WHAT: Having a genuine-but-antagonistic conversation WHERE: Vallo Forest WHEN: This evening WARNINGS: Revy's foul mouth, mentions of violence and death STATUS: Complete
Fucking christ, it was incredible to be able to buy her own damn shit. Revy didnât know what the hell Valloâs obsession was with time fuckery but she was over it; the fuzzy memories, the impressions. It was good to be an adult, and to have her adult-sized tits, and her adult liver. Her guns, which â
Yeah, a good thing Teenager Revy didnât find the Jollyrogers.
Now she was back to the grind of regular life â whatever the hell that even was here, it varied â when it came to working. Leon was usually her go-to partner, but she was sure theyâd end up boning against a tree at this point in their relationship (not explicitly defined, it was just something). Sometimes, though.
She took a patrol shift with rip-off Sailor Moon on magic steroids.
âHey,â Revy piped up after a moment of silence, crushing the rest of her cigarette and stuffing it into some tiny plastic bag (Adora didnât let her litter the forest on the clock, what horseshit) to stuff into her back pocket. âDid your brain ever download any memories from that fucked up Vallo future or nah?â
Might be an out of the blue thing to bring up now that they were nearing two months post that incident, but the whole thing was tickling at her mind.
Adora was doing her best to be better to Revy. She was important to Leon, and Leon was important to Adora. As much as sheâd like to fling her foul-mouthed teammate across the forest again sometimes, sheâd refrained. She was going to be a mom soon, and throwing people across the forest probably wasnât the impression she wanted to set for Finn.
Especially not their Aunt Revy.
Part of Adoraâs begrudging acceptance of Leonâs new girlfriend (not that heâd ever called her that, but come on) was the influx of wispy memories sheâd received not long after the future event. It wasnât like when she and Catra had remembered the end of the war. It was fainter than that, more like a dream just clinging onto the edges of her consciousness, with a few vivid moments splashed in.
She remembered the family theyâd all become in those dark years â her and Catra, Kara and Lena, Revy and Leon, the kids. Even she and Revy had become close, and it was nice to have that reminder, however small, that Revy was a normal human being under what felt like endless layers of bravado sometimes.
A breath pushed harshly out of her nose, clearing the smell of smoke as best as she could muster. (No matter how much time she spent with compulsive smokers, she would never learn to love that stench.) She cleared her throat and turned her attention to Revy, brows raising with surprise at her question.
âUh, yeah, actually,â she admitted. âMost of itâs kinda faint, but⊠I remember some. You do, too?â
âYeah,â she replied plainly, and didnât say much immediately afterwards as they picked up their stroll through the woods again. It was quiet. Not a sight of some hell demon charging their way for a fight, which meant it was boring. There was safety in boredom.
But fuck, it was also just boring.
Revy did a habitual pat at her holsters, re-affirming the presence of her guns as she looked around with both disinterest and scrutiny. Calm, but eerily observant when it came to their surroundings. âWasnât the worst.â She did come from a world where all your alternative lives came back to you bit by bit, every recollection hitting hard like a goddamn freight train. This had been tame in comparison, more of a here are the ghosts of a potential future that may haunt you. âItâs just - super fucking vague? I think Leon and I got married, we just didnât tell anyone.â
Weird to think about - how she didnât have her Leon but had this one instead and was stuck with him too. She wasnât complaining. But it was⊠definitely weird.
Married. Adoraâs eyebrows rose. âWow. Thatâs⊠Yeah. Not bad,â she agreed. She wanted Leon to be happy, and if Revy was it for him, then she was fine with that. Maybe someone like Revy was who he needed. James had been the total opposite, a much calmer, less imposing presence, and that hadnât worked out in the end. Leon had been too much for him. Maybe he needed someone who was too much, too.
âWe were good,â she noted after a momentâs pause. âYou and me. Like, friends. I remember a little of that. You and Leon would bring us meat.â
Yeah. Married. Revy wasnât the type. If she had to stomach going through it, then her best bet was a courthouse deal that was very cut and dry, some steak and whiskey, and a good hard fuck afterwards. She didnât have dreams about a Pinterest-inspired wedding, didnât want the cookie cutter house or children. She didnât catch the full-story of how they unfolded ten years down the road but this life of roaming the lands and hunting when everything didnât seem terrible.
