CHAPTER FOUR
Call it dumb luck, but baby, you and I
Can't even mess it up, though we both try
No, it don't always go the way we planned it
But the wolves came and went and we're still standing
The Bones by Maren Morris feat. Hozier
Cass: So I'll pick you up around seven?
Cass: Crona Estates?
Raps: Yes! I'll be ready for you! What's the dress code?
Cass: Not too fancy, but not grungy. See you then.
Lounging across her bed Cass sighs. Their text conversation wasn't charged with as much energy as when they're together, but the whirlwind of butterflies in her chest hadn't settled down since she opened that first message. Sure they'd known each other for a while now, but only on a professional basis. The idea that Raps wanted to spend time with her was already enough to send her reeling, let alone the actual prospect.
A light tone chimes from her phone and Cass takes a deep breath before checking this new message.
Var: Ready for some swinging!?
Rolling her eyes, Cass huffs as she lifts herself up and off her bed. She took a late morning, sleeping in to keep up her energy for the day, even if she didn't have much trouble with that since her powers showed up. They had something around five hours before her date, so she could easily get some spider training done with Varian and still have time to clean up before her date. She types a quick response promising to meet Varian at Moon-Drop and dashes down the stairs.
Sliding around the base of the stairs she nearly runs into her father, balding and stoic. "Woah there kiddo-" He huffs, touching Cassandra lightly on her arm. "What's the hurry?"
"Sorry, dad!" She quips with a smile, returning his light touch with her own. "I have a date tonight, but I was planning on working out a bit beforehand, so I'm meeting Varian at the shop for a little jog." There's a playful smile across his face as he regards her, "What?" It's rough and brittle, something guarded.
"Does this date have anything to do with a certain reporter-"
"I'm not answering that!" She groans, flushing as she shoulders past her dad as he laughs.
"Cassandra-!" She's tugged roughly back in his arms for a warm hug that she instinctively relaxes into. "Have a good night okay?" It's soft, whispered into her shoulder as he squeezes her one last time then releases her. "Let me know if you need anything."
Still slightly flushed she nods, "Yeah, 'course dad."
The relationship she has with her dad is good. At one time it was rocky and bitter, two people who desperately wanted to connect but couldn't for one reason or another. When she turned eighteen the differences came to a climax with her arrest by her very own father. Since then they've grown, talked it out, and worked on things. The daughter of the chief of police may have made a mistake, but she paid for it and their relationship grew from it. There was nothing that could make him mistrust her now, and Cassandra wouldn't trade that trust for anything in the world.
Scooping up her backpack, she turns towards her father to offer him a soft wave before making her way to the garage containing her moped. The last few days she and Varian had worked hard to make the scooter presentable. All scratches and dents had been worked out, and a smooth black paint job made it look sleek, despite its age. Cassandra's favorite part, however, was something Varian surprised her with; a small, roughly painted, blue spider just under the left handle.
In the approaching twilight, Cass turns up the music filtering into her helmet from her phone. The beat is somber and soft, and it relaxes her. As she tunes out the world around her she focuses only on her usual path to work, and the mellow music in her ears.
She auto-pilots through the winding streets, thinking of blond hair and sunkissed skin, peppered in light freckles. Her thoughts wind, wrapping around the visage of a woman she's dreamed about more than any other, and that beautiful smile she offers even someone like Cassandra. Tanned hands press into pale, fingers entwined, pressed flush in the light of a full moon. She thinks of lips, pink like strawberry candies and just as sweet. How would they taste? Would they hold the flavors from dinner? Rapunzel smiles underneath the moonlight, bathed in the reflection of the sun the moon feels fit to supply, if only for her. Not even the moon could deny her the light of the sun, would never. Any gods above would forbid it.
Hungry hands press slim hips into rough brick, inciting a soft gasp and a playful giggle. Equally hungry lips search the warm skin at the junction of neck and shoulder, and the woman beneath her shutters. "Want to take this inside?"
The screech of a horn has Cassandra breaking roughly, stalled in the middle of an intersection with a glaring red light above her head. A man in a faded tan sedan honks again, and she huffs, flipping him the bird before accelerating across the crossroads.
Varian is waiting outside of Moon-Drop when she pulls in, still flustered from her thoughts, and the incident with the man in the tan car.
