Another day at SFIT, Sara noticed her aunt entered the class room and automatically opened her notebook.
"Good morning students." Sally smiled at the class.
A few students said good morning back, while the rest just groaned since it was Monday.
Her aunt didn't bat an eye at the groans. "So before we begin, I have an announcement, the unit test we'll be taking this week has been pushed back towards the end of the month." That got many of her peers to perk up and sigh with relief, happy they had more time to study.
One student raised a hand. "How come it's getting delayed?"
"Well after recent events in the city, the dean and the school board pushed back deadlines to prevent everyone from dying of stress." She explained, a few students winced at the reminder of said events. "Now, this doesn't mean you can slack off in my class, but you won't have to take as many all-nighters for the test."
A student's hand shot up. "Um, Professor Ferns?" This time it was Hiro.
"Yes, Mr. Hamada?"
"I heard that Professor Percival's classes were cancelled this semester, do you know why?" Several students began to whisper, Sara meanwhile was surprised by this.
Professor Percival taught many of the students studying biotech. Mika didn't mention his classes were cancelled…
Sally pursed her lip. "Hmm… I honestly can't say."
Hiro hummed at her response. "Do you have any guesses?"
"Well my guess would be stress, that's all I'm going to say on the matter." Her aunt's eyes flickered with irritation. "This is a physics class, not a civics class, alright?"
The robotics genius nodded. "Yes Professor Ferns."
Sally then began the lesson. "Open up your notebooks, we will be going over types of electromagnetic radiation…"
But as the lesson droned on, Sara felt like it was hard for her to focus, she felt like that a lot lately at SFIT.
Curse her classmates for gossiping about the whole monster crisis, she didn't blame them, "Liv" had been one of SFIT's sponsors, finding out she was a fraud had shocked everyone, especially those who saw Hiro call her out at that interview.
But what was stressing her out about the gossip, was that her sister got brought up a couple times.
Teen Dorks Squad group chat:
Hiro: Karms I heard today at school that Professor Percival's classes were cancelled for the semester
Ari: Who?
Karms: He's the main biotech teacher
Karms: He helped Mika and I transition into our internships. Poor guy
Rach: Aww, he feels bad, doesn't he?
Karms: Mhm
Hiro: Are you doing okay Karms?
Karms: Lil' bit. Seeing my Dad's family helps, tho I had an anxiety attack yesterday
Karms: Someone brought up She-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named and I am mad
Ari: Who?
Hiro: You know who!
June: Hello
Meg: Hi June! How are you?!
June: Eh today is not a good day for me
Ari: Awww : (
June: Mama says hi btw
Rach: AN ADULT IS AWARE OF THIS CHAT'S EXISTENCE
Rach: WE HAVE AN EMERGENCY HERE
Hiro: Oh shut up
Hiro: Baymax counts as an adult
Baymax: I am a robot, I do not count as an adult as I am not legally 18 years old.
Meg: this is cursed info and idk how to feel about it
Karms: how is it cursed
Karms: oh wait I get it now
June: Um sorry I didn't know the chat was supposed to be secret
Hiro: dw its ok just don't invite randos, like your gremlin siblings
June: oh you're one to talk
Ari: WOW
Rach: HEY!
Meg: oooooh burn XD
June: sorry Ari I had to
Ari: its fine but I will get you for this
Rach: Do I get an apology?
Ari: No suffer
Rach: : (
The gossip came back to haunt Sara as she enjoyed lunch with her siblings. "If one more person asks about Sycorax, I am going to explode." Mikan gestured with a spoon, stabbing into her udon noodle soup.
"Yeah don't blame you." David could sympathize, if his peers knew that his mother was involved, they'd probably bombard him with questions too.
Sara felt bad seeing her sister's distressed face. "I could tell my peers to knock it off if it helps?"
"Eh, I'll just wait for it to pass, besides-" Mikan slurped up some noodles. "Leasht it's not our otshther shister."
"Must you talk with food in your mouth?" David recoiled in disgust. "It sounds gross."
Mikan rolled her eyes, but closed her mouth.
Sara attempted to go back to eating her rice bowl, but that's when Wasabi sauntered over. "Hey Sara, can I talk to you?"
