Chapter 24.

Season 3 bay-bay! This chapter was a hell of a lot longer than I thought it would be and it might be a tad confusing but I hope it's still enjoyable.

As per usual, a HUGE thank you to all of the new and faithful readers of this story. Your support and interest were a huge driving force to get this out there as soon as possible.

Disclaimer: I do not own Shameless.


Four and a half months later.

Daniela shoved open the door of the robotics building, her feet carrying her swiftly through the college campus. Her heart raced as she was flanked by Ian and Lip.

"I can't believe you roped me into your shit!" She fumed, focusing her anger on ditching the cops chasing them.

"When you said you had access, I thought you meant through the front door," accused Ian almost a foot ahead of them; his ROTC training paying off.

To the left of her, Lip laughed breathlessly. "I may have fudged on that bit."

"I can not be getting arrested right now," interjected Daniela again, throwing a quick glare at the boy. "Jake will kill me." Lip shrugged, his shoulders jostling awkwardly from the running.

"Your brother's a cop now. You'll be fine."

"That's even more reason for him to do it!"

"Hey!" Yelled one of the cops like it was going to make them stop.

"Come on!" Daniela and Ian followed Lip down the steps. Desperately, she tried not to trip and fall flat on her face.

Not use to so much running, the gap between herself and the boys grew. She watched as both of them slid down the handrail like they were in a movie, making her roll her eyes.

Show offs.

"Come on, El!" Urged Lip, nearing the bottom the steps. He watched her over his shoulder to make sure she was still close before they ran across the road. "Jesus, what happened to fat, donut-eating cops? Now they're all Triathletes."

The trio came to a fence and Ian was the first to climb it, hopping over swiftly. His brother was next, almost as quick. Daniela was much more sloppy. Evading the police and jumping fences weren't exactly on her list of hobbies.

Despite this, she managed to stumble up to the top but as she made her way down, a tug on her jeans revealed that they had snagged on the fence.

"Shit. I'm caught!" Lip stopped to look at her before quickly grabbing her around the waist and pulling her down. Daniela heard the tear of denim as her feet hit the floor.

"Okay?" Asked Lip, his eyes staring down at her. Nodding, she pushed him to keep running. They quickly caught up with Ian.

"Wait here," he said as they approached a parked truck.

"What are you doing?"

Ian jumped, his hands catching onto the ladder that hung from the fire escape. Daniela watched him with a flustered glare.

"We're not all, G.I. Joe." Noticing the officers gaining on them, she rushed towards the open stairway door. "Through here."

Daniela was mentally cursing by the time they reached the roof. Her thighs and lungs were burning and she was in desperate need of water. Running across the roof, they came to the ledge, peering off at the large drop to the next building.

"Right there," called one of the officers again. "Hold it!"

Daniela's worried eyes switched back and forth between the two brothers, unsure of what to do next.

"No way West Point is gonna take you with a felony conviction," said Lip. Ian stared back at his brother and nodded in understanding. "You go too." Lip turned to Daniela. "You don't need to be caught up in this."

The girl nodded, her eyes softening. Grabbing him by the back of the neck, she pulled him down for a quick kiss.

"Don't do anything stupid," she mumbled against his lips, feeling them smirk against hers.

"Too late." He pushed her gently in Ian's direction, watching as she climbed up onto the ledge.

"Catch you at the courthouse later?" Asked Ian before jumping down. Once he landed, he moved to stand below Daniela, his arms held out to catch her.

"Hey," called Lip before she jumped. "Reckon your brother could pull some strings?"

Daniela shrugged. "I'll try." Flashing him one last smile, she took the plunge, feeling Ian's solid arms wrap around her. She turned around, just in time to see Lip throw down the briefcase he'd stolen.

Catching it, she stumbled back from the weight before taking off beside her best friend. Halfway across the next roof, Daniela spared a glance over her shoulder, seeing Lip holding his hands up to the two officers.

/

"He'll be okay," assured Ian as they walked into school, surprisingly on time. Daniela had been fiddling with the hem of her shirt the entire walk there, her thoughts elsewhere.

Tuning back into the conversation, she nodded at her friend. "I know."

