"Can't believe it took them this long to do something about it." Kaden mutters in exasperation as he overlooks a crew of workers, currently in the midst of installing his design of brand new one-way solid light doors into the city's outer walls' emergency exits.
Once again, he thought that the most reasonable course of action for the Council would be to get rid of these things entirely so they can prevent all the easily-done break-ins and break-outs because of how ineffective they were and not just use a band-aid solution like redesigning them—yet again. Granted, Kaden thought that this band-aid design was a damn good one, if he said so himself, but as long as there were unnecessary exits at all, then there was no guarantee that it'd stop all of those kids and delinquents from sneaking out all the time.
But as he stands there, arms crossed with an annoyed expression upon reminiscing about his failed attempts to convince the Council to just seal them up, holding a rolled-up blueprint, he hears a familiar voice call out for him.
"Ah, Kaden, funny seeing you here."
Kaden turns, and finds with pleasant surprise that it is Chief Wells, who begins walking over to him.
"Oh, Chief Wells, good to see you again." Kaden returns with an amicable nod and smile. "What are you doing all the way out here?"
"Covering patrols until I can get more competent officers, is all." She replies, crossing her arms as she stands next to Kaden. "But, luckily, seems like word's starting to get out that I'm looking for officers who can actually do their proper jobs, because the recruits I've been getting recently are already performing well in their training."
"Hey, that's great to hear!" Kaden replies optimistically. "So, I take it that my advice has been working out fine, then?"
"Oh, definitely." She responds with a smile and a nod. "It's amazing how effective punishing dumbasses with cleaning their cruisers with a toothbrush is, it does wonders on incentivizing them to actually do their jobs right."
"Wait, seriously? You actually decided to stick with that punishment even though I said it was a bit harsh?" He asks with a raised eyebrow.
"What, you thought I was just joking when I said I was going to use it?" She returns, placing her hands on her hips. "I can see why that Praetorian commander used it now, because it works. And if you're worried about me being 'too cruel' or some other dumb nonsense like that, don't worry, because I give first time offenders a hairbrush instead of a toothbrush." She argues, raising a finger.
"Well… I guess I can't say you're worse than he was, at least." Kaden chuckles. "But I'm glad to hear that I was actually of some help despite me not having been with the Praetorians for a good twenty years. I hope you continue doing a great job at improving the City Guard, Chief Wells."
She returns a smile. "Thank you, Kaden, I appreciate it. Erm, your praise and your help, I mean."
"Anytime, Chief. Just know that I'll always be available in case you want some more of it, and I'll be happy to help." He assures her.
"I'll be sure to keep that in mind, then." She says with a nod, crossing her arms as she turns to face the crew working on the wall alongside him, to which she then tilts her head slightly as she thumbs over to them. "What's going on here, anyway?"
"Oh, right!" He perks up eagerly. "The Council's finally doing something about those stupid emergency exits in the walls." He explains.
"Wait, seriously? Finally!" She says with a relieved sigh, placing her hand on her chest. "At least a good quarter of my headaches are just reprimanding stupid kids from breaking them all the time trying to sneak out and play hooky. Are they finally getting rid of them?" She asks hopefully.
Kaden groans with a shake of his head. "No. They still want the exits there, even though I tell them that it's a stupid idea and they're useless in the long run, but no, they're just a 'necessary risk for the safety of our citizens, Kaden!'" He mimics them distastefully before rubbing his eyes.
"Goddammit, seriously? What a bunch of incompetent dumbasses." Wells comments sordidly.
"Preaching to the choir here." Kaden responds with a small smile, removing his hand from his face.
"So, what are they doing instead of they aren't sealing the damn things, then?"
"Oh, they're using this design that I created!" He responds with some enthusiasm, unrolling the blueprint in his hand before standing closer next to her, practically touching shoulders as he presents it to her. "A solid light one-way door, so that people can leave out of the walls like normal but can't come back in, which means that all those kids won't be sneaking out all willy-nilly if they can't just sneak back in with no problem. And because it's made of solid light, intruders can't just peel away those super flimsy panels we use to cover them up, either."
"Not like what your son did when he first showed up?" She asks with some distaste, raising an eyebrow.
He chuckles. "Nope, shouldn't be a problem anymore."
"Well… then I'd say I can be satisfied with this until someone manages to convince them to just fill them up completely and be done with it. Good job, Kaden." She says, patting his shoulder with a small smile. "Thanks for making my life a little bit easier at least. On top of all your advice, of course."
He smiles warmly as well as he rolls up the blueprint, taking a small step away as he becomes suddenly mindful of how they were standing nearly shoulder-to-shoulder. "Well, thanks, Chief Wells, I try." He says with a small shrug.
"Although, I've gotta admit that you could maybe try a little harder when it comes to wrangling in that little bastard you call a son." She follows up, crossing her arms once more. "No offence. To you, at least."
Kaden gives a deep sigh, rubbing the back of his head. "Look, again, I am really sorry for all the trouble he's been giving you lately. I'm trying to teach him to act more reasonable over here, but I guess I'm seeing for myself how my parents were usually at their wit's end with all of my stubbornness. I guess he takes after his old man in more ways than just his good looks." He says with a chuckle, prompting Wells to roll her eyes.
"And apparently, that includes being a funny guy, too." She says dryly.
"Sorry, I can't help myself when the opportunity arises." He says with a small wave of his hand, still wearing a smile. "But, at the very least, I think that night he spent in your cell after his little joyride the other day helped him learn to keep out of trouble a little better, especially if he knows now that I won't let him off the hook for stupid things just because he's my son."
"And hopefully you're right about that. But, you know… I've gotta say that I'm thankful you actually made him serve his sentence." She says earnestly. "I was honestly kind of worried you were just going to bail him out when he said he was going to call you for help, what with you two being close together after being separated for years and all. But that look on his face when you told him to sit his ass in that cell for the rest of the night is something that I will always cherish in my memories." She says fondly, looking off with a small smile as Kaden raises an eyebrow at her.
"Well, I'm… glad to hear it, I guess?" He replies with some bemusement.
"Say, where is that little punk running around right now, anyway? Usually, he's stuck to you like glue, from what I've seen." She asks, returning her attention back to him as she snaps out of reminiscing that glorious evening she saw him behind bars. "He's not out trying to cause more chaos, is he?"
"Oh, uh, no, not at all. He's actually back in his own dimension right now, attending to some business back at his home, catching up with some of his friends, just the usual stuff." Kaden responds with a shrug. "Although, he is coming back later today to visit me after I get off work so we can have dinner together, so that's nice."
