Chapter Text
It was a typically bright, late spring morning; the sun’s cheerful yellow rays shining through the kitchen window near the sink to illuminate a bright spotlight on the base half of an egg carton sitting on the ledge. The carton was filled with soil and covered with a tight film of plastic wrap, ‘BASIL’ and ‘TOMATOES’ written on the side in a loopy hand with sharpie, arrows pointing in opposite directions to label which half was which.
Beside the window on the old, speckled counter top under pine cabinets, sat a retro-looking, baby-blue coffee maker, burbling and hissing steam as it finished percolating. The pot at the base was nearly filled with the dark liquid, and as the machine let out a final sputter and hiss the pot was snatched away to pour into a slightly wonky, hand-crafted mug with childish artwork of cats and flowers on it, artwork faded from years of use and countless washings.
Vi, dressed for the day in black jeans and a tight grey shirt that highlighted her muscular back and exposed her tattooed arms, finished pouring her coffee with a yawn.
She shoved the pot back into its space in the coffee maker and listened to the whole thing hiss and whine, letting out a huge puff of steam. Brushing back some of her box-dye red, longer hair over her shoulder, still damp from her shower, she tousled her hand through her messy, overgrown bangs before sliding it over to scratch a bit at the other half of her head, which was shaved down.
Bringing her hand down to rest on the back of her neck, Vi stared at the machine for another second longer until the noise died down.
“That thing’s gonna explode on us soon,” she commented, finally reaching for a carton of cream to tilt into her mug before moving onto the little glass bowl of sugar. As she spooned a heap in and stirred her drink, her sister Powder came up beside her, dressed in worn white tshirt and overalls, her blue hair up in a messy bun. She reached to take the coffee pot and yawned expressively before beginning serving herself.
“She’s fine, she’s just old,” the younger woman chirped with a playful shove of her elbow into Vi’s side. “You can relate, right?”
“Fuck off,” the merely 27-year-old Vi laughed. She was about to elbow her sister in return, but hesitated and then chose not to when she saw Powder was mid-pour. Instead she shuffled to the side and leaned her hip again at the counter, taking a sip of her brew before nodding to the coffee machine. “We should save up for a new one though, just in case.”
“All the new ones look so fucking bland,” Powder sighed. “Just grey and black cubes. Little miss Good Morning might be noisy, but she brightens up the space, don’t you?” She tapped at a little bright pink star sticker that was placed on the side of the machine, beside a scatter of other colourful shapes.
The coffee maker let out another pained hiss.
Vi snorted into her mug. While she understood why her sister liked the colourful appliance, it matched Powder’s catchy style, Vi was a bit more practical about stuff working properly first and looking good second. Most of the kitchen was decorated leaning to Powder’s preferences - oversized clay fridge magnets, sun catchers shining tiny prismatic rainbows across the wall, antique vases decorating the cabinet tops and thrift store mismatched drawer-pulls on the doors. Vi didn’t complain, as long as things worked.
Powder finished up making her coffee and held her mug - another wonky handmade piece with blue and pink artfully scrawled around it - in both hands to bring up to her lips.
“It still tastes good,” she said brightly, as a closing argument. Vi gave the coffee maker another look and shrugged in defeat.
Any continuation of the conversation was cut short by the shuffling of a third person approaching the kitchen, causing them both to look up, Vi with a surprised expression. Ekko was yawning into his elbow as he walked in, wearing army green sweats, a grey tanktop and a sleepy expression, locs messy and loose. He finished off the yawn with a smile to Powder and a nod to Vi as he stepped between them to reach the coffee machine.
“Hey,” he said, grabbing another mug off of the little row of hooks under the closest cabinet, one painted much more carefully, in brighter colours indicating less age and wear.
“Good morning Ekko,” Vi said with high-pitched friendliness and a pointed look with a raised brow over the boy’s head to her sister. Powder made a face back at her, mouthing ‘don’t’ and Vi just raised her eyebrow higher.
