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(Foster/Harper section collab with Angel)[/center]

Nilin smiled, delighted to have such a reaction from her fellow members about her outfit choice. It was the reaction she was hoping to get from someone else and that thought just made butterflies in her stomach. She gently shook her head at Jensen's offer of pancakes and kindly replied, "Thanks but I am saving my hunger for the street vendors and showing them some support." She had really just come for the conversation but that seemed to take a turn as she heard a huge whack sound from the entrance and instantly stilled, knowing exactly who it was without looking as her body was trying to adjust and mind trying to synchronize with Bridget. She quickly forced a link with Jack, knowing that she could control herself with his powers and not look like she had linked with anyone else. Nilin didn't want Bridget to feel bad for being around her. She did want to have a relationship with the other woman after all and didn't want her to feel bad about a painful change when it couldn't be helped. Chloe was already avoiding her which made her feel extremely uncomfortable and a burden when she was around. Nilin had pretended not to notice her scooting away from her and tried not to be hurt about it. She had wanted to ask Bridget if she was alright but when she said to say nothing, she took to silence to not upset her.

The kitchen felt weird for her now, making her debate on leaving when Viorel graced them with his presence with was a surprise as I thought Gemina and him were going out. He called for Myles and Luka, saying they weren't in trouble but it still meant that something was going on. He didn't pull people out of the room for nothing. She stood, feeling a little out of place as comments flew back and forth while people continued to eat their breakfast. It was when she made up her mind to sneak out that Stirling came in, speaking up about the fact that they would be leaving for the parade in about 10 minutes which actually felt like a relief. She carefully scooted by Stirling and made her way up the stairs, figuring she would wait outside to see which vehicle she would be in for the ride over. Bridget joining them made them have to rethink how to get everyone to places as she was quite large and would probably be upset to be asked to ride up top.

“Here’s your shot don’t cock it up,” Harper tells him.

“Thank you for the boost of confidence, really needed it,” Foster says as he walks behind Nilin, making sure to touch only her sleeve as if not to activate her powers, “Nilin. Morning. Hi. Morning.”

“Way to go,” Harper barks under his breath.

Nilin felt the touch on her sleeve and turned to face who was trying to get her attention before smiling brightly. She had to hold back a bit of a chuckle at that cute morning welcome and replied back,”Morning, Foster. How are you? Excited about the parade?”

The moment she turns around is the moment he can’t handle. She looks stunning, a red dress paired with a cute, and her hair is tied up in a ponytail complimenting the outfit. Now he’s lost his train of thought. It doesn’t help their mind is still fuzzy from Harper’s fun night last night so at first he responds, “You parade. Good.”

Realizing the mistake of his he turns away a bit shyly. Harper laughs.

“Oi ur’ shite at this,” Harper goads him.

“I’m...well aware,” he whispers back. He tries to nervously swallow his own embarrassment. Trying to laugh it off in a way that isn’t quite like him.

“I meant to say you look good. And are you excited for the parade?” he replies with a nod.

Nilin blushed, not quite expecting him to lose complete sentences but that didn’t stop the amused smile that appeared at how adorable he was in this moment. She knew that Harper was talking to him and wished sometimes she could read minds or was telepathic so she could be in on the conversation. She raised an eyebrow a little at his laugh as it wasn’t one she had heard quite like this but brushed it off, pretending not to notice he was being a little strange. “Thank you, you aren’t looking so bad yourself. I am pretty on the edge about it, kind of nervous and excited all in one.” she answered honestly. 

Now what. Foster looks at her nervously.

“Ask her out?” Harper suggests.

“I’m gettin’ to that,” Foster tries to keep his response low so Nilin can’t hear. Having to explain he’s trying to ask her out then ask her out he’d die of the embarrassment and humiliation. 

“Look to me you waz goin’ chicken out bwak bwak,” Harper laughs.

“Ssh,” Foster replies.