"…Huh." She comments dumbly, giving him a blank stare before she huffs a small laugh. "Only a Keeper of the Dimensionator can say something that batshit crazy so casually, I guess."
"Yeah, I guess I sometimes forget how things like that sound from someone not used to working with the interdimensional on the regular." He says, also returning a small laugh as well. "But, after having to deal with all of the craziness from finally having him come back in my life and hearing all of the even crazier stuff he's been up to this whole time, I must've gotten even more desensitized to all of it, I guess." He says with a playful smile. "Plus, there's also the fact that hopping dimensions from here and back isn't all that weird anymore, now that me and the Council deemed him an official Keeper of the Dimensionator a few days ago, just like me. It's pretty much his job now." He explains amusedly.
"Wait, seriously?!" Wells asks him in surprise. "He's a Keeper now? Him? That little shit who's been a pain in my ass ever since he came here?"
"Hey, he really is a good and responsible person once you get past all of his immaturity and stubbornness." Kaden assures her with a grin. "And besides, I think you should be a little grateful, actually, since being a Keeper means extra responsibilities and making sure to maintain a good standard, and that includes not trying to piss off the Chief of the City Guard all the time to try and get himself thrown into cuffs again."
"You're damn right in that he better not try and get on my bad side." She says decisively, crossing her arms with a stern look. "Because Keeper or not, I will book his ass if he keeps trying to be stupid, mark my words."
"Understood, Chief Wells." He replies, giving her a small salute and a nod. "And I don't doubt it. Just keep up the good work, and I'll try my best to keep him out of your hair."
"Good." She returns with a nod before they turn back to the crew working on the wall before them, currently in the middle of disassembling the current exit to make room for the new one of Kaden's design, with the sound of tools and cutting metal being heard.
But after a few moments, she turns her head back to Kaden, thumbing over to them.
"You know, I just realized; why the hell are you even here in the first place, anyway?" She asks. "Don't you Councilmembers usually have cushier jobs sitting in your offices all day instead of baking yourselves out in the sun watching a bunch of guys build your stuff?"
"Hey, we Councilmembers do more than just sit in our offices all day, I'll have you know." He argues, crossing his arms with a proud posture.
She doesn't respond, instead simply raising an incredulous eyebrow at him for a few seconds until he rolls his eyes with a sigh, slumping a bit.
"Okay, yes, we do mostly just sit in our offices." He concedes, making her smile in satisfaction before he quickly raises a finger. "But! It is very important business that we do in those offices, like sketching new designs or drafting up new regulations, I can tell you that much."
"Yeah, don't worry, I don't doubt it." She says amusedly. "But that doesn't answer my question for why you're just standing around out here instead of your office, Mr. Very Important Business."
"Hey, I already told you, call me Kaden. Mr. Very Important Business was my father's name." He replies smugly, making Wells roll her eyes, but unable to keep from cracking a small smirk at his joke.
"But, to answer your question, since the Council knows that I've always been the most vocal about getting rid of these stupid exits, they thought that it'd only be fair that I'd also be the one to supervise the project to 'double-check and make sure they do a good job'." He explains distastefully in air quotes.
"Or, to put it in regular terms, this is pretty much them getting back at me for whining about this all the time for years now." He finishes, dropping his arms with a sigh. "But… even then, I actually don't really mind standing around with nothing to do for the next couple of days if it means that this problem finally gets fixed. It brings me back to my Praetorian days, honestly, being just as bored out of my mind on mindless patrols where nothing ever happens, kinda like this whole assignment." He says, gesturing to the workers.
"Yeah, I know that feeling all too well." She mutters, turning her head aside with a tired look, which couldn't help but make Kaden chuckle a little bit with sympathetic solidarity.
"So, how much longer are you having to suffer from excruciating boredom, then?" He asks.
"Oh, erm, not too much longer, actually." She says, perking up a bit as she quickly pulls out her communicator to check the time. "In fact, I should be getting Fullman coming in to replace me right about… now." She says glancing up, making Kaden turn back as well, curious.
And, right on cue, they spot a City Guard officer rounding the corner from one of the buildings next to them, making Kaden widen his eyes, impressed.
"Damn, he's punctual."
"As all my officers should be." She replies with a satisfied nod as the officer in question spots her, and makes his way towards her before giving a salute.
"Officer Fullman, reporting for duty, Chief, and here to engage on patrol." He says resolutely.
"At ease, Fullman, and thanks." She replies, giving him a quick salute as well. "And good job for being on time right on the dot, too, that's what I like to see."
He gives a smile and a nod. "Thank you, Chief, but to be honest, I made extra sure to be on time because I knew it was you who was waiting for someone to cover your shift, and I know you'd be out for blood if I was late."
"You're damn right I would. Luckily, though, it seems like you get to live for another day. But, that's enough chit-chat, so get to patrolling, officer."
"Yes, ma'am." He replies with another salute before going ahead and walking off, and as soon as he's out of sight as he turns the corner, Wells relaxes with a large sigh of relief, stretching out a bit.
"Phew, finally, my feet are killing me." She mutters, shaking out her legs.
"Nothing quite like walking around in a circle for a solid two hours, huh?" Kaden says with a smile before nodding his head over to their side. "There's a bench over here, I was about to go ahead and make myself comfortable before you stopped to talk with me, but we can go ahead take a seat right now, if you want. Erm, that is, unless you're busy at the moment, of course?" He awkwardly follows up.
She waves a hand. "Nah, don't worry, I've got a few people to help cover the recruits' training while I'm out here, and I don't have any paperwork to deal with, so I can afford a little break." She assures him with a small smile as they begin to make their way over to the bench in question, conveniently located in the shade of the nearby buildings as well. "How much longer do you have with this whole supervision thing, anyway?"
"Just a few more hours, luckily, then I'm free to head home." He says as he takes a seat on the bench with Chief Wells, who can't help but breathe out a sigh of relief upon finally having a good chance to sit down. And as she does, Kaden also takes the moment to lean back a bit, resting his elbows on the back of the bench as he turns his head to give her a small but genuine smile.
"But, it's nice to know that at least a little bit of it can go by a little faster now that I have someone to talk to. Thanks for joining me, Chief Wells. I appreciate it."
She returns a smile as well, but then promptly turns her head away while waving a hand. "Eh, don't mention it, I'm just sitting here to rest my feet a bit. Talking with you is just a fortunate side effect."
"Well, side effect or not, I still enjoy your company nonetheless." He says contentedly, turning his head back to the crew working on the wall.