Both of their eyes caught onto a figure leaning against Ian's locker. Daniela felt the awkwardness build as they grew closer to Mandy. The Milkovich girl had kept a silent distance from her and Lip ever since he dumped her four months prior.

He had been worried at first about her reaction, and rightfully so. Ian was the perfect example of saying no to Mandy and despite some initial anger and threats from her older brothers, she had backed off. Still, Daniela would often catch her staring longingly at Lip. She knew that they still talked, though he had assured her it was nothing more than friendly.

While there had never been much of a relationship with Mandy, things had become even tenser between them over the months, causing Ian to have to alternate who he would hang out with.

He sent his friend an apologetic look when his eyes also caught onto Mandy. "I promised I would spend some time with her."

"No worries," Daniela shrugged. "I have to catch up on some homework at break anyway."

"I'll meet up with you after school and then we'll go down to the courthouse."

"Sounds good," nodded the girl with a smile before splitting off from him.

Six hours later, Daniela stood out the front of the high school, her foot tapping impatiently as she waited for Ian. After a few more minutes, she finally saw him emerge, not missing Mandy walking beside him.

"Hey," he greeted her, sounding both apologetic and cheery.

"Let's go," droned Mandy, passing in front of them. Daniela turned a raised eyebrow to her friend.

"Mandy's coming?"

"It kind of slipped out and then she was pretty insistent about tagging along. Sorry."

The girl shook her head and raked a hand through her hair. "It's fine. Let's just go before she leaves us behind." Sure enough, Mandy was already halfway down the street, her stride determined.

/

Four months prior.

Ian's phone went off for what felt like the hundredth time in the past hour. Daniela eyed it strangely from her position stacking canned tomatoes on the shelf.

"Are you dealing now or something?" She asked, making him laugh. Ian shook his head as he sat in his usual spot behind the cash register.

"It's Lloyd."

"Jimmy's dad?" Daniela crinkled her nose. "You're still seeing him?"

"Yeah."

"What are you gonna do when Mickey gets out?"

Ian shrugged, waving it off. "He still has months before he gets out. Until then, I'll enjoy this little thing with Lloyd."

Daniela laughed under her breath, returning to her stacking before her attention was caught by Lip crashing through the store door. The bell rang out as he stood soaked from the rain, his breathing ragged.

Daniela frowned oddly at him. "Why are you out of breath?" Wiping some water out of his eyes, Lip moved to where she stood, his chest still heaving.

"I'm avoiding Mandy and her brothers."

"Why?"

"I ended it," he stated bluntly. The girl's eyes widened a fraction with Ian doing the same behind the cash register.

"Oh."

"Yeah."

Daniela's mouth twisted. "Did she get mad?"

"She threw a few things at me but I mostly got out unscathed."

"Could've been worse," piped up Ian. His brother glanced at him and nodded. They all remembered what had happened when Ian turned down Mandy and Daniela felt a dull ache in her shoulder at the reminder.

"Yeah. Might need to lay low just in case her brothers decide to come for my balls." Lip stepped closer to Daniela, grinning as he placed his hands on her waist. Ian coughed uncomfortably. "Good news is that we can finally try this out."

"Not so fast," she halted him. He frowned down at her, his smile gone. "If you have to lay low then so do I. Mandy's gonna know why you ended things with her if she sees us suddenly together."

"I think she already knows," laughed Lip, pulling her towards him. Still, Daniela shook her head.

"This," she moved a hand between the two of them. "Can't happen until things with Mandy calm down. From the sounds of things, she's pretty pissed with you and I don't feel like getting my arm dislocated again."

Lip groaned, his head tilting back. "You are so difficult."

"So are you," she shot back. He heaved a heavy sigh before shaking his head.

"Fine then. I'll wait."

Squeezing her waist one last time, Lip left the store, leaving behind a chuckling Ian. Daniela frowned at him in silent question.

"You're torturing him, El."

/

Present.

"Here he comes," smiled Mandy, pulling the other girl out of her thoughts. Daniela looked up from her hands to see Lip waltzing towards them flanked by two officers.