Foster nervously fidgets with his hands. This is er harder than he anticipated. What would Harper do? No better not, Harper be too forceful. Probably just ask to have sex. His own chest is beginning to tighten right now. You’ve known her for two years, just dig up the courage. 

“You want to,” Foster sticks his hand in his pocket and takes his coupon, “like to go to coffee with me. Buy one get one free. You can have the bought one or the free one. It doesn’t matter price is arbitrary anyway. I can...drive...you to the parade as well.”

“Way to go, less cringe next time tho,” Harper remarks.

“Well, what would you have done?” Foster asked.

Harper laughs.

“Hey pancake tits, you wannah hang,” Harper replies.

“Absolutely not,” Foster retorts. 

Foster looks at Nilin nervously, “Nothing. Internal dispute. That doesn’t need to be voiced.”

She was pretty sure that she didn’t want to know what Harper was saying at the moment by the reactions Foster was having. It was still interesting to watch but the most important part was that Foster was finally able to get to the point of asking her out for coffee. She would have been a lot more surprised if it wasn’t for Voirel’s heads-up which she was glad for. Nilin probably would have had her heart stop or skip a beat if it wasn’t for that fact. She suddenly realized with Foster’s nervous appearance that she hadn’t answered him yet and a bright smile lit on her face. 

“I would love to go for coffee and I won’t say no for the ride either if it means more time with you.”

The response hit him harder than what he was expecting. His heart skipped a beat and for a moment he forgot he was even awake. He wasn’t sure how to respond. 

“Your lady is more smooth than you,” Harper remarks.

Somehow that’s what woke him from his stupor. He’s right though. She has more game than he does. What, how does he respond now? 

“Still got the sunglasses on?” Harper asked.

“Yes,” Foster replies. Oh that sounds like a weird answer in context. Though he understands what Harper is getting at. He closes his eyes. It’s like for a second they aren’t thinking and they can’t feel their heart, or hear their breathe. They can’t hear each other and the world goes dark. When Harper comes around the world is a mess people sound like they are speaking gibberish and silhouettes look blurry. Considering Foster’s embarrassment it’s not a stretch that they could change and her not know they did. His brain begins to wake up. Oh! Ay-up. Fuck that hangover is a killer. Sun is a killer even through the sunglasses. Headache so fucking rich it’s like the Haiti earthquake in his head. Shit christ sunday. 

“A,” crap he’s going to get caught that way, “Ah of course Nilin. Spending time with you is a plus to my morning.”

“I sound nothing like that!” Foster is coming around too it seems. 

Nilin raised an eyebrow at him, a knowing smile tugging at the corner of her lips before stating, “That is so sweet of you to say, Harper.” It was hard to tell when the two switched sometimes but once one was fully in the seat, the brain waves were different. It was like night and day, the switch being dawn or dusk which made things a little fuzzy at first. It was when the two were talking a lot to each other that is made it a little harder too but she always knew. She cared for them both and both made her heart flutter in different ways which was hard to explain to others. 

“That wasn’t me, it was Foster,” Harper retorts quickly, “Just saying it for him. Don’t get so cocky ‘bout yourself now.”

Harper just huffs and walks over to the car, “We’re parked over here to ditch these twats. Just you know Foster and him. Cause I ain’t interested in no flat chested pancake. And don’t think you’re giving Foster any drive Foster cause of your eyes.”

“Don’t say that,” Foster says.

“‘Ey I am driving the seat,” Harper tells him.

“She already knows,” Foster remarks.

Harper sighs. He takes a second. Switching so close in succession of each other kills the head. Foster is now standing near the car.

“So-sorry,” Foster mumbles. 