"Oh. Well… thanks, Kaden. I'm glad you think so." She responds pleasantly, regarding him for a moment before also looking back to the construction job that he was overlooking.
And so, they sit in a peaceful silence together for a small moment, enjoying the brief respite as she too relaxes her posture, leaning back while crossing her arms. But then, she rests her gaze on the ground for a few seconds in thought, right before turning her head slightly to glance back at him.
"Erm, you don't have to call me 'Chief Wells', all the time, by the way." She speaks up, albeit a little more softly than usual.
"Hmm?" Kaden responds, snapping out of his own thoughts as he turns his head to look back over at her as well. "What do you mean by that?"
"Well, I get that having to refer to me as 'Chief' is a bit of a mouthful sometimes, and I figure that we're both a little past usual formalities after getting to know each other a bit better." She explains with a small shrug. "So… call me Alice, if it suits you better." She adds with a small smile.
"Alice?" Kaden repeats with some surprise, finding the offer unexpected.
"Yeah. Well, if you want to, of course." She tells him, giving another shrug. "Except in front of my men, being my only stipulation. I've gotta set a good example, after all." She adds, raising a finger before placing it back on her crossed arms.
"Don't worry, I understand, I was the same way back when I was a General." Kaden replies with a small chuckle, right before pausing for a few moments to mull over her suggestion. "But… I guess I already asked for you to call me 'Kaden' instead of 'Councilman', so… I guess it's only fair that I return the favor, then." He says with a nod and a smile. "I guess what I meant to say then was that I'm thankful for you joining me, Alice. I appreciate it."
She returns a nod as well, as well as a glad smile. "Don't mention it. It feels nice to relax a bit after that slog of a patrol this morning."
He huffs a small laugh through his nose. "I'm happy to be of some help, then."
And with that, they both return to enjoying a moment of relative silence together, broken only by the sounds of the workers discussing with each other how they'll yank out these wires for the now-defunct exit's intrusion sensors to keep them in good enough condition to reuse as much as they can for wiring the solid-light exit, with both Kaden and Wells sitting back, watching them with some collective amusement.
But after a minute or so, Kaden then turns his head away from them to instead look over at Wells with a small smirk on his lips.
"So, Alice… you got any good stories of especially memorable people you've had to deal with on patrol, then?" He suggests.
She exhales a large breath along with a small laugh. "You kidding? Working at the City Guard for over a decade means that you run into a lot of dumbasses trying to do stupid shit, like trying to tag one of our cruisers while an officer's still inside of it, watching him through the window, for starters. Oh, and the one time that I caught a guy trying to sell bootlegged wrenches red-handed, but he still tried to tell me that wasn't what he was doing, even though I booked him for the exact same thing already at that point! Twice!" She says, holding up two fingers for emphasis.
"Seriously?" He asks with a snicker.
"Seriously. And don't even get me started on the whole shitshow involving the Lennox Twins; AKA, Dumb and Dumber, as we like to call them around the precinct." She replies, with Kaden chuckling along as she begins to recount very entertaining stories about suspects she's had to deal with over the years, soon finding themselves having a good time while doing it.
"Man, and I thought Talwyn liked going off on tangents about Lombax history." Ratchet comments as he and Clank step through a Dimensionator portal, exiting out in front of Kaden's house. "Now I definitely believe Max when he says he's been doing nothing but studying them for all this time. He probably knows more about our culture than most people here do, I bet."
"Well, I found the stories and anecdotes of your history that he has told us very interesting, if I do say so myself." Clank replies pointedly as he walks along with Ratchet up to the door.
Ratchet rolls his eyes. "I don't know, I don't think I find an economic recession that happened three centuries ago thrilling, to say the least. I'm lucky I had Tal right there to keep me from falling asleep when he was rambling about inflation rates and how it impacted technology advances, or whatever it was." He says with a wave of his hand as he rests his hand on the handle.
"Shouldn't you be a bit more enthusiastic about learning your people's history, Ratchet?" Clank questions.
"If it's exciting history, then yes. Otherwise, that's the kind of stuff that I'm glad I missed by never going to school before." He replies with a smirk, opening the door as Clank rolls his optics.
"Hey, dad! We're here!" He calls out, walking in.
"Oh, hey, you two, I'm in the kitchen!" He responds.
And as Ratchet closes the door behind Clank, he inhales a breath, smelling a delicious aroma in the air that unconsciously utter a satisfied 'ooh'.
"Man, whatever you're cooking smells awesome." He comments as he and Clank walk over to the kitchen, finding Kaden standing at a stove, stirring some sort of sauce as he glances up and returns a smile to greet them.
"I'm glad to hear it, I've been here for a good hour making sure this roast is perfect." He replies, nodding down to the oven in front of him. "In fact, it should be ready to take out right about… now."
And as he says it, a timer on the appliance begins to beep, and Kaden silences it as he taps his spoon on the edge of the pot he's working on, right before putting it aside on the counter and opening the oven, where he uses some mitts resting on the counter to take a beautifully cooked roast out, setting it on the stove, where Ratchet watches on with a watering mouth.
"Perfect." Kaden says with a satisfied nod, putting his mitts aside.
"Wow, that thing looks good." Ratchet says as Kaden then begins using his spoon to drizzle the sauce in the pot all over the steaming slab of meat.
"And hopefully, it'll taste even better." Kaden replies with a smirk, finishing glazing it with the sauce, where he then disposes of his now empty pot in the sink. "Now to let it rest for about ten minutes, and we'll be ready to dig in."
"I must say, this seems like somewhat of a large meal for the both of you." Clank comments as he notices a few miscellaneous side-dishes on the kitchen island, along with the roast's size. "Are you planning on having leftovers, then?"
"Oh, yeah, right. I forgot to call you, but we're having a small change in plans for tonight, in that we're having a guest over to join us." He explains, turning to face them.
"Oh, really?" Ratchet responds curiously. "Is Mags or Julie coming over, then?"
"Erm, no." Kaden answers, beginning to rub the back of his head.
Ratchet raises an eyebrow at that response. "Is it another coworker of yours at the Center, then?" He hesitantly follows up. "Like, I don't know, Harold?"
"Oh, hell no, I'd never invite that guy over." He quickly denies. "And, no, it's not a coworker of mine, either."
Ratchet exchanges a questioning glance with Clank before looking back to his father, looking a little bit nervous. "So… who is it, then? Because I'm out of ideas."
"Well, you see, the thing is…" Kaden gives a sigh. "I invited Chief Wells from the City Guard over to dinner tonight."