She couldn't help the blush that formed on her face. "Oh uh… sure?"
"If you're going to say anything that upsets our sister, you're gonna spend another night glued to the cafeteria wall again." Mikan threatened him.
"Mika!"
Wasabi shook his head. "No, don't worry, it's not anything upsetting."
David then got a goofy grin on his face. "Oooooh, well you two have fun smooching or whatever your love confession is!"
If looks could kill, her brother would be dead. "You're the worst." She was now blushing a deep shade of red. "Don't touch my food while I'm gone!"
Both her siblings nodded, and Sara ignored their giggles as she followed Wasabi out of the food court.
Where is he taking me? She noted he was leading her into the Quad, by the Tadashi Hamada Hall, and over to a more secluded part of campus where the nearby foliage blocked viewing eyes. Her mind immediately went to those steamy romance novels she read before reality slapped her in the face. Jeez Sara!
After sitting down on a blanket he had set up beforehand, Wasabi cleared his throat. "So, I've been thinking about stuff. Stuff about me, you… my ex." He added the latter with a wince.
"And?" She raised an eyebrow.
"And I'd really like to try being together with you, if you're still okay with that."
She couldn't help the excited squeal that escaped her throat. He likes me. He likes me! "I'd love to!" Sara grinned, leaning a little closer. "Is it okay to ask for a kiss now?"
He gently nudged her back. "Uh, not right now. I really want to take it slow after rushing things with Chris." Wasabi told her. "But I'm willing to kiss after… would coming over to my apartment around 7 tomorrow to watch movies for our first date be acceptable?"
"Of course!" She understood him taking it slow, it was a line she'd do all her power in to never cross. "Is a hug okay then?"
He nodded, and so she gave him a big loving hug. "If I do anything that makes you uneasy or upset, let me know, I don't want to make you walk on eggshells."
"Thanks." Wasabi smiled at her. "I'll be sure to say the same, now we should probably get back before your siblings-"
"Awwww they're so cute!"
"Looks like Sara finally got what she wanted!"
He blushed. "Show up…"
She just glared at David and Mikan. "Sometimes, I am really, really, really glad I don't share blood with you two barnacle heads."
They just laughed hysterically at her embarrassment.
As much as Barb wanted to continue being by her daughter's side for the whole day, she still had to eat something. But even as she was in the kitchen for a snack, her mind was still worried about Juniper, so she just ended up having a small snack of sliced apples and a cup of tea.
"Barbara?" Momakase's voice caught her off guard while she was sipping the blend of rose tea.
Barb quickly swallowed her tea before replying. "Do you need something?"
"No, I just wanted to talk." The mercenary/chef took a seat across the kitchen table, her mint-green eyes staring intensely.
Whatever Momakase wanted to talk about, Barb didn't know. Even on picking her up at the hospital and heading back they had just spent it in silence.
"Do you know why your friend's would've allowed me to stay here on house arrest?" She asked, confusion evident in her voice.
Barb shrugged. "My guess it has something to do with David, but I haven't talked with them in a long time." She only had herself to blame for that, she could've gone to San Fransokyo years ago, but didn't, letting her pride rule her heart and continued to wander the country. "I don't even know why they let me stay here."
Like a predator, the mercenary/chef seemed to sense her doubt. "Seems like you just have very kind friends, or they're just stupidly naive to put their trust in villains."
"Former villains." Barb shot her a glare.
"However, your friends aren't idiots, I wouldn't do anything to harm them, lest I mess up more of my son's relationship."
Barb raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by that?"
"Let's just say that the things I did that my employers ordered, had hit too personally for him, and I never truly apologized for that." Momakase sighed. "He's not a fan of my… career choices."
That's one way to word it. Barb thought, and that had been one of the many reasons she avoided going near San Fransokyo until Juniper had pleaded for them to pay the city a visit for a few shows. She dreaded thinking about how her old friends would've reacted, seeing how different she was the last time they had spoken.
But that hadn't happened, Steven and Sally still treated her with kindness as always, even if she wasn't the same woman they knew all those years ago. "I hope reconnecting with your son works out well."
