Backstory
Chapter Notes
Continuing right where the last chapter left off…
See the end of the chapter for more notes
The friends fell on the grilled food feast like they were starving before lazing about in
the warm sunshine in various states of wakefulness and dress. Unexpectedly, it was
Nia that broke the easy quiet with a bright query.
"Okay, so tell me about the ink."
There was no mistaking where the curiosity was aimed and even as Alex flushed a
little, Sara's grin grew positively evil.
"Yeah, Big Al," she drawled wickedly. "Tell us about the ink."
Alex spent a lot of time glaring at the people she loved.
There was no winning a stare-down with Sara Lance and Alex capitulated with an
aggrieved dog noise. "Fine, you jerk." Her voice rose over Sara's smug 'whoo hoo!'
"But you have to tell them the backstory!"
"You're on."
Comically thoughtful, Sara snuggled into her grinning girlfriend, who obligingly
draped a long arm around her. Like Lucy, it was always a little startling to be reminded
that Sara was not a large woman. They were both good at filling up a room.
"So, I grew up in a smallish town west of Seattle, on the other side of Puget Sound.
When I was fourteen, my folks threw in the towel and me and my sister stayed with
my dad. I didn't take it well."
The look on her face telegraphed the understatement very clearly. Ava silently gave
her a little squeeze and smooched her head.
"Pops was a cop and took a job in an even smaller town… two states away. As anyone
who knows anything about the west coast, that's damn far. It was a small promotion,
and a better chance at moving up the food chain, but it ripped me and Laurel away
from everything we'd always known. And I'd only just started high school."
"Rough age," Maggie said with a note of sympathy that sounded like she understood
all too well.
"Truth. So we ended up in this weird little Pleasantville town an hour-ish north of San
Francisco in an apartment too small for three and a new life none of us really wanted.
Full of woe and teenage angst, the instant the truck was unloaded, I grabbed my bike
and took off. No shocker, I headed right for the beach, the one good thing about the
move. Found a path to pick my way down the cliffs to the sand. I'm not five feet out
when this girly voice yells, 'watch for sneaker waves!'"
Alex mouthed along with the long-ago quote, her smile small and fond. "I knew a
tourist when I saw one."
Sara stuck her tongue out at her before continuing her tale. "So here's this skinny,
gangly thing perched like a rat on a rock, all briar-patch hair and sunburn, her whole
face fierce and confrontational. Said something about, 'she's in a pissy mood today,'
and scaled the cliff like a damn monkey, trailing a surfboard behind her. Showoff."
Alex only shrugged.
"So I walked out about three more feet, but I couldn't shake the unease and went back
to the trail and climbed up a bit. In that moment, I would have said it was for a better
view, but not two minutes later a huge sneaker wave came roaring at me and sent me
up that trail faster than a damn rabbit!"
"Glad you listened," Alex said quietly and the old friends looked at one another fondly
for a moment.
"So, school started a week later and at least Midvale High was at a higher scholastic
level than where I would have been. I actually had to brain-sweat AP science! I
actually toyed with the idea of transferring to a regular level, but stubbornly stayed
put. Then, not two days later, this girl starts grilling the teacher over some formula that
made me feel like I was in uni, not high school. Sure as shit, it was the beach monkey,
cleaned up and well-dressed, but no less fierce and confrontational. Honestly, I never
would have recognized you as the same person without that voice, Alex."
Shrugging casually, Alex gazed fondly at her old pal. "We were pretty much
inseparable after that." Her wicked grin matched the little scoff as she continued.
"God, my parents hated us being friends."
"No, your mom hated us being friends. Your dad was a riot and saw what we were."
"Yeah, fair. But my grades didn't slip, even climbed a bit in places, and yours got a
hell of a lot better, so no one could fault us for that. Even if we did party as hard as we
worked!"
They laughed like naughty children, part of them forever the summer twilight of
academics and teenage rebellion, figuring themselves out together.
"I was devastated when Dad got that promotion he'd wanted back in our old
hometown," Sara said quietly, that old pain still clearly a tender scar. "I freaked out.
Completely melted down screaming and crying and took off. Luckily for the adults,
Dad called over to the Danvers and Alex knew exactly where I'd gone. And better, she
refused to do anything about it unless she was allowed to come for me, alone."
"You'd have done the same," Alex said quietly and Sara nodded.
"I would have. Still would." With a deep breath, Sara perked up. "Thankfully, Laurel,
my older sister, talked my father into letting her be my guardian for the last couple
years of high school."
Unexpectedly, the old friends looked at each other and burst into giggles. Alex found
her voice first. "We maaaaay have taken advantage of Laurel's good deed… just a
little."