Ratchet blinks. "…What?" He asks in shock. "She's coming over? Here? With us?!"
"Yes, but, don't freak out, because—"
"Why in the hell would you invite that stuck-up hardass to dinner here?!" He demands, throwing his arms up. "I thought we were done having to deal with her!"
"Hey, she's only a hardass to you because you make her act like one with all of the stunts you've been pulling with her recently." He corrects him, raising a finger. "And that actually brings up why I invited her over, so that maybe you two could finally bury the hatchet so I don't have to worried about you getting arrested again because you don't know how to be amicable with each other."
"And you thought the best way to do that would be to make us have to eat together?" Ratchet responds in disbelief, crossing his arms. "If you don't want me to get in trouble, then why don't you just tell me to not get in trouble and leave it at that?"
"Because the last time I did that, you ended up spending the night at the City Guard because you managed to turn a little speeding ticket into a full-blown arrest." He answers flatly, crossing his own arms while raising an eyebrow. "All because you couldn't help but start a beef with her, so, yes, I am bringing her over here, Ratchet."
"I… That's…"
"He does raise a good point, Ratchet." Clank adds pointedly from beside him.
Ratchet shoots him a scowl as Kaden smirks, but then he quickly shifts his attention back to his father, throwing out his hands. "How did you even organize this, then? Did you go down to the City Guard today or something?"
"No, actually. I was out today supervising a project of mine, and she happened to bump into me on her patrol. We got to chatting, then someone else came to cover her shift, so she decided to take a break to talk some more. And, well, the next thing you know, we have an entertaining discussion together that must've lasted a good hour, at least." He says with a shrug and a smile. "But then she had to go, but before she did, I proposed she come over tonight for a dinner for the idea I just suggested, and she agreed. So… yeah!"
"I… seriously?" He responds, flabbergasted. "But… I mean… you invited Chief Wells to come over for dinner with us?" He reiterates.
Kaden rolls his eyes with a small sigh. "Yes, Ratchet, for the hundredth time, she is coming over to eat with us, get over it. And, her name isn't just Chief Wells, actually; it's Alice." He replies astutely with a small smile.
Ratchet blankly stares at him for a solid five seconds, mouth agape before he tilts his head down.
"…Alice?" He repeats in disbelief. "You are seriously calling her Alice?"
"Yes, because that's how names work. I'm glad to see you managed to figure that out, Ratchet. Hopefully you'll come to learn that two plus two equals four and grass is green to keep up this hot streak of obviousness tonight."
"I am not calling her Alice." Ratchet states firmly, crossing his arms. "That's just… weird."
"As long as you just stick to 'Chief' or 'Wells' and not all the other colorful insults you like to throw at her, then fine." Kaden says with a shrug, turning away to check on the roast as Ratchet continues to just stare at him.
"I still don't see why you invited her here if this is just supposed to be some kind of truce thing, don't those things usually require neutral ground? And not, you know, our house?" He questions. "Why couldn't we have gone out to some kind of restaurant or something instead?"
"Because those are expensive, and I didn't think it'd be too much to ask that my son be amicable with a guest for a single evening." He replies, checking on the roast with a thermometer before he turns his head to look at him over his shoulder. "And technically, this is my house, not yours, so this also technically counts as neutral ground for the both of you." He astutely points out.
"That doesn't—"
"Look, Ratchet, she's coming over soon, and no, you can't do anything about it. So, take a deep breath, suck it up, and do what you need to do so that we make sure we don't end the night with her having to arrest you again for some reason. Alright?"
Ratchet looks back at him with a conflicted look on his face, obviously wanting to challenge this entire idea even more, but after a few seconds' worth of internal debate, he instead resigns with a very deep sigh, hanging his head.
"Fine." He says begrudgingly, before picking his head back up to point at him. "But if she instigates something, you don't blame me for it, alright?"
"Don't worry, I asked her to behave as well, Ratchet." Kaden assures him with a wave of his hand. "And even if she did start something, though, I still expect you to be mature enough to hold your tongue."
He groans, hanging his head back slightly as even Clank returns a skeptical look. "Seriously?"
"You really trust Ratchet to be mature?" Clank adds doubtfully. "Are you sure that's a wise assumption to make?"
"Yeah!" Ratchet agrees, crossing his arms with a smug look before his eyes widen as he registers what Clank said, snapping his head down to look at him. "Wait, what?" He responds with some offence.
"Is it not true? Even you agreed with me just now." He answers with a shrug.
"That doesn't mean you shouldn't try and give me some credit, though!"
"Look, whatever the case may be, just know that I'll still blame you if you get in a fight with Alice, so behave yourself, Ratchet." Kaden interjects, crossing his arms.
Ratchet winces a bit as he hears that, however, wearing an uncomfortable expression. "Man, you're really going to call her that from now on, aren't you?"
"Hey, she calls me Kaden instead of 'Councilman', so it's only fair that I do the same."
"That's…"
Ratchet gives a deep sigh before he turns around shuffling out of the kitchen as Clank follows him out. "Tonight's going to suck." He mutters.
"Only if you make it suck!" Kaden calls out pointedly after him, shortly before he could hear Ratchet ascending the stairs to his bedroom, where Clank would likely attempt to talk some sense into him and not act like a little kid.
And so, with a roll of his eyes, Kaden returns back to preparing dinner, checking on the roast, setting up all the dishes, and making sure that everything will be up to snuff for when she arrives.
And it is about five minutes later that he finally hears the doorbell just as he places the roast onto the table after slicing it up, making his ears perk up as he quickly turns his head towards the door.
He sets the roast down, and steps back from the kitchen before pausing for a moment to glance over everything and see if it appeared nice and tasty, which, thankfully, it was. And with that done, he quickly walks over to the door, but not before stopping for a moment to glance at himself on a mirror hanging on the wall next to it, checking to see if he had any stray furs sticking out, and also checking his teeth to see if he had any gunk stuck in there from his occasional taste-testing as he cooked.
Feeling assured that he looked presentable, he gives himself a smile and a nod, and turns to the door. He places his hand on the handle, and opens it up to find Chief Wells standing there, albeit halfway in the motion to ring the doorbell once again.
Although, he was slightly taken aback by her appearance, in that she wasn't adorned in her City Guard uniform like he's only ever seen her in, and instead in more casual wear, just a simple, plain top and some comfortable pants to go with it. To be fair, they still seemed a bit more formal than what others would consider casual, but for someone who seemed to exclusively wear a uniform with pride, she might as well have been wearing sweatpants and a baggy shirt.