Even if the world turned into shit, she more or less had expectations about that in general. Power did a funny thing to people. If Interitus was thwarted from fucking up the future, she didnât doubt someone - something - would give it a try.
âThat was also weird,â Revy admitted with a twist in her features, like she had just sucked on a lemon. Her steel-toed boots kicked a pebble far off into the forest. âYou people let me around your kids, like what the hellâs wrong with you?â
Granted, her Leon - from back home, who was somewhere in their shitty New York City apartment - had her spend time with Chris and that was fine. Sheâd babysit on occasion. One time she didnât have anything non-alcoholic so she offered him beer before realizing that she shouldnât do that. Just because she was raised off of booze didnât mean other kids were.
Yeah â what the hell was wrong with them?
Adora now hesitated at the thought of exposing Finn to Revy. She grated on Adoraâs nerves like few others ever had; she didnât throw people across the forest just for fun, after all. Revy always had some snarky insults to throw at just about everyone, and she was violent. It wasnât something Adora really wanted their kid exposed to, but some future version of her had clearly shifted her perspective.
That had to mean something redeeming was in there, right? She liked to believe that was true when it came to just about anyone. She hadnât liked Leon at first, and he hadnât been half as bad. She still sometimes hated his stupid habits â his smoking and drinking topped that list â but she loved him now, like a brother.
âWell, maybe that means youâre not a total asshole all the time,â she suggested. She looked over at her teammate, examining her for just a moment with a disbelieving expression. âCrazier things have happened.â
âYouâre not shitting sunshine all the time either,â Revy shot back, narrowing her eyes. Most of her vague memories revolved around Leon but there were glimpses of Blondie (#2, according to young Revy) sometimes. The fucked up eye, the Debbie Downer attitude.
She didnât know all the details, though she knew she liked that Adora better. She seemed more realistic. Lot less sticks made of rainbows shoved up her ass.
âArenât you supposed to be done with this crap for a while anyway?â she gestured vaguely around them. âTo do the mom thing?â
Adora made a face but decided not to argue with that sentiment. Revy wasnât entirely wrong. She got in her down moods and could struggle to set herself right sometimes. Her future self seemed to have fallen down that pit of despair and stayed there, but she preferred not to think about that. She still aspired to one day be the future Adora that had appeared on Darla their first year and cooked breakfast for Catra â even if she didnât remember that, she remembered how impressed Catra had been, and she was determined to get there herself someday.
âYeah, I am,â she agreed. She didnât mention that sheâd been considering if there was anything else she might want to do anyway, something other than Defense, after her lone run-in with the tentacle monsters a while back. It didnât matter, and even at her kindest, she doubted Revy would care. âJust not yet. Iâve still gotta figure out whoâs going to take over for me while Iâm gone.â
âSounds like a boring you problem,â said Revy, never the least bit sympathetic about everything. She hardly ever had nice things to say to Adora - but a lot it was admittedly to get on her nerves on fucking purpose, she was easy and self-righteous.
But.
âIâm never having kids,â she kept on, swatting at a bug that dared cross her vision like the offensive twat it was. âI think we can all agree that itâs the best decision I could ever make. You, though. You wonât suck dick at it. Kids do better when they know theyâre wanted and not an inconvenience. And even during a time where Vallo was a hot steaming pile of shit, you two still raised a good one. That says a lot.â
From what she remembered, anyway. Revy didnât get the impression that Finn got on her nerves much.
Overall, Adora wouldnât say she was too nervous about becoming a parent. Theyâd had Finn for periods of time and handled it well, and she was hopeful that would translate to having them around full-time. She was smart enough to realize that those little periods of time werenât the same as full-time, but it gave her the confidence she needed to take that on. She liked to think she was a good influence in most matters. She knew it would be exhausting, and frustrating, and maybe there were times sheâd want to rip her hair out from stress, but she still thought sheâd do good.
She was ready.
There were still fears, of course. They were intermittent but there, and she didnât deny that. Sheâd been mostly focused on helping Catra through her fears, and in that process, sheâd determined taking it all one day at a time was the best thing both of them could do. Worrying too much about the future (good or bad, whichever way it ended up going) wasnât going to do anything but unsettle them more. That was the opposite of what they needed.