“I know who is who. You don’t need to state the obvious and I pretty much figured out that it was for him.” Nilin sighed, pouting that he couldn’t take a joke as they headed for the car, her following behind him. She crossed her arms, rolling her eyes a little at the insult while trying not to be hurt but it wasn’t really working and heading to the other side of the car before answering, “Whatever you say, hot shot.” She noticed they were starting to switch, it was the sorry that alerted her this time who was who since she felt hurt and was having a little trouble focusing. “It isn’t you who should be apologizing. Can we go, please?” she asked, just wanting to get to the parade and maybe the coffee shop to lift her spirits a bit. Foster didn’t deserve to have her all mopey on him because Harper decided to be kind of an idiot in her opinion. 

Foster nods quietly, he opens the door for Nilin slightly. Hoping the silent gesture will make her feel better. When he walks from the passenger side he takes the time to chastise Harper, “Don’t behave like a child.”

Harper makes mocking noises, “She can get over it.”

“What if she can’t? Do you think?” Foster huffs.

“Fine I ain’t goin’ help for the rest of the day, stumble in your nervous blunders,” Harper grumbles.

Foster gets into the driver side. This headache isn’t going away. Why couldn’t he behave like an ordinary individual? Why couldn’t he say something nice?

Entering the driver side he tries to remain relatively calm. As if nothing had happened between him and Harper.

“Am really sorry ‘bout that,” Foster tells her.

She smiled lightly at the gesture and slipped inside the car, clicking her seat belt into place. She didn’t want to feel weird about what happened and she didn’t want Foster to feel guilty either which is exactly what it seemed he felt like since he was apologizing again. Nilin placed her hand on his and smiled softly, “Foster, you are not your brother. You have nothing to apologize for and Harper is Harper. It is just the way he is sometimes and I just really wasn’t ready to be bit at this morning. Okay? It is fine, so let’s pretend it didn’t happen and we will all continue to have a great time.”

He begins to start the ignition. Forget about it, huh? He wasn’t so sure he could. Harper might be Harper, and he might be himself. Yet there were parts of their life they shared and parts of that were SYNBAD, parts of it were Nilin, parts of it were their jobs. They had to share those things and he could stop. He didn’t know what he wanted him to do. Stop being selfish. Always doing whatever and saying whatever he pleased on a whim.

“He can’t talk to you like that,” Foster mutters.

“Ay, talkin’ bout me,” Harper remarks.

“Well yes,” Foster scowls, “You said you wouldn’t talk during the rest of this.”

“Don’t behave like I am some abusive boyfriend,” Harper scoffs.

“Then stop saying childish things,” Foster quips.

“She wants to sweep it under the rug, so just do so,” Harper grumbles.

“Just talk to her,” Foster replies.

“Do I have-,” Harper says nothing. Shifting this much back and forth is actually quite hard and makes the hangover headache worse in fact. Harper staring at the parking lot. They wouldn’t dare start driving if they were going to switch. It took him a second to recover from the third shift of the morning. God fuck. Does he have to talk to her?

It isn’t like he doesn’t want her ‘round. Gotta understand that. He just. What if she loves one over the other? What if she says she doesn’t mind or can see them, but then cares for one over the other. He’d prefer if he was just the older brother everyone hated so Foster could have something good. But Foster forced compromise and cohabitation. And was this affection his or Fosters, they share the same body. He’s the one who drank, yet they shared the hangover. 

“It’s me,” Harper says in his normal tone, “I’m suppose to apologize.” he’s pulling out of the parking lot now, “But then it be forced so it be worth nothing. So, worthless apology is worthless apology.”

“It’s you.” Nilin replied and waiting for him to continue what he had to say since Foster was planning on them playing nice or talk out whatever happened instead of taking her advice to just let it be. “Got it. I guess all is forgiven cause you know, worthless apology. Harper, can I ask you something? Why do you always do this?” she asked, frustration clear in her voice as she slumped slightly in her seat.

Could he not answer? He didn’t want to deal with this feeling. He didn’t know how to explain it though it was the closest feeling to butterflies in his stomach. Every time he felt vulnerable or near close to someone he could drink their depths. There was this weird sensation. This anxiety that felt more like it should be a Foster response. A response not for him. He’s the confident the one, the one who is bold. Though he didn’t feel bold in this moment. Foster’s not saying anything, he’s upset with him. 

