Meet the Parent
"Are you sure I look okay Juni? This is really important and I'd hate to find out I've got a stain on my shirt," Megan anxiously fussed as she inspected herself again. Her new girlfriend Juniper, the former crime dancer, chuckled softly before putting a reassuring hand on the other's shoulder as they made their way down the corridor to Juniper and Barb's apartment.
"You look great Megan, and I'd be a horrible girlfriend if I didn't tell you if you did. Mama is really sweet…except when it comes to me making my bed, but as long as you're you, she's gonna love you too," Juniper told the reporter.
"You really don't like making your bed, do you?" Megan teased with a quirked eyebrow.
"I just don't see the point and I will die on that hill defending myself," the young blond replied with a firm head nod.
These two had gotten to know each other when Megan was doing a story about villain reform and how not all bad guys were the same. She had interviewed Globby, miscellaneous former gang members, Mr. Sparkles, and of course High Voltage. Megan had only gotten to chance to speak to Juniper though as her mom had been out running errands when they first met at the library for the interview; from there, the young Cruz had really hit it off with the other on sharing their own struggles with losing a parent, how much they loved music and various movies they enjoyed, so they agreed to meet again. Those meetings turned into lunch dates at Joe's Diner and walks in the park until they decided to make it official.
Now it was a week later and Megan had already mentally prepped herself to not be an investigator tonight, but just being there as Juniper's girlfriend. She was wearing her favorite black jacket over a red shirt and had jeans shorts on that went just below her knees, while the other teenager had chosen a pink short-sleeve top with a cresting wave on it and black leggings.
The couple finally made their way to the end of the hall where the young dancer lived: 1428 W Ōkami Dr, Apt #16. Juniper then pulled out her key and unlocked the door, grabbing Megan's hand and squeezing it for comfort. Her love smiled in return as the handle was turned and they entered the modest place.
"Mama, I'm home," Juniper called out after shutting the door, both of them being greeted to the smell of savory garlic, chicken and spices.
"I'm in the bedroom sweetheart. I'll be right out," shouted Barb from down the hall.
As they waited, Megan did a 360° turn as she took in all the apartment had to offer. There was a small brown couch with a rainbow-crocheted blanket covering the back as well as two wooden tables on the sides in place of a big one in the center. On the floor laid a black, pink and purple rug with abstract shapes patterned into it that was placed in front of a medium-sized flatscreen TV. The monitor rested on top of what looked like a used sound system, complete with a CD player, holders for the discs and a pair of 2ft tall speakers to tie it all together.
For the dining area, they had a small, circular wooden table with three chairs placed around it with silverware, napkins and water glasses all set up for each person. The kitchen had a standard fridge and freezer, several cabinets over the cream-colored countertop, and an oven with an electric stovetop with a pot of what was presumably dinner boiling away. Megan could see there was indeed a hallway just to the left of her where the bathroom and bedrooms no doubt were, but she could only make out one of the doors from the angle she was at.
Juniper now appeared as the more nervous of the two as she self-consciously scratched the back of her head and asked, "So…want to see my room?"
"Yes please," the young reporter answered with a warm smile as her girlfriend led her to the back. They passed by the bathroom on their left and a closet on their right as they moved down the corridor, but what caught Megan's attention most were the few photographs hanging on the walls; there was one of Juniper when she was about 7yrs old wearing a ballerina tutu, one with her and her mom power-posing in their High Voltage uniforms and one that looked quite recent of them in nice clothes at a pop-up studio or something. The couple then came to the end of the hall, where two doors awaited with one being closed with the lights on while the other was the exact opposite.
Much like a showman, the dancer cheerfully announced, "And this…is my room!" Juniper flicked on the lights, revealing a very teenager-esque bedroom as all the walls had posters of popular singers and bands on them like "4 2 Sing," "Fionna Spade" and "ILY." In addition, she had a twin bed with a star-covered blanket, a white 4ft-tall dresser and a small makeup setup with a circular mirror and pink chair. There was also a random blue beanbag chair in the corner that currently was being used to store clothes on.
Megan stood in silence as she carefully observed everything, taking in every small detail and leading her girlfriend to joke, "I know, I know. Let it all out. I'm clearly obsessed with music and dancing."
The brown-haired teen gave a soft chuckle and slyly replied, "And what's wrong with that?"