"Me too, but I wouldn't blame him if he's upset for a while." The mercenary/chef looked up. "Can't imagine me doing anything else except stealing, but perhaps I'll just stick to the food fights."
"I had heard you were good at those." Momakase raised an eyebrow at her. "You seem to have forgotten that your arrest had been played on the news, remember?" Even though she had been in another prison than the tight security Momakase had been locked in, Barb had paid attention to the heroics in the city, even while in jail.
What? It starved off boredom, but if anyone asked she'd say it was to get information on her enemies.
"Ah… Well I hope the cameras had gotten my good side."
Barb snickered. "Don't we all?"
"I think we're going to get along swimmingly, you and I." Momakase hummed. "Shame we couldn't properly speak when we were under the same cruel employer."
"It was less of an employment and more of a blackmail." Barb rolled her eyes at the reminder of that mess. She didn't want to think about that time she had spent as an eel monster, it still kept her up at night, and that was something concerning.
But… she couldn't stress about it, Juniper still needed her.
"Indeed." Momakase agreeing with her statement snapped her from her unfortunate thoughts. "Ironically, I'm someone that tends to do the blackmailing, or well, double-crossing."
Curious, Barb gestured for her to continue. "Why, when I first faced Big Hero 6, it was around the time I was swindling this bot-fighter out of his money, he was trying to obtain a Krei-Tech device you see. I'd planned on selling it on the black market and had some of the hires from the food fight assist in that, in exchange for some of the cut."
"Mhmm, this bot-fighter wouldn't happen to be named Yama, would he?"
She nodded. "Surprised you've heard of him, was it when he got arrested thanks to Big Hero 6?"
"You could say that." Barb shrugged.
Knock-knock-knock!
A knock on the door made them look up. "Is school over?" The mercenary/chef asked the older blonde.
"Perhaps, but I doubt it's Sally's kids." Barb replied, she had heard they were going to do some errands before going back home. She got up to open the door, and found a different pair of siblings. "Oh, hello again Ariel."
The bandana girl pouted. "It's Ari!" She crossed her arms. "Why do you always call me by my full name?"
Barb couldn't help but chuckle at the young girl's puffed up cheeks and red face. "You don't like being called Ariel?"
"It sounds weird, like if everyone called my brother Hiroshi all the time!"
Said brother gave her a glare. "Thanks Ari, for saying my full name in front of our mutual friend." He gestured to Megan.
"What's wrong with Hiroshi?" The reporter raised an eyebrow, smirking.
Hiro groaned. "I'll explain later."
"Can we see June?" Ari questioned Barb.
She nodded. "Of course you can, she'd be happy to see you."
"Yay!" But as the group walked into the household, Hiro and Ari noticed the villain in the kitchen.
Momakase looked at them with amusement as they glared back. No one was saying a word as the sibling's anger burned with the intensity of a raging sun, compared to the icy coldness of her mint-green eyes.
"Uh… I'm gonna go check on Juni." Megan wisely decided to not get involved and walked up the stairs to not witness the staring contest. She had no idea what was going on and was frankly too scared to find out.
Eventually, one of them spoke. "So, Momakase." Hiro's tone was blunt, straight to the point. "You're officially staying here?"
"Yes, you might as well get used to my presence then." Momakase smirked, but then her eyes directed to Ari, the bandana girl flinched. "Calm down, I have an apology for you."
Ari blinked. "An apology?"
"For Akuma Island." Momakase explained. "I apologize for getting you and your friend involved in my affairs with Big Hero 6. It was no personal feelings, I had been ordered to do so. Though you weren't supposed to get involved."
"You don't say?!" Hiro got shushed by his sister.
"I remember that part but uh, you feel bad about the black eye thing, right?" Ari questioned, as Barb shot Momakase a look of confusion. "Because that hurt for like a week!"
She looked at the eye that she had punched in a fit of rage, ironically it was sporting the scars from Sycorax. "Yes." She shouldn't have lost her temper with the girl, even if it had been frustration that she made her job difficult at the time.
Momakase may have been a villain, but she wasn't a villain that hurt defenseless children without remorse.
The robotics genius didn't look swayed, as expected. "But you'd punch her again if someone paid you."
"Hiro!" Ari hissed at him for attempting to goad the chef/mercenary.