Instantly his eyes met hers, a mischievous smirk plastered on his face. Daniela shook her head at him with a laugh and pushed herself off the wall as a guard opened the metal door for Lip. She walked towards him, watching as he signed some paperwork.

He tapped the top of the pen against the desk, signaling he was done, and turned around to meet Daniela's hard look. It didn't last very long before he pulled her waist towards him and kissed her. She settled into it quickly, her hands coming to rest on his chest.

The kiss was soon cut off by Lip's cry of pain.

"I'm still mad at you," claimed Daniela, her closed fist coming off of his arm. Lip laughed under his breath and dropped his hands from her waist as they walked to where Ian and Mandy were waiting.

"Hey," he greeted his brother. Ian tossed him a pack of cigarettes that he quickly caught before his attention moved to the girl beside his brother. "Hey, Mandy." She leveled him with a sharp glare, aiming her own punch at his arm.

"Asshole."

"Ow, Jesus. Why is everyone hitting me?" Complained Lip. Daniela snorted and began walking in front of him.

"Because you're an idiot."

"How did it go?" Asked Ian, swallowing his laugh with a cough.

"Public defender thinks I can get off with community service if I take the laser back. Underprivileged kid trying to gain access to equipment he doesn't have at his ghetto ass, underfunded school. Hey, how much did the bail set you back?" He asked Ian, rubbing his tender arm with a wince.

The redhead raised his hands innocently. "Wasn't me." At Lip's confused frown, he jerked a thumb at Daniela's back.

"You?"

The girl rolled her eyes before Lip grabbed her wrist to turn her around so he could see her face. A small grin appeared as he took in the faint pinkness of her cheeks.

"I was saving up for a laptop but," she shrugged, suddenly feeling very unsure of herself as he stared down at her with a look of astonishment in his eyes. Feeling naked under his intense gaze, Daniela cleared her throat and turned back around. "No big deal."

"Woah, woah." Lip's hand wrapped around her smaller one, dragging her back into his chest. "It is a big deal," he said, brushing a piece of hair behind her ear and dropping his forehead to hers. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Lip pressed another kiss to her mouth.

"Promise I'll pay you back."

"Well," began Daniela slyly. "My birthday is in a few months."

Lip chuckled under his breath and nodded before pecking her lips again. "I'll keep that in mind."

Slinging an arm around her shoulder, the couple sauntered out of the courthouse.

Behind them, Ian observed the down expression of Mandy, her eyes dropping from the couple to her shoes. Finding himself in the odd predicament of being happy for his best friend and feeling sorry for Mandy, Ian threw his own arm around the Milkovich.

The girl watched as Lip whispered something in Daniela's ear that made her throw her head back in laughter. She felt robbed. If it wasn't for the fact that she still cared for Lip, Mandy would've gotten rid of Daniela ages ago.

She understood that her feelings towards the older girl were harsh and knew that if she acted upon them, Lip would never acknowledge her ever again.

As she made her way home though, an idea popped into Mandy's head, making her smirk. There were other ways to get back at Daniela.

Lip might've been off limits and with Ian batting for the other team, she was left with only one other option.

/

"So, what exactly is that thing?" Asked Daniela later that night, her legs tucked underneath herself as she sat in Lip's room and watched him examine the thing they had stolen.

After a few weeks had passed with Frank still not showing up, Fiona had upgraded to her father's room, leaving her old one to Lip.

His brow was furrowed determinedly as his fingers worked to twist some wires together.

"It's a helium-neon laser that I'm gonna use to teach some arrogant, college douche-bags not to fuck with the South Side. That's if I can get it to work properly." A laugh bubbled in her throat as she sighed and stood up.

"I need to pee," she said, already out the door. Lip nodded absently in acknowledgment, his eyes never leaving the laser.

Daniela smiled kindly at Fiona on her way past to the bathroom; the woman returning it genuinely. Once the bathroom door was closed, she turned to her brother, propping herself up against his doorframe with a small smirk.

"Daniela, huh?"

"Mhm," hummed Lip simply. Across the room, his sister nodded.

"She's a good one. Don't fuck it up."

"Yeah well, thanks. I guess?"