And to see her in a more relaxed, everyday attitude rather than her Chief of the City Guard attitude was… different. But a good kind of different, Kaden decided, for some strange reason.
"Erm, Kaden?" She speaks up, raising an eyebrow. "You good?"
He quickly shakes his head, snapping out of his thoughts as he gives a nervous chuckle, rubbing the back of his head.
"Oh, erm, yeah, sorry!" He apologizes with an awkward smile. "I'm just not used to seeing you like, well, that, is all." He says with a shrug, motioning to her.
She furrows her brows a bit, and glances down at herself with a questioning look before Kaden's eyes widen, raising his hands in defense as he realizes what he said.
"Erm, not to say that it looks bad, of course!" He hurriedly corrects himself. "It's just that I've only seen you in your uniform, and to see you out of it is a little weird—but not bad weird! Just like, different weird, which is… you know… just…"
He gives a deep sigh, rubbing his eyes for a few moments before taking a breath and looking up to meet her slightly confused yet pleasantly amused expression.
"Sorry, ignore me, I'm just being an idiot right now. Been busy all night cooking." He says more calmly. "You look nice, is what I'm trying to say, and also that I'm glad you could make it here tonight, Alice. I hope we have a good evening."
She chuckles. "Well, I'm glad I could make it out here tonight, too, Kaden. Especially after that bit about you cooking all night, which I can smell from here." She says, glancing past him into the house. "Whatever you made smells great."
Kaden returns a proud smile. "Well, that's a small relief, at least. Now, I think it's about time you step inside so we can finally dig in for ourselves." He replies, nodding his head over his shoulder before stepping back a bit and gesturing an arm out into the house, allowing Wells to walk inside before he closes the door behind him.
She gives a small whistle, looking around. "You Councilmembers sure do get nice houses on top of cushy jobs, it looks like."
"Hey, like I said earlier, our jobs aren't that cushy." He responds with a scoff.
She shrugs with a smirk. "Sure, but then again, you aren't exactly the ones having to slog through boring-ass patrols through the city every day."
He raises a finger. "That's… a fair point, I guess." He quietly concedes, looking away as he lowers his finger back down, prompting Wells to give a satisfied smile before he points back at her. "But—like I said—very important business."
"Uh huh." She replies.
"Alright, then." He says with a nod before turning his head towards the stairs beside him. "Ratchet! She's here, come down so we can eat!"
"Yeah, yeah, coming!" His voice is heard from his room, albeit unenthusiastically.
"Oh, right. He's here, too." Wells mutters distastefully, crossing her arms.
"Well, yeah, of course he is. That's the whole point of you coming over, remember?" He replies amusedly.
"Well… it must have slipped my mind a little bit, if I'm being honest." She states with a shrug. "Must've repressed that little tidbit from our plans earlier, having to deal with that little pain in the ass again."
"Hey, remember that tonight's to reduce the hostility between you two." He cautions her, raising an eyebrow. "And not, you know, calling him a pain in the ass some more."
She hangs her head a bit with a sigh before they hear Ratchet's footsteps from up the stairs, and Kaden turns his head back over to see him start to descend the stairs with a begrudging look on his face.
"Alright, let's get this over with, I guess." He says, exhaling a breath.
"Glad to see the enthusiasm, Ratchet." Kaden replies with a roll of his eyes, right before he furrows his brows as he notices he's alone. "Wait, is Clank not coming?"
"Nah, he said it'd probably make her feel weirded-out if he just sat there watching us the whole time, since she's not used to him and all." He replies, thumbing back up the stairs behind him. "He's just doing some self-diagnostics up there until we're done, don't worry."
And as he reaches the ground, he looks over to find Wells standing there, and upon seeing her in casual wear, his face furrows into an expression of surprise and confusion.
"Man… you look weird without a uniform." He states bluntly.
She frowns, crossing her arms with an unimpressed look. "Hello to you, too, punk." She says coarsely.
"Alice." Kaden comments, raising his eyebrows.
And as Ratchet shoots him another uncomfortable look at the mention of her name, she gives another small sigh, hanging her head for a moment before bringing it back up to look back at Ratchet, trying her best to put on an amicable expression.
"Sorry." She says more calmly. "What I meant to say was, hello to you, Ratchet." She corrects herself.
Kaden smiles with a nod before turning his attention over to Ratchet, still visibly unsettled with the entire situation.
"Now, what do you say, Ratchet?" He encourages him.
Ratchet glances between him and Wells, finding that deep down in her eyes, he could tell that she wasn't exactly enthused about this interaction, either, which eased him a tiny bit, he had to admit, but not enough to outweigh the surreal strangeness of this entire scenario.
But, with the way his father was currently looking at him expectantly, he knew it was fruitless to argue any further on the topic. So, with a conceding sigh, he also musters his best 'trying to be nice' expression, thankfully practiced after many encounters with Qwark, however.
"And hello to you, too, Chief Wells." He returns begrudgingly. "It's… nice to see you again." He chokes out, finding that specific string of words feeling strange in his mouth.
"And… you as well." She replies with an awkward nod. "So… yeah. There's that."
Kaden gives a small sigh. "Well, at least you two aren't trying to strangle each other by now, so I guess we can still call that progress, at least. But, with this out of the way, I'd say it's about time to finally eat!" He says with a bit more enthusiasm, walking past them to the kitchen. "Better hurry before it gets cold!"
"Erm, yeah! Sounds good!" Ratchet responds, watching him leave the room.
"Can't wait!" Wells adds, watching him disappear into the kitchen as well.
But as soon as he does, both she and Ratchet instantly snap their heads to each other to share a suspicious look between them.
"I'm only saying that so he doesn't yell at me, you know." He whispers to her.
"Same here, punk." She quietly bites back.
"You guys coming?" Kaden calls out after them.
"Yep!" The both reply pleasantly in unison, exchanging one more hostile squint with each other before they walk into the kitchen as well to join him at their kitchen island, internally preparing for this wonderful evening together.
"So then I was like, 'no, Julie, I guarantee that thing isn't ready.'" Kaden explains in an entertained tone over his nearly-finished meal. "But then she was all like 'what are you talking about? I know how this thing works, and I am pretty sure it won't explode!' But then, just like I said, she pulled the trigger, and the cooling chamber exploded right then and there, just getting that coolant all over herself!" He states with a small laugh.
Wells gives a hearty chuckle at his story. "She sounds just like some of the recruits I've had to deal with, thinking they're better at their job than I am." She says amusedly. "In fact, there were these two dumbasses who tried to convince me that no, they were on the right patrol path and not just going in random circles because they 'memorized the patrol map, don't worry.'" She states with air quotes.