“Didn’t know you were staying over. Sleep okay?” she continued, handing the cream over. Ekko nodded.
“Yeah, yeah not bad,” he said, reaching for the sugar. “You?”
“Not really,” Vi said, grinning lopsidedly to her sister, who was giving her a look that was half warning and half worry. Vi just continued to look entertained, clicking her tongue. “A lot of weird noises kept me up.”
Ekko took a sip of his coffee, looking entirely unbothered. “Huh. Figured you’d be used to Powder’s snoring by now.”
“Hey!” Powder protested, slapping at his arm as Vi laughed. Ekko grinned.
They moved around the kitchen to prepare breakfast, Vi cracking some eggs into a hot pan and tossing some frozen waffles into the toaster while Powder leaned against the counter and chatted about the art project she’d fallen asleep working on while Ekko sat quietly at the little table tucked into the corner of the small kitchen. Vi nodded along to show she was listening, until the food was ready and she plated everything up, bringing it over to serve.
The trio sat at the table eating their modest little breakfast, chatting lightly about this and that until most of their meal was gone. Finishing off her plate first, Vi leaned back with her mug, checking the clock on the wall and deciding she had a bit longer to lounge.
“Got any plans this weekend?” Vi asked, moving to take a sip of her coffee before realizing her mug was empty. She stood to refill as Powder pulled her phone from her pocket and gave it a few taps.
“Another craft fair at the church,” she read aloud, poking her screen again. “Oh, and working on decorations for Dad’s birthday, we need to get those done so we can drop them off at the hall. Ugh, it’s coming up fast,” she said with a pained expression. “There’s never enough time.“
Vi laughed to confirm, sitting back down with a refilled mug. “How long until then, again?”
“Three weeks,” Powder said, rhythmically her nails against her phone case.
A somber expression passed over Vi’s face as she placed her coffee cup back down, running her thumb over the ceramic of the handle. Then she broke out into a soft grin that didn’t reach her eyes, laughing slightly. “Can probably cancel that extra guest ticket for me, huh?” The corner of her grin twitched as she worked to maintain it, forcing out another chuckle. “Unless I manage to find a date by then.”
“No,” Powder said, her mouth comically exaggerating the syllable as she leaned forward with a pointed glare to her older sister. She pointed her pencil toward Vi and waggled it threateningly. “You are not bringing another shallow floozy that’s just gonna dump you two weeks later to Dad’s birthday party. I’m gonna have to edit her dumb face out of every photo.”
The amused expression on Vi’s face turned offended. “Why are you so sure I would bring a shallow floozy?” she asked defensively.
Powder’s glare flattened, eyebrows raising as she looked to Vi like Vi’d asked a dense question. “Because,” she drawled with condescension, “every girl you date is a shallow floozy? That’s your type.”
“Or,” she continued with a scoff, sitting back and motioning her hand up and down to Vi. “More realistically, you’re their type. Boulder shoulders and rocks for brains.”
Ekko coughed to hide the laugh that threatened to burst out, turning away from the table a bit. Vi frowned and crossed her arms, looking much less amused.
“Just because I’m not as smart as you guys,” she began to say, angrily, and Powder waved her hand to cut her off.
“No, no, we know you’re smart. You are smart. But you keep ending up with girls that hate the fact you have a whole personality under those muscles. A couple weeks of getting to actually know you and they’re—“ Powder made a raspberry sound, jabbing her thumb over her shoulder. “Come on, April hated everything you liked.”
Vi’s nose wrinkled and Ekko huffed into his waffle as they both reminisced about Vi’s more recent, now failed, relationship.
Vi, Powder and Ekko were sitting on the couch watching a loud action movie, and Vi had motioned to the screen with an excited expression.
“It’s cool when you can see the explosives they put under the cars to flip them going off, like they’re real stunts. They’re really doing all this.”
The blonde woman sitting beside Vi, dressed in a crop-top and baggy jeans while chewing gum, had let out a little sigh, shaking her head.
“Oh, honey, I… you don’t have to talk during the movie.”
