Part 2: 20 Questions, We Tell the Truth
Welcome to Part 2, and honestly this scene/chapter is largely inspired by one of my favorite Visual Novels of all time: "Our Life: Beginnings & Always". Seriously, Our Life has one of the best soundtracks I've ever heard so keep the song above on loop for some extreme Rocy swoon-worthy moments.
The chapter title is based on Taylor Swift's "It's Nice to Have a Friend" but with lots of (not-so) subtle Roman/Tracy flirting. Now keep in mind, right now Tracy and Roman are still keeping things as platonic as possible (and Roman refuses to see his childhood friend as anything but a platonic Arranged Marriage Future Spouse), but the lines between 'Friendship' and 'Romance' slowly starting to blur from here on out.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Lab Rats, Mighty Med, Lab Rats: Elite Force, or Johan and Julie from Waktu Rehat. I only own my Original Characters. With that being said, enjoy this chaotic story.
Day 1, Noon-ish
A few hours have passed since embarking their journey.
It was Rodissius' turn to take the wheel. Doris helped to navigate the road while Frank went to get some shut-eye on the loft.
Usually with the parents busy, this meant leaving the rest of the kids to their own means of entertainment (card games, video games, magazines), Roman and Tracy decided to play a harmless game of '20 Questions' to pass the time. Usually, it is proven difficult to keep track of the conversations when they tend to stray off-topic.
"OK, question number 5: How many hours have you slept this week?" Tracy decided to go for the kill, putting down a finger.
"Uh…" Roman was trying to find a way to lie. And honestly, he's always had a hard time saying no to his friend.
He can't decide if it's because of their history or because she's his favorite person (not that he'd ever say it out loud). Probably a bit of both.
"Roman…" Brown eyes narrowed at him.
"Somewhere between 3 to 5 hours?" Roman fibbed a little, "Maybe?"
"Ro!" Tracy glared at him, "You need actual rest, and not just random naps between shifts."
"What? I have training to do! How else am I supposed to take over as dad's successor if I'm out of shape?" Roman huffed.
"Out of shape?" Tracy shook her head in disbelief, before listing his admirable traits, "You're one of the most powerful superhumans I know. I mean you're strong, you're very disciplined and you've got the typical superhero dashing good looks-"
"Oh, so you do notice me?" A teasing smirk formed on his face.
"Kinda hard not to since you're sitting next to me." She mumbled out shyly, crossing her arms to look less nervous, "I've heard people calling you a 'hunk' before."
"Yeah, it's in Tracy's magazine right here!" Jenny chimed in, shoving a Superhuman teen magazine of Roman and Riker modeling.
Tracy's eyes were as wide as saucers when she recognized that particular magazine.
"Is that from last year's charity event magazine interview?" Roman blinked.
"Is that the magazine where they had you both model shirtless?" Reese remembered, nose wrinkling in disgust.
She remembered many of her peers swooning over her older brothers when the magazine came out. She just never expected THIS kind of behavior from her eventual sister-in-law.
Being the eldest (and most publicly known) sons of Rodissius: Roman and Riker have been interviewed a few times. They've also modeled on occasions with Roman's friend Alejandro Diaz (Alan's older brother) outside of Hero Work. Otherwise, most modeling gigs go to the Triplets.
"I brought it to support my friends." Tracy tried to defend herself.
"The cameras made me look great." Riker jokingly made a pose to flex his arms.
"I think I just threw up in my mouth." Rainey raised her hand.
"Same!" Regina grimaced, as she raised her hand to hi-five the youngest sister.
"I read it for the articles." Tracy defended weakly.
Jones used his super speed to snatch the magazine from Jenny's hands and flipped a few pages to show everyone one of the articles.
'Flirting Made Easy: Ten Techniques to Win Hearts & Minds'
Jones raised an eyebrow (did he learn that from Marcus?) at his sister, motioning the magazine title. The boy silently wondered how their mom even let Tracy buy this magazine. But hey, she always refuted that "as long as it's your own money, I won't question your purchases".
Technically, Tracy read that magazine for tips on talking to Chase. But Tracy couldn't tell which was worse: admitting she has a secretly romantic side or admitting her longtime friend is incredibly good-looking (and Riker too I guess).
"Y'all done embarrassing me?" Tracy grumbled.
"Yup. See you in an hour." Jones nodded, "Ok give 'em some space, people!"
Once their siblings were all out of earshot, Roman felt comfortable enough to start talking.
"But do you think I'm good-looking?" He asked, genuinely curious.