"A little?" Sara laughed and jumped to her feet, yanking her shirt over her head and
flirtatiously tossing it over Ava's face. Alex sighed dramatically and stood up to join
her. Then they both turned their backs to Brainy's camera, showing a matching set of
cute little wings on their shoulders, peeking out from their different bra straps.
"They were cool at the time!" Alex protested even as the others laughed, even Brainy.
"We got fake IDs and snuck off to San Jose to do this."
"Yeah, the twenty-five buck price tag and the reek of weed should have clued us in
that they weren't gonna be great," Sara laughed. "They look more like weird clouds
now."
"Yet, you have made no attempt to modify them," Brainy observed and the pair
grinned and bumped shoulders.
"Nope," Sara agreed easily and Alex finished the thought.
"They're sentimental."
"And the other one?" Sara teased mischievously and Alex made a great show of
sighing dramatically and slapping her shoulder.
"Just because you're a copycat!"
"No, I just made it better. But maybe we should keep the meanings to ourselves, since
this is ostensibly a family channel."
Alex eyed her left upper arm where a band of technical symbols nestled in the valley
between strong muscles. "Good point. Let's just say it's some naughty nerd humor and
leave it at that, hmmm?"
"Is she really going to duck out like that?" I protest with a whine and my girls laugh. "Now I'm
going to be curious, because I've never been able to get a good look. Though pi is in there at the
end, that much I can see."
"You wouldn't be the first one to ask in a comment," Ruby teases. "She ducks every question."
"The brat," Sam adds dryly.
A thumping bear hug signaled the end to act one, and Sara returned to her spot at
Ava's side, not bothering to put her shirt back on.
"I got into as much trouble as you'd imagine for the wings stunt and it left an
impression," Alex said wryly. "So I waited until I turned eighteen and could do more
legally. And saved up to pay for good work, not the pothead. Also, I kept it simple and
that's the little wave pattern on my ankle."
Brainy obligingly stepped up and then crouched to show the delicate line traced above
the Achilles tendon on Alex's right ankle. It was a small heartbeat monitor line, the
sharp spikes softening into stylized ocean waves and then back to spikes once more.
"I love surfing when I can find the time and location, and was determined by about
twelve years old that I was going to be a medical doctor, so I wandered the internet
and found people with these and was instantly in love. I love everything about the
ocean and this combined the two most important things to me in that timeframe."
There was a shadow of melancholy to her then, of the beloved career that she had left
behind, but Alex shook it off, taking a surfing stance for a moment.
"Since I'm ambidextrous, I learned to ride goofy, which is right foot forward on the
board, so I inked the right ankle so the board leash wouldn't cover it."
Grinning at Kara, Alex crooked a finger and the sisters wrapped their arms together,
wrists side by side. Alex's left was a beautiful, curling wave and Kara's a jagged
mountain peak. Each piece was done in excellent pointillism that had aged well.
"The stable earth to your mercurial water," Kara said fondly and it was clear the words
had been spoken before. It was natural for the sisters to hug solidly before Alex went
on with her explanation of her skin art.
"Originally, I hadn't intended to get any ink that would show when I was dressed in
scrubs, as the wave here usually lays under a wristwatch." She looked wryly at the trio
of little one inch line drawings just below her left elbow where the skin was thin and
soft. "Obviously, I broke that rule, but kept them fairly discrete. It's a beaker, a DNA
strand and an atom. As an MD and a biologist, it suits me."
"Nerd," Lucy teased. "But not as nerdy as that shoulder!"
"Yeah, yeah, bite me, Lane. My dad is a comic book fan and we really like Captain
America and I fly home to see every Marvel movie with him when it comes out."
"Ah, Cap," Kara swooned mockingly. "The only man she'll ever love!"
While turning so that Brainy could get a good shot, Alex gave them all a mock dirty
look, the smile dancing in the corners of her eyes. Over the bulge of her right deltoid
was Cap's shield with the words 'I know my value' trailing down over biceps and
triceps.
"Peggy and Steve, my one true pairing," Alex said and patted the marks fondly. "You
don't have to be gay or straight or any shade between to appreciate a good love story."
Turning again, she pointed to a small rectangle over her heart where the letters 'Vb'
could be seen. "It's hard to see, and the letters are getting a little muddy with age, but it
says 'element 66, Vibranium'."
"Nerd!" Lucy crowed again. "Now the big one!"
