---

---

---

Destiny stayed still as Vin crouched. She didn’t react—no flinch, no nod—just stared, eyes wide and shining, unsure whether to run or listen.

The words seeped in slowly—"I was you once. Hurt kid. Most people ain’t nice without wantin’ somethin’. Protect the people I’m killin’ for."

Her mind tried to make sense of it all, but nothing fit.

"...I don’t... get it,” she whispered.

The fork fell from her hand with a soft clink; she didn’t try to pick it up.

She looked between Vin, Paloma, and Latoya, as if searching for a trap or a trick.

“You’re saying all this like you care,” she said slowly, cautiously, as if the words were sharp. "But you don’t even know me.”

A shaky breath escaped, and she immediately regretted that they could hear her.

Her voice lowered further.

“People don’t take care of kids like me. They don’t... protect us. They don’t give us food. They don’t... talk to us like this.”

Her gaze dropped to the table, shoulders curling slightly.

“So why are you acting like I matter?”

Not blame-just exhaustion, suspicion, and fear that any of this might be real.

Latoya moved her plate to one hand and crouched slightly next to Vin, leaving space for Destiny but ensuring she could see her clearly. No pressure. No gestures of reaching out. Just being present.

“Hey,” She said gently, “You’re alright. Nobody here’s trying to corner you. You don’t owe anyone anything.”

Destiny’s fingers twitched around the fork.
Paloma was still talking, something about seats and plates and how Destiny “almost ate her.” Destiny heard the words, but her brain was scrambling too fast for them to land correctly. She managed to mumble, barely above a whisper:

“I... wasn’t gonna eat you.”

It didn’t clear anything up. But the real disorientation hit when Destiny’s telepathy, rattled from the earlier surge, scraped against Latoya’s mind. It wasn’t a mind. Or it wasn’t a mind. Or it wasn’t shaped like anything human minds were supposed to be shaped like. It wasn’t blocked. It wasn’t guarded. Destiny just... couldn’t parse it. Like reaching for a doorknob and finding four doors stacked on top of each other. Like hearing an echo with no source. Like stepping on a stair that wasn’t there.

Her breath skipped.

Her thoughts snagged.

She jerked her senses back into herself like someone who’d almost stepped into traffic.

Latoya didn’t notice. She simply tapped her knuckles lightly against Destiny’s forearm; careful, noninvasive, just grounding enough to be real.

“Paloma’s right about one thing,” Latoya said, glancing over at her with a warm, knowing look. “You should eat something. But you don’t have to rush. We’ll go at your pace.”

Destiny swallowed hard.

She had no idea how to process Paloma’s dramatic kindness.

She had even less idea how to process the impossible shape of Latoya’s mind.

She just nodded once — sharp, confused, involuntary — because it was the only thing holding her together.

"...Fine,” she said quietly. “Just... don’t look at me like that. Like I’m something you have to fix.”

She narrowed her eyes at Paloma.

---

---

---

---

Marco had begun to listen to the young child ask why the group was being so kind to them, causing a frown to cross his face. What horrors had such a child faced in their short time? Marco had seen many horrible things befall children. The hospital was filled with such examples. Bone cancer in a five-year-old, measles in another born to idiot parents, and so on. Yet something told him this child in particular had experienced far worse. Suddenly, he felt an impact on his leg, and his attention was pulled downwards. Another child. Marco chuckled as he looked around for the parent it belonged to and quickly noticed no one seemed to be looking for her, at least not yet. This was a crowded location right now, and as one of Gideon's top men, he made it his mission to ensure this kid was back home.

“Hi there,” as he looked towards Vin, trusting that they had this handled, he simply gave them a nod, “What’s your name?”

Suddenly, he heard a feminine voice call out for their daughter, and he caught the mother's eyes as she was apparently having a seizure or something, as she was simply staring at him with her mouth agape. Suddenly, she covered her mouth and Marco looked behind him to see if something strange was going on. Upon not seeing anything, he returned his eyes back to the potential mother.

“Ah ooh ah, ooh-ee. Bah Tio goh buh oo eye.” The child grabbed his leg, and Marco looked down. “Papa?”

Marco looked up at the woman with wide eyes. He scanned every feature he could and realized that she was not one of the many women he had slept with, and thus the child was not his. "Oh, no, Mijita, that ain’t your Papa." Marco hid it well, but a weight had fallen off his shoulder as fast as it appeared. Good. The last thing he needed was the news that he had a kid delivered on Thanksgiving by meeting the kid first. Marco looked down at the child and smiled, he could at least make sure that the kid was happy and healthy. "Well, he ain’t yet."

Marco slowly brought his eyes back up to the woman with his right eyebrow arched, with a small smirk across his face. He looked at her in a bit more detail now. He slowly brought his eyes up to match hers and let them linger just long enough before falling to her lips. They remained there before they slowly rose back to her eyes and a look of realization swept across his face as quickly as a cold winter's wind whipped through the city. She really looked like their sibling, and that was a problem. "I’m Loni. This is my daughter, Luci… She don’t normally mistake people for her Papa. She must’ve seen someone as-" He could never mess around with someone who looked so much like-"handsome as you and thought that gotta be the Papa of the cutest girl in the world. Ain’t that right, Baby?" And he was back in the building. "She knows my type too… You ain’t here with anyone, are you? An attractive man like you shouldn't be alone, and I ain't got anyone but my baby girl till my sibling's off work. Why don't we talk?"

Marco looked over at Vin, raising an eyebrow. While she looked the same as his friend, she was much better with his words. His eyes drifted towards Palmoa, who, by all accounts, did not seem pleased with the sudden change in fortunes. Marco looked back towards Vin with an evil grin on their face. He never really had chances to mess with Vin, and have fun in the same night. Maybe this night, this Thanksgiving, he could do both.

“Doctors,” Marco squinted his eyes at Vin before he opened them up fully as he looked back at Loni, “is your type doctors? If so she has an eye for it! Hi there,” Marco paused as he shifted his eyes down towards Luci, “I am Doctor Marco Romano, pleasure to meet you Luci,” his eyes shifted back towards Loni, “and it’s very nice to meet you, Loni. Why don’t we talk.”

---

So he was a doctor… He really was her type. Smarter, older, incredibly attractive, and clearly into her. That last bit was the most important.

"The pleasure’s all mine, Doctor Marco! Ours. Doctors are my type, ‘specially hot ones like you. " Loni smiled coyly, batting her eyelashes as she quickly bent down to scoop up her daughter. The last thing she wanted was the toddler getting bored and running away again. It gave her a good excuse to step forward, close enough that her chest brushed up against Marco as she swung Luci around to her side, holding her with one arm.

"Oh, you ain’t Marco as in one of Gideon’s best boys Marco too? He said he’d get you to help me get home later- ain’t that a nice coincidence. I guess it’s fate!"

With the daze over Marco’s looks gone for Luci, and him not being her Papa, she was beginning to get grumpy again. Her little face scrunched up and she wriggled against Loni in an attempt to get free to find Vin again. She tilted her upper body backward with a pout, head jerking from side to side. The motion let her see around the blocker that had been Marco- to the crouching Vin who’d disappeared before.

“Mama, Tio! Tio!”

"I know you wanna find Vin, Baby, but they’re- oh!" Loni followed Luci’s desperate tugging, looking around Marco in a way that meant she was leaning her whole body into him. She was shocked to see her twin just a few paces away. So Luciana really had seen them, but had ran into her Mama’s perfect man on the way. A miracle that’d save her from the rapidly encroaching loneliness following her recent breakup.

She definitely wasn’t following the same pattern she always did and falling for the first attractive man that flirted with her.

But it wasn’t the only miracle happening tonight.

Vin was talking to not one, but two women! They’d never been friendly, but after Ali died Loni rarely saw them socialise outside of work and her. So seeing them talk to two people who even seemed friendly with them! The blonde looked close with Vin. Loni knew that look too- Jealousy! She was jealous that Vin was talking to another woman!

There was even a cute child… Oh! What they needed was an adorable kid of their own to help them along. Nothing won over the ladies like that!