Momakase sighed. "No for two reasons. One, I have some limits and two, I'm not planning on being employed by a higher up after the last one went so well." Her sarcasm made the two siblings pause. "Now if I were you two, I'd check on your friend."
Ari winced at the mention of Juniper. "Yeah, we should check up on June." But as Hiro led her up the stairs, she gave Momakase a "I got my eye on you" gesture and punctuated it with her punching her fists.
It would've been intimidating if she didn't look so soft doing so.
"What was that about a black eye?" Barb questioned.
"Let's just say that you're not the only one who has some things they regret doing while living a life of thievery."
Juniper tilted her head as she heard more footsteps. "Who's that?" She questioned.
"Probably Hiro and Ari at last, there was an awkward moment with some lady in the kitchen." Megan explained with a wince. "Wonder what the deal is, but I wanted to make sure you were okay first."
"Ah." She would've said something else but the other two had opened the door.
Ari instantly jumped to her side. "Hi June! Are you doing okay?"
Juniper shrugged. "Eh, it could be better, but it's great seeing you!" She glanced at Hiro's irritated expression. "Guess I'm not the only one who woke up on the wrong side of the bed today."
"Witty as ever, seems you're just doing fine." Hiro shrugged.
"Thanks."
Hiro sat next to her. "Still getting used to the Fern kids calling you their little sister?
"You have no idea." Juniper groaned. "The morning they started calling me little sis was the weirdest morning of my life!"
"Really?" Ari questioned. "You haven't had any weirder mornings? Like you wake up in someone's secret hideout?"
Juniper blushed from embarrassment. "Hey it wasn't a secret or anything…"
"I feel like I'm missing some context here." Megan raised an eyebrow.
"Long story." She waved it off. "Er, have you had any weird mornings?"
The reporter could name several, but one in particular came to mind. "So I was watching this kentucky kaiju movie marathon with Fred and this kid named Mole-"
Ari groaned. "Uhg, Mole, already know where this is going."
"He stole Fred's collectables and we woke up to him leaving an evil message on a phone like some cartoon supervillain." And to this day Megan wondered where he got the phone from, or the pillow double. How the heck did he even smuggle it in?!
"Wow, and I thought him insulting my dancing was the worst, stealing someone's prized items, not cool!" Juniper crossed her arms.
Hiro gave her a look. "Stealing, hmm?"
"Hey I might've done some thievery but I'm not mean enough to steal a person's treasures, money doesn't count because everyone thinks it's a treasure."
He wasn't going to argue with that. "Maybe we should host a movie marathon, without any evil messages or stolen items."
"Or pillow doubles." They gave Megan a look. "If you were there you would find it creepy, trust me."
Ari seemed excited about the idea of a movie marathon. "Oh that'd be cool! A sleepover marathon is the best place to watch movies!"
"I thought the theatres were the best place to watch movies." Juniper argued. She hadn't seen movies with friends, let alone anyone in a long time. "I miss going out to movies."
"Same." Hiro agreed with her. "They don't play good ones anymore, all they play is Kentucky Kaiju!"
His sister gasped at him. "Fred is gonna flip out if he hears you say that!"
"Fred can chill, not everyone is obsessed with Kentucky Kaiju!"
Megan rolled her eyes at the siblings. "You guys are so dramatic."
"It's for the funsies Meg." Juniper teased.
"Mhmm." The reporter smiled at her. "I guess you're right."
For some reason, that smile just made the dancer feel warm and fuzzy inside. She didn't know why, it wasn't a special or out of the ordinary smile.
It was just a smile from Megan, the reporter that always brought a light to her day with her charm and beautiful laughter-
Wait, did she just think that Megan was beautiful? No wait she thought her laugh was, not to say that Megan wasn't pretty, her smile was pretty, and so was the rest of her.
As that thought came to mind, coupled with the fuzzy feelings she felt, Juniper felt a slight twinge of panic. Oh no, oh noooo…
She was starting to get feelings for the reporter, not just mere feelings of friendships, but feelings of something more.
What the heck was she supposed to do about that?!
Meanwhile…
The front door opened, Steven poked his head from the living room to see his kids entering with bags. "Hey kiddos!"