"Wait, I think you told me about this one earlier." Kaden mutters thoughtfully as he chews on a piece of his dinner. "Guy's name was… Nestor, right?" He offers with a snap of his fingers, pointing at her while raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah, but that was only one of them, and he was the smart one." She returns with a smile. "Officer Mirren was a whole other level of stupid, though!"
But as she begins recalling her story, with Kaden giving her his full and eager attention as they ate, Ratchet sat next to him, eating his own roast with relative silence, still feeling greatly uneased by this whole situation as he glances between his father and Wells.
To think that this stuck-up hardass that tazed one of her own men twice was just casually sitting here in front of him, eating dinner in their home. And that wasn't to mention the fact that he still wasn't used to seeing her out of that City Guard attire, either, since he was positive she was so dedicated to being a Chief that he thought she probably slept in them as pajamas, even.
But what uneased him most of all was her laughing as his dad told random stories from his time at the Center. Ratchet wasn't even sure she was able physically smile from all of her scowling all the time—unless she was being particularly sadistic to her men, that is.
And yet, here he is, hearing her laugh at his dad's jokes, having to cover her mouth as she ate her food. How could such an otherwise joyful sound instill him with such a sense of dread such as this?
And of course, to top it all off, he was still subjected to hearing his father call her Alice instead of 'Wells'. And he was so nonchalant about it, too, like it was the most natural thing in the world instead of being the weirdest thing to do, somehow not feeling like it was shattering some kind of law of nature by doing that. He couldn't quite place his finger on exactly why, but this entire evening just felt… wrong, somehow.
So wrong, in fact, that when he was excused to go to the bathroom earlier, what Ratchet was really doing was pulling out the Dimensionator to double-check that he was in fact in the correct dimension, and not in some kind of twisted parallel universe where things like two plus two equaling five and his dad inviting Chief Wells over for dinner were seen as normal and not insane and bizarre.
But unfortunately, that wasn't it, as they were the right coordinates, to his dismay, so he really is damned to this reality. And his suffering was made even worse when Kaden encouraged him to try and talk as well instead of just sulking in his seat, but trying to have a normal conversation with her was a nigh-impossible feat, especially with all of her little passive-aggressive scoffs and eye rolls as he recounted particularly reckless moments of his stories, despite Kaden asking her to behave herself.
But, sitting here right now as Wells finished up telling her story (which made his dad laugh as well, yet another thing that gave him great unease), Ratchet simply sighed as he shoved another forkful of food into his mouth, just assuring himself that this would be over soon, and that he can just chalk this up to some kind of isolated incident and hopefully forget this ever happened.
"So then after that whole debacle, you know I personally booted their asses off the force myself." She finishes tiredly, shaking her head while exhaling a breath.
"Man, I'd hope so!" Kaden agrees with a small laugh, wiping his face with a napkin before glancing over to Ratchet. "It sounds like you've got some stiff competition for being top of her list on irritating people to deal with."
"O-Oh, erm, yeah, sure does!" Ratchet agrees, mustering an awkward smile as he heard none of the story, too caught up in his thoughts.
"Don't worry, he's won it by a landslide." Wells mutters quietly as she pokes at her food.
"I'm just going to pretend I didn't hear that." Kaden comments with a roll of his eyes as he stands up. "But, if you'll excuse me, I have to use the bathroom real quick. Try not to fight while I'm gone."
"Don't worry, we won't." Ratchet assures him with a nod and a pleasant smile.
"We'll be waiting for you, Kaden." Wells adds in a friendly tone as well.
Kaden exchanges a glad smile with the both of them as well as a small nod, and proceeds to walk out of the room, with them watching him leave the kitchen, and hearing him start to ascend the steps.
But as soon as they hear the door close, Ratchet and Wells once again immediately turn to face each other across the island with incredulous gazes.
"Why are you even here?" Ratchet asks bluntly.
"Because he invited me, here, punk. Did you forget that? Or did those words just bounce around in that empty head of yours when he told you, like almost every piece of sensible advice someone tries to tell you?" She asks distastefully.
"But why did you accept?" He argues, crossing his arms with a frown. "You didn't have to say yes, you know! You could've just said that you were going to be too busy yelling at your officers with a stick up your ass like you always are!"
"Hey, you just heard some of the shit I've had to deal with as Chief, punk. Me having 'a stick up my ass' is just me knocking some sense into the dumbasses whose jobs are to protect the people of this city so they don't unwittingly kill someone because of their incompetence." She says coldly, glaring at him.
"Whatever." He says with a roll of his eyes. "Still doesn't mean you aren't a grouchy hardass all the time."
"And you being a Keeper on top of the Lombax who killed Tachyon doesn't mean you aren't just an annoying little shit, so I think we're even." She snaps back. "And as for your question, I accepted because I actually wanted to join him for dinner. You ever thought of that, punk?"
"Wait, what? Why?!"
"Gee, I don't know, maybe because he's a nice guy who actually respects me and doesn't call me a bitch every time he sees me, unlike a certain someone else?" She returns, crossing her arms. "It's amazing how much you can get other people to like you when you aren't acting like a little bastard to them all the time, you should learn a thing or two from your dad."
"But… I… You knew I was coming here, too, and even that didn't dissuade you from coming anyway?" He asks confusedly. "You really like my dad that much that you're able to tolerate me?"
"Oh, so you are admitting you're an insufferable pain in the ass, then?"
"That wasn't my question."
She rolls her eyes with a small sigh. "Fine, yeah, it turns out that I actually like hanging out with Kaden. He's kind, respectful, helpful, and fun to talk to, and funny, too—and not your annoying-ass brand of funny, either. He helped me out with all sorts of advice in trying to get the City Guard up to snuff, and pitched the idea to have you help get my officers' asses into gear, and I figured this was a nice way to repay him for it. And it just so happens that I figured it'd be fun, too, even if you're here, too." She explains with a shrug. "So, happy now, punk?"
"…No. Pretty much the opposite of happy with this whole arrangement, honestly." He says dryly, broadly gesturing an arm around them.
"Yeah, well, that's life. You're forced to be dragged to this dinner with me, and I'm damned to have you running around this dimension to plague me with your bullshit." She returns as she grabs for her glass of water. "Guess we'll both have to suck it up, then, huh?"
And as Ratchet scowls at her as she takes a drink, they hear the bathroom door upstairs open once again, shortly before they hear Kaden walk down the stairs and appear back into the kitchen, glancing between the two of them as he returns to his seat.