It worked out perfectly, really. Luci got what she wanted: her Tio. Loni got what she wanted: a distracted Vin so she could seduce Marco enough Vin couldn’t scare him away. And Vin got what they wanted: their adorable niece and wingwoman!

Perfect.

"Oh, wow, it really is your Tio! You need Mama to go over with you to them, or can you be a big girl? Go show Tio how brave you are?" Loni asked, as if her daughter hadn’t run into a crowd of strangers without any worries moments before. But she was still Luci’s Mama first of all, and if Luci wanted to be with her and Vin, she’d have to go along with her and bid a tragic farewell to the inviting chest in front of her.

But if Luci wanted to toddle over alone, she didn’t need to worry about it. She wouldn’t be out of eyesight the whole time, and Vin was a very capable babysitter! Which meant Loni could fully enjoy said incredibly sexy abs that she kept quite openly and shamelessly stealing glances of.

“Ih gih! Mama, dow!” Luci confidently responded, kicking her legs and patting Loni’s arm urgently. She was getting impatient now that Vin was actually in sight again. She couldn’t lose them again.

"Alright, Mijita, but you gotta go right to Vin. No running off, okay?"

“Mama!” Luci threw her hands up, wriggling in her arm. It was enough of an agreement that Loni put her down, the curly haired toddler immediately running around Marco’s legs and towards the prize: Vin. Loni watched to make sure she really didn’t stray, lips pulling up into a bright smile that she then turned to Marco.

"I’m sure Vin can babysit on the job- I’m assumin’ y’know Vin unless you ain’t the Marco Mr Cross was talkin’ bout, but I hope you are- Uh, she came here to see them! I ain’t just sendin’ my daughter away." Loni haphazardly explained, a hint of nervousness coming through. She didn’t want him to suddenly think she was a bad mother, after all. She knew there was plenty she could’ve done better, but she was trying her best! "It keeps everyone happy."

Her smile turned completely flirtatious again, one hand going to rest on a well toned bicep. Her fingers playfully rubbed it. "Is only fair I tell you my job since y’told me yours, and we’re talkin’. I worked in Sin Sisters- y’know, up in the North, if you’ve heard’ve it. I’m a dancer, so real flexible- stronger than I look too!"

She didn’t seem all that worried telling her prospective man that she worked in a strip club. It had gone wrong plenty of times before, of course- men who thought she wanted their money in exchange for sex, or who were immediately disgusted. But she wasn’t so ashamed of her job she’d hide it like that. She loved it! Even if she knew people’d look down on her for it- but there was plenty to look down on, really. Her struggle with school that led to this life brought her more shame than the job itself.

"It ain’t anywhere near as impressive as what you do. I’m always so impressed by all’ve you smart types, doctors especially. Y’know we gotta lotta doctors in my co- company. My boss, she run’s a lotta clinics too! They’re all women, though. Really smart… You are too, I bet. I’d much rather be treated by you." She was laying it on thick, but it was so genuine. There was clearly no ulterior motive, and this probably was just how she was when she was flirting. At least when she was really trying to capture someone’s interest. But her normal ability to just talk, and the joy with which she did it, still shone through.

---

---

”Oh, she looks at everyone like that. Right nosy ass she is.” Vin waved a hand, perhaps dismissing what Destiny said. Or perhaps gesturing for someone, as one of the guys leaning against the walls in half bouncer stance began to move towards them.

She seemed to agree to eat at least, even if she clearly didn’t understand. Which was fine, Vin wasn’t going to sit there and push that. They would’ve been the exact same at that age. Most of their childhood, honestly. They didn’t even start believing it till recently. Even with someone as kind as Loni in their life- but she was their twin. The care for each other was different.

And Vin themselves was just bitter. They wanted to destroy without much care for anything else, until Gideon took them in under his wing. They still did, really, but they at least knew they had to protect the community they were trying to destroy for. And that they weren’t alone in their goal.

Even if they still weren’t much of a team player.

They could practically feel Marco’s smug grin searing a hole into their back. Bastard was probably patting himself on the back for reforming crazy violent Vin and making sure they didn’t kill any children. Asshole. Why did their sort of friend definitely coworker have to be such a fucking asshole.

”I ain’t gonna keep going on. Just know, that guy there-” They pointed round Marco towards Gideon where he was greeting people at the door. ”His whole shit is makin’ a better life for folks like us. So-”

“What is it, boss?” The guy that Vin had called over- a tall, gangly man with a large afro that only added to his height- interrupted.

”I told you, I ain’t the boss, Riley! Only the boss is the boss!” Vin snapped.

“Ohhh... You’re just so bossy. Sorry, Vin!” Riley replied, smile snarky enough it was clear he’d done it on purpose. “Whad’ya want.”

”Get this kid a plate’ve food.” Vin asked, gesturing to Destiny. They figured if she was this skittish with them surrounding her, she wasn’t going to handle the line well. Plus, it meant he wasn’t left alone with Paloma or the other strange woman. Latoya. They side eyed Paloma, before scowling, and jabbing a thumb towards her. ”Her too, before she complains.”

“On it!” Riley saluted, jogging away before anyone could protest.

”There, now you ain’t gotta go stand in a queue and risk some annoyin’ granny tryna talk to you.” Vin said to Destiny. ”One nuisance is enough, so-”

“Tio! Tio!” A toddler ran around Marco’s overly muscular and wide frame, once again interrupting Vin. Their annoyance this time quickly melted into shock as Luci barreled into them. “Tiiiooooo!”

Vin crouched down to scoop her up into their arms, harsh expression completely softening. It was incredibly different from how they normally looked, that viscous outer wall easily cracked by the adorable little girl they were holding. ”What’re you doing here, Reinita?! Where’s your Mama?”

Luci didn’t immediately answer the question, instead grabbing Vin’s face and lecturing them in a pouty tone. The words were completely nonsensical, and while Vin was pretty good at Luciana language, they had no idea what she was saying here. They could just read the tone to answer.

”Yes, yes, you’re right, sorry.” They nodded, ruffling her curls. ”Now, where’s your Mama?”

Luci paused her rambling to point back towards and past Marco.

As Vin turned, their expression once again darkened upon finally spotting Loni. She was with Marco. She was incredibly close to Marco.

That piece of shit was flirting with their sister!

Vin was immediately pissed. How dare he?! There was no way he didn’t know- it was fucking obvious! Anyone who looked at them both could tell they were twins, no matter how differently they presented themselves. And he was still going for it. Of course he was! He was a serial flirt. Which, Vin didn’t give a fuck about. He could fuck whoever he wanted!

Just not Loni.

It wasn’t just that they didn’t want him sleeping with their sister. In the grand scheme of things, Marco was one of the better guys she’d gone for. But it was more than that. Loni had a pattern too. She fell hard for men who hurt her. Then no matter who did the breaking up, she was left upset and hurt.

Vin didn’t want their view of one of their few friends- reluctant as they were to admit that- tarnished by any bad treatment towards Loni. And not just that!

After the breakup, Loni’s boyfriends always ended up horrendously hurt or mysteriously disappearing. There were two people behind that. Vin themselves, and Moriah Motta. Vin would gladly beat Marco do shit- they’d do it right now- but what if Moriah did? Then there’d be a full scale coven war! They may fucking hate most Northerners, but as far as they went, they had to begrudgingly admit Moriah was fine. She treated Loni well.

No. Absolutely not. No way!

They felt Luci wriggle in their arms, and they forced the clear annoyance off their face so they didn’t worry her. It was still in their eyes as they glared at Marco as if they could kill him, but at least Luci wouldn’t be able to see it. Anything they wanted to say they couldn’t do in front of her. They couldn’t beat him up here either! Not in front of their precious niece, who they wanted to protect from all the violence they’d witnessed- and not in eyesight of Gideon either! Who knew what he’d do if they beat another Hollow member up at this Thanksgiving event.

They’d have to get him outside to beat him up later, before he whisked Loni away to his den of depravity.

With Vin stewing in their rage, Luci started waving her arms at the other three around him. What came out of her mouth wasn’t English, but she was clearly trying to say something, ending it off with a confident- “Ah oo-ee!” before leaning her whole body forward over Vin’s arm as if to greet them.