“Because,” Harper replies with a formality that’s usually not his style, “I am.” he doesn’t want to say it. His natural instinct is to turn tail and run. Just say something she won’t like and she’ll hate you forever. He’ll pass the baton onto Foster and she’ll never want to deal with him again.

“...scared to like you,” Harper mutters so low he wonders if she even got that, stupid. Just tell her something. Tell her you’re kidding. Tell her something now. Back out. Don’t let this happen. Just laugh. Stop yourself before you get too close. 

Nilin felt like her heart was in her throat and was frozen in place as she tried to process if she had even heard. She wanted to say something but honestly, that wasn’t quite the answer she had expected and was just speechless. She knew that her silence would only make it worse but this was Harper, right? It seemed out of character for him but then she was reminded of Gemina and the conversation she had with the other woman that they all viewed as a type of mother. Maybe it wasn’t so out of character after all? She straightened up in her seat and replied, “Oh….um...why would you be scared to like me?” She couldn’t wrap her head around the why of it all. She knew he pushed people away, had seen it in the few years she had known him but she never got it. Now, hearing that he was scared just didn’t seem right. She didn’t like the thought of him being scared ever. 

It didn’t sound like him at all. He knew she knew who he was. He even announced who he was. Shit. How did he abort out of this? He couldn’t. He was trapped. He didn’t want to confront this weird feeling. It felt like he was sliding colliding into a wall, unable to put the breaks on the situation. Shit. Shitsticks. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

“Cause….” Harper hates this feeling, he feels small, and not in control, “...if you like me....and I like you. How...do I…..keep. I don’t know. Honest. I been tis way since I was smol. Foster more likable. He’s quiet. Definitely behaves more like an old man. And I’m loud, and rebelling. Just don’t want ruin things like I ruin them. Thought I have a big revelation. All I know is I am scared. I am scared…..to be close. I’ve never been close like that before. And, how would it affect Foster if I cock it up?”

“I….” Nilin bit her lip, terrified with what she was about to say and swallowed hard as she continued, “I like both of you…..alot….and I know you both. It isn’t like I didn’t know that you push people away, Harper. I know you aren’t perfect, none of us are. I...I am scared too….... What if we can’t make this work? What if I lose you guys? What if one of you decides that I am not the right one? What if I get hurt? I guess my point is, I am sitting right here and willing to see where this goes. I haven’t left, you haven’t been able to cock it up as you stated or ruin anything. Yeah, your comments hurt. I would be lying if I didn’t say it but I am still here.” Nilin couldn’t look at him, her heart racing as she just admitted to them that she liked them and that she wasn’t planning on going anywhere. This was not exactly how she thought a somewhat first date would be going. She at least didn’t say she thought she was falling for them but it was basically saying she wanted more than to just stay friends. 

[hr]

The park had been transformed and if she was being honest with herself, it was like someone mixed comic con with a carnival and she was watching the combination. Streamers decorated the street lamps in a variety of swirling colors and music pour out into the crowds. People were all dressed in different costumes as well as some less bold looks and the vendors were happily selling to customers. The air smelled of rich foods and sweets and the noise of the people held such joy that it was worth coming just to see the happy faces. She didn’t feel like she did much all the time but she did what she could for the people. 

Nilin looked around the car park, spotting Bridget fairly easily as they made their way over to the others. If anything was to be said, at least one of the two leaders would make a speech since that was their go-to though Viorel was more polite when it came to speaking while Angelica took a brash approach. It was about what she expected them to say but at least she could be there with the others to say she understood the ‘rules’. Nilin pulled out her phone from her pocket, making sure it was off vibrate and to check the percentage so anyone could get a hold of her before placing it back in her jacket. They were free to do what they wanted for now and with that she glanced to the red haired man next to her.