"You two being smart?" Lip finally tore his eyes away from his project to reach over and grab a string of condoms. Satisfied, Fiona nodded and left, a proud smile on her face.

Bringing his bottom lip between his teeth, Lip returned to his work, his head rising back up at the sound of light footsteps. He eyed Daniela appreciatively, an oversized shirt he was sure Kev had given him draped over her frame, coming to a tantalizing rest a couple inches above her knees.

Smiling coyly, she took long strides to his bed until she stood right above him, pieces of hair coming to frame her face as she looked down upon him. Lip carefully maneuvered his robot to the side of him, his eyes never straying from hers. Reaching out, he took hold of her hands, pulling her down to his level.

Moving his fingers to her cheeks, Lip grazed a thumb over the soft skin as Daniela melted into his touch. She felt her body heat up just from the heavy look he cast her way, the familiar pink tinge in her cheeks making him smirk.

Not wanting to waste any more time, Lip tugged her mouth against his in a desperate, heated kiss. Daniela's arms wrapped loosely around his neck, her position making him angle his head upwards to meet hers. She pulled away from the kiss long enough to lightly nip at his swollen bottom lip.

"You…staying….tonight?" Murmured Lip in between their kisses as his hands already began to play with the hem of her shirt.

"I don't know," breathed Daniela, the tone of her voice becoming more light and playful. "I'm still mad at you."

Her answer caused a deep rumble in Lip's chest that reverberated onto the hand the girl had placed there. She rested on the heels of her feet, watching him with a smirk.

"You're not serious?" At Daniela's raised brow he realized that she was and sighed in defeat. "I'm sorry." Lip waited for her response, taking in the change in her posture.

"I don't want you getting in any more trouble."

"That's gonna be a bit difficult for me."

Daniela rolled her eyes in amusement knowing it was the truth. "Fine. I don't want you getting into any serious trouble."

"I can live with that," he nodded after thinking about it. Lifting one of her hands to his mouth, he peppered kisses up her arm until his lips came to rest at the corner of her own mouth. "But you're staying tonight."

Daniela huffed a laugh. "Do I have a choice?" Her eyes met his clear blue ones, spotting the mischief in them coupled with the signature tug in his lips.

"No," he shook his head before bringing her mouth back to his. She sighed into the kiss and allowed Lip to push her down onto her back. A bare leg came to curl around his middle, pulling his lower half to press down harder against her.

Lip moved his mouth to her neck, making Daniela turn her head towards the entrance of her door.

"Lip," she halted, an amused giggle bubbling in her throat. He peeled his head back to frown at her. "You should probably close that." She suggested, a single finger pointing out the open curtain that substituted as a door for his room.

Muttering a curse, Lip quickly heaved himself up with a groan, snatching the fabric closed.

/

The next morning, Daniela and the Gallaghers sat around the kitchen table, clamoring over breakfast. Jimmy had become the den mother of their tribe, cooking up big spreads of breakfast each morning.

Nowadays, breakfast at the Gallagher house was much more appealing than the plain bowl of cereal she would be having at her own home.

She was sat beside Lip who couldn't stop rubbing his hand up her thigh much to her annoyance, delighting him even further. It was completely distracting. Throughout the meal, she continued to send him warning looks to which he would reply with innocent ones.

Shaking her head at him, Daniela turned her attention to his younger brother.

"Carl, could you pass a piece of toast please?" The boy tossed one over, her hands almost failing to catch it. "Where did you go last night?" She asked Ian as she buttered her bread.

Ian snorted, popping a forkful of eggs in his mouth. "Saving myself from having to listen to you two all night." Daniela's mouth dropped open.

"Wha-? That is…Wow." Her flustered speech caused Lip to chuckle, his mirth quickly turning into pain as she slapped his chest. Picking up her fork, she scraped the scrambled eggs around her plate. "It was hardly all night."

"No," piped in Debbie as she poured herself some orange juice. "If I recall correctly, it stopped around 11:50." Daniela's hands flew up to cover her eyes as Lip and Ian shared a laugh at her embarrassment. It was still strange adjusting to how open the family was.