---

---

Planning a murder was a difficult task. It was made even more difficult for Paloma when every attempt to harden her heart so that she was ready for the dirty work was undone by Destiny melting it. She didn’t want to be the shitty adult that ended up confirming the kid’s suspicions that the world was unkind, uncaring, and a much worse place than it should’ve been. A little bit of sweetness did wonders to cover up the bitter taste of reality, even if it wasn’t always good for–oh thank God, Latoya moved in to comfort the kid.

Back to murder. Paloma’s eyes locked in on the janitor’s closet. Certainly, it was brimming with the materials needed to do some wetwork. Years of scrubbing floors and huffing in fumes had taught her the “do nots” of mixing chemicals; invert that knowledge and she had enough little recipes that she could add a chapter into The Anarchist Cookbook. How fast could chlorine gas neutralize this, this, this Jezebel!? And, ideally, how could it be delivered without annihilating the rest of the Thanksgiving feasters?

”Oh, she looks at everyone like that. Right nosy ass she is,” said Vin.

“Huh?” Fuck, the orphan. Paloma fixed Vin with a chastising look and was almost able to suppress the snicker as she hissed, “Vin! Language.”

Paloma hunched back down so that she was eye level with Destiny.

“Sweetie, I know we just only met, but there isn’t one single thing about you that needs fixing. Well, except for one heaping plate of hot food!”

Or a living parent.

If only they had a necromancer. If only she and Vin hadn’t–Paloma pushed the thought from her head. Thought? Fever dream. That’s what it was. A hunger induced waking fever dream. She was certain that was a real thing as her eyes flicked over towards Marco and the obscured villain. The river wasn’t too far from here. Paloma blinked away the intrusions and clapped her hands together.

“C’mon, girlfriend. Let’s jump in line before someone steals all the marshmallows from the sweet potato casserole or…” Paloma trailed off as her minion summoned a minion of their own to get the girls some food. “Oh, thanks Vin! That’s so thoughtful.” Her eyes narrowed with a teasing suspicion as she turned up her nose. “Hmm^mmmmm…"

Paloma didn’t end up having the chance to hit Vin with the devastating(ly true?) accusation that they were simply trying to keep her close. As the hmm hit a pitch that only dogs could hear, a heatseeking cruise missile of adorableness exploded away from her bad, awful, no good mother and streaked past the cookie workshop. The uncannily cute little one splashed into Vin’s arms, mistaking them for her uncle the same way she’d confused Marco with being her daddy. Paloma’s smile, which couldn’t help but to beam at the sight of such a cutie, cracked as her jaw dropped in a gasp.

No. Nuh-uh. Absolutely not. She knew what was going on. She wasn’t stupid. That was it. That fucking did it. That bitch could steal her man, but Paloma would die before letting some hussy take her minion.

Her face blanking, Paloma signaled to Destiny and Latoya with a finger that she would be right back as she began to march towards Marco. Her advance halted as abruptly as it had begun, Paloma freezing with the same fear of a soldier who’d just heard the click of a landmine from beneath their feet. Only her eyes could move. They glanced at the woman who’d finally come into view from behind Marco’s beefy biceps back towards her minion. She saw the distraction wiggling in their arms, reaching out to confound its next target with its impossible cuteness.

Then she saw the bloodthirsty look in Vin’s eyes. Of course they were already aware. The fear fled from Paloma’s chest as a smug little smirk pulled at the corners of her mouth. She leapt at a sudden impulse instead of waiting for sensibility’s arrival. The Samaritan’s aura that had spread throughout the bar like a funky smell before fading into the background wafted back up to the forefront. Those with an Emotional Field would feel just a slight shift from an almost untraceable source, although they would all be quite aware that some powerful magic had just taken place as the Bystander Effect hit the rest of the Hollow Tap.

In an instance, the loud uproar of a crowded room scraping forks and knives against plates became a few slight murmurs accompanied by a clatter or two as all of the Blind went into a stasis. There was a gross plopping noise as a pile of mashed potatoes fell from a poorly balanced plate and splattered on the ground. A torn off bit of roll that had been tossed in the air bumped impossibly off of the open mouth of a leaned back man. A cookie hurled across the workshop table smacked one kid square in the nose and crumbled in two. The unharmed kid didn’t even blink as the icing slid off of his nose and down his shirt without leaving a trace of evidence on him.

And in that same moment as the crowd, minus a Paranormal few, froze, a snap could be heard as Paloma furrowed her brow, threw out her arm, and leveled a fully automatic finger gun with the banana clip. It looked as if she was pointing at Marco, but she was truly aiming at someone, or rather, something else. It wasn’t a person after all. It was one of those doppelgangers. And it wore Vin’s face. Her voice carried louder than intended as she barked out an order like a vicious chihuahua who had just heard someone at the door.

“Sic ‘em, Tiger!”

---

---

---

The noise persisted. It became thinner. Forks clattered. A plate slipped from someone’s grasp and shattered on the floor. Mashed potatoes hit the ground with a wet splat somewhere behind her. Chairs scraped, then stopped. Voices cut off mid-word, mid-laugh, mid-breath.

Not the room froze.

But the people.

Destiny sensed it instantly, something heavy pressing down on everyone except her. The Blind went slack, frozen like puppets with cut strings, eyes open and unfocused. Gravity persisted. Food continued falling. Sound leaked out in uneven, ugly fragments.

Her pulse accelerated.

Her focus sharpened.

Her gaze drifted (unwillingly) to Latoya.

Nothing.

No tension. No shift. No sudden alertness.

Latoya was exactly the same as a second ago, like the sudden stillness around them was a minor inconvenience. Like this wasn’t something worth reacting to.

That made Destiny’s skin crawl.

Her thoughts stalled, echoing her earlier telepathy misfire. The wrongness of Latoya’s mind, ungraspable not because it was blocked but because it simply wasn’t comprehensible. Looking at her now, Destiny felt the same vertigo.

This wasn’t someone preparing for power.

This was someone used to it.

She quickly looked away, heart pounding.

And then Paloma.

Arm out. Expression set. Completely comfortable amidst the chaos.

Nice. Warm. Funny. And now—decisive. Absolute.

Destiny felt a quietness in her chest.

This was the essence of what she’d meant earlier. The unspoken truth.

Not that kindness was fake.

That it could change.

It could fill a room and then suddenly lock it down without warning. That it didn’t need permission before turning dangerous.

Her shoulders tensed slightly.

She didn’t accuse. Didn’t speak. Didn’t show fear.

She simply stopped seeing Paloma as safe.

And as the Blind remained frozen, their food dripping, gravity indifferent, the world partly frozen, the decision was made in Destiny’s mind, unspoken.

Vin was dangerous but straightforward.

Latoya was beyond her understanding.

And Paloma—

Paloma would never earn her trust again.

---

”Hahh?” Vin’s heated glare moved from Marco as the overly wriggly bundle in their arms got distinctively less wriggly, a familiarly irritating magic scratching across their Emotional Field. Luci was frozen, mid babble with her arms flung up into the air.

Every single Blind in the room was frozen.

Their gaze turned to Paloma, a little confused. Was she helping them? But didn’t she have some stupid crush on Marco? Why the fuck would she freeze the room to let them beat him into a pulp- They really couldn’t deny it with the way she was clicking and pointing at Marco. Vin wasn’t a fan of the way she was ordering them around, but he was the tiniest bit grateful that at least one problem (being violent in front of Luci) was solved.

But just that one. Gideon was still on the door, undoubtedly unaffected and probably easily figuring out where the problem was. It’d be even easier for him to see the commotion!

”This ain’t fuckin’ enough- the boss’s still aware.” They hissed under their breath to Paloma.

But Gideon would’ve already felt the powerful magic that had hit all of them. Vin would probably get in trouble anyway for not preventing it from happening, so why not get a punch or two outta it?

”Hold her for me.” Though reluctant to give her to anyone else, Vin couldn’t exactly punch someone while holding Luci. Paloma did have experience with children, so she probably wouldn’t drop her on her head. That was enough for Vin to hand the frozen toddler over to her, making sure Paloma had her before moving anywhere. As they balled their hands into fists and went to advance, they glanced down at Destiny with a sharp toothed grin. ”Watch and learn, kid.”