It was an impossible piece to miss, splashed beautifully over the whole of her middle
torso. There were two lush hibiscus blooms, large as a big man's palm, enhanced with
a trio of tapering ribbons both lacy and geometric, one vanishing under the waistband
of her baggy shorts. The heavy black of the ribbons were a pleasant contrast to the
organic lines of the flowers, one with a purplish heart and the other a warm, soft
orange.
"I'm kind of a gramma's girl," Alex murmured, lost in her own thoughts and the way
she stroked the ink was more melancholy than sexy. "She always got me like no one
else ever has. I miss her."
The group sobered and it took a moment for Alex to continue, her tone forcibly more
cheerful.
"My dad's mom. She was a lifer on Oahu and we spent nearly every summer there.
She was also pure Japanese, even though I know me and Kar don't look it." Finally
most of the shadows cleared from her face and she patted the flowers on her belly,
smile soft. "Her property always smelled like hibiscus over all the other stuff that
grows so wild in Hawaii, so this was a natural fit."
With the intuitive sense that came from nearly a decade and a half of close friendship,
Sara perfectly timed an innocent-sounding, "how about that third flower?"
"Family show!" Kara yelled as Alex grinned and scoffed loudly.
"As if everyone in this room save Brainy and Nia hasn't seen the damn thing. Okay,
admittedly, you and Ava have only seen most of it."
The laughter was a filthy racket, making Nia giggle and Kara to just shake her head.
Ava shook her head, but her smile was adoring for not just her Sara, but her idiot
friends too. She didn't have the intense, close backstory of that trio and it had taken
some getting used to, their scars and ease and physicality together. She had been a
casual pal of Lucy's at the office and had been utterly shocked how different the small,
intense woman was when off the clock. Quick and cool as a viper when on task, Lucy
was a loud, dirty, wild little terrier when on her own time. A casual brunch in Seattle
had her meeting Alex, and more importantly, Sara.
For all that the trio were utterly the opposite of Ava's quieter, by the book personality,
she wouldn't trade any of them for the world. Still, it was nice that they had some
calmer friends now.
Speaking of calmer friends, Brainy spoke up, a thread of wry amusement in his tone.
"And the piercings?"
The women all made various noises of mock distress, sans a puzzled Nia.
"You mean her toys," Sara laughed and Lucy picked up the teasing right on her heels.
"Twitchy thing!"
Alex just laughed and shrugged uncaringly. "I needed something discrete to let me
fidget when I needed it, so I disregarded common sense and my then-budding doctor
instincts and got my lip pierced." She tapped the colorful little ball nestled just below
the edge of her bottom lip, today a soft lavender. "Not only is metal dangerous to your
teeth, the feel of it almost made me yank the damn thing out and live with the scar.
Thankfully, I held out and couldn't get into soft jewelry fast enough. That's why mine
are always fun colors or nearly invisible. The tongue," she paused to stick her tongue
out where a small clear ball topped with a bright little green gem nestled in the center
groove about an inch from the tip. "That was done specifically for new toys -I really
do get fidgety when stressed, and my job was unbelievably stressful- and the healing
took longer but didn't bother me as much. Still, it was a joy to get rid of the weight of
steel and go to lightweight compounds. I'm particularly fond of silicone. Call it a
doctor thing."
There was something dirty in Alex's wisp of a smile, so close to Brainy's camera, that
even he picked it up. And stopped the recording accordingly.
"And there are some… other benefits to a tongue piercing that only those in the know
understand. Let's just say I have some fancy pieces that are the equivalent to date night
underwear."
Really, there wasn't much more to add to that except for the racket of wicked laughter.
In that brief glimpse of teasing smile before the film cuts to Kara close to the camera yelling,
"family show," I know that once again, I have been deprived of the full dose of shenaniganery.
Firstly, there is no way the charming and smoldering Alex didn't make the expected filthy oral sex
commentary expected of a tongue piercing.
Teasing Kara about her half-serious prudery somehow snowballs into the gang of them comparing
musculatures. They even rile Kara up enough to get her out of her shirt, though by that bikini top,
she snuck off and changed.
"Girls aren't your thing," Lucy wheedles at an enormously amused Nia, who tolerates the side-hug
with a grin. "So you be our neutral party to judge who has the hottest core!"
Making a hilariously poor showing at a 'serious judge face', Nia shrugs and gestures for them to
carry on.
Sam huffs a naughty half-laugh softly against the back of my ear and there's no stopping the rush
of hot tingles that race down my spine and leave me squirming. Again. "I'd forgotten about this."
"Sure you did," I murmur back, distracted by the subtle brush of her fingertips beneath the fall of
my hair, teasing at my other ear and the back of my neck. Sam knows better than anyone those
sensitive spots, the tease.
