Disclaimer: everything belongs to Netflix. This fic is NOT for profit.
When Dash Haber met Ivy he believed he had found his match. He usually worked with other notorious VILE agents and was used to being picked on. But she had really scared him. She seemed like a tough girl, in her gestures and gaze, he never thought that it was an act or that she was friends with Carmen Sandiego. Actually, Ivy seemed like one of them, from VILE. Although at first Dash had been suspicious, she had managed to get into her role a lot, to remove the suspicions he had about her. Actually, Ivy was a very good spy. It was a shame they hadn't met before and if they had, Dash had never noticed her until now.
Although Dash used to work with Countess Cleo, he liked rough but sentimental girls. And that was very far from VILE, where opportunists abounded, who would not hesitate to betray him if he showed any kind of weakness. He had already dated several like that, including Tigress. He had grown tired of constantly watching his back, of not being able to have a relationship with someone who could understand him. He wanted more, he wanted to have a normal relationship with someone, but in his life, the sense of normality did not exist. He did not regret the choices he had made. He had more money than normal people could dream of and he lived his life on the edge, feeling the adrenaline rush of dealing with traffickers, thieves, murderers and escaping ACME and the police. Many would dream of having a life like his and if it hadn't been for VILE, he would have ended up on the streets, impoverished, struggling to survive. Being an orphan, he had long ago learned that he was the only thing he had in this world and that if he wanted to survive, especially on the streets, he would have to fend for himself, he couldn't trust anyone.
Maybe it was his age, he was already in his twenties and had experienced all the pleasures in the world. Sometimes he thought of settling down, forming a relationship with someone who could accept his way of life, accept him. But he knew well that that would never happen. People tended to avoid trouble, no one decent would bother to look at him twice if they knew who he was, what he had done. At first, he would have to pretend to be someone he was not. Between that and his relationships with the VILE girls, there was no difference.
Ever since VILE disbanded, he had been thinking a lot about Ivy. Wondering what She was doing now that Carmen Sandiego was inoperative, if he would ever see her again. Every night he dreamed of her, noticing a certain resemblance to The Duke, something he had realized about her when he met her, but due to Ivy's attitude, he had not wanted to mention it for fear of being wrong.
His life today was much more complicated than it was with Countess Cleo, because for the first time in a long time he had to innovate, to subsist on his own again. Gone is his life as a spy and thief, accepting easy orders for practically impossible robberies, now Dash had opened a tailor shop, being a clothing designer, he expected his designs to sell quickly, although he would never earn as much as when he worked for VILE.
Ivy was his muse. Whenever he made a design for a woman, he did it with her in mind. In that perhaps, one day she would buy some of his designs and go looking for him, even if it was simply to reminisce about old times. Maybe Dash had left a lasting impression on her, maybe he had infiltrated her mind too. But for that to work, Dash would have to be world famous and that could get the attention of the police or ACME, something he avoided at all costs.
He anxiously awaited the moment when VILE would get back up. They were professional thieves, they couldn't be locked up for too long, they would always have contacts, infiltrators, someone who could get them out of the most controversial situations when the situation required it. VILE getting up again was only a matter of time. Maybe then he could see her again. He just had to be patient.
Sometimes Dash feared that this was one-sided, that he was wrong about her and her way of being, that she really was the cruel girl she claimed to be and was laughing at his feelings, at him, in his face. Other times Dash wanted to find out more about her, find Carmen Sandiego, the VILE operational network and ask about Ivy, maybe set up a meeting and invite her to coffee. But he would not be the one to approach Carmen after all that she had done to them, to her family. He didn't want to give her the wrong impression and put her on alert. Because it was very likely that in that case he would never see Ivy again. He was nervous, he had never been very popular with women and less with women who were really worth it. He didn't want to do anything that might scare her, without their having gotten to know each other properly first. He would treat her like the lady that she was.
Neal, The Eel, one of the few who had managed to avoid ACME, said that he was crazy, that one cannot fall in love with the naked eye and less with an agent of the opposite side. Neal, always attentive to his words, was one of the few he trusted to talk about Ivy. It was the night that Paper Star was reported to have been arrested, that Neal showed up with pictures of Ivy. It was thanks to him that Dash learned that she worked at ACME, along with the Duke. Neal had tracked her down for him, putting his freedom at risk so that Dash would have a picture of her, that Dash could never pay him back. Neal had always been his best friend, despite all the tricky situations they'd been in, they'd always had each other. If Neal had been the one who had a crush on her, Dash would have done the same to get a picture or take a message from her.
Maybe Dash would have to be operational again, maybe then he could get Ivy's attention, maybe start a chase like Carmen Sandiego did with ACME. He just had to be careful not to fall into the clutches of Carmen Sandiego, ACME or the police. Even he could be amused to feel the adrenaline again. He just wanted Ivy to pursue him and be interested in him, as he was interested in her. Perhaps, if he was good enough, he could use his tailoring as an alibi and help restore VILE if it could benefit him. Sooner or later he and Ivy would meet again, it was only a matter of time.