Everyone around them freezing only made Loni cling to Marco harder, hugging around his deliciously muscular arm and pressing into him. Her eyes widened, body trembling as fear shot through her. What was going on? W-Was it another one of those things?! Had it come for revenge after she’d helped kill one?!

No, no, it couldn’t be that, because Vin was here, and they’d get rid of it immediately. So it was something else, it was-

Why was Vin’s friend slash crush pointing a finger gun at her like that?! Sic ‘em- what, what?! What was going on?!

Fear was replaced with confusion when there was no horrendous transformation or the appearance of a nasty doppelganger. Just this woman pointing at her. Or at Marco? It was hard to tell with them so close together, but she was fairly certain it was her. But why? Did she think Loni was an eyesore? But- but this was the Southside! If it had been the North she would’ve expected scorn, but not here. Had she overheard Loni saying she worked at Sin Sisters?! Did she have a problem with strippers?! Did she think having a stripper sister made Vin a bad person and wanted them to prove they weren’t by getting rid of her?!

That was a little too ridiculous even for her, Vin would never-

Why were they coming over here! And they looked murderous. They only looked murderous like that when her or Luci were- Oh, the finger point really was at Marco, not her! The blonde was already close enough with Vin for them to talk about her like that? So she knew about Vin’s overprotectiveness? Wow- Wait, not the time to be happy about that!

”Marco, get off my sister, before I fuckin’-”

”Vin, stop!” Loni pulled one arm away from Marco to hold it out in front of her, warding off the rapidly approaching and angry Vin. Though there was no transformation, Loni knew their magic well enough to know they were enhancing their strength. They really meant to start a fight! They were always like this. They didn’t believe that Loni could make her own decisions. It was like by having a night of fun she was making the biggest mistake of her life! She just wanted to enjoy herself, especially since she’d been single for a whole day!

”Get outta the way, Lon.”

"You- You said you wouldn’t do this anymore, Vin! You promised!"

”For guys I don’t know! I ain’t just gonna let him-”

"Let him do somethin’ I want?! I ain’t allowed to flirt with a hot guy just cause y’know him? Marco’s a doctor. They don’t let just anyone be a doctor. And it ain’t like he started on me. I flirted first- And I’m allowed to! You ain’t my boss, you can’t stop me from sleepin’ with someone if I wanna and they wanna. You don’t gotta consent too!"

Vin knew that Loni was too stubborn to listen to any reason… She’d dig her heels in, and they’d just end up arguing until one of them stormed off. It was why she kept flitting from bad man to bad man, even with people like Vin, Moriah and Kiki all trying to dissuade her from it. But Marco could be convinced with their fists.

”What if he hurts you, huh? Then I gotta really hurt him- you thought ‘bout that?”

"That ain’t gonna ha- Vin!"

Not listening to her, Vin reached up to grab Marco by the collar of his irritatingly open shirt. At the same time their knee came up, aiming for his leg rather than his balls out of respect for their friendship.

---

Marco was intoxicated by the presence of Loni. Every subtle flirt made him want to close the gap further. From the way she traced her fingers across the bicep, to the way she prices time and time again that she was a good mother, Marco felt like the world around them disappeared and all there was and would be was the two of them and a kid for good measure. He then felt the world lurch into motion like the beat after a heart flutter. Sound crept in first. A scrape of a chair leg to his left, someone inhaling too sharply to his right, and the sound barrier breaking as Vin’s grip shot towards the front of his shirt. It moved with a ferocious intensity that suggested that Vin wanted to rip their sternum out of their chest.. Then, a moment later, he gritted his teeth as a blow came to land on his leg. He could only think that Vin was much, much stronger than they had any right to, but he was thankful that they only aimed for his muscular, well-toned legs instead of the pillar and stones.

Marco didn’t flinch, instead he allowed a smile to creep across his face. It was neither big nor wide but it was just noticeable enough to be annoying for Vin. His eyes may have started on Loni, but they slowly drifted back to his friend. “Careful,” Marco murmured lightly, eyes flicking down to Vin’s hand and then back up to their face. His voice was as calm as a man commenting on the weather. “You wrinkle this, and I don’t know how presentable I will look.” Marco shifted his head to the side. His body shifted just a fraction. His movements were subtle, coy, and the kind of movement that said he knew exactly how close he was skating across the line and was enjoying the ice all the same.

“Besides,” he added, tone warm and almost teasing, as he leaned in towards Vin, “I was havin’ a nice conversation.”

Suddenly the air changed. It wasn’t magic; it was as if a scowl so cold had appeared somewhere in the crowd that stole all the heat out of the room. Marco felt it before he heard what followed it. A presence that didn’t rush, because it didn’t need to, a shadow that covered the space because it owned the light. Heavy footsteps. Familiar ones. Dad was here. Gideon Cross came through the parting crowd like a man walking into his own living room after someone broke a glass table. Each step was slow, deliberate, and his eyes sized up the sight before him. His eyes shot over to Paloma first.

“If you are the one causing my guests to be frozen I ask that you keep them frozen until I am done talking, and so help me god if you don’t unfreeze them as quickly as you started we will be having more than choice words. You do not want to mess this up, girl. Marco Romano,” Gideon’s voice boomed, thick with his gravel and filled with disappointment as his yes shot over, “what the fuck are you doin’?”

Marco sighed, straightening his spine a little, hands lifting just enough to signal peace without surrender. His palms were on level with his head and facing outward. “Hearts and minds, boss, beautiful hearts and minds.”

Gideon didn’t look at Loni. Didn’t look at the kid. Didn’t even really look at Marco at first. His eyes were on Vin, sharp and assessing, cataloging damage done and damage barely avoided. A sharp exhale escaped his lips. From the looks of things Vin was mad, yes, but they were controlled. Then they snapped back to Marco, and when he spoke again, it was quieter. Worse. “You forget somethin’, or you just pretendin’ to be stupid real hard tonight?”

Marco tilted his head, faux-thoughtful. “Is it a crime to talk with a stunning woman?”

Gideon stepped in close enough that Marco could smell the espresso and fine wine that permeated off his clothes and breath. One thick finger jabbed into Marco’s chest, hard and deliberate. “That right there,” Gideon said, tapping him again, “that’s my best soldier. That’s my people. That’s someone who’s bled for this place more times than you’ve talked to stunnin’ women. That’s someone who took on that fucking freak practically single-handedly. Do you really want to piss that certain someone off,” his hand dropped, then gestured sharply toward Vin before it returned to Marco and his finger poked into his chest once more. “And that,” he continued, voice rising just a notch, “is also your friend. So if you’re thinkin’ with anything other than your brain right now, you better recalibrate real fuckin’ fast or ill help you recalibrate with some fucking concussive therapy. Do you hear me?”

Marco’s smile softened. “I hear ya.”

Gideon narrowed his eyes. “Do ya?”

“Yeah,” Marco said, glancing briefly at Vin, then back to Gideon. “Besides, I don’t know about you, but I reckon I wouldn’t have a fighting chance against them if I truly pissed them off. I’d rather not see a ‘me’ shaped hole in that wall over there.”

A beat. Then Gideon huffed a laugh. The laugh quickly bellowed in intensity before it was a full on belly laugh. “Jesus Christ, these fucking idiots of mine. Which fucking spirits did I piss off in my life to end up like this,” he muttered, rubbing his temple. Then Gideon clapped his hands together and brought them close to his face. Using the two hands together, he pointed to Vin, then Loni, and then finally Marco. “Alright. Fun’s over. You got fifteen minutes.”

Marco blinked. “Boss, are we talking all of us? I think that-”

Gideon leaned in, voice low enough that it carried weight without needing volume. “You, me, and both of them,” he said, jerking his chin toward Vin, “are leavin’ in half an hour. We’re headin’ to the mountain. Business we talked about. We’re gonna drop the mother and child off on the way and head there together.”. He straightened back up, already mentally elsewhere. “So enjoy your flirtin’ with anyone but their fucking sister, enjoy the turkey, enjoy not bein’ punched through a wall,” Gideon added, pointing at Marco one last time. “But when I say we move, we move. And when I say you ease off, you ease off. Clear?”

