd understand."

Zach patted her back. Perhaps he was too hasty in judging. Maybe Carmen had a good reason for this?

"We do, Carmen. We're just worried..."

"Yeah, Carmen," Ivy said. "If your date didn't work out, you'd be in prison..."

"Heh. About that..."

Carmen explained the whole story, going over the romance, betrayal from Tigress, the heartbreak of being cuffed and led out of the building, how Chase tried to cheer her up a little over being caught, and then her confession.

"Woah dude! That's messed up." Player said.

"Man, that Tigress is such a backstabber!" Ivy said, stomping her feet. It was expected but it still made her blood boil.

"Yeah, she almost ruined everything!" Zach said. "So, what happened next?"

Sighing a little with relief, she recounted how Chase had realized his own feelings and let her go. Then a silly smile came onto her face. She felt like a Disney Princess.

Ivy was the first to speak up.

"Aww, Carmen's in love!"

...

Meanwhile, back at HQ, Chase paced back and forth. He spoke French quickly. Julia couldn't understand him.

"Um, inspector? Is everything alright?"

He glared at her.

"No, things are not alright. What would you think of me? What would ACME think of me?" He finally decided to sit down in his chair and have a mint. "I'm a terrible detective..."

Julia shook her head.

"You're not."

He scoffed.

"Alright, then tell me. Is arresting Carmen and then letting her go a sign of a good detective? I failed us."

"You didn't!" Julia perked up, realizing he may finally be realizing the truth. "Carmen is a good person!! I kept telling you she meant no one any harm..."

He went quiet and had more mints. Looking over his papers without reading them, he frowned. Julia studied him, wondering how she could help. Finally he was starting to see some sense. Now don't ruin it... Perhaps some reverse psychology was in order? Julia cleared her throat.

"But... If you're bummed about that, maybe we could try and track her down?"

Looking up, he nodded.

"Yes. Let us do that."

His voice was soft, not full of frustrated obsession like before. Julia tipped her head, wondering if she was noticing something romantic in Chase's tone.

...

It was kind of silly, she knew, but Carmen decided to return to the restaurant. Watching it from far away, her heart ached. Would he be there? Would he really want to see her again? It wass amazing how good he was at finding her.

Yet she saw how many of the people around the restaurant were the same ones as that fateful night. Would they remember what happened?

Carmen shook her head. Don't think about that. Just wear another disguise and go inside!

Player had tracked down an expert wig maker and ensured that all products were of the finest quality. The goal this time was not to trick Chase, but the people around them. She remembered the gardens and walked over to them first. There were many beautiful flowers both on the ground and in the bushes. There were also hanging vines. A restaurant like this looked so simple yet with the small space afforded to them, could make for the finest memories.

This time, Carmen's wig was black, and looked like her updo hairstyle. She didn't bother with contact lenses this time. Her makeup was done by an expert, and she wore a form-hugging sparkly blue dress with heels to match.

From behind her, a handsome man wearing a tuxedo approached her.

"The garden is quite beautiful, isn't it?" he said, making conversation.

Carmen smiled, reaching out a hand. "Care to dance, Inspector?"

He shook his head.

"You are kind my dear, but my heart beats only for one woman... Her name is Carmen."

She laughed.

"Chase! It's me, Carmen!"

He chuckled as well.

"I knew it was you. You look very beautiful, even with that obvious disguise."

There he was, taking her breath away yet again.

She slipped an arm around him.