Rarepair Story: Fallen Maidens
"I adopted a kid and you help me take care of them all the time since we're neighbours, but you came over and got so involved in the kid's life so much they think that we're both their parents instead of just me," AU.
Cinder was a few minutes early, which wasn't too hard because she lived right beside her destination. A bad habit she'd never quite dropped starting around high school, and she honestly had no intention of losing. Being early gave her the edge, let her catch people by surprise.
Wait, she was here to be a babysitter, not psychoanalyse the poor kid she was looking after.
Cinder knocked, stepping back as Amber opened up. She could spy Oscar eating a bowl of cereal while Amber stepped through. "Thanks for this Cinder."
Cinder shrugged. "I wasn't going anywhere today, it's fine."
"Coulda fooled me with the scarf," Amber gestured towards the office suit she was wearing, her signature brooch adorning the left side of her chest. "I almost feel underdressed while you're just going down the hall like a runway model."
"Oh this? I just grabbed the first thing I saw." Cinder tried to ignore the slight blush that came from the compliment. "And again, I had nothing planned. I can look after Oscar for you."
Amber's phone vibrated. "And that's my ride." Amber entered her apartment, tossing a notepad to Cinder while kissing Oscar on the top of his head. "That has all the contact information you'll need alongside diet habits, allergies and when I'll be home. Anything at all comes up, I'll pick up the phone."
"I can look after myself," Oscar pouted.
"I know you can sweetie, but better safe than sorry, and you like Cinder, right?"
"I guess…"
"You'll be fine." Amber ruffled the four-year-old's hair, dodging his indignant swipes nimbly. She looked over at Cinder. "Anything comes up…"
"You'll be the first to know," Cinder assured her. "Now don't leave your ride waiting."
Amber left soon after. Oscar finished his cereal, putting the bowl in the sink and staring at Cinder. "So…"
"So?"
"What do you do?"
Cinder shrugged. "Art." A bit of an understatement for being the ringleader of an international art forgery ring that had its fingers in various pies and funded her apartments in Paris and Tokyo, but a necessary understatement. "You know, I make jewellery on Etsy and stuff like that." To help bring legitimate money into her bank account, admittedly. And because she genuinely liked it. She even had a piece in progress in her bag.
"Fair enough." He looked almost unconvinced, like Oscar was able to see past her lies. Ultimately, he shrugged and padded over to watch something on the TV. Cinder followed, placing her bag by the couch and taking out her current commission; a necklace with a mechanical cog inside a wing. Most of the metalwork was done, now it was just a matter of tying the bands together.
"What about you?" Cinder asked. "What do you like to do?"
"I like reading. Can't read a lot yet, but momma reads to me at night." A hint of a southern drawl slipped into Oscar's accent. Cinder realized at that point that she wasn't fully aware of why Amber adopted Oscar, her response when asked simply being that she "owed an old friend." Cinder did recall that Amber worked for some media mogul who passed away recently. Ozpin, maybe? She'd look into it later.
"Hmm. Well, what are you reading right now? I can try reading, but I'm probably not as good as Amber."
Amber arrived back a few hours later to find Cinder reading just above a whisper to Oscar, her scarf serving as a sort of pillow.
"I like her momma," Oscar murmured while Amber carried him to bed.
Amber paused, taking in Cinder as she packed up her bag. "I'm glad," she smiled at her son.
Museum heists were ludicrously easy once you nailed down the formula. Crack the cameras, avoid the patrol patterns, remotely disable the silent alarms or have a hacker on standby to block the signal, walk right out with the prize. Cinder's job was the easiest- Mercury and Emerald were the ones actually breaking in, and Roman was the getaway driver. Cinder's part of the plan, alongside planning it and organising the selling and buying of the goods, was to stop said silent alarm signals.
What this meant was that her mind could wander and no one would really know. What it did not mean was that on a relatively easy heist in Dublin, that the rest of the team could talk.
"So I saw you walking around a few days before the job," Roman began in a conversational tone. Cinder gritted her teeth in preparation.
"Oh yeah, you told us about this," Mercury piped in. "You were wandering around with some lady and her kid according to Roman."
"Roman," Cinder began icily, "why, pray tell, were you watching me?"
"I wasn't. But you know how Neo can get." Roman looked over his shoulder, eye twinkling. "So, what's her name?"
"That's none of your business."
"Should we not be focusing on the mission?" Emerald murmured.
"Live a little Em," Mercury said. "Come on Cinder, we ain't gonna judge you for finding someone! Even if you are coming in second place, if that kid's any indication."
Cinder turned off her microphone. "Excuse me for a moment." She stepped out of the van, walking up to the waterfront they were beside.
Roman winced as he listened in. "Oh man, you pissed her off with that one, Merc. You may wanna get another ride back to the hotel, she might actually kill you this time."
Mercury scoffed. "What's the worst that could happen?"
Silently, Roman took off his earpiece, angling it so it caught Cinder's rant. Emerald began snickering, while Roman could almost hear Mercury rapidly going pale.
Cinder came back into the van turned her microphone back on.