Marco’s grin returned, bright and unapologetic. His eyes shifted towards Vin once again and they softened back to their normal appearance. While he had fun messing with Vin, and flirting with their hot sister, keeping this friendship was important, and he hoped his eyes communicated as much. “All clear, boss.”

Gideon shook his head and turned away, muttering something that definitely wasn’t a blessing. “Now, girl, unfreeze my guests.”

Marco watched him go, then glanced back toward Vin, eyebrows lifting just slightly. “Alright,” he said lightly. “Vin, grab whatever we’d need for our trip. I’ll get someone to grab a truck and pull around. We’ll get it nice and warm so that our guests will be comfortable.” His eyes flicked, just for a second, back toward Loni. Still flirty, still dangerous, still very much enjoying himself; yet a second later they removed themself from Loni’s face and they would not return for a long while more.

---

---

---

Oh.

Um.

Whoopsie?

To say that Paloma immediately realized her mistake gave her too much credit. It took getting hit by a couple of waves first before she completely allowed clarity to wash over her. The first sign that she’d beefed it came when Vin’s first instinct wasn’t to pounce but rather to pass off a frozen toddler. The fact that the toddler was in stasis served as a second sign–it’d still be wiggling and oh-ee-ahing if it had just been an extremely stout doppelganger. However, it was only when Vin started hollering at Marco that the third and final piece of the Fisher-Price puzzle clicked into place.

Sister. As in Vin’s sister. As in Vin’s twin sister.

Paloma felt herself go flush. This wasn’t her fault! Vin had said they had a sister, but they had never said it was a twin sister. That’s something a person should mention. Paloma was pretty sure twins were obligated to tell everyone that they ever met that they had a twin to avoid things like this happening. That was especially true when there was a doppelganger epidemic! Shit, this was so awkward. Shit, she had just abused the Samaritan’s power in public. Shit, Gideon was here, wasn’t he?

Think quick, Paloma, think quick. No way they could pin this back on her, especially if she pretended to be caught in the Bystander Effect too! She froze. Well, kind of. Her rapidly blinking eyes darted around the room, realizing that the others would’ve already seen her move when she had taken Luciana. Okay, new plan. She was a dungeon master, after all. She was a pro at making plans that didn't pan out and improvising from there.

“Oh, er, wow. How, uh, did…how did this happen?” said Paloma with a stilted delivery. She looked down at Destiny and Latoya. “Ha. Ha. Did you…do this? Wow, that’s–that is–this is…so. Crazy. Ohmigosh,neverseenanything. Likethis. Before? Oh, excuse me, I should return this kid.”

Nailed it. Super believable. Super genuine. And those bitches back in the drama club had always insisted that she work stage crew. Paloma bolted away from them and made a beeline straight towards Loni. Certainly, she just wanted to reunite mother with daughter and definitely had no intentions of clam jamming–“You can’t stop me from sleepin’ with someone if I wanna and they wanna."–OH MY FUCKING GOD! Vin, teach this motherfucker that family’s off limits.

Paloma moved to run distraction, quietly praying that Vin wouldn’t completely cripple Marco.

“Hiii, hiiiiiiiii,” squeaked Paloma, hand held out for a shake while the other one balanced Luciana against her shoulder. “You must be Vin’s sister. Vin just never stops talking about you. Honestly, it makes me almost crazy with jealousy, I mean, it’s just so nice.”

Except they forgot to mention one VERY IMPORTANT FUCKING DETAIL!

“Y’know, we’re actually neighbors. It’s so weird that we never met. Love your outfit, by the way. Pink is my favorite color,” said Paloma, shifting Luciana’s dead weight with a groan as the words flooded out of her mouth. “She’s perfectly fine, by the way. Gosh, the way kids grow up so fast you kind of wish they could stay like this forever, y’know? Just kidding, I’m sure whoever did this had no ill intent and will fix it like-eek!”

Paloma froze again as Gideon called her out, her grip tightening on Luciana. Suddenly she felt like she wasn’t much older than the statue in her arms as Gideon scolded her like a child. It was only as he turned his attention to Vin and Marco did she thaw ever so slightly. In fact, she was starting to run hot. Girl? He had called her girl? She was damn near thirty years old. Nobody had the right to call her girl, especially not some geriatric, limp-dicked, trickle-down economics boomer who forced everybody to kiss his fucking ring just so that they wouldn’t go hungry on Thanksgiving. If Loni wasn’t completely distracted by the woman suddenly holding her child hostage, she might catch the string of incredibly colorful expletives Paloma bravely mouthed behind Gideon’s back.

“So enjoy your flirtin’ with anyone but their fucking sister…”

On second thought, Gideon was okay. Just as long as he didn’t…

““Now, girl, unfreeze my guests.”

…girl her again.

The crowd reanimated. A half a dozen heads or so, unnoticed in the crowd, turned toward Paloma. A few chairs scouted out. A couple of men stood up. And then, as an adorable ball of energy began squirming and Paloma’s thoughts turned towards the actual girl in her arms, they all went back to normal. The atmosphere became lively again as chatter and laughter filled the air. People argued about football and complained that the free turkey was a bit dry. A few people grumbled about having lost their fork. Children began slaving away once more at ruining what had once been delicious baked goods, overloading the gingerbread turkeys with icing and sprinkles.

Paloma smiled down at Luciana, bopping up and down with her and forgetting for now just how good Gideon’s head would look in a basket.

“Hi, Luciana. Oh, wow, you’re just too precious. Look, there’s mama. Say hi mama. Hiiiiii mama,” said Paloma, finally handing the abductee back to Loni. “I’m Paloma. It’s so nice to finally meet you.”

Now how soon was too soon to ask about somebody’s dead baby daddy?

---

Vin hadn't gone all in on Marco out of respect for their friendship, and not wanting to beat someone within an inch of their life in front of Loni. But he was really fucking pushing it. The insufferable bastard was acting like this was all a joke. Piece of shit acting all coy and teasing them- Fuck! They couldn't stand it. They wanted to wipe that smug fucking grin off his face. They should just throw him into the fucking wall- No, they should rip off his dick so he couldn't even think about using it again-

“Marco Romano, what the fuck are you doin’?”

Luckily for Marco, Gideon appeared just in time for Vin to temper their rage and not end his entire future bloodline. It wasn't fear of Gideon that stopped them. They'd gotten enough concussive therapy from him to know they could handle more for throwing another Hollow member through the wall... But Gideon wasn't pissed at them. He was pissed at Marco. It was vindicating, and stopped them acting on overly violent impulses they didn't really want to see through in front of Loni.

Though Paloma had moved in to distract her, so maybe they could’ve gotten away with it.

They kept glaring silently at Marco as Gideon talked, nodding here and there without backing down. Strong hands still gripped onto their friend’s shirt, ready to go in for another blow before Gideon got in there with his famous concussive therapy. But of course, the boss talked some sense into Marco.

”Dunno, boss, you ain’t got any spirits hauntin’ you.” Vin said as Gideon lumped them in with Marco as a fucking idiot, deadpan in a way that was signature of them making a joke. ”Fifteen minutes. Got it.”

Although Gideon was already turning away to order Paloma to unfreeze everyone.

Maybe Vin should feel a little bad she got shit for it, but they hadn't asked her to do that. They were hardly responsible for another adult. Why were they even feeling they should feel anything at all?! She'd fucking latched onto them! If they should be feeling anything, it was disappointment that Gideon wasn't going to kick her out or have her silently killed. Yes. That would've been better.

”Fuck off, don't tell me what to do.” Vin grumbled at Marco, finally letting go of his collar and taking a step back. They had no idea what the business up in the mountain was, but they could only assume it was something dangerous if they were getting dragged along. It looked like they wouldn’t be going to Sin Sisters’ with Loni later after all… Fuck, their proper family Thanksgiving! This was all Marco’s fault.