"You two behave yourselves, then?" He asks, raising an eyebrow.
"Well, we aren't trying to kill each other right now, are we?" Wells offers with a small smile before looking over to Ratchet. "We were just peachy while you were gone, huh?"
"Erm… yep!" Ratchet agrees with a nod and small smile, shoving down his urge to exchange a few choice words with her right now. "Just… talking about how good the food is!" He adds, picking up a piece of his food with his fork, showing it to him before putting it in his mouth with an unsubtle 'mmm!'
"Well, that's a relief to hear, it's been a minute since I cooked a roast like this." Kaden says thankfully with a proud smile. "I'm glad you two like it, then! I even tried a little extra something this time around, to try and spice this thing up a bit from the normal recipe—literally!"
And as he starts eagerly elaborating how he chose these random Lombax spices that Ratchet's never heard of, he couldn't help but stare at Wells with some anxious unease as she gave Kaden her full and eager attention as she ate, her answers to his questions doing nothing to disperse this bad feeling he had in his gut.
He still couldn't place what about this entire thing was so disturbing to him, but he knew it was on the tip of his tongue, which admittedly made his food taste a little more bitter as he continued to glance between her and his father with a skeptical gaze.
"Phew, I think I'm stuffed." Wells states as she pushes her now empty plate out in front of her. "That was an incredible meal, Kaden, you have my compliments."
Kaden gives her a pleased nod and a wide smile as he too puts his plate aside. "I'm glad to hear it, Alice, it's not often I have a chance to show off what little cooking skills I have."
"Well, you've definitely got better skills than me when it comes to cooking, I can really only cook what comes out of a box." She replies with a chuckle.
"If you've got a little room left, I made a nice pie as a desert in the fridge." Kaden offers, thumbing over to it.
She holds up a hand, shaking her head. "Nah, I couldn't, already had too much of that tasty roast of yours. And even if I did, I shouldn't, I've got to keep in shape if I want to set a good example for my men."
"Ah, well, I guess that makes sense, you've already got a nice figure going on so far, you look good." He replies kindly, right before his eyes widen in realization of what he said. "Erm, I mean, a good athletic figure, I should say! Like, I could see you running that course of yours easy, and that I'm complimenting you for putting in the work to get that fit, since I know how tough it is from my Praetorian days, and that, you know, it looks good, and that you should keep up the good work, and… well…"
He sighs in embarrassment, hanging his head as Wells looks at him with some surprise, as does Ratchet, albeit with some amusement.
"Just… no pie for you. Got it. Glad we sorted that out, then." He says, picking his head up with a nervous chuckle.
Wells snaps out of her surprise as she rolls her eyes with an amused huff of her nose. "You seem pretty tongue-tied tonight between this and when I first arrived, Kaden. But… thanks for the compliment, though. I'm flattered." She says genuinely with a smile. "And for what it's worth, I think you look good too, so… there's that."
The embarrassment in his expression slowly washes away as he too smiles more genuinely, looking at her. "Thanks, Alice." He replies. "I just must be a little tired tonight, is all. Making me talk before I think."
"Well, we all have those kind of days every once in a while, I guess." She says with a shrug.
"Yeah. I guess so." He finishes contentedly.
And as they begin to look at each other for a few moments, still smiling, Ratchet continues to watch them, that gut feeling within him spiking as they do so, wiping away any prior enjoyment he had from seeing his dad bumble over his words like that.
He took amusement in it because he thought it was kind of funny seeing how even his dad seemed to get a bit flustered when talking with someone like he himself did, kinda like what he always did with Talwyn.
Or… with Sasha. Especially when they weren't dating yet. Back when he had a crush on them.
And he remembered how he used to stare at them like an absolute idiot with infatuation, according to Clank, looking lost in another world.
Kind of like what his father was doing now. At Chief Wells. And she was staring right back at him.
Ratchet's eyes widen as that sinking feeling in his gut practically turns into a black hole as he finally—unfortunately—pinpointed the source of his discomfort that plagued him this entire evening, slapping him in the face harder than any Thugs-4-Less goon ever could.
And even through his spiraling, racing mind amidst these overwhelming feelings of miserable dismay, the most prominent thought he had was but a simple;
OH NO.
"Oh, whoops, almost forgot you were there for a sec, Ratchet." Kaden says with an awkward chuckle, snapping out of his gaze to turn his head toward him with a smile. "Do you want some pie, then?"
"N-No, I'm… not hungry." He mutters in response, still snapping his internally panicking gaze between the two of them.
"Really? Wow, I must've done a hell of a job at cooking that meal then." He says proudly.
"I should probably be heading off, anyway." Wells states, getting up and out of her seat. "I've got a bit of an early patrol to cover in the morning."
"Ah, well, if that's the case, I don't want to keep you, then. Stars know how much I hated my morning patrols." Kaden replies, getting up from his own seat as well. "I'll show you out, then."
"You don't have to do that, you know." Wells responds, raising an eyebrow as she begins to follow him out of the kitchen, leaving a frozen Ratchet behind in his own seat.
He shrugs. "Maybe. But I still want to, anyway, and give you a proper farewell." He says, stopping next to the door as he turns to her with a smile. "I have to say that enjoyed this evening, Alice, along with the time we spent earlier today. It was fun."
She smiles as well with a nod. "I'll have to agree on that, too. I had a great time tonight here, even with him hanging around." She says nodding her head over to Ratchet in the kitchen.
"And you two didn't even fight tonight, either, I'm proud of both of you." He replies pleasantly. "I can already tell that you both made a lot of progress."
"Eh, I'm sure it's just that the food was a good distraction, is all." She says, looking away with a small shrug. "I'm sure this was just a fluke."
"Well, if you say so." Kaden says with a roll of his eyes. "But, whatever the case, I have to say that I hope we see each other again soon."
"Same here. Although, with you having to supervise those exits' construction for the next week, I'm sure we'll be running into each other pretty frequently while I'm out on patrol."
"Hopefully. It'd be great if you were there to help keep me from being bored out of my mind." He says amusedly. "But… even if that's not the case, I don't assume it'd be too far to suggest we do this again sometime?" He proposes, gesturing around them with his hand, wearing a bit of a coy look.
"I… think we could arrange something like this again, yeah." She agrees with a smile. "If not just for another chance to eat your food, because, again, you cook a damn good meal."
"Good to know I have a fan, then, I'll try not to disappoint, then." He says with a chuckle as he opens the door before holding out his hand. "See you soon, Alice."
