Hey guys tell me if you think GoGo (Leiko) is too OOC nice/optimistic in this chapter because I'm kinda super worried about that and the last thing I'd want to do is get her wrong but also I think she absolutely has it in her to be encouraging and kind to the people she cares the most about and we're working off the assumption that Wasabi (Wesley) is one of them.

Anyway, also, I'm kind of back? I'm kind of back and I'm kind of not.

I told a friend that I'd give my other BH6 stories some TLC before I introduced a new chaptered one. And I really wanna start the new one. It has my first OCs that aren't like blood-related to the main characters or background characters in it! I'm so so so so excited for that one. Ugh. I can't wait to share it, but first, I must tend to my other children.

*glances at Heroes Journey and bursts into tears because I don't know what I'm doing with it*

His best friend worked at a tiny little mechanic shop known for doing the best work in the shortest amount of time possible, though the prices could sometimes be steep. Wes of course got his car tuned for free, Leiko made sure of that. In return, he would sometimes treat her to dinner and had helped her move into her own apartment the second she was emancipated. They were always there for each other.

Of course she was the first person he told about his new job. He rolled up to the garage as she was closing it for the night.

"I brought you some pizza. It might be a bit cold, sorry."

"You didn't have to bring me pizza, Wes."

"Yeah, yeah, I wanted to talk." Leiko took the pizza box and squatted on a footstool, Wes leaned against his car and watched her eat, beginning to talk only when she gave him an almost imperceptible nod.

"I got a job today."

"I thought you had a job. A better one?"

"Uh, yeah."

"Your mom should be happy," Leiko said with an eyeroll. She did not think highly of Deborah Ginger.

"She better be, the number of times she's complained about the cafe."

"What's her problem?"

"My theory is that she hates that my friends know her. She hates that you and Tadashi know exactly what she's done to me. She'd isolate me if she could, then I couldn't talk about her. She hates to be talked about."

"Well," Leiko said calmly, "One day someone's going to drop a house on her." Wesley stifled a laugh.

"Anyway, tell me about your new job."

"I'm a production assistant for a YouTuber."

"What? That doesn't sound like you at all."

"Yeah, I know. The guy is Khary's favorite vlogger. When he put out a video asking for applications for the job Khary begged me to apply so I did. I didn't expect to actually get it."

"Well, good for you. You finally decided to woman up." Leiko wasn't completely serious. She really did believe that more people needed to woman up, but she also didn't feel like she needed to rush Wes's personal growth, or anyone else's for that matter. There were boundaries and those boundaries meant a lot to both of them. So if either of them ever had to take things slow, something Leiko personally despised, she'd try to understand.

"I'm a bit worried about it," Wes admitted.

"What else is new?"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. I'm going to have to be on camera, Leiko. People are going to see my face."

"Good for them!"

"Bad for me, though. What if I freeze up? You know how I get."

"All too well. But listen, Wes, you're a king. You've got the talent and the only thing getting in your way is your mind."

"And my mother," Wesley pointed out.

"I'm not gonna keep complimenting you until you feel better, Wes. If you wanted that, you'll have to go talk to 'Dashi."

"I didn't want that, Leiko. Heavens knows I wouldn't want you saying anything about me that you didn't believe."

"And I never will. You know, I always thought you were going to be the first one to get famous?" Wesley let out a surprised chuckle.

"You did not. We both figured it would be 'Dashi."

"No, really, Wes, I always thought it would be you. I thought it would be over something stupid like, 'Man Afraid of Heights Dies on Rooftop' or 'Gold Medalist at Ironing Olympics' but I've always been sure you'd end up on the news before Tadashi or I. And now I guess you're going to end up on the internet, which is kind of close."

"Do you want to watch one of his videos with me? So that I have more of a frame of reference for what to expect on Monday?"

"Sure, sure, why not?" She stood and leaned against his car, peering over his phone as they watched the ball of energy known as Fred Frederickson hop around the screen for a few minutes.

"He gives me a headache," Leiko said after a few minutes.

"He is pretty… Extreme."

"He's like the human version of those screensavers that are always bouncing around screens but never land perfectly in the corner," Leiko assessed.

"He's really nice, though. Like, he practically buried me in "swag" before I left, and he's getting me a new laptop. And maybe the pay will be good enough to get my own apartment."

"That would be awesome," Leiko agreed, hesitating a moment before adding, "Wes, if you felt like you absolutely needed to get away from her you could come live with me for a little bit. I have some space."

"No, Leiko, thank you, but no. Your space is your space and… I want us both to have our own space, you know? We deserve that after what we've been through."

"Yeah, I get it. Plus we'd drive each other insane, probably. You'd always be tidying my mess."

"You'd always be messing my tidy," Wes added, and they both laughed.

"What're you even going to be doing, Mr. Production Assistant?"

"Fred said that he wants me to essentially be his conscience. He wants me to tell him when his ideas are stupid and stop him from being a harmful influence on small children."

"So you're going to vibe check him," Leiko summed up.

"I guess so."

"That's kind of cool, and, well, surprisingly mature of Fred Frederickson. And I think you'll do great at it, Wes."

"Thanks. I certainly hope so. I'd hate to mess this up. It's not really what I saw for my future but it could be a really good stepping stone for bigger, brighter things. If it even does as much as getting me out from under the scrutiny of Deborah it will be enough."

"I'll drink to that," Leiko agreed, "I haven't seen my dad in months thanks to this job." They raised imaginary wine glasses in unison.

"Do your brothers know about your new job?"

"Neither of them know I got it. I'll probably call Damon tonight, and I'll tell Khary as soon as I get home."

"Good. I know they'll both be really proud of you, I'm proud of you too."

Wesley chuckled, "Thanks, Leiko. I thought you weren't going to just compliment me."

"Don't make me take it back," she threatened.

"For what it's worth, I'm proud of you too. I think you're already doing really great for yourself and I hope that things only get better from here."

"Well, let's be realistic, they're not going to only get better. Eventually, some things are going to get worse."

"We… We don't have to think about that right now. I'm kind of free tomorrow. Do you want to see if Tadashi is down for a movie day?"

"Tadashi is always down for a movie day. Do you think he's going to make us watch something sappy?"

"He said Princess Bride."

Leiko groaned, but she wasn't that opposed to the love story, "Fine. You ask the big softie if he's down for a movie day. I really should be getting home before it gets too dark."

"Right. I could drive you-"

"I'm fine, Wes. Let me know about the movie."

"Okay, will do." Leiko locked up the garage, and he watched her speed off into the night, feeling a lot better about his future. Talking to Leiko always did that for him.