”Keep your eyes to yourself, asshole.” Vin added, foot flicking out to kick Marco in the ankle hard even as he stopped ogling Loni. ”I dunno what this mountain business is, but I ain’t happy you got me dragged into it! Fuck, you ain’t the one I wanna spend Thanksgiving with- Whatever! Get the truck, I’ll talk to Lon and grab my shit.”

---

Loni's eyes were wide and panicked, trying to figure out if she could muster up enough magic to stop Vin from ruining a very handsome face. But Vin would always beat her in a fight, because her magic wasn’t made for fighting. What could she even do? Maybe if she gripped onto Marco’s amazingly muscular arm more, it would help him feel at ease, even though he seemed completely unbothered that Vin was probably planning to destroy all his best features.

“Hiii, hiiiiiiiii.”

Huh? Loni’s head immediately swiveled to Paloma, eyes going wide. She wasn't so worried about her daughter being in the arms of a stranger- not because she was some bad mother, just that she knew Vin would never hand Luciana over to someone they didn't trust. Not even in a fit of rage! But her darling baby girl was frozen! Like a statue, was she going to be stuck like this?!

No, no, this lovely lady said it would be fixed! Loni was sure she was right– Why had Gideon Cross come over?!

Loni was thrown right back into full on panic mode, back going straight even as her body trembled slightly. Was he going to kill Marco? Was he going to kill her? Was he going to kill all of them?! Was flirting not allowed in the Hollow?! Had she made the worst decision of her life, and she’d made a lot of bad decisions, by–

He wasn’t killing anyone. It was fine. He’d defused the situation. As Vin finally let go of Marco’s collar, Loni could fully relax. She caught his last look, lips curving up into a coy smile as she flirtatiously pushed her hair back behind her ear. So there was still a chance.

Her attention turned back to Paloma with a wide smile and a bounce in her step. She started to turn the name over in her head, trying to figure out if she'd heard it before. Paloma, Paloma... Vin hadn't mentioned a Paloma. But clearly Vin knew Paloma. Was very friendly with, even!

Oh. Ohhhhh. It was obvious! Paloma went crazy with jealousy over Vin talking about their sister so much… Of course. Awwwww, that was so cute!

Now, why was Vin getting so upset about Loni's business when their girlfriend was right there?!

"Oh-ah!" Luciana’s shout interrupted Loni’s thoughts as she flung her hands up at Paloma, seemingly completely unphased by being unfrozen in a completely different person's arms than she'd last remembered being in. She babbled some complete nonsense as her attention was turned to her Mama. She giggled, leaning her whole upper body out of Paloma's arms and waving her arms towards Loni. "Eyyyeee Mammmaaaa!"

"Heyyy baby!" Loni laughed, reaching out to take Luciana from Paloma. She absolutely smothered her face in kisses, eliciting even louder giggling from the toddler.

"Nice to meetcha, Paloma! I'm Loni!" Loni said cheerfully, not caring that Paloma probably already knew her name if Vin talked about her so much. She completely skipped the handshake, shifting Luciana onto one hip so she could move in for a one armed hug. After all, a friend of Vin's was a friend of hers! And she was generally quite a tactile person. "Vin didn't tell me they was seein' someone! They're so secretive 'bout-"

”"I ain't seein' no one. 'Specially not her." Vin interrupted her, inserting themselves into the conversation. They were done with Marco anyway.

Loni’s eyes widened, before her expression softened into a gooey look that screamed awwww. So they were still in the getting to know each other stage. How cute! Vin always was slower than Loni with these kinds of things. They didn't really sleep with people they weren't dating, and they were so independent they hardly rushed into relationships.

"Don't be rude, Vin!"

Vin didn’t even bother responding to that. "Did y’hear what the boss said? Fifteen minutes, then we’re droppin’ you off."

"You ain't gotta do that... I ain't going home, I'm going back to work, and it's real hard to get over the bridge nowadays! I wouldn't wanna put you all in... Danger?" Loni glanced at Vin hesitantly, then towards where Gideon had disappeared. She was fairly certain Gideon Cross couldn't just stride over to the North, right? And Vin definitely couldn't openly. They only got over there by stealing Loni's work idea, or swimming across the river in their tiger form! "Cause, y'know, I work in the North! Sin Sisters... I’m always available for ‘friends’ if they visit."

She looked back at Marco with a suggestive smile.

Vin rolled their eyes, but they weren't so worried about their asshole friend getting with their sister right now. Not after Gideon had stepped in. "Well I ain't lettin' you walk back yourself. Not with all the shit that’s happened."

"Oh, I won't! I'll text Kiki- or Mo, if she don't respond!"

”Fine. Just don’t go sayin’ stupid shit to each other. I gotta deal with other shit.” Vin narrowed their eyes at Loni, then Paloma, silently telling her not to share the whole necromancer murder thing. But they also knew that they couldn’t stop either of these women from saying shit they didn’t want to. Whatever… They’d just fucking live with it.

As Vin grumbled and shuffled away towards Destiny, Loni leaned in closer to Paloma.

"Don't worry, Vin's just shy about these things!" Loni whispered, as if she was passing on some crazy secret information.

"Eye!" Luci agreed, along with some nonsensical babbling.

Smiling brightly, Loni pulled back a bit, while still being closer than most people would find comfortable.

"Pink’s the best colour, so you’re so right to have it as your fave! Some people said I gotta grow outta it cause it's childish, and red's much sexier, but I get as many clients as the girls wearing red- more, sometimes!" She rambled, bright and friendly as she responded to everything Paloma had said in her earlier distraction attempt. For Loni, it just felt natural- she wasn’t so scatter brained she’d forgotten it, but she was ditzy enough to jump right back to it.

"I can’t believe we’re neighbours! That’s so exciting! Is that how you met Vin? That's so cute. You probably ain't seen me cause've my work hours... I work a lotta evenin' shifts, so I ain't home till well past midnight. And I'm stayin' at work right now cause've the-" Loni cut herself off before mentioning the freaky doppelganger that had almost killed her a few days ago. Paloma seemed to know about magic since she was unphased by the freezing, and maybe had something to do with it unless Gideon had pinned the blame on the easiest target- But that didn't mean she knew about the horrible face stealers about town! Loni didn't want to freak someone else out. She was freaking out enough as it was. "Childcare! Vin's real busy recently, and my boss loves my baby girl. I mean it's impossible not to- But Momo really loves her. So does my best friend Kiki, who's Momo's sister and works with me. If I stay at work one of em's always around to watch Lu- So it's no wonder you ain't seen me, if you're only gettin' to know Vin recently."

The explanation was unnecessarily long, but it probably would've been just as long if she'd given the real reason. Loni's babbling was punctuated by Luci's, which only made the actual English spoken by the adult of the two hard to follow.

The toddler ended with a resounding, "Ahn Mo!"

"That's right, Mijita, your aunt Mo loves you a lot." Loni started tickling Luci, squeals of joy getting louder. "Anyway! It's so nice to meet you. Vin ain't got many friends, and most've 'em are real rough types! Cause they're so prickly... But they're really soft on the inside! They gotta real soft spot for cuteness too. Like–"

She nodded towards where Vin was talking to Destiny.

"If you wanna get closer, I can help." Loni waggled her eyebrows, glancing at Vin and then back to Paloma with a bright smile. "Nobody knows Vin better than me! They're real stingy 'bout sharin' things, but I ain't! You can ask me anything. What do you wanna know?! I love sharing! Oh- oh, especially embarrassing childhood stories! Course we're the same age so I don't remember everything but I- Oh, wanna see some pictures of them when they were younger?! Vin used to be so cute."

Not even waiting for a response, Loni slipped a hand into her bag, which was a little difficult with a wriggling toddler in her other arm. But she managed, unlocking her phone with one hand.

Oh! She should text Kiki first! She quickly sent her location, before typing out an explanation text.

Mt me here whn 3 xoxo

Then she started scrolling through her pictures to find the most adorable baby photo of Vin she could.

Luci leaned forward in her Mama’s arms, hands waggling towards Paloma. She was only distracted by the bright colours on the screen for a moment, after all, before wanting more entertainment. “Ah-bah! Pah duh ipe uhn down!”

It was mostly nonsense, but it was clear she wanted to do something that wasn’t just wriggling in Loni’s arms.