She had tapped her hand on Vi’s knee with an almost condescending smile, and on the opposite side of Vi, Powder rolled her eyes and shot the couple a glare.
“Or remember Sam?” Powder asked, cutting through the memory just to bring up a different one.
Vi worked her jaw a bit as she tried not to think about Sam, but the memory came up anyway.
Vi had been sitting in the bleachers of the arena rink, the sounds of shouting and rollerskates hitting the vinyl floor squeaking and echoing in the air. She clapped and cheered as Powder, dressed in knee and elbow pads with a bright blue helmet, helped up one of her roller derby teammates. Powder had looked up to give Vi a smile, and then frowned.
Glancing beside her, Vi had seen Sam in her purple sundress with her box braids slung over one shoulder, curled over her phone. She was tapping rapidly at it and looking completely detached and uninterested in the game.
“Or,” Powder drawled out again, even more annoyance in her tone, “Rachel?”
”Oh, baby,” a tall, pale brunette woman who was dressed ready for a board meeting with far too many rings on her fingers, walked up and pressed her palms to Vi’s cheeks, squishing them in slightly. “You’re so pretty. I don’t need you to be smart.”
Sitting at the kitchen table with a bowl of cereal, spoon paused halfway to her mouth, Powder gave the couple a look of disgust.
“Okay, I forgot she said that,” Vi admitted. Powder let out a little humourless laugh.
“Date those kinda girls as much as you want, just save it for after the party, okay?” she said. “Unless you miraculously find the girl who loves you for you without being an insufferable bitch and sticks around long enough for me to remember her name.” She paused and then added, “for a good reason.”
Vi‘s frown deepened, looking down at the table thoughtfully. Powder watched her for a moment before her expression turned empathetic, brows upturned with a touch of worry.
“Vi, I—“
“So you’re saying all anyone sees in me is eye candy.” Vi said it flatly, still not looking up to her sister. Powder frowned with more worry, as Ekko silently watched the exchange between them.
“Well, yeah,” Powder admitted, cautiously trying to keep the conversation light. “I don’t think that’s a bad thing, it’s just been a bad track record. Maybe you’d find someone nicer if you just… dressed down a little.”
“Dressed down?”
“Didn’t show off your muscles, lead with your personality first. Like…” Powder trailed off as she started to brainstorm, the light of an idea starting to sparkle in her eyes. She looked to Ekko for help, and he shrugged noncommittally.
“Like a reverse makeover?” he offered. Powder brightened, nodding.
“Yeah! Like a make-under.”
Vi looked at her skeptically.
“A makeunder,” she repeated, one eyebrow raising along with a corner of her mouth in a wry grin.
Leaning back in her seat, Powder crossed her arms and lifted her chin triumphantly. She wore a smug grin herself, like this conversation was an argument she’d just won.
Vi rolled her eyes slightly, shrugging and still refusing to meet her sister’s gaze. “Right. So you give me a ‘makeunder’, you find me a date that doesn’t know what I look like, I go out with her looking… less hot, and then if she sticks around that proves she likes me for my great personality.”
With a delighted grin, Powder giggled, clasping her hands in front of her.
“Ooh, new project,” she said, causing Ekko to snort with amusement.
“Or we find out my personality’s the problem.”
Vi said it with a tone of amusement and a wry smile, but it didn’t reach her eyes. The delight in Powder’s smile melted away.
“Vi…” Powder shook her head, brow creasing with concern that the fun, jokey conversation seemed to have touched a nerve. Vi shrugged it off.
“I gotta get to work. See ya, Ekko.”
Chair scraping loudly as it was pushed back, Vi stood up and walked over to the kitchen counter to rinse her mug out and set it in the drying rack. A droplet of water ran down the faded doodles decorating it, distorting the face of the pink cat for a second before dripping all the way down.
“Vi,” Powder called after her in a mixed tone of concern and annoyance, but Vi only walked to the front door to grab her backpack, and shove her feet into her shoes. Ekko watched the two sisters as one walked out the door and the other pouted defeatedly at how the conversation ended.
