InsaneJournal

Dahlia had been dreaming for years, though she had only gotten more… acquainted with all that it meant over the last year or so. She'd been attending therapy sessions, both private and with groups, and had been keenly involved in the latter, especially where fellow veterans were concerned. Despite all of this, however, she hadn't shared most of the more important details of those dreams with her best friend- her partner- Verity.

There was no good reason for it, of course, other than fear. Verity was open with her own dreams- but, considering how they had first manifested, it was probably difficult for her to be anything else. And though Dahlia knew that Verity wouldn't judge her for something that, by all rights, she couldn't control... There was, perhaps, some small part of her that still wanted to be in denial of the whole damn thing. As if, somehow, if the dreams went away, then she might be able to get her Air Force career back. As if, somehow, if the dreams went away, then so would her PTSD.

She landed the charter plane at 16:00. The uniform jacket of the charter company was slipped back on before she said goodbye to her clients, offering firm handshakes and smiles and thank yous all around. Dahlia was back in the air- this time in her own plane- for the shorter trip from DC back to Dunhaven soon after, and had texted Verity for a pick up at the Dunhaven airport just after 17:00. (They shared a car, having elected to buy a plane instead of a second vehicle. It seemed like a more practical solution, for two pilots, after all.)

As she waited in the hangar, doors and windows open of their plane, Dahlia went over post-flight checklists and checked a few more things on her phone. Verity likely wouldn't be long, but she'd rather wait here, in a familiar pilot's seat, than out in a small airport lobby.

--

That they shared a car usually wasn't at all an inconvenience. Verity was an on-the-go person always, so it never bothered her to go pick up Dahlia from work or to ask for a ride herself after returning from a similar flight. Sometimes their schedules worked out to drive to the airport together and that was just as well anyway.

Today, she had seen that text and immediately abandoned her social media scrolling to slip her feet into her shoes and head towards that familiar hangar. Verity figured they might pick up some food on the way home, or maybe even go for a drive. Whatever Dahlia wanted after a long day in the air. That was no chore, but Verity had a relaxing day of semi-napping with two very ginger kittens after finishing chores.

She pulled up to the open hangar, a grin on her lips, and gave one short honk of the horn - not an unusual announcement that she'd arrived, just in case Dahlia didn't see or hear her.

--

Dahlia couldn't help but laugh as she heard that familiar honk echoing through the private pilots' hanger. She gave a little wave, then quickly stored the last of her flight equipment before exiting back through the side door of the passenger's cabin. Steps swung down with the press of a button, and were then lifted and stored back into place once Dahlia's feet were firmly on the ground again.

She slipped easily into the front passenger seat of their car, leaning over for a kiss in greeting. That, too, was… still somewhat new, though it had been surprisingly easy to get used to, these last few months. "I'm starving. What sounds good?"

--

Verity patiently waited as Dahlia came down from that plane - the process was as familiar to her as breathing, and she knew it took a few moments. Once Dahlia was in sight, she felt a little bit lighter, as though missing her had weighed on her conscience without her really knowing it.

Her grin broadened with that kiss, and Verity once again thanked her lucky stars that she'd been brave enough to try something like this with Dahlia. She knew that it wasn't exactly what they had ever expected to happen, but their long years of friendship made it easy to read one another. The only real difference was the change in physicality.

"I thought you might be. Maybe something pasta or Chinese takeout?" The suggestions were flexible if neither of those options spoke to Dahlia's stomach, but they usually started with a trimmed down list rather than anything. It was just simpler.

--

She considered the options given, but finally decided, "Chinese. Fewer dishes that way. Plus, it's a bit more portable if we decide to dine al fresco." There were a few places they could do so in town, now that the weather was a bit more reliably nicer.

--

Verity put the car in drive and immediately began away from the airport and towards their chosen destination - they only really went to one favorite Chinese restaurant with any frequency, “You know me, I’m totally fine eating with chopsticks directly out of the container because I’m classy as fuck.” They had been known, on occasion, to pass those containers back and forth without batting an eye.

“How was your day? Good flight?”

--

"We both are, clearly," Dahlia agreed with a little laugh.

She leaned her head back against the seat, going over the flight again in her mind. Working for a charter company, Dahlia flew several familiar routes to other east coast cities more often than not. She'd be on the ground for a few hours, and then bring those same clients back home again. Occasionally she'd even have enough time to actually leave whatever airport she was at that day.

Her normally voluminous curls were held back tight to her scalp, fastened back in a low bun. This was a style she'd often sported back in the Air Force, when such things had been mandatory. But it, too, was also just generally easier, when she was flying. She didn't need her hair to block her peripheral vision.