---

Grumbling under their breath about annoying people, Vin moved back towards Destiny and Latoya. They didn’t particularly care about the adult woman, but they had unfinished business with the child. If they were going to be leaving soon, they needed to sort out the whole fighting lessons thing. And a few other things… It wouldn’t be good if their new prodigy got bumped off in the streets before they strengthened her up.

”Sorry ‘bout that shit- woulda been a good fuckin’ fight if the boss hadn’t stop it.” Vin said directly to Destiny, quickly moving onto the point. ”I bet you don’t gotta phone, so I ain’t gonna bother givin’ you my number. If you’re serious ‘bout learning to fight, come here tomorrow. And if you get into any real bad trouble… Gimme a nudge.”

They tapped their head. They knew Destiny had some kind of mental magic, after all, after she’d blasted them with her grief. Whether it was powerful enough to be used at a distance they didn’t know, but what else could they offer?

”Before you go stressin’ ‘bout why some adult’d care enough to help you out if you’re in danger- it ain’t some selfless thing. Nothin’s as fun as a good fight.” They grinned, a wild, almost bloodthirsty thing. ”And I ain’t allowed to just go ‘round beatin’ people up. So you’d be doin’ me a favour.”

---

---

Paloma let out a little delighted squeal as Loni bumped the handshake to move in for a hug, throwing both arms around Vin’s sister and giving her a little shake. It was nice that Vin and Marco had firmly drawn the boundary line, because Paloma would’ve hated to have to hate her. She pulled back as Vin and Loni started bickering, her face jumping in shock as Loni suggested that Paloma and Vin were together before settling down into a coy little smile. Oh, she was definitely not going to help correct that assumption. Way too much fun to be had with that one. Paloma made a note to ask about what a Syn-sisters was—a music store? She didn’t do much shopping in the North, even if she worked there too.

Wait, they both worked in the North and they both liked pushing Vin’s buttons? Oh, they just had so much in common! Did Loni have a car? Paloma hoped that Loni had a car. Maybe, what was it called, Synthsisters was a nightclub and Loni worked late like her. That’d be perfect. Paloma would love to avoid public transportation. The bus always smelled like the bedpans she had to clean.

Wait, what were Vin and Marco doing in fifteen minutes? Before she could stick her nose in business that wasn’t her own, Paloma was intercepted by Loni.

"Don't worry, Vin's just shy about these things!"

“Oh, I know!” Paloma whispered loudly back, putting a hand on Loni’s shoulder as if she was in need of support. “Even when we walk home together, Vin’s always rushing forward, acting like we don’t know each other. It’s so adorable.”

Paloma aggressively nodded along as Loni explained the virtues of pink, so happy that they were getting back to the important matter at hand. Work long enough in a hospital and red stops being sexy fast. So Synthsisters was a store after all. Damn, probably no carpool then. Still, it made sense that Loni got more clients than the redshirts selling synthesizers, something about her was immediately charming. Maybe it was because she looked like Vi—nah, it had to be something else. Either way, if she’d asked, Paloma would definitely pay the extra hundred dollars to put her new Casio keyboard under that needless extended warranty.

“...I work alotta evenin’ shifts, so I ain’t home till well past midnight…”

Yes, carpool!

“...and I’m stayin’ at work right now cause’ve the—”

No, stinky bus. Shit!

Oh, wait, these were a lot of names Loni was throwing at Paloma. Kiki? Momo? Sisters? Okay, they’re the Synth Sisters, got it. Paloma just smiled and nodded. She couldn’t get a word in at all. Paloma lacked the self-awareness to realize that she talked almost exactly the same way. Sure, some of the hospital patients enjoyed her chattiness in the same way a person enjoys falling asleep to white noise or a television show, but some had definitely been held in a hostage situation forced to listen to her explain the different kinds of dragons. Even if Paloma knew she was like this, it wouldn’t matter. She thought it was nice that Loni could carry the conversation entirely by herself.

“...Nobody knows Vin better than me. They’re real stingy ‘bout sharin’ things, but I ain’t…”

Paloma’s eyes widened and glistened as if Loni had just shown her the Holy Grail. A full, no holds barred, tell-all about Vin? How could she say no? How could she resist? She needed everything. Time, date, and place of birth just so she could see how compatible her minion was with their supreme leader. Favorite meal. Favorite sweet. Favorite color. Were they, perhaps, an actual psycho killer and if Paloma didn’t have a ghost keeping them away would Vin tie her to a chair, torture her, and kill her so they could make a cute skin suit? Should she be considering a name change and a cross country move to avoid any kind of repercussions? Oh, and yes, absolutely, all the embarrassing stories and baby photos.

“Ohmigosh, yes. Here, may I?” Paloma offered to hold Luciana to make life easier for Loni, ready to bounce the ever loving shit out of that cutie. “Kids are so great. If you ever need somebody else to watch her, just give me a shout. I work in a hospital up North," she added, casually, testing the waters for that offer to get a lift. " But if I’m not working I'm always at home with nothing to do…” No, no, don’t sound like a loser in front of Vin’s sis. Paloma forced a bigger smile. “...that can’t be put off, y’know, if your coworkers are ever too busy.”

Speaking of putting things off, didn’t she have an actual reason to be here today? What was that again? Eh, probably not important. As she bopped, either with or without the toddler, she leaned in closer to the phone, her eyes growing wide. Oh, no, she just couldn’t handle it. She exploded, but not before carefully cupping Luciana’s ears to protect her from hearing loss.

“What happened?” she asked Loni with a giggle before pointing at the phone and squealing across the bar at Vin. “No way! Is that Stripes? I had the same Beanie Baby!” Paloma fanned her face as she turned back to Loni. “Wow. This really must be fate. Let me give you my number. I need you to send those to me. It's definitely gonna be Vin's contact photo. The one I currently got is just not it.”

As if to prove her point, Paloma flashed Loni an image that was mostly just a hand blocking a camera, a turned head, and parts of an embarrassing sailor outfit.

---

Loni easily handed over Luciana, the little girl babbling just as happy as she was bounced. She waved her arms in the air with a giggle of delight and Loni grinned brightly. It may make her come across as being a bad mother that just trusted a stranger with her child, but that absolutely wasn’t the case! Normally she wouldn’t just hand Luci over to anyone- the doppelganger situation aside. But Vin knew Paloma… And not just that, they’d walked away and left Loni alone with her! If it was someone dangerous Vin would be there growling and chasing her away.

Plus, Paloma was so friendly! Loni felt an immediate connection with her… Which was nice, because it was so rare for her and Vin to get on with the same people! Though really, Vin should get on with Momo as much as Loni did…

Vin wasn’t so happy to hear Paloma’s shout about how cute they’d been, turning away from Destiny to shoot her a withering glare. Letting those two talk had been a mistake… But it was better than letting Marco keep flirting with their sister. At least Paloma was so into him she wouldn’t let Loni turn back around and start flirting. ”I was never cute.”

Loni giggled at their denial followed by showing the two women their back. She was so sure she could see a bit of a blush on their cheeks! Aw… They were so in denial about their feelings.

"Of course, you can just put your number in and I’ll text ya!" Loni said brightly, switching from the adorable photo of toddler Vin possessively gripping Stripes to their contacts. She added a new one and handed her phone over to Paloma to fill in. "Y’know, Vin still has it- the Beanie Baby! They say it’s cause toys are expensive and they just knew I’d have a kid sometime, but I don’t believe ‘em… I think it’s cause they couldn’t bear to part with Stripes! Y’know, bet that’s where they got the tiger inspiration from too."

Loni waggled her eyebrows with a laugh, taking her phone back once Paloma had entered her number. She quickly sent her the picture and a couple more recent ones of Vin she had- mostly with Luci, since that was the only time Vin let her take photos. Then a text saying ‘it’s Loni!’ just in case.