"Nothing at all," Juniper matter-of-factly shot back with a firm head nod, followed by leading the other over to sit on the bed with her, making both bounce a little as they did so.
"Well, it looks like you made your bed this time," Megan teased with another giggle.
The blonde teen stuck out her tongue and replied, "Hey, I don't always need to be told to do it…I'm just sometimes not in the mood."
"Fair enough," the supersleuth conceded. They both gazed around the room awkwardly, neither really sure what to ask next until Megan said, "So, I'm guessing you had a little trouble trying to find an outfit earlier too," gesturing towards the pile of shirts and shorts on the beanbag chair.
Juniper gave a small nervous laugh and shyly told her, "Yeah, guess I was worried too about looking good."
"I'm surprised you had such a hard time. I think you'd look good in anything. Hope it didn't take you too long, even if it was done with me in mind," Megan informed her girlfriend with a smile. The young dancer returned the display and was about to say something when Barb's door opened up, causing the two girls to turn their heads to the source of the sound.
From their point of view, they saw Juniper's mom standing with her blonde hair tied into a voluminous ponytail with a streak of pink still in it. She also wore a floral-patterned dress shirt and white pants, greeting them with a kind smile. "Hi. You must be Megan. It's nice to formally meet you. I'm Barb," the dancing mom cheerfully said as she extended a hand to shake.
The young reporter graciously accepted and replied, "It's nice to actually meet you too Ma'am, and thanks for having me."
Barb still kept her grin as she then told the other, "I hope you're hungry. I made a big pot of white chicken chili, corn bread and salad for dinner."
Megan nodded and answered, "Yes I am and it smells delicious."
Juniper's mom proceeded to gesture to follow her and informed them, "Well good. It should be about done if you want to come out and help me finish getting everything set up."
"Sure," the two girls chirped in unison, looking at each other and giggling for a moment before they both stood up and left the room after Barb.
Once they were back in the kitchen, the older woman pointed to the fridge and said, "If you could be a couple of dears, there's a bag of salad mix and dressing that'll need to be set out please."
Juniper quickly obeyed and opened the appliance up, found the salad in the crisper and a bottle of ranch dressing in the door, handing them off to Megan as she closed the door. She then got three small blue bowls out of one of the cupboards and placed them on the dining area, followed by fishing out some kitchen scissors from the drawer next to the stove. The young blonde cut the bag, prompting Megan to dump some salad into each of the available bowls and placing the ranch in the middle of the wooden table.
While they were doing this, Barb grabbed an oven mitt out of another drawer and pulled the warm corn bread out, then flipping it onto a yellow plate and lifting the pan off of it. She proceeded to get out three more bowls before she gave the chili a good stir, inhaling the savory, creamy scent as she did so. With that, she turned the oven and stovetop off and began scooping out dinner into each dish. "Alright girls, come and get it," the former crime dancer announced as she grabbed her own bowl and the corn bread plate, letting the other two collect theirs before all heading to the table.
Everyone scooched their chairs in with a small scrape on the floor, followed by Juniper saying, "Thanks Mama."
Megan quickly chimed in with "Yes, thank you Ms. McClaire. It all smells really good."
Barb smiled warmly and cheekily told the two, "Well, don't just take a whiff. Have a bite and tell me if it's true."
The teenagers listened and proceeded to dip their spoons into the hot, thick liquid before tasting the main course. It was a little spicier than Megan had expected, but she got the creamy broth, the shredded chicken bits, the light crunch of corn kernels, and the smooth texture of the beans, creating a delicious experience.
"Mmm," the couple remarked in unison and making Barb slyly reply, "I guess that means you like it."
"Uh-huh."
"Yep."
They then each took some cornbread and passed the bottle of ranch around so everyone got some on their salads, leading to the sound of crunching to fill the small space as they ate some.
After a couple minutes of eating, the conversation began with Megan inquiring, "So, how's community service dancing going? Juniper said you guys are almost finished."
It took a couple seconds as the mother was taking a sip of water during this question, but soon answered with, "Oh, it's been grand being able to repay our debt to society and doing what we love in the process. I actually received an offer to be kept on as a full-time instructor from the Togashi Studio and I plan on saying yes."
The supersleuth visibly looked surprised to hear such news, followed by turning to Juniper in confirmation, who smiled and nodded enthusiastically. "That's wonderful Ma'am," Megan congratulated the other, earning her another warm smile.