"Hi Dad!" and "Uncle Steven!" Were heard as the trio walked in, followed by Sally.
"We went grocery shopping, there's still some bags in the car." Sally explained. "Can you help get the rest out?"
Steven nodded. "Sure thing!"
David perked his head up as he heard heels clicking in the kitchen, no one in the household really had heels, but there was someone in his family who did. "Is my mother home?"
On cue, Momakase stood by the door frame. "Yes, yes I am." Words could not describe the warmth in her eyes as she gazed at her son. "Hello David, it's good to see you.
He didn't say anything at first, eyes wide as he processed his mother's presence in the house. "Hey, welcome to the family." Mikan lazily waved as she placed the bags in the kitchen. "Don't steal our stuff."
"Like I would take any of your things-" She got cut off as David pulled her into a hug, a small smile formed on her lips.
David sniffled as he soaked up her warmth. "I missed you so much Mum, don't ever disappear again!"
"I won't, I promise." She hugged him back.
Sara stared at the scene with joy in her eyes as her brother was reunited with his mother. "Aww…" She murmured, feeling the slightest of tears brim in her eyes.
Even Mikan felt teary-eyed. "I'm not crying, you're crying." She was glaring at Sally.
"I never said anything dear." Sally chuckled.
Steven came back to the house carrying the groceries in his arms. "What'd I miss?"
"Hugs." Sally gestured. "By the way, do you think we should have dumplings for dinner?"
At the idea of food, David's eyes lit up. "Oh Mum! You could help Mom and Dad out with the cooking, they make really good dinners!" Then he wrinkled his nose. "Except when they make me eat veggies."
Momakase suppressed a groan, even as a little boy, David was repulsed about the idea of eating vegetables. "I can do that, want me to make the salmon rolls you like?"
"Yes!" He was now drooling at the idea of having one of his favorites.
However, his mom made a face. "Sorry sweetie, we're out of fish."
"What?! Why didn't we buy any at the store?" Mikan frowned. "I like salmon, and also eel-" That's when she realized the problem. "Ohhhh… I see."
Sally nodded. "Right, definitely not buying that ever again, seafood'll just bring up unpleasant memories, sorry to not say this sooner kids, but you'll have to get your fill of fish not in the household."
"It's okay Aunt Sally, we understand!" Sara reassured her. "Honestly, eating seafood makes me uneasy too."
Even David could agree, now that they mentioned the eel thing. "Great, another reason to be mad at that lady, she ruined seafood!"
That got a chuckle out of his mother. "There'll still be plenty of food at dinner, perhaps udon noodles? Or some vegetable rolls?" Momakase suggested.
David made another face. "Why? Why must you poison me with veggies?"
"They're good for you!"
"No they're not!"
"They are David…"
"Nuh-uh!"
Sara and Mikan exchanged glances. "Wanna check on the little sister?" Mikan suggested.
"Don't have to ask me twice." They both bolted up the stairs and past Barb.
"They're in a rush…" She muttered, then noticed David arguing with his mother about vegetables of all things. "Wait does he still-?"
"Yes Barb, he still hates his veggies." Sally sighed. "Fourteen years of raising him, and I never found a fruit or vegetable he actually liked that wasn't in sushi form."
At least he wasn't always great at finding the hidden veggies they'd slip into his food, it usually worked whenever he was being extremely stubborn. "And to this day we don't know why he hates them." Steven added, shaking his head. "Starting to think greens wronged him in a past life or something."
"Steven I love you but that's crazy talk."
Mikan slammed open the door with a grin. "What's up?!"
Several teens in the room yelped in surprise. "Mikan do you always have to break down the door?!" Juniper exclaimed.
"Always." She replied with a grin.
Sara just pinched the bridge of her nose. "Don't ask, I've tried, David's tried, we didn't get an answer why Mika has the urge to enter a room dramatically."
"I'm channeling my inner Kuzco." Mikan stated.
That just made her younger sister groan in exhaustion, clearly done with her big sister's shenanigans.
"I feel your pain Sara." Ari bowed her head empathetically. "Hiro constantly keeps me up with his fiddling on the computer."
Hiro gasped in offense. "I do not!"