Powder groaned, settling back in her seat. Ekko shuffled a bit closer, and she slumped against his shoulder, grabbing her mug. She went to take a drink and frowned at the empty contents, placing the mug down, sliding it a bit back and forth on the tabletop as she stated at the colourful, hand-painted design.
“I just want her to be happy,” she sighed. “Meet someone who gives back, you know? I bet I can prove it to her, find a great girl that thinks her stupid muscles are a bonus, not the main course.”
“You’ll help me, right?” She looked up to Ekko, pouting slightly. Ekko drew back a little, blinking. He looked to the front door and then back to Powder, knowing he would never say no.
“Uh, yeah,” he agreed, chuckling. “If I find someone I’ll let you know.”
The usual noises filled the gym, machines creaking, weights making impact and shoe soles squeaking against the rubber floor as people braced themselves, the steady hum of the treadmills running. The space itself was pristine, clean slate and mirrors decorating the walls and half the patrons were standing around typing out on their phones, decorated in designer outfits with golden watches on their wrists.
Ekko, dressed more casually in a standard black compression shirt and shorts given to him by the gym as a uniform, stood beside one of the racks staring distractedly off into the distance, lost in thought. The man lying on the bench beside him was struggling under his weight bar, unnoticed, trying to get his latest rep up high enough. He wheezed slightly.
“How many’s that?” He grunted through the exertion and Ekko blinked back to the present, immediately rushing to help his client rack the weight.
“Sorry Jayce, yeah, that was good. You’re good,” he apologized.
The man, Jayce, his square-jawed face flushed from the workout, sat up from under the bar and gratefully took the towel Ekko held out to wipe the sweat off his face and back of his neck, breathing in and out deeply to settle himself. He leaned down to grab his water bottle and glanced up and over to Ekko, looking curiously concerned.
“You okay?” He asked, Ekko shrugged sheepishly, nodding.
“Yeah, sorry, just got a little distracted.”
“Anything you want to talk about?” Jayce asked, earning a chuckle from Ekko, who shook his head. Jayce shifted on the bench, looking still concerned. “Or anything I can help with?”
“You know any blind lesbians?”
Ekko laughed loudly at the completely expected look of surprise and confusion he got from Jayce. “Friend of mine,” he explained, “she’s been having girl trouble lately. Her sister thinks the problem is she’s only getting picked up by shallow girls after her looks, who then dump her after they get to know her a bit.”
“Ah. So you’re looking for a literal blind date,” Jayce said slowly, working out the reasoning. Ekko chuckled again.
“I guess. Well, no, she doesn’t have to actually be blind. But she has to go a few dates looking different. Powder calls it a ‘makeunder’.”
“Ah,” Jayce nodded slowly in understanding with an apologetic little half-smile. “What’s she like?”
“Vi? Older than me, by like a couple of years. Likes retro movies, bit of a jock,” Ekko tossed his water bottle lightly in his hand, mulling over what else to describe. “She’s a good person. I think that’s what bugs Powder about it so much, Vi’s this big ‘don’t judge by the cover’ type of girl, but she keeps ending up with girls who only do that.”
“Huh.” Rubbing at his chin thoughtfully, Jayce considered what Ekko had told him, nodding a bit. “So you’re trying to experiment with variables, take her appearance out of the equation.”
Ekko let out a little snort of agreement. “Yeah. I was just thinking about how to set her up with someone without the whole, first impressions based on appearance, but it’s tough y’know? Since everything’s so visual now.”
Jayce nodded some more in agreement. They stayed there in silence for a minute, water bottles in hand, thinking off into the distance. Then Ekko cleared his throat, slapped the weight rack and stood back, motioning to Jayce to lay down again.
“Alright, that was a long enough break. Twelve more. You got my focus this time.”