"Good flight," she confirmed. "Out to Wilmington and back. North Carolina," she added, to clarify, rather than the closer option of Delaware. "The pilots association there was having a BBQ at the airport. The whole damn place smelled of it."

--

Though she spared a glance over to Dahlia, she was keeping her eyes on the road for the most part. Conversation while driving might have a sacrifice of eye-contact, but sometimes it was an intimate little scene, too. She could catch just a glimpse of Dahlia’s profile, and then her eyes were trained on their path ahead. They’d known each other since they were merely teenagers and Verity had seen her in just about every look imaginable, but she was always beautiful.

Giving a low whistle at the announcement of a BBQ, Verity pressed wistfully, “Did you get to partake in some samples? Was it magical?”

--

"Of course I did," she laughed a bit- anything to the contrary would have been unthinkable. "And, believe me, if I could have snuck half a rack of ribs back with me for you, I'd have done it." She flashed a smile in Verity's direction all the same. "We'll just have to add them to our air trip," (as opposed to road trip, of course,) "repertoire. So you can experience it for yourself."

--

Verity gave an approving hum when Dahlia said she would have brought some back if she could have, the idea that they might go back for BBQ eventually certainly an enticement, "We'll definitely do that this summer. That sounds perfect." Though she was already excited for Chinese food tonight, ribs would now be calling her name.

"I had a mostly lazy day with the boys. I did chores, and they watched. Then, we cat napped." Verity hadn't had much time off recently so it was nice to have a day of quiet.

--

"Next time you bring home cute gingers for us, make them ones who help out with chores, yeah?" It was a playful tease, of course. Dahlia wouldn't have considered herself a cat person, before, but she was pretty pleased with how easy it had been to adjust to having pets in their lives. "I'm glad you got to have a low-key day, though, Ver."

Dahlia was quiet for a few moments. They hadn't yet reached the restaurant, though she already knew what she'd order when they got there- and likely what Verity would order, too. Still, she didn't reach for her phone to place that meal digitally. Not yet.

"Can we talk about my dreams?"

--

“Yeah, I learned my lesson with that one,” Verity agreed, though the probability of her actually bringing home future gingers for them without coloring her own hair was slim. They loved their Wright Kittens (they may always be kittens to them) so it had all worked out in the end, even if they were lazy bums.

The next words that left Dahlia’s mouth caught Verity by surprise. She hadn’t really thought that was where their conversation was headed, but there was something about the cozy quiet of transport that seemed to bring out confessionals in people. Verity knew very little about Dahlia’s dreams...just that she was having them, and that they were sometimes difficult. Her own had been much more difficult to keep private, but she hadn’t blamed Dahlia for not wanting to talk about it yet.

“We can,” Verity hedged slowly, “If that’s something that you want, I’m listening.”

--

"He… He and I have some stuff in common. Air Force. He was a pararescue airman, though. But we both discharged with PTSD… Riley," her voice caught on the name, one she'd known for so long, one she'd heard in her dreams and even shared with others. The man who had been shot out of the sky beside her… No, beside Sam. "Riley was his partner. His… wingman."

She should have grabbed a bottle of water from the hangar. Something to keep her hands occupied.

"But he helped other veterans, too. After he got out. He… he did good, really." A breath, a pause. "And then he met Steve Rogers."

--

There were some things that sounded familiar to Verity - names and small facts that she’d heard before. She didn’t realize that the person Dahlia was dreaming of was male, not that it really mattered in the end, but she wondered how that made her feel. She glanced over briefly, but tried her best just to keep her eyes on the road because the last thing she needed was to make this trip unsafe.

RIley was someone who had come up before. Dreams of Riley falling from the sky - replaced all too often by Verity herself - were the reason that Dahlia had been discharged from the Air Force in the first place. Her early retirement wouldn’t have taken place without it, and that...was a sore spot, and maybe it always would be.

Then he met Steve Rogers.

That name, too, was all too familiar to Verity. Her dreams of Carol seemed to be sporadic, events and time all jumbled and not quite put together correctly, but she knew Steve Rogers, unless...well, it was a common name, “Steve Rogers like...Captain America Steve Rogers?” If that was true, then there was some connection there that she couldn’t quite place yet, but...that meant they were dreaming of people who might actually know each other.

--

It was a common name, perhaps, though it had become more recognizable in recent years with the advent of certain movies. So Dahlia just nodded- but then gave her agreement aloud, too. "That's the one. The all-American hero himself."