"Yes you do! Would it kill you to have headphones?!" She exclaimed, glaring at her brother.
"Says the chocolate thief…" He glared back. "Can you stop raiding my stash of candy? Does asking not apply to you?!"
Ari pouted. "Like you'd ever share, you're a candy hog!" She then turned to Megan and Juniper. "One time I took a gummy bear bag from the pantry and Hiro straight up yoinked it, like he's the only one in the house allowed to have gummy bears."
"Um, you're skipping the part where the bag had my name on it!"
"See what I mean?!"
Juniper placed a hand to her head at her friend's bickering. "Do all siblings argue like this?" She asked Megan.
"I don't have any siblings, so I don't know." Megan shrugged.
The dancer blinked in surprise. "Oh." She didn't know that. "Did you ever wish you had siblings?"
"Not really, I used to hear my classmates complain about their little siblings, so I never really wished that." Megan brushed a tuft of hair out of her eyes, Juniper tried to not stare too directly at her. "What about you?"
"Sometimes, I used to be kind of lonely as a little kid." She quietly admitted in a small enough voice that the others wouldn't hear.
"Do you still feel like that?"
She looked up. "Like what?"
"Lonely."
Juniper glanced over to Ari, her best friend, who still cared about her even after what happened at Bridgeton. Then to Hiro, despite what happened with Ari, he treated her with kindness and greatly cared about his friendship.
She still wasn't sure how to feel about the rest of the Ferns, but they were kind of like siblings, annoying gremlin siblings, but still siblings. "Not anymore, it feels weird sometimes, but I feel happy, y'know?"
Megan smiled at her again, oh that smile that just made her feel warm and happy and all sorts of fuzzy feelings. "I'm glad, you deserve to be happy."
She smiled, a blush on her face. "Yeah, I guess I do."
Teen Dorks Squad group chat:
June: Hey it was nice having you guys over!
Ari: np, sorry we couldn't stay super long! our aunt wanted us home for dinner
Meg: Yeah and my dad gets worried if I'm late
Hiro: Like calling an entire police force to search?
Meg: why did i tell you that
Karms: I feel like my mom would do that if she had access to an entire police force
June: suddenly I feel like quoting Baymax
Baymax: I have some concerns
June: YEAH THAT
Rach: what is going on here
Ari: chaos
Rach: Understandable, have a nice day
Rach: Sry I couldn't come over, was catching up on homework
Ari: you didn't do the friday homework?
Rach: SSSHUSH
Hiro: XD
Karms: rip
Meg: I feel your pain
Eventually it was supper in the Ferns household. Juniper could already smell cooked vegetables as she walked down the stairs.
"Hey Juniper!" Sara waved to her, and she took a seat next to the wavy-haired blonde. A bowl of udon noodles was immediately placed on her table. "You're gonna love Momakase's cooking, it's amazing!"
She'd take her word on it, and took a sip, the soup was rich with flavor, like a warm comforting fire. "Wow…" Juniper murmured. "This is the best udon I've had in my life!"
The chef of said soup was smirking at the praise. "Why thank you."
"Do not feed my mum's ego." David crossed his arms.
"I do not have an ego." Momakase glared at her son.
He scoffed. "Didn't you poison a guy because he added too much soy sauce to one of your meals?"
"One does not drown a chef's masterpiece in soy sauce, it's an insult to the craft!"
The small argument was dropped as there was a knock on the door, Sally opened and a familiar artist entered. "Hey David, your girlfriend's here!" Mikan teased in a sing-song voice, she got a cuff on the shoulder from her brother. "Rude."
"You're the worst Mika…" He grumbled.
Sienna took a seat next to her boyfriend. "Thanks for inviting me, it was really generous of you." She told Steven and Sally.
"No problem dear, you're always welcome at our home!" Steven beamed at her.
Is he always this cheery? Juniper wondered. It seemed the mechanic's default mode was being happy-go-lucky.
"He's usually not this energetic, especially if it's a day at Krei-Tech." Sara seemed to read her mind as she glanced over to her confused sister. "Because Alistair Krei is the worst!"
"You really don't like that man, do you?" Barb noted.