The ambient sounds of the coffeehouse hummed in the air - the light piano jazz coming from the speakers, the chatter of staff and the seated patrons, the sounds from the milk steamers and coffee machines as orders were being made and the air conditioning kicking in as the afternoon sun shining directly through the large picture windows warmed the whole place up.
Mel was sitting at one of the tables by the window, dressed in a white blouse and yellow slacks, sunglasses on to block out the outside brightness as she read from her paperback. In front of her was an empty plate, the fork laid delicately across the remaining crumbs, and a coffee mug half-filled with the remains of a cappuccino.
A second plate was on the seat beside her, cup absent.
The clink of a third plate on the table had Mel lower the book slightly and glance to her newest arrival. A mug of tea was placed beside the plate with the lemon loaf, the woman holding it hissing slightly just before pulling her hand away. She rubbed her thumb against the knuckle that had brushed the hot ceramic of the teacup, soothing the burn.
Mel looked at her with sympathy. Caitlyn was dressed smartly - black turtleneck and slacks with a gold-buckled belt that matched the gold-rimmed glasses she wore - but her hair looked frizzy, heavy bags under her eyes and her focused, clenched jaw frown did nothing flattering. Mel tutted.
“Oh, sweetheart, you look so tired.”
Caitlyn sighed as she pulled out the chair and sat down across from Mel, sliding her purse strap off her shoulder to hang it on the back of her seat. “Is it that bad?”
She absently tucked some of her long, dark hair behind her ear before she adjusted her glasses, and absently rubbed at the temple by her left eye, shifting in her seat until comfortable.
“I was up late last night reading. You know when you’re so close to finishing a story you push through to get to the end?”
A look of polite interest was on Mel’s face as she brought her cup to her lips, taking a light sip. “I’ve done that the odd time, yes. That’s why you look so run down?”
Caitlyn nodded, picking up her fork with a grumble. “And it wasn’t even worth it, the writing was so trite. I just needed the closure. And then work today…”
Scoffing without elaborating further, she sliced off a bit of her lemon loaf with the side of her fork and scooped the piece into her mouth. While she chewed she glanced at the empty seat with the empty plate, and then looked out into the rest of the cafe quizzically. “Where’s Jayce?”
“Getting a refill,” Mel said just as Caitlyn spotted the man collecting his mug from the barista and turning towards the table. “You know bad how his coffee habit is.”
Jayce lit up as he spotted Caitlyn sitting at the table, walking just a bit faster to reach them. He placed his full cup down beside his empty plate and hunched over to give Caitlyn a quick hug best her could at the angle.
“Glad to see you, Cait. How’re things going? You look tired.”
He said the last bit with a bit less cheerful enthusiasm and more gentle concern. Caitlyn smiled very slightly, taking a sip of her tea.
“Same old,” she said with a shrug. “At least I have this to look forward to every week.”
“I have to ask, do you ever see anyone else but us?”
Caitlyn hesitated at getting another scoop of her lemon loaf, before continuing on with the motion, not looking up to Mel as she spoke. “Is that a question or an interrogation?”
“Caitlyn.”
“Yes, mum?” With a sniff, Caitlyn took another bite of her loaf and shook her head. “I’m busy with work. It’s hard to meet people.”
“Mel’s right, Cait. We can’t be your only tether to the outside world,” Jayce said sympathetically, earning a side-eye from Caitlyn. Mel nodded, gesturing slightly as she spoke.
“Have you tried dating again?”
Caitlyn dropped her fork onto her plate with a clink, sitting back with stiff shoulders, her arms folded and a pert frown. “So this is an interrogation.”
Mel laughed lightly. “If you want to call it that. I call it worried friends.”
Jaw working, Caitlyn’s eyes darted between the two of them before she let out a little sigh and relaxed her posture. “No.”
Without looking up to see either of their reactions to her statement, Caitlyn picked her fork back up and prodded at the small piece of loaf that remained before sighing slightly. “I don’t think I’m up for dating anymore. There’s no real use for it.”
Mel made a concerned sound, but Caitlyn dismissed it with another head shake.