"You're an Andrews, attractive genes are kinda in your blood." Tracy quietly admitted, "And yes, you are very handsome. (Always have been) Not that you ever needed good looks to be a powerful hero."
Does that mean she's subconsciously paying more attention to his physique than she wants to admit? Yes. Does she prefer to have that on her mind all the time? Preferably not.
"Question 6: What is your favorite color and why?" Roman asked, putting down a finger.
"Hey, that's 2 questions!" Tracy protested.
"Just answer it." The older teen playfully elbowed her shoulder.
"If you must know, my favorite color is purple." Tracy motioned to the purple hooded blouse she was wearing.
Roman nodded approvingly. Purple is a nice color. It was his favorite color too!
"Eh disagree, orange is better." Reese interjected, preferring warm colors herself.
"Shh, I wanna hear how this goes." Riker hushed his younger sister and pressed a finger onto her lips. He craned his neck to listen in on the conversation.
"Because it reminds me of your electrokinesis." She mumbled out, looking at her shoes. "I like seeing you use your powers; the different shades of purple spark are mesmerizing."
Wait, what? Is that why she was so fond of the color in the first place? Because it reminds her of him.
That made Roman's heart flutter for some reason.
"Are they supposed to be flirting?" Spin asked, observing his older sister talking from the other side of the vehicle. Tracy seemed a lot shyer than usual, it was really strange.
"Yup." AJ nodded, popping a chip into his mouth.
"The fact Roman is taking the initiative to flirt is what's shocking me." Remus stated.
"Nah I'm sure the bigger shock is Trace is flirting back," his twin Romulus nodded along.
"Wait, Roman. OUR Roman was flirting? With MY sister?" Jones had a disbelief look on his face.
"It's pretty obvious, I joked about this happening before but I'm pretty sure it's dad's idea to push Rocy to happen." Regina nodded. "You can see the sparks flying."
"Rocy?" Bob parroted, clearly confused.
"Roman and Tracy's ship name." Rainey explained.
"Please don't tell me you're on board with this matchmaking." Spin grimaced.
"Pretty much." "It's a family thing." The remaining Andrews siblings seemed unfazed by the idea of shipping their oldest brother with their family friend.
"Aww, they do look cute together." Jenny nodded in agreement.
"...Eww!" All three of Tracy's brothers had a shared look of disgust and horror at the display.
"Aww~" Roman's siblings (and Jenny) didn't share the same sentiment as the other three.
"He's almost as good as me at flirting." Riker's heart swelled with pride for his older brother. Tears of joy shimmered in his eyes.
"Nah, you suck at flirting." Reese begged to differ, causing Riker to pout (and the tears to immediately dry up)
"Don't look at me like that! Your last pickup line was 'Do you want to be the fro-to-my-yo?' at the mall." Reese pointed out. All the others burst out laughing. All of them were completely unaware of THIS exchange.
"My turn now: What is the first thing about a person that attracts you?" She switched the subject, picking at the sleeve of her blouse.
"Their eyes, I guess. I really like brown eyes..." Roman quietly replies, "Especially yours."
Tracy lifted her head in surprise to meet his gaze, her hair falling in front of her face.
He didn't say any type of eye color or just brown eyes in general, he said her eyes specifically. She was at a complete loss for words.
"Let me fix up your hair…" Roman pointed out, reaching a hand forward to brush the loose hair from her face.
"O-okay." Tracy squeaked out, sitting still.
"Wow, your eyes are really pretty..." Roman murmured softly, looking into Tracy's eyes. He's always liked her eyes because they're just like her: warm, sweet, but there's a hidden fiery side beneath the kindness.
Tracy found herself staring back into Roman's eyes, unable to look away.
Was his eyes always this dreamy? I mean sure he's a good looking guy, but up close it's so different. More…personal somehow.
He didn't even seem to notice he was leaning in a bit too close to her personal space.
And then she buried her face in her hands out of sheer embarrassment. Because what was that?! Her pulse is racing and she's blushing red at the closeness.
"Sorry about that," Roman apologized when he realized he was being invasive.
After taking a moment to process her feelings and regain her composure, she spoke out. (And thankfully, they were both out of their siblings' earshot because they were laughing at Riker's bad pickup lines)
"Thanks Ro, I think you have gorgeous eyes too." Tracy spoke, ducking her head shyly, "I have always thought so."
"Really?" A tiny smile curled up his lips. There was a moment of silence before they switched the subject.