Sara nodded, irritation in her eyes. "Yeah, stupidly I tried doing an internship at Krei-Tech once and I hated every moment of it, I don't know why my uncle hasn't quit yet his boss is terrible."
"Why did you get an internship at Krei-Tech?"
The wavy-haired blonde blushed a little. "I was desperate…"
Mikan snickered at her little sister's reaction. "Keep digging that grave of yours sis."
"Oh you're one to talk, you work at-mmph!" Whatever Sara was going to say was cut off by Steven.
The dancer looked at the scene in confusion and glanced to her mama for answers. "Don't look at me, I don't know what they're talking about either." Barb shrugged.
"Huh." Shrugging it off, she turned to Sienna. "Do you also go to SFIT?"
"Nah, I'm from SFAI!" The artist beamed. "Art has always been my passion, I really like studying watercolors but I've been learning the trade of digital art, a few of my pieces have actually been shown in some student art exhibits!"
Juniper didn't know what a student art exhibit was, but it sounded impressive. "That's really cool!"
"Y'know, there's a couple classes in the performing arts department, in case you're interested." Sienna winked.
She blushed. "Oh uh… that sounds cool, but I don't feel like doing any performances anytime soon, or studying any." Juniper rubbed the back of her neck. "Honestly I've always been into engineering-"
"Wait really?!" Both of them glared at Sara, who had interrupted them. "Sorry, but I didn't know that."
"Well yeah, it's really cool getting to make things, I mostly like learning about electrical engineering, it takes a lot more concentration into working on circuits than you'd expect." She started to ramble. "Y'know those electrical gauntlets my Mama and I wore? Those were one of my projects! I don't get to make things a lot since getting tech on the road is next to impossible, but when I used to go to school it was a blast making all sorts of gadgets!"
Sara gave her a thumbs up. "Neat, I wish I was good at engineering, I'm still confused by electromagnet-whatever."
"Electromagnetism!" Juniper corrected, then blushed. "Sorry for rambling." She couldn't help but be the star of the show, could she?
"No it's fine, I'd like to hear about what projects you worked on."
That made her beam again. "Really? Okay so one time we were working on a circuit board for a type of bot-"
As she continued rambling, Sally smiled seeing the dancer so cheerful and animated.
But it got the gears in her head to whir. She's a little kid genius, isn't she? Sally realized, glancing over to Barb curiously.
Barb caught her eyes, and shook her head. Right, we'll talk later. Now was not the time to interrogate either mother and daughter.
The rest of the dinner had been pretty peaceful, Steven lit the candles tonight and gave the kids ghelt for dessert. "Oh so that's what people mean by chocolate gold." It had been adorable seeing Juniper's reaction to the treat, seeing the way her eyes lit up as she sampled the chocolate goodness.
So as David was letting Sienna out the door and Steven roped their other three kids into dish duty, Sally guided Barb outside to the house's backyard for a chat. The two of them were now sitting at one of the porch tables, the light of the lamp illuminating the otherwise pitch-black backyard.
"Your daughter's a little kid genius, isn't she?" Sally noted. Her friend was staying silent, one of the toads in the pond croaking, the only sound beside her voice. "She reminded me a bit of one my students, the teen genius, though he's more into robotics-"
"I know." Barb's voice was sad with nostalgia. "I haven't seen Juni that excited in years, she used to love chattering about what she learned at Osborn Academy and showing me her work, it was normal."
Sally nodded in understanding. "Then he ruined it?"
That got a snicker. "Yes, it's hard doing online college when you're going from town to town to avoid the local police, or your ex."
"Ah, so she's graduated high school?" Barb nodded, and Sally sighed with relief. She was worried they'd have to send Juniper to either an awful school her kids suffered at or a school full of bad memories. "Hm, y'know during the spring, Grace is accepting transfer/scholarship students."
"Is she?" Her friend raised an eyebrow.
Sally smirked. "Yep! So if Juni wanted to go back to school, I'm sure SFIT would accept her."
"I don't know, Sal." Barb hesitated. "As much as you like your students, who knows how they'll react."
The professor waved it off. "Relax, haven't heard a negative thing about High Voltage from either of them." However, she did hear some gossip about the monster crisis where the duo had been mentioned, but most was sympathetic, she hadn't heard one of her students insult them.