“It’s never me they’re after,” she complained, spearing the lemon loaf piece and tapping it idly on the plate. “It’s just the name. Always the damn name.”
She ate the last piece of her meal, fidgeting some remaining crumbs across the plate before placing the fork down.
“I can relate to that,” Mel said sympathetically. “But I’m sure there’s plenty of girls out there who’d love you for who you are. Not your name, but your person.”
“What, with my personality?” Caitlyn scoffed with a slightly sneer, glaring down at her now empty plate, a bitter tone to her voice. “I’m a ‘frigid bitch who works too much and is destined to become my mother’, remember?”
Mel looked unimpressed. “Don’t listen to anything Maddie said, it was a cheap shot. It wasn’t true then and it still isn’t now. You were grieving, and suddenly had far more on your plate than you could handle, of course you’d be distracted.”
Caitlyn let out a dry chuckle, not fully onboard with Mel’s words. “I’m not so sure. Sometimes I worry my fortune is the only thing keeping me tolerable.”
“Hey, we tolerate you,” Jayce said, reaching forward to lay a hand on Caitlyn’s shoulder. “Money or no money.”
Caitlyn gave him a sad smile. “You’re practically obligated.“
Mel hummed. “Why not try dating someone who doesn’t know? And don’t tell her until you’re absolutely sure she finds your personality endearing.”
“Are you suggesting I lie to get a date?” Caitlyn looked at Mel quizzically, and then to Jayce. “Does that count as a catfish?”
“You don’t have to lie, just omit details,” Mel clarified. “Gently… warm her up to appreciating you for you.”
Jayce looked to Mel with a thoughtful hum. “Remove some variables from the equation,” he echoed.
Caitlyn looked like she was almost considering it before shaking her head. “She’d find out eventually. And then her whole tune will change. How she sees me will change.”
“It might not.”
With a slightly screwed up expression that meant she was about to argue back, Caitlyn sat back in her seat and crossed her arms again, giving a little shrug. “Fine.”
“Fine?”
“I’ll give it a shot. You set me up with a woman who doesn’t know who I am, and I’ll give it a fair try. See if my horrid personality doesn’t scare her away.”
She held her bottom lip in her teeth for a second, looking to the side thoughtfully before shaking her head. “And if she doesn’t change when she does learn. I’ll admit you’re right and that I’m not entirely hopeless.”
There was a hint of a smile as she said the last bit, and Mel and Jayce looked to each before looking back. Mel smiled and held her hand out in front of her in the offer of a shake.
“It’s a wager,” she said in a friendly, teasing tone.
Caitlyn eyed her friend’s hand, and then reached over to give the hand a firm, professional shake. Jayce watched the handshake across the table from him and as the hands separated he glanced to both women making the deal with a slightly amused expression.
“It’s funny, my personal trainer was just telling me today about a girl who’s—“ he began to say before cutting himself off, pausing while thinking. His expression morphed into a smile and he looked to Mel, and then to Caitlyn with an ever widening grin. “I think I have someone for you.”
Powder was sitting in her dark room, hunched over her desk with two lamps as she worked carefully to sand down the rough edges of a 3D printed shape, using a tiny square of sandpaper.
Outside, her window was slightly propped open to let in the evening breeze, the sky coloured with warm orange and deep blue shadows in the setting sun. Other than the two lamps at her desk, Powder’s room was equally shadowed, the result of her working through the sunset without getting up to flick on any other lights.
A rectangle of bright white light lit up on her bed, a cheerful chime going along with it. Powder made an annoyed grumble as she turned to look at the phone on her bed, blinking a bit owlishly as she adjusted to the light difference of her room. She pushed her chair back a bit, and then tilted on it’s back two legs, trying to reach her phone without actually standing up.
She managed to swipe it, and lifted it up to see the text on screen. Her eyes widened and she perked up.
ekko
Hey, might’ve found a girl for Vi
With a wide grin, Powder dropped the front legs of her chair back onto the floor and began to type back.