"Here's a tricky question for you: out of all my siblings, which one is your favorite to hang out with?" Roman cleared his throat.
"Ok this is unfair because I'd have to pick ONE Andrews over the rest." Tracy grumbled.
"You cannot say Roman this time." Regina interjects from two seats in front of them.
"The answer was pretty obvious anyway, Reggie." Rory snorted.
"Fine, you can choose 2 if it's a twofer deal." Roman decided. "3, tops! That's as generous as I'll get."
"Can't I just say all of you and move on?" Tracy whined.
"Nope, we're all putting you in a tough spot." Riker grinned.
"Well you're obviously my favorite." Tracy pointed at Roman. His eyes widened slightly at the reveal.
"Favoritism!" the triplets coughed out.
"My second pick is Riker, because we never run out of things to talk about." Tracy continued, giving Riker a polite nod.
Eh, not exactly a surprise. Riker and Tracy have a rather solid friendship and they can be seen bouncing ideas off one another.
"Ha! I rank higher than the rest of you! Take that!" Riker cheered. Reese 'accidentally' hit his shirt sleeve with her laser projection.
"Kids, don't set a fire behind me!" Rodissius called out from the front seat.
"Sorry dad." "Got it, Uncle Rodi"
"Don't worry, nothing's on fire." Doris assured her husband's friend, before quietly mumbling, "Yet."
"We got the fire extinguisher on standby." Ranger assured his father.
"I am so flattered I'm your favorite after Roman." Riker smiled over.
"Pretty sure Riker could have ranked higher if it wasn't for our oldest brother." Remus commented while his siblings nodded.
"Ok then my third favorite Andrews sibling would be…Reese." Tracy spoke out.
"Is this because Reese was your bisexual awakening?" Regina asked aloud.
"Or is it because she's terrifying?" AJ joked, before Reese lightly smacks her youngest brother on the shoulder.
"No, because she's cool and smart and radiant and confident…" Tracy started to list some traits, slowly blushing at the realization, "Oh."
"For what it's worth: I'm very flattered, Tracy. Personally, I think you're cute too." Reese played along and winked at her friend.
"Roman, please do something before Reese steals another one of our girlfriends." Riker looked at his twin.
Reese has had a habit of interrogating (or flirting with) Riker's past girlfriends to test their loyalty toward her older brother. It really doesn't help half the exes were only interested in Riker to get closer to their other brothers (often Rory who got all the hot genes), but a few of the exes did come out as bi or closeted lesbians once they realized Reese made them question things.
"Well if your engagement with Roman ever falls through, at least our dad has a few more options." Remus snorted.
"I called it: Roman and Reese have been giving Trace the biggest bi-panic since she was 16." Jones told the Triplets who snickered in response.
"So your favorite Andrews siblings are all the older trio." AJ looked amused.
"Us older siblings gotta stick together." Riker crooned at his younger brother, looping his arm around Tracy's shoulder.
"Hands off my sister." Spin barked.
"Sure thing." Riker immediately backed off.
Tracy's been awfully quiet since Regina's statement.
"Trace?" Spin snapped his fingers in front of his sister. "You ok?"
"Is she having a stroke?" Jenny started to worry. "Her whole body is shutting down."
"I think she's still processing." Jones muttered. "She'll be fine..."
"So if Tracy, Reese, Remus, Romulus, Roman, and Riker are the Oldest Sibling Squad, and Bob and Spin are the Youngest siblings tied with Rainey, Ranger, AJ, and Ricky. I guess that makes the rest of us 'the Middle Child syndrome'." Jones wondered out loud, motioning to Regina and the Triplets.
"Get in line, Jones. I've been stuck in the literal middle for years." Roger deadpans, being the 7th out of 13 siblings.
Regina sometimes silently wondered how many more siblings would their parents continue to have if their mother hadn't passed so early. (Their dad used to joke about wanting 19 kids. But at this point, Reggie herself is almost believing it's true) But immediately shudders in horror at the mere idea of changing more diapers. Sure, she loves her siblings but really hates diaper duty.
It can be hard to take a nap when you're on a bus with all your kids and your best friend's kids. But Frank managed. He used to do sleepovers with his cousins during his childhood years.
Despite attempting to get some rest, Frank could hear the kids talking. It's nice that Spin, Bob and Jenny were getting along with Rodi's kids. They're good kids and it's wonderful the Bionic tweens were slowly adapting to their new environment.
Frank shifted his head a little and heard his daughter and Roman talking to each other. They were asking each other questions and answering them. Huh, they must be playing 20 Questions again.