"The traffic bad?" The teen comments curiously, offering his friend a small bag and a water bottle filled with a strange purple liquid.
"Something like that." She grumbles in response, passing a wary glance towards the strange liquid. "What's that?"
With a hopeful smile, Varian passes the bottle to Cassandra, "It's like a home-brew sports drink. Just chug it."
She uncaps the bottle and wrinkles her nose at the smell, "Just drink it, Cassandra." She mimics with a frown. With a swift movement, she chugs the beverage, nearly gagging as the bottle is emptied. The flavor wasn't worse than the smell, but it's bitter against her tongue and coats her mouth. "Bleh…"
"Wow. Now that was impressive."
"I don't want to think about it anymore." She huffs, wheezing through her open mouth. "What next? Acrobatics time?" She can't help feeling excited, the thrill of swinging through the streets and across the building gaps, her adrenalin humming in her head.
"Not yet." Varian has that look on his face, the one that says he's excited but cautiously so. "I've done some changes to your web-shooters."
"Changes how?" She's skeptical and maybe a little nervous. Varian's gadgets weren't always the most functioning, or even the most useful, and depending on the change, she may be more or less wary.
"Nothing big, just made them smaller and easier to manage." He presents the upgraded gadgets with a smile and Cass slips them on. "Oh and I'm working on a more official suit, but I need you to test out the material."
That explains the bag. The articles of clothing in the plastic grocery bag are a mismatch of black and silver, obviously, Varian had attempted to design something before deciding to test the fabric out. Stepping into an alley, she pulls the tight-fitting clothing on under her current hoodie and pants, cautious of any passersby. When she emerges she appreciates the design in the reflection of the coffee shop's glass. Most of the outfit is black, with a silver spider across her right hip that wraps a spindly leg around her shoulders and hips. The mask itself is also black, with large silver eyes that she can see through surprisingly well. All things considered, she didn't hate it.
"Not bad Var." Though he can't see her face, he reflects her smile back at her.
"It's just a trial suit, I still have to get the insolation down, but this had some bulletproof properties."
"Like kevlar?"
"Better." Pride swells in his chest, she can tell, "Kevlar is more of a single-use fabric, meaning if you're in a rough spot and get shot, you have to turn around, but we both know you won't turn away from a fight." Cassandra smile again, her own pride swelling in her own chest. "This fabric has mending properties, so it can repair itself, theoretically…"
"Theoretically? Varian-"
"It'll be fine! That's why we're testing it out today, and not in a real fight!" A small beep sounds inside the mask that cuts Cassandra off before she can respond again. "Other features in this suit!" He points to the sky excitedly, "The same bluetooth sensor as your helmet! So you can listen to your music on patrols, and I can communicate with you too!" The last part echoes through the small headset in either of her ears before the soft beat of her music filters through.
"So now we just swing?"
"Yeah, get a feel for the suit and the new web-shooters."
With a light crouch, Cassandra shoots both web-shooters towards the roof of a nearby building and yanks. Her body is propelled upwards with the force. She twists and pulls, shooting another string of web before she's gained the momentum she needs to swing across the gap and up the next building. Another swing and she's across a busy intersection, and every eye is on her for once. Feeling particularly flashy, she twists into a flip before dropping into another daredevil swing over traffic. I'm never walking anywhere again! She shouts in her head, letting out a soft "Whoop!" between two towering apartment buildings.
After a few hours of acrobatics and death-defying stunts, she rolls to a stop near Rapunzel's apartments. Her breathing is haggard and rough, but she feels exhilarated in a way she never thought possible.
"You're date is soon right? Probably best to wrap it up for the night." She couldn't agree more, but the night felt so young, and she was starting to think she wasn't the only one to think so.
Across the street, she can clearly see two men tinkering with the window of a high-end apartment. Logically it could be a repairman, despite the fading sunlight, however, the men are dressed in all black, including a balaclava. "Hey, Var? I see something, can you bring my moped here?"
"Cass I don't think-!"
"Just leave it in the alley Var, It'll be quick."
It was not quick. When Cassandra lands atop the railing of the fire escape the two men crouched along their response was to scatter like cockroaches. She had managed to catch one of the men, a ratty, greasy-looking man who panicked in the face of the lone spider, but the other man was quick. He scaled down the fire escape and around a corner out of sight. Eventually, Cassandra caught him, tying him up with his accomplice outside the police department, but she ends up nearly 30 minutes late for her date.
