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[indent][indent] [color=#ffffff]At first, Rae didn’t even register the shout. She was still staring at the bonfire, eyes half-lidded, trying to absorb some sense of calm from the flames. So when someone’s voice pierced through the music, shouting a nickname she hadn't heard in years, it took her brain a solid two seconds to connect the dots.[/color]

[color=#3b9ae1][i]Lewski?[/i][/color]

[color=#ffffff]Her breath hitched, heart stuttering before kicking into overdrive like a car engine roaring to life. She spun around just in time to see a familiar figure plowing through the crowd with all the elusiveness of a wrecking ball. That slightly messy dark hair, the lopsided grin, the way he moved like he owned every space he entered.  It could[/color][color=#ffffff][i] only[/i][/color][color=#ffffff] be Wes.[/color]

[color=#3b9ae1]“Oh, sh—”[/color]

[color=#ffffff]The rest of her thought vanished as a strong arm scooped her up in a bone-crushing hug that lifted her clean off the ground. Rae let out an undignified squeak, her feet dangling uselessly as her suitcase nearly tumbled from her grip.[/color]

[color=#3b9ae1]“Wes! Jesus!” [/color][color=#ffffff]she gasped between laughter, pounding a fist against his shoulder even as her other arm tightened around his neck without permission. The familiar scent of him flooded her senses, bringing with it a rush of memories: shared lunches, stupid dares, the way he'd always appeared when she least expected but most needed company.[/color]

[color=#ffffff]When her feet finally touched ground again, Rae stumbled, her face burning as she tried to regain her balance and her dignity. She opened her mouth to speak, but Wes beat her to it, ruffling her curls with that infuriating grin that always made her want to both punch him and hug him at the same time. She swatted at his hand automatically, her traitorous cheeks flushing hotter.[/color]

[color=#667c0c]“What the hell are you doing here!?”[/color]

[color=#3b9ae1]“Uh, same question![/color][color=#3b9ae1]I thought you’d be... I dunno, getting arrested in Cancun or…something.” [/color][color=#ffffff]Rae's responding chuckle died in her throat as her eyes caught on something wrong. Her gaze travelled down Wes's frame - same old typical jeans, same fitted tee stretched across broad shoulders - but where there should have been two arms, there was now only one. The right sleeve of his shirt hung empty, pinned up neatly near the shoulder.[/color]

[color=#3b9ae1]“Wait. Wes…?” [/color][color=#ffffff]Her voice came out smaller than she intended. Before she could process this bombshell, however, Wes was already dragging her forward by the wrist with his remaining hand, that calloused grip just as strong as she remembered. [/color]

[color=#667c0c]“You have to meet someone,” [/color][color=#ffffff]he announced, cutting off any questions about the obvious elephant in the room. All the while, Rae’s eyes darted between his face and that missing arm as she struggled to reconcile this new reality with the boy she'd known. How long had it been gone? Why didn't he seem bothered? A hundred questions bubbled up, but before any could escape, she found herself face-to-face with a stunning blonde woman[/color]

[color=#ffffff]….who made Rae's stomach do something complicated because [/color][i][color=#ffffff]woah??[/color][/i]

[color=#ffffff]She was muscular [i]and[/i] gorgeous in a way Rae wasn’t prepared for. Then again… Wes had always been the type to attract a wide range of beautiful girls. Even back in high school, it was like moths to a flame. Cheerleaders, baristas, that one exchange student who barely spoke English, somehow, they all ended up tangled in his orbit. Rae had spent most of tenth grade assuming that meant he’d never look twice at her. Not when she was just the short, scrappy tomboy who fixed vending machines and once built a working trebuchet for extra credit.[/color]

[color=#ffffff]Still. Knowing that didn’t fully prepare her for the gut-punch of seeing this girl standing there now, effortlessly gorgeous and apparently the center of Wes’s universe. She couldn’t even finish wrapping her head around the arm situation, and now she had to process [/color][i][color=#ffffff]this[/color][/i][color=#ffffff]?[/color]

[color=#ffffff]Wes’s grin was unrelenting. The kind that made it hard to tell if he’d just brought home a new puppy or accidentally detonated a small emotional landmine. Either way, Rae forced a smile that she hoped didn’t look like she’d just swallowed a lightbulb and braced herself for whatever bomb he was about to drop next.[/color]

[color=#ffffff]And oh boy, did he deliver.[/color]

[color=#667c0c]“She also had a huge crush on me.” [/color]