It was strange to think about, really. Well, beyond just strange. Steve Rogers' Captain America was absolutely a full-fledged superhero. Sam Wilson... Falcon... he was just a soldier willing to put himself on the line for what he believed in.

But then again, so was she. Or, she had been, before.

"I... don't know if the name Sam Wilson means anything to you. Or Falcon. But that's who it is, in my dreams. Another soldier, albeit with much cooler wings than I ever got to fly."

--

Verity was quiet for a moment as she thought about this confession of Dahlia’s. The reveal was a surprise, as she hadn’t realized they were dreaming of people from the same world, though they were not as highly connected in Verity’s current memories as some others. She gave a small nod finally.

“It does. Not...Carol doesn’t know him properly, but she knows of him. I think she’d like him if they ever did really get the chance to cross paths, since they have some commonalities in background.” After all, Carol might have become something more than anyone could have ever imagined, but she’d just been a punk kid who didn’t know when to give up. Well, that and a damn good pilot.

“Do you remember anything? About meeting Carol, or…?” She didn’t know exactly what had brought about this conversation, unless Dahlia had just wanted to get it off her chest. That was still a perfectly valid reason, but Verity just wanted to ensure she had the pieces of the puzzle.

--

In a way, Dahlia did wish that she remembered meeting Carol, in her dreams. That she could make some sort of connection between her dreams and Verity's, as if… as if that mattered. Sure, it seemed like a lot of people in town- ones in well-known, stable, honest relationships, even- were sharing dreams. Even some people she cared deeply about. But that didn't mean that she and Verity had to, or that what they had was any less valuable if they didn't.

"I don't," she admitted, finally. "I… remember a lot of fighting, a lot of different enemies. It all sort of blurs together, after a while. But I'd remember her. I mean, she glows, after all."

--

Verity smiled, though she wondered if they would ever have memories together or not, now that she knew it was a possibility, "She's badass, and luminescent, it's true."

A small, sad turn came to her lips and she shook her head softly, "Always with the enemies and the fighting, though. Humans…aliens…anything in between. There hardly ever seems to be peace."

--

"That makes two of you," Dahlia added, a bit playfully. Of course, Verity only glowed because of Carol- and had seemed to be getting that more under control, too. (Not that it bothered Dahlia, or likely would have many other people in Dunhaven, but... outside of Dunhaven, the rest of the world was still a much different place.)

Reaching over, Dahlia took up Verity's hand- she could drive with one- and laced their fingers together. "But at least we're always on the same- on the right side."

--

"She's given me a gift or two," Verity agreed. Those powers were otherworldly and seemingly too much for any one person to handle, and yet somehow she managed. Verity was a little put out she couldn't even really get a buzz with alcohol now, but…flight was a nice bonus.

She squeezed Dahlia's hand and nodded, "Always. I mean, the one time Carol found herself on the wrong side as Vers…she rectified that as soon as she knew the truth. Her moral compass is pretty true. It's…a testimony, perhaps, to the fact that people can rise above their teachings, given a new perspective. It gives me hope that maybe things will get better for them eventually."

--

"I think she can be forgiven for that misstep, given the literal alien circumstances she was put under at the time." Dahlia rolled her eyes, playfully.

It hadn't passed her notice, either, that she and Verity, along with their dream counterparts, were all four members (retired or otherwise) of the United States Air Force. That, at least, made Dahlia happy- even if it also made her second-guess why she'd been so drawn to it, at such a young age. But, no, that love for flight had been cemented so long ago- much longer than Sam Wilson had been in her head.

"Here's hoping," Dahlia offered, nodding once. "I... I know that Sam won't leave Cap's side, not while there's still a fight to be won. But that's USAF tenacity, I guess. Aim high, fly fight win. And all that."

--

"True. She knew nothing else, but she did everything she could to make up for her misunderstandings," Verity could not have hoped for anything more than that. Carol had done everything possible to right her wrongs.

It was a complicated situation with the dreams, and though they did not align exactly with her actual life, there were bits and pieces that did. She in no way planned to let Carol take over her life, though, no matter how many powers she developed or memories she regained.

Verity gave Dahlia a small glance, and a nod, "Yeah. It's not in either of them to give up. No matter the cost." Carol had…sort of given her life once, already, for the cause. She would do it again, if necessary.

--

No matter the cost. Something about those words rang a bit too close to home, but Dahlia just let them settle for a moment. She'd... think over them later.

Dahlia gave Verity's hand a little squeeze, then pulled it away, reaching for the phone in her pocket. But before she opened it up to the app to order their dinner, she just added, "But if whatever messed up magic this town has ever manifests EXO-7 wings for me, you better believe we're going flying, McKinnon."