But reassurance from friends? Or, well, anyone? It was still a balm to her frazzled soul.
âThanks,â she said quietly. âThatâŠmeans something, actually. Thank you.â
Revy frowned deeply. Did they just have a moment? Had she ever said anything remotely nice to Adora before this? Sheâd been very much onboard on antagonizing her and making life a little extra annoying for her, so.
Probably not. There goes my streak.
She was important to Leon, though. Revy had to remember that â because she did love him. She wasnât sure if she had it in her to pick apart at the differences between the two that sheâs been with now, but if she was going to be stuck here long-term then she was going to consider it goddamn lucky that she had him still. And back home, she had vowed to not make his life anymore complicated than it was with her history.
âDepending on who you pick for a replacement,â Revy switched, not wanting to dwell on her rare moment of nice words. âI probably wonât miss you. But Iâll see you around anyway with Leon.â
Had the nice moment extended, Adora might have had a nice, quick speech in store for Revy. Something about how they didnât have to be friends, but maybe they could try not to aggravate each other so much. Because â sheâd own it â she wasnât always at her best with Revy either. She had a way of pushing her buttons, and Adora didnât do well with that â outside of her wife, of course, but that was inherently loving.
The switch didnât flip all the way back, but it was obvious Revy didnât want to dwell on it. Adora smiled a bit but relented easily enough, still striding in step beside her and shooting her the best withering stare she could muster (which, really, wasnât all that withering).
âIâll make sure itâs Kara since I know now youâll behave for her,â she declared. âHowâs that sound?â
âYou make that sound weirdly fucking kinky,â Revy expressed, thinking about it. Yeah â Blondie #1 was hot in the typical White Girl way, but damn would that bitch break someone during sex. âYoung Me didnât have superheroes flying around to do cool shit, sheâs not going to have the same effect. Sheâs worse than you when it comes to being a good guy cliche.â
Adora had more bite. She threw her across the forest once just because Revy was being a shit, and she could weirdly respect that. No doubt that Kara could do the same to her, but she figured she kept the violence towards people that were legitimate threats and not because someone mouthed off at her.
Boring.
âGlad someone ranks higher than me on good guy cliches, I guess?â Adora shrugged, shoving a gnarled branch out of her way before it smacked her in the face. She couldnât really disagree that Kara had the same hero vibe Catra always told her she had, except maybe stronger. And she was definitely even more invulnerable than She-Ra. It was intimidating sometimes.
âWhat about you? Any ambitions for power?â That was such a joke, there was no way in hell. She didnât think Revy would want the responsibility, but the woman didnât have a diplomatic bone in her body regardless.
Revy rolled her eyes. âVery funny. No. Iâve never been a leader.â It wasnât anything she wanted. Too much responsibility, too much critical thinking when it came to making decisions, though she did have moments of clarity â when the stakes were high, when you had to know when to shut the fuck up if you were in the presence of certain people. If she ever had to even attempt diplomacy, that was when she new a situation was fucked and not in a good way.
âIâve always been muscle,â she shrugged. There were scars all over her body to prove it; a rare thing they had in common. Revy could dual wield weapons, could put together and work just about any firearm (big and small) out there â she didnât waste bullets, and knew how to shoot to kill and how to shoot to keep alive. Her aim was flawless. Her body count was in the hundreds. She was a lackey, through and through, and didnât mind staying that way. âPoint me somewhere, tell me to shoot, and I wonât fail you. Having to boss people around is too much responsibility, fuck that. Iâm here for the paycheck.â
It didnât need to be anymore complicated than that.
âBut if it were me,â she smirked. âIâd do everyone a favor and do away with your team-building gatherings. Theyâre fucking lame, Sailor Moon.â
âThe dinners stay,â Adora responded at once. They were a little rarer now â not monthly so much as every few â but that time was important to her, even if it was only an hour or two. Most of her team had been with her since she ended up in Vallo, probably some of the longest-lasting members of the Defense Department altogether. She wanted them all on good terms; it helped them all work together more effectively, too.
She studied Revy for another moment, feeling like she was seeing her in a new light again. She didnât know what was in the air today, but there was something more vulnerable about her almost-friend. She liked seeing it.
âCâmon, shiftâs almost over. Let me buy you a drink tonight.â