"Hey," argued Lip. "At least we're not as bad as Fiona and Jimmy." All the kids at the table shuddered at the thought and Jimmy raised his spatula defiantly.

"Who wants more eggs?"

The majority of the table stuck their hands up leading the man to come and scoop some eggs onto everyone's plates. They continued to eat, falling into small chatter. Ian and Lip were discussing how his robot was coming along when Steve spoke up from the stove.

"Bus is leaving, dishes in the sink. Daniela, you need a ride?"

"If it's not too much trouble."

The man waved her worries off with a dishcloth and tossed her a paper bag she assumed contained her lunch. "Course not."

Ridding her mouth of any crumbs, Daniela grabbed her bag off of the ground and slung it over her shoulders.

Lip followed her lead as they headed outside to where Jimmy's nice car was parked. She climbed into the backseat and was soon joined by Ian, Carl, and Debbie because they were smaller. They waited for Jimmy as he kissed Fiona goodbye before driving the lot to school.

/

Daniela rested on a work bench in the engineering room, her eyes clearly focused on Lip as he sanded down a piece of metal. He had come to work on his robot for the competition that would be taking place that night.

"You're coming tonight right?" Asked Lip, his brow furrowed as sparks flew around him.

Daniela nodded despite him not looking at her. "Yeah. I want to see what this thing can do."

"You and me both."

The girl swung her legs, her feet kicking the air as she observed Lip.

All day he had been raving to her about his ideas for the robot and how he was going to make it happen. It had mainly been silent in the room because she didn't want to distract him in fear of the boy losing a finger.

However, every now and again Daniela would slip in a curious question about what he was building or how it would change the way the robot worked.

When she asked these questions, Lip's eyes would light up as he spouted off information Daniela was more than happy to listen to. She saw that he was completely in his element as she watched him fit the cut piece of metal onto the body of his project.

At the sight of his focused, furrowed brow, Daniela grinned openly. Lip's eyes caught her smile making the crease in his forehead grow even more.

"What?"

"Nothing," she giggled and shook her head making him turn off the sander in order to give her his full look of annoyance.

"What the fuck?" He asked once more and Daniela could see the bubble of frustration grow. Her laughs died down until she was simply staring at him and tilted her head. His footsteps carried from behind his station to where she sat.

"I've never seen you like this before. You're totally in your element."

"Well, yeah." Lip shrugged it off. "Does it weird you out?"

"No," dragged out Daniela, reaching out to grab his shirt to tug him towards her. Running her hands up his chest, she looked up at him. "It's kind of hot."

Lip raised a single eyebrow at her. "Oh yeah?"

Nodding with a giggle, Daniela didn't refuse Lip's mouth as it came to down to brush against hers. She fell into the kiss, aware of Lip's eagerly wandering hands. Her fingers looped small tufts of his hair around them, angling him closer to her.

In the background, they heard the click of the door opening followed by an uncomfortable cough to gain their attention. Both teens peeled away from each other to stare at the man Daniela knew to be Lip's guidance counselor. He sent another look between the two of them before gesturing his head to where Lip's creation sat.

"The hell is that?"

"That is a helium-neon laser," answered Lip as he moved back to his own station and placed his safety glasses on again. "I'm gonna perform Lasix on near-sighted neighborhood kids. Fifty bucks a pop." Across the room, Daniela rolled her eyes at his smart-ass remark.

Mr. Healey showed no reaction, seemingly used to Lip's attitude. "What are your plans for the summer?"

"Probably pretty much what I did last summer; drink too much beer, smoke a lot of weed."

"Wrong. You're gonna build up your resume for your college applications." Daniela noticed the eye-roll Lip barely held back as Mr. Healy showed Lip the clipboard he held in his hands. "You're a poor kid from the South Side and you got a 4.6 and that's great but you're gonna need a full ride."

Lip dropped his head, practically giggling to himself prompting the older man to ask what was so funny.

"It's just that…" he chuckled again. "Why does everyone think I'm going to college?"

Mr. Healey hit him on the head with his clipboard making Daniela laugh behind them and Lip subsequently glare at her. "Dummy. You're going to college. And you're gonna graduate and then get your masters and your doctorate. Then you're gonna make a boatload of money."