"I'll, uh…" Mercury stammered. "I'll just put this stuff in the van. Then I might go for a walk, ya know? I hear Dublin's lovely this time of year."
"How very wise of you Mercury," Cinder almost crooned. Roman gulped. If Cinder acted like that, it usually meant walking on thin ice to avoid a visit to the ICU. Roman resolved that he'd tell Neo to stop snooping on Cinder's not-girlfriend. For her sake, if not his.
Oscar had gone to bed for the night, and Amber had the next day off, so Cinder had come by with a bottle of wine. It had been a thoroughly pleasant night; work had been ramping up for both of them, so getting a night to themselves was a rarity, and a pleasurable one at that.
Amber twirled her glass, staring out the window. "You know, I got a funny call from Oscar's teacher today."
"Yeah?"
"Well, she was calling because Oscar's been, get this, saying he had two moms."
"Oh." Cinder took a drink to hide her frown. "Well congratulations on finally finding someone?"
Amber started laughing. The lightbulb began to light up over Cinder's head. "Hang on, he doesn't mean me, does he?"
"Well…" Amber wheezed. "It does make sense. You're around a lot these days, he's still pretty young and we bicker like an old married couple. I could see it."
Cinder tried to ignore the slight blush running up her neck. "But, I mean, you're you. You could do a lot better than…" a criminal who could stare down a gunman with nought but a raised eyebrow but began to stammer at the idea of their neighbour liking them. God, if Mercury saw her now he'd never let her live it down.
"Than an exceptionally beautiful woman I get along with very well?" Amber quirked an eyebrow. Cinder blinked. Blinked again.
Cinder dot exe has stopped working. Please try again after the beep. Beeeep…
"Yeah, kinda doubt I could do better than you, Spark."
"Oh, now we're on nicknames?" Cinder's brow furrowed as Amber chuckled, racking her brain for a good name. She snapped her fingers. "Come on Leaves, you can do better than that!"
Amber fell out of the chair, she was laughing so hard. Cinder sighed, pouring another glass. Maybe if she had more to drink the nicknames would come more easily.
This was the reason Emerald named their heists.
It had been a few months since the Wine Incident, and Oscar had made a few friends to Amber and Cinder's joy. He was spending the night with one of them (some red-haired girl that Amber insisted was one of the most adorable things she'd ever seen) in a movie/sleepover event, so Cinder proposed that they head out for the night. Just them, an Italian, and Cinder's credit card covering the bills. Just two friends, one of whom certainly wasn't sporting an unrequeited crush (Amber had to be joking with the whole 'beautiful' thing. Had to be.).
"Can I ask you something?" Amber asked at random as the bill was paid.
"Of course."
"You remember that night where I admitted I thought you were attractive?" Oh crap she wasn't joking Cinder you're not ready for this abort abort-
"Dimly," Cinder managed to say.
"Well, you've really helped out Oscar since you started looking after him; he practically sees you as a second mother. I've liked having you around…" Amber looked away. "Fuck it, speeches are for people with time to spare. Cinder, do you wanna go out with me?"
Cinder blinked. Blinked again. "I… I would love to."
"Oh. Phew. Good."
Both of them looked at each other. "So now what?"
"I…" Amber shrugged. "I have no fucking idea."
"Ice cream?"
"God, yes." Amber groaned dramatically, dodging Cinder's napkin toss. "Yelp said this place had some of the best gelato in the city."
Cinder smiled, feeling a bundle of unease leaving her shoulders. "It's on me, don't worry."
"You're gonna regret that." A glint entered Amber's eyes as she leaned over the table. "I'm a go big or go home kind of girl," she whispered into Cinder's ear.
Cinder forgot the next few moments, coming to with her face on the table and a bit of drool on her cheek as Amber walked over to the desert bar, cackling like a witch. An apt description, Cinder mused with a smirk, since Amber really had cast a spell on her.
Cinder rested her head on Amber's chest. They had dragged the couch out onto Cinder's balcony so they could look out at a fireworks show that was happening down the block, the explosions of light and color illuminating the two in a kaleidoscope of color for seconds at a time before the lights faded. Amber's slowed breathing indicated that she was sleeping, before a particularly loud firework's crackle woke her up. "Oh," she rasped. "Sorry. Think I fell asleep."
"You're fine." Cinder angled her head, smiling up at her. Their lips met, Cinder reaching up to pull Amber closer. She had a few things to worry about in the coming days; heists, moving goods, avoiding police attention. But here, in this moment, she could forget it all, just watch Amber's face light up from the fireworks and from her own joy.
If Cinder was a corny individual or had a weaker soul, she'd make some point about how Amber was the real masterpiece she'd stolen as an art thief. But she had some standards, so she'd save that for the inevitable drunken proclamation of love or the wedding speech.
Oh shit, Amber would have to meet Mercury. Well, that settled things, Mercury would have to die.
Again, she could forget about that. Carpe diem, and all that.
"Hey," Amber's voice brought Cinder out of her thoughts. "You OK?"
Another smile, before she kissed Amber again. "Right as rain."