"Thank you kindly dear," Barb promptly responded as she went to take a bite of bread.
Her daughter then chimed in with, "Yeah, and they offered me a part-time position too, but I haven't decided yet since I want to go back to school first and see if there are any clubs I want to join." She proceeded to reach a hand out and rest it on her mother's before tenderly adding, "But maybe I can do both and help make it easier for you Mama."
Barb stopped eating as she laid her free hand on top of other's and just as tenderly replied, "We'll take it one day at a time sweetie. I want you to have some fun though before you get too old and you might make more friends hanging out in one of your clubs, so you don't need to worry so much. Love you baby."
"Love you too Mama."
Megan watched the touching scene silently as she wished she was on as good of terms with her dad right now, but they were still working their way back to some semblance of normal after the Buddy Guardian incident; he at least let her go out with Juniper without much argument, so she took the bit of progress when she could.
The young teen was snapped out of her thoughts by Barb facing her and asking, "So Megan, Juni here told me you're a reporter for your school. What's that been like?"
It was a fair question although she couldn't say everything, but after she had a moment to think, she informed the other, "It's a lot of fun actually, getting to snoop out sources, piecing clues together and especially seeing how my hard work pays off to show people the truth. I don't know if Juniper told you already, but it's because of the new story that we met."
"Yes, she mentioned you were writing a new article and I think it's incredibly sweet of you to try and reduce the stigma placed on former felons like us," Barb replied, giving the other an appreciative smile that her daughter soon copied.
Megan then blushed slightly, feeling quite flattered from the kind words. "It's no problem Ms. McClaire. I just know that people are complicated and can make mistakes or be put in a bad situation with no easy way out; heck, even heroes screw up and have to fix things, but that doesn't necessarily make them bad people. I mainly was hoping to show though that there are reformed success stories out there and with better understanding, more lives can be improved in the process."
"Well, it sounds like you've got a big heart and a good head on your shoulders," the blonde mom sincerely said. She then nudged her daughter and lightheartedly teased, "How'd you get so lucky to find a girl like her? You should keep her."
"Mom!" Juniper quickly exclaimed as she now blushed at the insinuation, avoiding Megan's gaze.
The young reported on the other hand giggled softly at her girlfriend's expense before they all went back to eating. They each got several bites in, filling the atmosphere with the sounds of chewing and sipping before the next question came with Megan asking, "This is a really nice place you got here. Did the release board provide it or is this your place for good?"
Barb proceeded to give a short sigh and looked to Juniper, who mirrored the same saddened expression as hers. "It's the board's, so we'll unfortunately have to move out of here soon; on the bright side though, we've managed to find another apartment off Shori St. and just have to wait for the lease to start," the older woman responded with a small smile.
"Well, if you need help moving, I can volunteer for the job and may even be able to rope a few of my friends too," Megan offered, feeling a bit guilty at causing their mood to dip.
Barb's face softened with appreciation at her words and said, "That would be lovely dear. Thank you."
Juniper couldn't help but look between her girlfriend and her mom in this moment, unable to hide her wide grin at them getting along so well. The trio then resumed their casual conversation as they ate more of Barb's cooking, bringing up hobbies, favorite foods and whether they liked "Top Feet" or "Extreme Celebrity Whistling" more.
Eventually they came to find they had plenty for dinner, but still had enough room for dessert, which the dancing mom insisted the teenager have at least a little before she left.
"I hope you don't mind ice cream. I didn't have time to bake anything for y'all except the cornbread," the older woman informed the teenagers as she got out some small pink bowls, spoons and a scooper.
"It's fine Ms. McClaire. I love ice cream and there hasn't been a flavor yet that I haven't found yummy," Megan responded with a bright smile.
"Well, we've got mint-chocolate chip and bubblegum on the menu," the head of the household informed them as she held up both cartons.
"Bubblegum sounds good."
"Ooo, same!"
"Okay, just come on in here and get what you want," Barb told the young women as she stepped aside to let them have at it.
The couple then took turns taking a scoop each of their pink dessert and sat on the couch, smiling at each other before they dug in.
Megan was the first to giggle as she saw Juniper trying to chew her bite of ice cream to find the gum, followed by taking another bite to start the process all over again; she on the other hand, just took smaller bites as she sifted through the sweet treat.
