Her name is Roxy Lalonde and she's fucking pissed. After what was arguably one of the worst and best days of her life, she stupidly believed things would start to get better. She'd thought she convinced Ms. Pentri that Roxy Lalonde would never go anywhere without Dirk Strider. She thought the social worker understood.

Something got lost in translation from Roxy-speak to social worker speak because Dirk went to one home and Roxy went to another.

Ms. James opened her home to Roxy. She gave Roxy her own room. It was on short notice so the sheets hadn't been changed in a while, but the woman pointed out the linen closet on her brief tour of the house. Roxy didn't think she was that old but, she had a grandmotherly air that under normal situations Roxy would find endearing.

However, these were not normal circumstances by any means. These were Ms. Pentri-made-a-damn-liar-out-of-Roxy-Lalonde-circumstances and Roxy had no idea where she took Dirk.

During the tour of the house, Roxy didn't see any computers or even a television. When asked about it, Ms. James laughed a bit and said she didn't need any of that. She got her news from newspapers and magazines and her entertainment from hobbies.

Which was kind of cool, Roxy supposed. But it wasn't her style. She was the best hacker and to do that she needed hardware.

So Roxy couldn't try and pester Dirk. Not that she knew if Dirk could even pester her back.

UGH. This situation was just TOO much.

What Roxy needed was a damn drink. She lifted herself off the freshly made bed and eased open her door. She poked her head out and peered up and down the hall. Ms. James sequestered herself in the kitchen to prepare dinner (made completely from scratch! What a thought…) but Roxy was always cautious.

The tour had given Roxy a working map of the premise and she could say with certainty that there was no alcohol to be found in any of the common areas. Her room was, understandably, also bereft of Roxy's poison of choice.

Which only left Ms. James's bedroom unexplored.

Roxy crept silently from the room she'd been given to the only other closed door upstairs. She pulled the bedroom door open, still moving absolutely silently because fuck whatever a certain asshole Strider liked to claim, Roxy was the best ninja.

Roxy entered the room and eased the door shut behind her. It wouldn't do much if Ms. James came to check on her, but it gave her a little peace of mind. Without further ado, she began her search.

Aaaand was promptly disappointed. What kind of adult didn't keep even a single bottle of alcohol in their home?

Her previous foster family kept bottles in the kitchen where it was easy to swipe. They only sometimes realized anything was missing and most of the time her foster mom blamed her foster dad and vice versa.

Roxy had to fight down the urge to curse and stomp her feet like a child.

Still, the excursion just reinforced Roxy's initial conclusion. Ms. James was an absolute gem.

There was a bible on her nightstand and a haphazard pile of gardening books underneath. A picture of her and another woman sat beside the stack. The closet was full of clothes that Roxy would describe as grandma-chic. The pictures on the wall were a mix of landscapes and flowers.

Roxy concluded that Ms. James was a typical old person that was somehow stuck in the body of a 30-something year old.

She was the kind of grandma you would see on TV shows, giving ungrateful grandchildren all the love and support they could ever need…

Oh geez. That made Roxy the ungrateful grandchild didn't it?

Uncomfortable with the revelation and feeling guilty, Roxy absconded. She scurried back to her temporary room and shut the door behind her, just as silent as before. She stood there awkwardly, looking around the room.

It just looked empty. Maybe it was always used as a temporary solution?

…Whatever it was, Roxy hoped she would be leaving soon. She hoped that the terrible Ms. Pentri would see the error of her ways and reunite Roxy with Dirk. She hoped that wherever he ended up, Dirk was doing okay. She hoped he wasn't overwhelmed.

The thought of Dirk being forced into a loud, unfriendly home like her last one was horrifying. He'd be uncomfortable and nervous and probably scared out of his mind, even if he'd never actually admit it.

A sob rose up in her throat, choking her. Roxy, acting every bit the emotional teenager she was, threw herself on the bed and shoved her face in the pillows.

She tried being quiet but something must have tipped her temporary foster mom off. Before long, her bedroom door creaked open.

"Roxy?" she called. Moments later the bed dipped and then there was a hand rubbing her back. It felt nice, but she was in no mood for comforting. She cried harder and tried not to choke on the pillow. "Oh, honey."

"I'm sorry," Roxy forced out between heaving sobs. Ms. James pulled her away from the pillows and into a hug. She rocked the distraught teenager slowly. "I-I didn't mean to…"

"Don't," the woman cooed, stroking Roxy's hair. "Oh, honey. No one expects you to be okay after everything you've been through."