She looks to his hand in some surprise, but then up to his cheerful face, and after a moment, she returns a grin as he takes his hand into a firm shake. "You too, Kaden. And hopefully tomorrow, depending on my patrol."
"And I'll be on the lookout, then. See you!" He says, letting go of her hand as she walks out the door, with him giving a small wave, which she returns before stepping into her ship parked out front.
Kaden watches as she takes off, flying off into the darkening sky with a blissful smile on his face, remaining there for a few more seconds after she disappears into the steady stream of traffic flying above before he gives a light, content sigh, and closes the door before turning around.
However, as he does, he finds Ratchet standing in the middle of the living room, having exited the kitchen, brows furrowed as his face is contorted into a conflicting expression of shock, disbelief, and confusion.
Kaden raises an eyebrow, and glances behind himself for a moment, looking around with a similarly confused look. "What?"
"You like her." Ratchet states, as if it was an accusation. "You actually like her."
"Wait, what? You mean about Alice?" He returns, thumbing behind him. "Erm, yeah, I like her, she seems like a nice person once you get to know her."
"No, I mean that you like like her. This whole thing was just a date!" Ratchet argues, throwing out his arms. "You got a goddamn crush on her, and you invited her over for dinner as a date! With her!"
Kaden slumps a bit as he simply stares at him, unimpressed. "…Seriously, Ratchet? A crush?" He asks incredulously. "That's what you think this is?"
"Yes! It's why you decided to bring her over here, and call her Alice, and acting way too chummy with her, too!" He explains, pointing at him. "This was just a date, and you don't even realize it!"
He scoffs, crossing his arms. "This wasn't a date, Ratchet, grow up." He retorts with a roll of his eyes. "We are both fully grown, mature adults. This was simply a platonic rendezvous between the two of us. You're just overthinking it."
"Really? Am I really overthinking this after seeing the way you stumbled over your words calling her good-looking before staring at each other like that? Just like how I did with my last two girlfriends?" Ratchet counters, gesturing to himself.
"Well… Like I said, that was just me being tired, being out in the heat between the sun and the stove, you know." Kaden responds with a shrug, albeit after a moment's hesitation.
Ratchet scoffs, crossing his arms. "Yeah, sure it was." He says dryly. "And even if you don't, that grouchy-ass prude sure does, since she just told me when you were in the bathroom about how she thinks you're nice and funny and a great guy to hang out with, as if it wasn't weird that it was my dad she was talking about!" He comments, turning his head aside as he shakes it in disbelief with a shiver.
"That's—Wait… she said that about me? Really?" He asks curiously.
"See?!" Ratchet cries out, throwing his hands out to him. "If you didn't have a crush on her, you wouldn't even care about that! Just what the hell did I walk into when I came here today?" He asks, beginning to pace anxiously as he gets lost in his thoughts.
"Now I have to worry about the possibility of you and her dating now?! And having her over for even more dinners?! Just how am I supposed to deal with that?! Like, how's this going to end up? Is she going to live here eventually? Are you guys going to get married?! What if—"
He stops in his pacing as a look of horror dawns on his face with grim realization. "What if it goes even further than that?! Just having her be my goddamn stepmom?! How the hell am I supposed to live here anymore if that happens?!"
Kaden raises a hand, blindsided by this insane rambling. "Erm, Ratchet, please, calm down." He attempts to placate him.
"I just—What if you—But then that means—" He buries his face into his hands, rubbing his face with a large groan. "Why did this have to happen?"
"Ratchet—"
"Just—I need to go to bed, I need to talk to Clank about this." He says with a shake of his head, turning to the stairs. "And if I'm lucky, I'll just go to sleep and wake up tomorrow morning and think that this was all just a really vivid nightmare."
"That's…" Kaden sighs as Ratchet begins ascending the stairs. "You need to stop overreacting Ratchet! This was just a single dinner for crying out loud! You're reading way too much into this!"
He can hear Ratchet scoff from up the stairs. "Yeah, sure, that's what I told myself the first time I started to notice Sasha looking at me differently. And guess how that ended up? Spoiler alert, it wasn't just a single dinner."
Kaden raises a finger even though he was out of view. "I—"
He is cut off as he hears Ratchet's bedroom door close, leaving him to sigh as he lowers his hand. "I think you're just overreacting, Ratchet." He mutters to himself, shaking his head.
Like he said, this whole thing was just a purely platonic interaction. He and Chief Wells already had some pleasant conversations in the past, and they just so happened to run into each other today to have an especially long one. They just got to know each other a little better, and it turns out she's actually a lovely person to spend time with beneath that abrasive exterior.
And also like he said, this idea for them having dinner together was simply so she and Ratchet could have a chance to interact and get over their feud together. The fact that meant that she and himself also got to spend more time together was simply a fortunate side effect from the arrangement.
Did he have a great time? Of course he did. And was Ratchet right about some of his 'evidence' about this being a date, like his own bumbling across words? Maybe. But once again, that was him simply being tired and not thinking correctly. It was simply an isolated incident, and not evidence of a crush.
The idea that grown adults with professional responsibilities such as themselves can get 'crushes' like that was an absurdly laughable idea.
But… even then, as he thought about Ratchet's frantic tangent, Kaden glanced back up to the door where Wells left, unable to shake one little thing from his mind, a very small part of him hoping he actually got an answer to it when he asked.
Did she actually say all those nice things about him, then?
The thought of Kaden and Chief Wells dating was a thought that I hadn't even fathomed throughout the entirety of Lost Time, not until I saw a comment from SneakyLombax proposing the idea.
I admit that although intrigued, I wasn't 100% into the idea at first, still having some reservations about it. But after talking about it, bouncing around some ideas and prompts with him and some other people as well, I became completely sold with the idea. Just the type of fun dynamics that could emerge from Kaden and Wells being in a relationship to Ratchet's dismay is amazing and exciting to think about, and would make for an excellent source of entertainment for later developments in this AU as well.
So, this chapter was a bit of a proof of concept for that idea, to see what a more vulnerable, amicable Chief Wells would look like, and how she and Kaden would interact, and to possibly sow the seeds for this eventual relationship. And so far, I'd say that I am absolutely digging this idea.
But, I want to hear others' thoughts on this possibility, to see if this is something that they'd want to see as well. So, feel free to drop a comment about if you think I should or should not pull the trigger on this thing, and if I should, some suggestions about how I can better go about this if you have an idea, or if something about their relationship in this chapter rubbed you the wrong way. I'll be looking forward to them!