"He has a point Lip," agreed Daniela gently though it just caused his annoyed gaze to flick to her.

"What is this? A fucking intervention?"

"No," she denied firmly, standing up and crossing her arms. "We're just trying to help. You're too smart to be so stupid and not go to college."

"The girl has a point, Gallagher," nodded Mr. Healey.

Ignoring them, Lip switched the sander back on and pressed a piece of metal against it, drowning out whatever else the guidance counselor had left to say. Not having any of it, the man flicked it off.

"Spend the summer padding this resume."

Lip scratched his head. "Doing what?"

"I don't give a shit. Teach brain-damaged kids how to make explosives or the blind how to blow glass."

"He already has a couple hundred hours of community service," informed Daniela. "Would that work?" Lip threw her an exasperated look but she didn't care. If he was being stubborn she was going to be stubborn back.

Mr. Healey nodded. "Okay. It's a start." He turned to leave but pointed a finger at Daniela. "You'll make sure he does it?"

At her nod, he finally walked out, leaving the teens standing there. Lip played with the safety glasses he had taken off again. He spared a look at Daniela who was leaning against her table, her eyes already on him.

Not saying anything, Lip headed back over to the sander, switched it on and got back to work. Daniela waited to see if he would say anything but after a few minutes of realizing he wouldn't, she stood with an eye roll and also walked out, feeling his eyes on her as she left.

/

She gave Lip the rest of the day to cool off knowing it wouldn't be the best idea to continuously pester him about college and piss him off. Instead, Daniela gave him some space until he was ready to talk to her. It hadn't taken long before he pulled her aside after school to apologize.

With the promise of going along with him to the robot competition, she made her way home to freshen up. A shower and a fresh pair of clothes sounded enticing to the girl as she headed inside, her ears picking up on sounds coming from the kitchen.

Following the noises, Daniela came to a stop, spotting Jakob making himself a sandwich, still clad in his police uniform. He was fresh out of police school and- thanks to a couple recommendations from Tony- was offered a position at the same station as him.

"Oh. You're actually home today," she joked and leaned against the archway into her kitchen. Her brother had been spending fewer nights at home and more at the anonymous female friend's she had yet to meet or know the name of.

Startled, Jakob peeked over his shoulder at her and continued with his sandwich. "I could say the same to you. Your bed looks like it wasn't even slept in last night."

"I stayed at the Gallagher's."

"With Lip?" Asked her brother coyly and Daniela picked up on the brotherly-protectiveness in his tone.

The girl had avoided any unnecessary social situations between Lip and her brother, knowing how Jakob would be. She knew he didn't fully trust the boy based on the rumors he had heard about Lip and the situation with thinking he knocked Karen up.

"Yes, with Lip," she responded with a roll of her eyes. "I'm heading out again soon, though. We're going to some robot thing."

"Just you two?"

"Uh, no. Ian and Carl are gonna be there, along with Mandy I think."

Jakob hummed to himself, satisfied, and bit into his sandwich. "Good. That's good."

"Okay well, I'm gonna go get ready," started Daniela already heading towards the stairs.

"Dani," called out her brother, making her swivel around to frown at him.

"What?"

"Have a seat."

"Uh-oh. This sounds bad," said Daniela, sliding down into the chair Jakob had been patting. She watched suspiciously as her brother blew out a long breath, seemingly amping himself up.

"This is gonna be painfully uncomfortable for the two of us but considering mom and dad aren't here, it's my responsibility to give you the t-"

Daniela's eyes widened and she was quick to cut him off, shooting out of her chair and ready to leave.

"We are not doing this."

Jakob pressed a balled up fist into his eye, sighing deeply. "I don't want to do this either but it would ultimately make me feel better if we did."

"And it would ultimately make me feel awkward if we did. Besides, you're too late. Mom and I had that conversation a long time ago."

"Still," continued Jakob, his sister squirming beside him. "I think it's worth reminding you. I know you and Lip are teenagers and that your hormones are going crazy."

"This is not happening," whispered Daniela to herself, sinking into her chair and letting her face rest on the cool surface of the table.