"You definitely gotta use one of these for them… You can barely see who it is there! Could be anyone- oh, who’s wearing that cute outfit in the back? It’s kinda like a sailor outfit." Loni babbled, with Luci adding her own nonsensical words to it. She leaned forward in Paloma’s arms, hands reaching out towards her Mama. Loni obliged and moved towards her, expecting she wanted taken back… Only to find her daughter wanted to grab and tug at her hair. Well, better than ripping out Paloma’s, she guessed. "Oh, also, feel free to text me anytime! Any friend of Vin’s is a friend of mine… Don’t gotta be cause I need babysittin’, cause that’d be no fun. Oh, you said you worked at a hospital, which one?! I assume one of the big ones… Uh, there’s the general and the kids one, right? Or was there also some super posh one too…"

---

---

“Ohmigosh, you’re so absolutely right,” said Paloma in regards to Vin being inspired by Stripes the Beanie Baby. She happily punched in her number into Loni’s phone, incredibly thankful that she had been able to score a pair of touchscreen gloves the last time she had gone thrifting. It’d be impossible trying to peel one off while also juggling a toddler. “And here I was thinking that their source of inspiration had been the Frosted Flakes mascot.”

One corner of Paloma’s lip curled up when Loni pointed out the sailor outfit. Oh, did she have the juiciest little revelation for Loni regarding the man who had caught her eye. Paloma winced as she bit down on her tongue. No no no, if she was Vin she would’ve immediately told her sister that some hot guy she worked with transformed people into Sailor Scouts. Like, immediately. She’d offer up video evidence, too. This was probably one of those keep hush-hush things done as a professional courtesy to not piss off the Hollow’s house doctor.

Still, it was just so juicy—opp! Paloma immediately forgot her internal debate as Luci latched on to Loni’s hair. Without even thinking about it, the child was discreetly hit with a bit of that Good Influence as Paloma cooed in an almost unintelligible babytalk, “Oh, no, sweetie. Don’t pull on mommy’s hair. It looks so nice, we wouldn’t want to mess it up would we? No we wouldn’t. No we wouldn’t.”

Miraculously, and without protest, Luci let go as Paloma kept bopping up and down with her. See, she was fucking great with kids! Until this time tomorrow Loni wouldn’t have to worry about her little terror messing up her hairdo. A huge relief, surely, if it didn’t mean that Luci would now just grab for other things now that the hair was a no go—a finger up the nose, a thumb in the eye, a sticky hand in the mouth. Ick! If Paloma had given it any consideration whatsoever, she would’ve instead just told the kid to stop being such a dick.

But of course she was considering none of that, because she had just been hit with the best news ever: she had made a friend. Like, an actual, real friend. Vin didn’t count, because Vin was a minion, and Marco didn’t count, because no way in hell was she about to lock herself in the friendzone, and all the others were dead, so in a way Loni was her one and only friend. That was so…sad, actually. No. No! It wasn’t sad, it was just difficult to make new friends as an adult, especially when it was impossible to tell with a normal person if they would’ve liked her anyway or if it was just the Samaritan doing its thing.

Paloma would not fuck this up. Her and Loni would be friends. They’d be best friends. And to be best friends, the first rule was to stop using magic on their kid without Loni’s consent, and honestly, if Loni asked her Paloma would totally freeze that little bitch so they could have some kid free time and Luci could stop distracting mommy from her besties and, okay, time for a second rule. Rule number two was to NOT be jealous of Loni’s kid because being jealous of a two-year-old was a really bad look. She’d just have to accept that Luci’s needs very (slightly) outranked Paloma’s needs. Finally, rule three was that besties do not clam jam, but rule four also said that they don’t keep secrets so…

“I work at GSN. Good Samaritan North. It’s extremely posh. Even the visitors have to pass a credit check to enter. Just kidding,” said Paloma. It wasn’t really that posh, the real rich folk went to Cloverfield Campus Main to get cutting edge treatment, but it was still fancy enough to not take accept the insurance given out to its non-medical employees like her.

“Oh, I just clean the wards,” added Paloma quickly with a harmless little laugh, assuming Loni, like her, got intimidated by people with “real” jobs. Her grin turned impish. “I’m not a nurse or a doctor or anything…like Marco. He’s a doctor over at the Children’s Hospital. Oh, but I’m sure he already told you that.” Doctors, like pilots, always found a way to mention their career as soon as possible. “But did you know that…”

Paloma handed Luciana back to Loni so that she could retrieve her phone. She tried to hide her glee at seeing that Loni had actually texted her and that this was so happening. Paloma pulled up the contact photo for Vin, tapped her finger at the pleated skirt that was largely obscured by Vin’s palm, and held a hand up to her mouth so that she could whisper the revelation to Loni without being outed as a snitch.

“...cute sailor outfit is being worn by none other than Dr. Marco? I know! I was shocked too when I saw him dressed up like a japanese schoolgirl but honestly with those legs? Yowza. He pulled it off. Wait, do you think that Marco chose to transform into that outfit like Vin chose to be a tiger? I mean he does LARP so I guess he already likes to wear costumes. Oh!” Paloma let out a tea-kettle squeal. “You should’ve seen Vin in it! They looked so cute, especially with how mad they were! Ohmigosh, it was ridiculous.”

Paloma’s voice lowered into a conspiratorial hush, “Y’know, if one of us pretends to be hurt, I betcha we could get an eyeful of Marco in that sailor outfit. Just saying.”

---

Loni was surprised at how obediently Luci stopped tugging at her hair, since normally Luci didn’t take no for an answer when it came to tugging things. It was definitely Vin’s fault for constantly letting her chase and grab a tiger tail… Well, Loni also didn’t discourage it. She was so young, after all, and would grow out of it!

"Oh, I know GSN! I thought ‘bout havin’ her there, cause the hospital down ain’t any better than doin’ it at home- But then I saw the cost! Shit, I’d hafta sell myself." She said, not thinking further on the whole obedient daughter thing, a bit relieved that Paloma was a cleaner rather than a nurse or doctor. Not that she had anything against doctors or nurses… Just they tended to be much, much smarter than her, and judged people who worked a job like hers.

She took her daughter back from Paloma. Luci immediately went to grasp other things, little hands grabbing at the straps of Loni’s dress and pulling them back. She let them go, giggling as they snapped against Loni’s skin. It didn’t really hurt, but Loni played it up a little, shifting Luci to one arm and using the other hand to tickle her into submission.

At the same time she leaned forward as Paloma raised her hand, the global signal for wanting to tell someone a secret. Her eyes widened, a quiet gasp escaping her lips.

Marco in a cute sailor outfit? She couldn’t help but glance over at him, trying her best to be subtle as she imagined him in that getup. So little would be hidden… Honestly, if Vin was going to cockblock her, the least she deserved was to see Marco in a skirt!

"Vin got one too? I can see it- right down to their grumpy scrunched up face!" She imitated it, narrowing her eyes into a glare and pursing her lips in an exaggerated scowl. The thought of them dressed like that evoked a completely different emotion, biting down on her lip to stifle laughter. She’d seen Vin wearing skirts- both ones they were forced into when they were younger, and the few they had for the rare days they felt more feminine. But those were punk style pleated skirts, the kind with loads of chains hanging from them. Not cute at all… Not like a sailor outfit.

"If he chose it, would that mean…" She trailed off, not wanting to suggest out loud that Marco was into cross dressing. Especially not when it made her more interested… It was totally just cause of how different it would be from how he was now, incredibly masculine and hot. Though she also liked how he was now. Ugh, she was still so pissed off at Vin for getting in between them. "Well, it depends what kinda magic he has! Adepts like us choose, but everyone else don’t… We could ask Vin! Though that doesn’t matter as much as seeing it…"

She trailed off in thought about Paloma’s suggestion. Her hand ceased relentlessly tickling Luci, letting the little girl wriggle around and pull whatever she wanted.

Loni really wanted to see that sailor outfit, but Vin knew her too well and she wasn’t a good actor anyway. They’d easily see through her pretending to be hurt- and definitely ruin things, because they were so stubborn about keeping her away from Marco. Plus, Luci would be the most distressed out of all of them.

"You gotta do it… Vin’ll know if I do! Twin instinct and all’ve that, especially cause I did it to get their attention when we were young sometimes. So it’s gotta be you!" Loni looked at Paloma with shining eyes, having complete faith in her acting ability, even though they barely knew each other.