Barb didn't sit with them but leaned against the kitchen counter as she ate her mint-chocolate chip ice cream, watching the two teenagers fondly as they had their fun.
Eventually, all the bubble gum from the reporter's bowl collected at the bottom of the bowl, so she simply got all the pieces into her spoon and put it in her mouth.
Her girlfriend now had to chuckle as she watched Megan chew so many bits at once. Juniper then decided to go ahead and blow a bubble, which unfortunately didn't get very big on the first try.
"Is that a challenge?" the dark-haired girl proceeded to proclaim, giving the blonde one a look of determination.
Juniper returned the expression, simply saying "Maybe" before attempting again. She chewed for a moment and quickly made another bubble that was bigger, but it still loudly popped.
Megan then tried to make one of her own, which ended up being about the same size as Juniper's. Soon the two teens were blowing them at the same time, followed by giggling whenever they popped. After about 12 times of doing this, the young dancer conceded with, "Okay, I think you win."
"Yes!" the supersleuth exclaimed with a fist pump, followed by standing up and offering to take her girlfriend's bowl. Megan then walked over to the sink, sat the dishes down in it and filled them with water to soak. "Thanks for having me over Ms. McClaire. Everything was delicious," she sincerely told the other.
Barb smiled cheerfully as she now set her empty bowl next to theirs. "I'm glad you had a good time. I'm sorry if it wasn't very exciting," the older woman replied.
"It's fine Ma'am. I just wanted the chance to get to meet you and now that I have, maybe next time I can interview you for the paper," Megan kindly requested with an eager smile.
"I think that'd be a swell idea sweetie. Now, do I need to take you home or is your dad coming by?" Barb inquired.
"My dad's picking me up. He should be here soon. He's super punctual when it comes to me," the young reporter answered, giving a slightly annoyed expression on the last part. She then pulled out her phone and checked the time. "Yep. He'll probably be texting me in the next few minutes since he said he's be here around 7."
"Well alright then," Barb simply said as they both turned to see Juniper coming towards them now.
The taller teen then proceeded to take Megan's hand and looked at her with nothing but gratitude written on her face. "I'm so glad you got to come over Megan. This was so much fun and we'll have to try out bubblegum blowing competition again with better gum sometime," Juniper suggested.
Her girlfriend smiled, telling the other, "Yeah, and maybe you can show me some of your dance moves one of these days, although I doubt I'll ever reach your skill level."
Juniper started to give a soft chuckle only for it to interrupted by a chiming sound coming from Megan's pant pocket. "That would be my dad," she remarked with a small eye roll as she pulled her phone out and checked it. "Yep. Says he's outside. I've got to go. Sorry," the supersleuth informed the others as they all slowly made their way to the door.
"It's fine. We'll meet up again real soon. I'll text ya," the young blonde replied as she gave her girlfriend a hug. They held their embrace for a few seconds until they finally pulled apart and just smiled at one another. Megan then looked a touch nervous as she flitted her eyes to the right and quickly gave the other a peck on the cheek, making the two of them blush although Juniper appeared more visibly shocked.
"Alright. I'll see you later Juni. Thanks for having me Ms. McClaire and be sure to let me know about helping with moving," Megan rapidly said as she went to grab the door handle and opened it. She gave one last wave goodbye, to which Barb reciprocated the gesture while her daughter still appeared to be in a daze.
The door was promptly closed and after a few seconds of staring at it, Barb giggled softly as she put her arm around her child and knowingly asked, "So, I take it you liked that little kiss?"
Juniper nodded slowly and deeply sighed, "Yeah, I really did. I'll have to see if she wants one too next time."
NOTES
I made this as a gift for TheSparklyKitten, but I hope anyone else that reads this enjoyed it too. I think this rarepair is cute and maybe I'll try writing them again in the future. ^_^ If you've read my "Cutscenes" stories, I'm sure you picked up on some of the references/Easter eggs/callbacks from that and if not, it's all good. ;) Admittedly, I do like bubblegum ice cream (not as much as mint-chocolate chip though), but I definitely ate it like Megan does so you didn't have to worry about accidentally swallowing the gum as you went. ;)
"Cutscenes" should be back in 3 weeks with the next story being a shorter one with Hiro and Karmi having another video chat. :)