"But you should always remember to be safe whenever it comes to doing… that."

"Right," nodded the girl once Jakob was finished. "Condoms. Stay safe. Got it. Thanks. Are we done now?"

"Yes." In a flash, she was out of her seat and halfway across the kitchen leaving her brother sitting there, deflated but proud of himself for being such an adult.

"Great!"

"Oh and Dani?" Called out Jakob once more.

"Yeah?"

"I want you to come home afterward and sleep in your own bed tonight."

The girl nodded her head, finding that more than reasonable. "Okay."

Giving her brother a smile, she finally headed up the stairs, more than ready to have a shower and wash off the awkwardness of that situation. If there was one person she certainly did not want to discuss her sex life with, it was her brother.

/

Later that night, Daniela met up with Lip, Ian, and Carl. Ian had explained that Mandy had called ahead and told him she couldn't make it which the other girl didn't mind.

After paying the entry fee and dealing with the douchey college guy Lip had told her about, the group made their way to the hub of where the action was. Her eyes surveyed the place, taking in the cheers as a ring was set up in the middle of it all.

The closer they got, the easier it was for her to see the two robots fighting.

"This is such a geek-fest," she spoke into Lip's ear, the sounds of cheers and boos making it hard to hear anything. The boy grumbled, clearly rattled by her jibe despite her not meaning it in an offensive way. "I like it. It's fun," she assured him, giving his arm a light squeeze.

Lip seemed to feel better about it and soon they all got enthralled with the fight, counting down the rounds until it was Lip's turn.

Daniela was particularly engrossed, letting the energy in the building amp her up. She began rallying for whichever robot she thought was better and booing the other. The whole scene made Ian and Lip laugh as they watched her.

Eventually, a voice called out through the speakers saying that Lip's robot (appropriately named Frank) would be up next. Daniela scowled across at his opponent, recognizing him as the college douche Lip had had a verbal dispute with. The guy looked incredibly smug, making Daniela rally behind Lip even more.

"You've got this," she grinned, dropping a quick kiss on his mouth for luck and motivation. He smirked back at her, confident in how his robot would do.

"Let's battle!" Not even a second after the announcer's voice rang out, the two fighting robots moved closer to each other.

Daniela wasn't going to lie; douche-face's robot looked pretty vicious but that didn't stop her from having faith in Lip's. Unfortunately for them, Frank was quickly caught in the claw of the other robot.

"Ooh, Frank is in trouble already!"

"Fry the fucker, come on." Lip ignored Ian's suggestion, focusing on the sparring robots and loosening Frank from the other's grip.

The group was on the edge of their seats as he maneuvered Frank around the ring, the other piece of metal hot on its tail. It continued like this as Daniela and Ian urged Lip to finish him off but he continued to brush them off, waiting for the right moment.

It came when he was able to reverse Frank away from the other robot and there was a tense silence as the two machines sat staring at each other for a few moments, curious as to what the other was going to do.

"Rent-A-Raptor is on the move!" Daniela was nearly chewing her nails from the amount of nervousness and anticipation she was feeling. Douche-face's robot inched closer to Frank but Lip continued to wait.

Finally, he flipped a switch on his controller making the green light on the robot switch on. Pressing it again, a bright red beam shot out from the laser they had stolen, aimed right at the 'Rent-A-Raptor'.

The crowd fell silent in wait of what was going to happen; the only sound being the low hum of the laser as it fixated itself on the other robot. With a loud pop, the other robot blew up, sending the crowd into roaring cheers.

"He did it! He did it!" Cried the announcer excitedly. "We have a new champion!"

High on adrenaline, Lip wasted no time grabbing Daniela and smashing his grinning mouth against hers. She pulled away with a laugh and placed her hands on his cheeks.

"You did it!"

"Were you doubting me?" He asked smugly, snaking an arm around her waist to pull her deeper into his side. He dropped his forehead to hers as she shook her head.

"No," beamed Daniela, reaching up for another short kiss. "I'm so proud of you."

"Well, we can celebrate more thoroughly later."

She tsked, her eyes dropping. "I can't. Jake wants me at home tonight."

Lip nodded, shrugging with a smirk. "You'll just have to sneak me in."