[color=#ffffff]Heat exploded across Rae's face so fast her vision momentarily whited out. Her entire body went rigid, every muscle locking up in horrified embarrassment.[/color][color=#3b9ae1] “Oh my god, [i]Wesley[/i],” [/color][color=#ffffff]she hissed through clenched teeth, the words barely audible over the blood roaring in her ears. Her hand flew out instinctively, smacking his remaining arm with just enough force to convey her utter mortification.[/color][color=#3b9ae1] “Did you seriously just—”[/color]

[color=#ffffff]But Wes, being Wes, had already barreled on mentioning something about some kind of allure (whatever the fuck that was), leaving her standing there, cheeks blazing, utterly exposed. Meanwhile, the damage was done as far she could tell. Trinity’s expression was proof enough of that with her tense smile and eyes scanning Rae like she was a problem that didn’t quite check out.[/color]

[color=#ffffff]And suddenly Rae was fifteen again, standing in the school hallway with grease on her sleeve and secondhand shoes  while some girl looked her up and down like Rae had wandered into the wrong ecosystem. Wes’s exes, or hookups more accurately, had always looked at her that way. Like she was some weird pet he kept around for novelty. Too nerdy to be a threat, too plain to matter… until she dared laugh too loud at one of his jokes or get just a little too comfortable at his lunch table. Then the cat claws came out. They never said anything to her face of course because Wes probably wouldn’t have let that slide, but their eyes always spoke volumes. Rae remembered those looks most of all. The one that said [/color][color=#ffffff][i]You? Really?[/i][/color]

[color=#ffffff]College had been different, thankfully. Tons better. She'd found her footing there as the engineering wiz who could fix anything and the quiet girl who aced every exam without trying. She'd even dated a little. There was Mark from Physics 201 who kissed like he was trying to suck her soul out through her teeth. And Jamie, a girl who’d loved horror movies almost as much as she loved leaving hickeys in some pretty creative places. Nothing serious, nothing lasting, but it had been... nice. Normal. Proof she wasn't that awkward scholarship kid anymore.[/color]

[color=#ffffff]But standing here, under Trinity’s stare and Wes’s oblivious grin, she sure felt like her. That girl with big feelings, too many freckles, and no clue what to do with either.[/color]

[color=#ffffff]Still, Rae decided to swallow it all down. Mostly. When Trinity extended a hand, Rae took it with a firm grip, exactly how her mom taught her.[/color]

[color=#3b9ae1]“Hi,”[/color][color=#ffffff] she managed, somewhere between polite and neutral.[/color][color=#3b9ae1] “Rae Kowalewski. And… uh, yeah. I’m here.” [/color][color=#ffffff]Her voice caught slightly on the last word but she pushed through, managing a small, crooked smile.[/color]

[color=#ffffff]To the question about her godly parentage, Rae blinked, not used to being asked questions about her father most of all. [/color]

[color=#3b9ae1]“Oh. Uh. Fire powers. So….Hephaestus?”[/color][color=#ffffff] She shrugged, more casual than confident. [/color][color=#3b9ae1]“He didn’t exactly give me a welcome packet when we met so….”[/color][color=#ffffff] A weak joke, but one she stood by.[/color]

[color=#ffffff]The phys ed comment though….that one stung.[/color]

[color=#ffffff]Rae adjusted her grip on the suitcase still wedged against her side like some sad security blanket. [/color][color=#3b9ae1]“Wes tried once,” [/color][color=#ffffff]she said, forcing a chuckle. [/color][color=#3b9ae1]“Dragged me to a track meet sophomore year. I tripped over my own shoelace and nearly concussed myself with a water bottle. So that was the end of that.” [/color][color=#ffffff]She shrugged again, this time with more conviction. [/color][color=#3b9ae1]“I'm not exactly varsity material, obviously, but I'm pretty good at fixing and making things.”[/color]

[color=#ffffff]Her voice found its footing as she continued, [/color][color=#3b9ae1]“Guess I'm more useful in a workshop than a sparring ring. But hey, we all have our specialties, right?” [/color][color=#ffffff]There was a challenge in those words, a subtle insistence that her worth wasn't going to be measured in athletic ability. She hoped. [/color]

[color=#ffffff]Rae glanced between them, then tucked a loose curl behind her ear. [/color][color=#3b9ae1]“So, uh… who’s your divine sponsor?”[/color][color=#ffffff] She offered the question with a curious tilt of her head, a genuine interest layered over a quiet hope that maybe, just maybe, this whole godly parent thing wouldn’t make her feel like an outlier again.[/color]

[/indent][/indent][hr]Location: Party outskirts
Interactions: Wes ([@Mjolnir]) and Trinity ([@xNocturnax])
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