"My turn now: What is the first thing about a person that attracts you?" it was Tracy asking the question now.
"Their eyes, I guess. I really like brown eyes." Roman's voice responded.
Aww, that's sweet. A lot of people have brown eyes.
Frank almost missed it, but he heard Roman quietly adding.
"Especially yours."
Excuse me what-?!
Was…Was Roman (his godson, his BEST FRIEND'S SON) flirting with HIS DAUGHTER? Frank felt an unfamiliar protectiveness surging in his chest.
That almost prompted Frank to wake up but decided to keep quiet and listen. Because the last thing Tracy needs right now (aside from her brothers and friends teasing her) is her dad stepping in.
"Wow, your eyes are really pretty…" He could hear Roman quietly talking to his daughter.
It seems like Roman's grown fond of Tracy. It was clear from the start that Roman and Tracy would grow up with a good friendship.
Tracy is growing up, and so is Roman. Roman's a nice boy. He's responsible and a bit too serious, but his heart is in the right place. And he was always looking out for Tracy no matter what.
But I suppose it's time to see past the innocent rose-colored lenses that there is something new (and beyond platonic) blooming with the summer breeze.
Oh gods, Rodi's gonna be the happiest out of this whole mess, isn't he? Frank will not cave in and give his best friend the satisfaction of knowing their firstborns might eventually fall in love.
As long as Roman doesn't break Tracy's heart, Frank (promised that he) won't break any bones. Because Ro needs to learn that Tracy and Jones get their temper from their father.
Yes, when Frank was younger, he had his share of 'emo tween years'. Because if you think Jones' current rebellious teen phase was bad, Frank's was ten times worse in comparison.
Is it too late to take those lessons from Harushi Snowflower on scaring boys away from his little Princess?
Cues the (not-so) subtle flirting between two of the most socially awkward beans existed. Did any of you swoon or squeal over the ship scenes? Good. Because there's more to come!
Chapter Talk: -
(1.) Roman and Riker are the most publicly known sons of Rodissius and they used to be superheroes at some point, so I like to think they probably modeled for those Superhuman Teen Magazines (basically those celebrity magazines equivalent). It's a good way to spread your fanbase and also gross out your siblings. The Andrews siblings all have attractive genes in my stories, so half of them probably modeled.
(2.) Tracy's favorite color is canonically purple no matter what, she also loves wearing hoodies. Who else happens to have purple powers and wears hoodies? Roman! In 'The List', Roman's electrokinesis is also purple, so I took it lightly with a grain of salt that it's also his favorite color. I like to think the kids who favored Warm Colors got it from Rina while Cool Colors were from Rodissius.
(3.) Here's a rundown, if you're an Andrews, there are 3 types of flirting you may get from one/both parents: the Tsundere (from Rodissius), the Smooth Talker (from Rina), and the Awkward Bean (also from Rodissius). And somehow if you're Roman, you can be ALL THREE in ascending order! Riker thinks he's Smooth but he's Awkward.
(4.) Tracy has an embarrassing realization that she is bisexual (in GLR world, her Closet Key is Evie; in Canon Timeline, it's Reese) and had a crush on Reese. In The Canon timeline, Tracy came out as bi when she's 21. Here, she realized her feelings earlier. Reese only playfully flirts with Tracy to mess with Roman. In hindsight, meeting Reese in 'The Attack' (prior to learning she's Roman and Riker's sister) should've been the first sign Tracy is bi.
My Rodi: (ships Roman and Tracy)
Also Rodi: (rips off a shirt revealing another shirt underneath) Good thing I also ship Treese!
Roman: Dad, why are you like this?
(5.) Sidenote: There's a Treese AU out there (yes I'm writing it, it's titled 'Friends or Something Better?' Yes, next gen AU fankids now include a new member: Tristen 'Tris' who looks like Saylor Curda in my head.) And it's an alternate timeline where Roman/Tracy never happened, and Reese was still assigned to date Chase but feelings happened.
(6.) Oho, Frank turns out to be one of the first to notice the turn of events. Frank is aware of the age gap (but is neutral about it because it's clean touching and blank flirting right now) and he dotes on his daughter a lot, so this would be super awkward with Roman trying to win his godfather/future father-in-law over.
Anyways, that is all for part 2. Hope you've enjoyed the slowburn ship scenes, sibling dynamics, and hope the Soundtrack fits the whole mood. Thank you so much for reading, and have a fantastic day! Until next time.