"Really?" Barb raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, your daughter would just have her own little fan club, bullying isn't tolerated at SFIT." She stretched her arms. "And my oldest has a reputation for… let's say 'intimidating' to anyone who tries to hurt her siblings."
"Okay, but it has to be Juniper's choice." Barb told her. "She's in no condition to have school piled back onto her, let her know ahead of time and allow her to prepare. And if I find out something bad happens to my baby at SFIT…" Her mama bear glare made Sally flinch.
"Okay, okay, I get it." She nervously chuckled. "Nothing bad will happen! Unless midterms count?" Barb replied with an eye-roll.
Creak!
"Is this the fun zone?" Her oldest opening the door made Sally turn her head, Mikan looked nervous as she took a seat at the porch table.
"No, this is the Ferns house." She deadpanned. Barb placed a hand to her mouth to try and muffle her snicker.
Mikan rolled her eyes. "Juni was getting pretty antsy so I thought I'd check up on you two."
"I see." Barb frowned. "I should probably head back in."
But there was a nervous look in her eyes. "It's either from that, or the fact she found out where my internship was." Mikan chuckled. "Um, I don't think she's happy I'm still working at Sycorax, even after the bad people are gone now."
An eyebrow was raised in shock. "You still work at that place?"
"It's a decent gig, Auntie!"
Sally groaned. "Mikan Ferns, please do not antagonize your aunt." But then she smiled. "That's my job, after-all!"
"Really Sal?" Barb shook her head.
"I've got years of shenanigans to make up for! Plus the kids gotta hear about some of them-"
Barb just groaned at her fate.
Teen Dorks Squad group chat:
Hiro: So I have a proposition
Ari: go on.
Hiro: We should all play Among Us together
Rach: Omg
Karms: Hiro no
Hiro: What?
June: What's Among Us?
Meg: Murder mystery party game with bean people
Hiro: Megan, that's such a basic explanation!
Meg: Ok Karen
Hiro: ADKSIJKISoikKOKO
Ari: Baymax what are your thoughts on this?
Baymax: I conclude that playing a game together can strengthen friendship bonds.
Baymax: I have played "Among Us" with Hiro, and according to my database playing with a friend makes it more enjoyable
Rach: …
Karms: …
June: Wait, you know how to play video games?
"Y'know." Hiro placed his phone back into his pockets. "I sometimes forget you can surprise me everyday, buddy."
"I fail to see what is surprising about learning new skills." Baymax pointed out. "Everyone is able to learn something new all the time."
"Fair." Nothing like a good ol' night patrol to clear his thoughts. The city was quiet since Sycorax and the Heartless incidents, but the occasional robbery still happened.
And it kept his mind off of other things. I really miss Karms, even if I can text and call her I still miss seeing her in person. He was still hung over about her leaving, while neither of them were sure about their budding feelings they did enjoy each other's company.
Watching cat videos together, dealing with his sister's annoying shipping together, working on the parasynth cure together…
The buzzing of the comms brought him back into focus. "Hiro, you'll never guess who's causing a ruckus!" Fred exclaimed.
Hiro put his phone down, guess this night wouldn't be boring. "Yama?"
"Nope! It's some wannabe ninja guy!"
"A what?"
"You heard him." Wasabi added. "We're handling the situation, but there could be more, can you keep an eye out?"
He nodded. "Sure thing!" Turning off the comms, he tapped Baymax on the shoulder. "Let's go buddy."
"I will scan for suspicious activity." Baymax stated, picking up his speed to fly around the city.
Like they always said, evil never slept, so neither did heroes.
Hiro was used to running on not many hours of sleep anyways, as long as there were villains in the city, he'd be there to stop them.
AN: So much happened this chapter! Sara and Wasabi started their budding relationship (I like to call them Sarasabi), Fern found family is in full swing and Juni is starting to realize her feelings for lil ol' Megan Cruz :3
let's see how long it'll take until their confession hehe
I had fun the most writing the dinner scene there is so much found family in these family hehe
next chapter though... i wish it was as wholesome
next week will reveal the full past of High Voltage, I left a little hint this chapter so you might be able to guess what's to come ;)