I far from mind the foreplay, though it's going to be a long day…
Clearing my throat noisily, I ignore another soft, naughty chuckle and the amused speculation of
the teenager close by. Video, Lena, watch the video and be cool.
Sure.
With a few murmured endearments and kisses, Sara coaxes Ava into the lineup, and the comment
about her being cut, made way back in February, is no joke. She looks like she could give the
nearly as tall Kara a run for her money. The two tall blondes duke it out with an arm-wrestling
contest that has them sweating harder in the summer sun, the others cheering them on. Kara braces
her feet and just manages to get Ava off balance enough to crack her knuckles against the picnic
table and beam proudly.
Shaking out her hand, Ava gives up her spot to Maggie while Alex takes her sister's place. With a
flex of arm, shoulder and that lickable belly, Alex makes short work of her smaller opponent and
grins toothily.
"Damn, Danvers, you really have bulked up into a bad-beep-!" Maggie protests laughingly and the
lot of them fall to trying to out-pose the others. It's both hilarious and hot as hell, a feast of muscle
and feminine softness, summer sweat and wild, unselfconscious grins. Frankly, I don't know that I
could refuse any of them if they flirted with me looking like that.
Oblivious or ignoring the subtext in the room, Lily chirps, "wow! She's strong! Do you think she
could lift me up high?"
It's the G-rated version of my own fascination and like mother, like daughter I suppose.
Without a single coherent thing in my head, I'm saved by Sam's cheerful voice. "Kiddo, with arms
like that, I bet she could do pull-ups with you hanging off of her."
The leer is subtle, but it's there. All I can do is swallow hard while Ruby just rolls her eyes.
Sam behaves herself for a few moments before once again nuzzling my ear.
"I had a girlfriend that looked like that once," she muses softly in a tone not nearly as innocent as it
sounds. "I don't think I ever took my hand off her stomach."
"Do you have any complaints?" I have to ask for the sake of my offended ego, but my tone sounds
more breathless than annoyed.
A little turn of Sam's head and warm breath curling around the shell of my ear is almost as sexy as
the press of her lips. "Not at all. I love your sleek softness, but some contrast never hurts the
imagination."
"Good save."
Despite our muttering, Ruby seems oblivious for once, as Sam kisses wetly behind my ear. My
inhale is soft enough to not draw attention, until she does the most Sam thing ever and grazes her
teeth over my skin.
The urge to drag her off the bedroom roars back, and if this weren't a family cuddle, I would be
doing just that! So I elbow her in the gut for being a tease. Still, she chuckles and I snuggle in even
more, enjoying all of the life and sensuality around me. It's weird to feel so content and so turned
on, but that's Sam.
"I'm pretty sure the first time I watched this, all I could think was, 'are they all hot and ripped?'"
My bark of laughter breaks the sensual tension and yet coaxes me to lean into my lover ever more
bonelessly.
"The ex is cute too," Sam comments in a louder voice with a sage clarity as she stirs from her lazy
snuggle into me, raising her head. Thankfully, she makes no move to do more, as I'm loving being
squashed between her and Lily. "Though she isn't an ex anymore. She and Lucy have totally gotten
back together by this point, despite it not seeming like it and the long spells of being apart. It's
subtle, but it's there."
Having not really thought about it -Alex is a hell of a distraction- I mentally review the few times
Maggie has been in videos. While I'm not entirely convinced, the cop does have a swagger that
softens when Lucy is near. Not only does Sam have excellent people-reading skills, she's been a
bartender since she was legal to drink the stuff. I trust her judgment more than anyone's, including
my own oftentimes.
After much posing and flexing and catcalls, Nia awards Sara the title, which I will accept for pure
aesthetics, though I know who my favorite is. She poses and preens and mocks Alex with, "what,
you think that salmon ladder in our spare room is for looks?"
Everyone has foolishly taken their eyes off of Lucy and a jet of water from nowhere blasts across
the bouquet of sculpted cores and narrowly misses the camera. Brainy's consternation is lost in the
feminine squealing, Alex's voice rising up with, "-beep-, Lucy, that's cold!"
Unrepentant behind the hose, Lucy taunts, "lotta headlights on in this traffic jam!"
Ruby is doubtlessly grossed out and amused by my drooling, but I can't bring myself to care.
The scene dissolves into childish foolery, soaking one another down and running around like
maniacs while Nia and Brainy cheer them on and laugh themselves breathless. As has happened
before, I find myself wistful to be part of such fun and lightheartedness. Their joy is as enrapturing
as their sexiness.