Luckily for her, Rapunzel's a forgiving goddess. She finds her scooter just around the corner from the blonde's apartment building and slips her jeans and black button-up over her spider-suit, and slides a dark blue vest atop to pull the look together. She shows up at the door with a cautious smile but frowns when Raps doesn't return it. Even frowning she takes Cassandra's breath away, in her low cut purple sweater and light jeans. Her brown boots tap to an irritated beat that reminds Cass in her haze that she's in trouble.
"I'm so sorry Raps! Something came up with my dad and I'm a little late!" It's not totally a lie. Her father was working tonight, and she had dropped those thieves off at the police station. "I'm sorry I didn't call." That gets her a soft smile and a faux sigh.
"You're lucky you're beautiful Cass." She laughs softly, dropping her hands from her stiff standoffish pose to reach for Cass' own. But beautiful? She thought Cass was beautiful? Sounds more like Cass was the lucky one.
"I'm the lucky one." She hums as Raps laughs and wraps her arms around Cass's right.
"That too! So you better make it up to me!" She's smiling like the sun never set, sending more butterflies through Cass with every step. "What's on the agenda for the night?"
She'd been waiting for that! She may be late but her date plans would make up for that! "First dinner." She offers a soft smile to her date and gets one in return. She feels more like the moon than ever that night, with Rapunzel's sunlight reflected back.
"Sounds good to me, I'm a big fan of food." Everything hums between them, tangible but out of reach.
"I thought you might be."
Dinner is at a higher-end restaurant on the north side of town. Cass drives and basks in the feeling of Raps wrapped around her waist as she speeds there. She knows the host and manages to swindle her way into the best table in the joint, and 50% off their check. Conversation is light and relaxing, mostly focused on their days before it moves into more personal subjects.
"Do you have any pets?" The blonde asks through a sip of wine.
"Not really, unless you count Varian." The statement makes herself laugh, which brings a smile to Rapunzel's face as well. Her eyes soften as she looks at Cass, and the dark-haired woman tries and fails, not to blush. "He's my coworker, and kinda my best friend." She shrugs lightly and tries not to make eye-contact as she clears her throat. "What about you?"
The question lights another flame in Rapunzel who nearly squeals. "I have a dog named Max, very protective, and a chameleon, Pascal. They're my best friends." She looks a little shy as she says it, flushing and looking away herself. "Is that weird?"
"I don't think so." Cass is sure her voice has never been so soft. She thought maybe it was a little weird, but it was cute. Very cute. "I mean my best friend is a little squirt and a big nerd."
Rapunzel laughs again, this time with more feeling, and like Apollo came down and stored the sun in her own chest, she glows. "He sounds nice."
Dinner goes off without a hitch, so they're both all smiles and light flirting as they exit the restaurant. Rapunzel snuggles close to Cass with a light shiver, close enough that Cass can smell her lavender shampoo. "Where to next?"
"It's a bit of a drive, but luckily I have a spare jacket."
It takes almost an hour outside of the city before Cass begins to see the flickering lights of far off stars. She knows the path better than she would like to admit, but she knows Rapunzel's going to enjoy the view. There's a small park about twenty minutes further into the farmlands of north Corona, and she parks in the small decrepit parking lot. She tugs Rapunzel off the scooter and across the darkened park.
"Shhhhh," She whispers, against a chase kiss as they begin climbing the winding branches of a tree that breaks open to a solid wood deck balanced against another large tree. The wooden deck has a small railing and a thin slide for a quick exit, and the women crawl over the last step before it plateaus. Cassandra opens her backpack and lays out a thick blanket and gestures for Rapunzel to sit down. Next, she removes two still cold boxes of milk and a package of store-bought cookies. "I'm not much for baking but,"
She's rewarded with a smile that sparkles brighter than any star, and she decides it's okay that she can't bake, if only for that smile. With another easy gesture, she instructs Rapunzel to lay back and they both look at the sky. She almost checks her watch but sees the first slash of light across the sky. Raps gasps softly, reaching for Cass' hand as the sky lights up with the soft burn of hundreds of meteors.
Their milk and cookies are forgotten, but Cass remembers to press play on her phone, filling the silence of the night with a soundtrack as beautiful as the sky, and the woman she brought to see it.