"And risk getting caught? No thanks."

"Oh, like you haven't already done that," chuckled Lip humorously, his grin widening when the girl lightly slapped his arm.

/

Lip managed to convince Daniela to stick around for dinner, to which she happily obliged. The pair were upstairs hanging out with Ian when they heard Fiona trickle into the house. Heading down, the boys cheered and held up the gold trophy to show their sister.

"You won?" She beamed, stepping forward to look at the object.

"Oh yeah. Nothing left but smoking metal and bruised geek egos," answered Ian as they all took a seat at the kitchen table.

"Yeah, plus 400 bucks cash prize for first place," added Lip, slapping the money down on the table. "Thought I could help out a little with the property tax bill."

Daniela got up and moved to where Steve was finishing off the pot of spaghetti.

"Need some help, Jimbo?" The man sighed, a look of amusement on his face at the use of her nickname for him.

"Yeah, if you could just put some plates and cutlery out that'd be great." Grabbing what she needed from the cupboard, Daniela laid out a setting in front of each seat.

Feeling a hand wrap around her wrist, Lip tugged her down to the seat beside him, pressing a kiss to her forehead before taking a drink of his beer.

"Here we go, guys! Dinner is served," announced Jimmy as he carried the bowl of spaghetti over and placed it in the middle of everyone. The table fell into light-hearted chatter as they passed food over one-another.

Swirling some spaghetti onto her fork, Daniela ate and listened to Ian and Lip talk excitedly about the competition. The current topic of conversation was Lip's opponent.

"Did you see his face when it blew up?" Laughed Ian loudly. Fiona's wide eyes flicked between the boys in confusion.

"You blew it up?"

"Yeah. It was awesome," added in Carl who already had pasta sauce all over his face. Daniela huffed a laugh, passing the boy a napkin to wipe his face.

She popped a forkful of pasta in her mouth, noticing the happy expression on Ian's face drop as he stared at something behind her. Frowning, she swiveled around in her chair, stopping when she saw Frank standing there looking oddly well-groomed.

The rest of the table caught on quickly, the conversations dying down entirely as they all stared at the man who had been gone for 127 days. No-one said anything, their expressions all stoic.

Debbie was different, slowly rising out of her chair, a large smile growing on her face.

"Daddy," she whispered with wonder, pushing her way behind Lip and Daniela's chairs to get to her father. "Daddy!" The girl wrapped her hands around his frame, shocking Frank who didn't respond to her welcoming for a moment.

Sighing, Jimmy turned his attention back to the table.

"What were you saying about these Robot Wars?"

His question brought the conversation back, almost like it hadn't been completely interrupted by Frank's return. Daniela smirked into her cup and relaxed in her chair, feeling Lip's arm come to rest along the top of it.


So that happened… I know it might seem a little sudden but keep in mind that there was a huge time gap between the two seasons and as you saw throughout this chapter, there was a mini flashback scene explaining how it all happened. Those are gonna keep coming in the next few chapters just so it's more understandable.

Hopefully, you enjoyed it though! It was a long time coming but FINALLY, they are together. I'm pretty excited for this season.

Special thanks to: BehindGrayEyes, xenocanaan, gossamermouse101, blue Wren, thisisntcalista, ItsMalecNotLeviosa, TheDivineMsEm, Nascarfan030524, bluesweird, purplepeacoat, AppoloniaAstria, DarkFireAngel00, dannyboi2, DoctorWhoObsessed7, GuardianAngel45, Eboyd089, PippaLuck, estafanypenacornejo, asdfghjkl1292, leafery, Ardensteele, HelloFellowHuman, IcePhoenix12360, K1N6K0N6, dobrevax, KiaraI, gmaya1105, jazztullock, KristinaSmiley, Tali Alioquin, icantfindacreativeusername, mysticfairydancer, BlueShadowFire18, animefan3250, HaleStorm5, Tvdqueen2000, 99, cruciosnape, rainydays99, i-heart-themarauders, gingerstrikesagain, Phaesphoros, SunnySideUp25 and TheBoulevardofBrokenDreams!

Fuck that was long. Cheers!

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