"I don't care about that!" she cried, conveniently forgetting that she did care very much. She was never really comfortable unless she was hanging out with Dirk in his empty house. "I just- I really…"

"It's okay," Ms. James hushed and wow, maybe there was something to the whole hair petting thing. Roxy felt a bit better even if she was still terrified by what the future would bring.

"I just want to see my friend," Roxy explained to her shoulder in a wavering voice. "We're supposed to stick together."

His name is Dirk Strider and he is also upset though you'd never know it by looking at him. He prided himself on being a calm, rational, no-nonsense guy that would never be seen showing actual emotion.

Ms. Pentri left him with his temporary family roughly an hour ago. He'd extracted a sworn oath that Roxy was in a good home from the social worker before she left. He had no reason to worry and so he wasn't. Worried, that is.

And if anyone said otherwise, fuck them.

Dirk was told by his temporary foster parents that so long as he stayed quiet and did as they said, they would all get out of this situation no worse for wear. The couple had a biological son of their own that they seemed to dote on. It became quickly apparent that they didn't take in strays for purely altruistic reasons. Dirk figured they just wanted the money that came with taking in an unwanted kid.

He wasn't offended or surprised by the thought. His entire worldview was built upon the premise that most humans were self-interested assholes. Dirk was no different.

The son's presence meant that Dirk couldn't access the family computer, which irritated Dirk to no end. He had shit to do. Important, internet things. Porn to draw for profit, people to pester… His life was mostly digital and if he had to stay here for anything longer than a few days, he'd run away.

Dirk hid in the room barely big enough to fit a bed and listened for any indication that the kid moved away from the computer. The second it was undefended, it would be his. Dirk figured that the mom, Melissa, would make the kid sit at the table for dinner and that would be his moment to strike.

Somehow, he was also forced to sit at the table for dinner.

The kid was sent to retrieve him from his room and the dad, George, barked out an order to set the table. Dirk let the man's actual child do that bit of work. Dirk never set a table in his life.

Dinner wasn't bad. It was lasagna, clearly frozen and reheated. There was more than enough to go around. It was a pity that Dirk's stomach didn't understand that there was nothing wrong. His appetite was dampened by the knots it twisted itself in. He tried to will the feeling away, but as always his body just responded with a big "fuck you" and his stupid brain chimed in with an errant thought about Roxy.

Dirk wondered if braining oneself on the dinner table was a social faux pas or not. He was a socially stunted guy, but he was pretty sure it might ruin family time.

Not that he really cared if he ruined dinner for his foster family but he needed to stay on Ms. Pentri's good side and self-harming at the dinner table probably wouldn't fly with her. He was at her mercy and only she could reunite him with his best friend.

The kid was up and back at the computer as soon as physically possible. Though Dirk was faster and could definitely win in a race, he didn't try to beat him there. George told him to stay seated.

Melissa cleared the table while Dirk and George lingered. When they were alone in the dining room (that was more of a dining alcove), George leaned back in his chair. Dirk's eyes darted around the room, taking in as many small details as he could as an excuse to not look at the man across front of him.

Dirk wasn't nervous.

He was scouting tactical advantages.

"Look, Dirk," George began. "We love opening our home to those in need. Now, you seem like you aren't suited to the family life we live here. That's okay. Your case worker said this was a temporary situation anyway."

Dirk's orange gaze settled on the table. He figured a response wasn't needed and he was right.

"But for now, we're going to treat you like family," he continued. "And everyone in this family pulls their weight. We'll give you daily chores. Small things, you understand, like doing the dishes or the laundry. Sometimes we might ask you to watch Nathan."

Dirk stayed quiet. It was probably no use informing George of his inability to not fuck up even the simplest of chores. All the YouTube tutorials in the world couldn't prevent him from dying most of his clothes very faintly pink (Roxy had been the one to suggest pulling up tutorials. Dirk claimed he didn't care. Pink was ironic.).

"You don't have to do anything tonight," George finished. "We'll let you settle in a bit. We're trusting you with some responsibility. We trust that you can behave yourself. Do you think you can do that for us?"

Dirk nodded slowly and received a self-satisfied smile in return. Sensing the conversation was over, he slunk away before anything else could be demanded of him. With no other option (except, of course, running away), Dirk returned to his room and gave up on the idea of using the computer. Roxy probably wouldn't be too alarmed if she didn't hear from him that night.

He laid down over the covers and shut his eyes. He hoped this entire situation would be resolved soon. He had no idea how to function in a family unit and didn't care to learn. He'd rather be on his own.