Equilibrium 8.3
Taylor took a deep breath and re-entered her unofficial test chamber.
Rachel's mission had gone without a hitch. One phone call and one doorway later, and they had a straight shot to the basement of a water pump station. It should be easy to skim some off the top without anyone being the wiser.
Hopefully.
Now, they just had to figure out an efficient plumbing solution. If Amy couldn't or wouldn't grow something for them, then Taylor may have to rob another Home Depot and brush up on Victor's home improvement skills.
But first, her next specialized vial was ready.
Taylor rolled her shoulders and bounced on her toes. And springs.
It was somehow both painfully difficult and easy as breathing, every single time. Such a simple thing to do, and yet it also felt like throwing herself into the great unknown. She could picture herself standing on the edge of a cliff overlooking an endless ocean, with no idea how deep or wide it would be.
"I just want to matter."
Taylor loaded Crusader's blood vial into her injector and slammed it home.
Ethereal fire flowed within her as the foreign blood seeped into her soul.
The veil grew thin and Taylor felt something other watching her, eyes staring from somewhere that was simultaneously a dream and a nightmare.
The phantasms caress the threshold of a profound truth, in the cosmos within the old Labyrinth.
Stars danced before Taylor's eyes, different from the lights of the beyond but also somehow the same, nonetheless.
She could feel it building within her, eyes open both outside the fabric of physical reality and also inside herself.
Tiny, crystalline stars and brilliant white flames spiraled around her as she stood tall in her infinite Labyrinth.
Her body, enhanced and twisted by Amy's power, moved on its own accord as the eldritch light sang in her iron bones.
Taylor drew her silver sword, and held it aloft amid the stars and fire.
She could feel it, connecting with the same infinite beyond that let her call the stars to her.
The power of the phantasm sunk into the blade and she slashed it through the empty night, leaving a trail of shining stars and ethereal fire in its wake.
To line the brain with eyes, to elevate one's thoughts.
The unknowable insight faded slowly this time, and soon Taylor found herself standing alone in the dark once more.
She held her silver sword up for careful inspection. It didn't look any different, as it was now.
The potential was there, though. To slash a ragged hole in the world and borrow a tiny amount of power from the beyond.
She focused on the stars within her and brought the blade down and across her body, willing it to cut more than just the cold air.
The silver stars returned, spiraling around the blade and setting it alight with the same unnatural flame that lined the doorways of her Labyrinth.
She knew, then, that the power of the beyond would allow her to strike enemies that didn't truly exist in this single, limited layer of reality. Existence was more than just this thin veneer of physical matter, and now she could reach beyond it with her blade.
It would have been nice to have this back when she fought Sophia, but Taylor wasn't complaining.
She severed the connection to the stars and re-sheathed the silver sword.
It was also nice to have another power that didn't make her want to collapse and take a nap. Versatility was key, and she couldn't afford to rely on abilities that were only viable during the full moon.
Taylor made her way back to the Workshop and checked the status of her current projects. She wanted to have as many standard blood vials and quicksilver bullets on hand as she could, just in case. Especially if she was going to be supplying Rachel, too.
Speaking of supplying Rachel…
Taylor picked through her stockpile of raw materials for the hardwood and steel scrap she needed for her next project.
Her new bed was calling to her, but she really wanted to make another injector and the blunderbuss first. It shouldn't take too long, compared to some of her other weapons.
She would definitely need to take another nap soon, though. Her sleep schedule was all kinds of fucked, what with meeting Amy during the day and slaughtering the Empire at night.
Maybe it wouldn't be terrible to take a couple days off and just Tinker. She had several more unique vials to consume, and plenty of supplies to keep her busy.
And spend time with Amy, obviously.
Taylor glanced at the lab table that no longer served as her nest, now that she had a bed for the first time since she blew up her old house.
"Some of us don't have indestructible bones."
It was ironic, or sad, or something, that it took Amy asking before she finally got around to setting up an actual mattress rather than just sleeping on a lab table.
Taylor smiled at the memory. Gathering her tools and materials, she sat down and cracked her knuckles.
Sleep could wait. She had work to do.
…
Amy woke up slowly, the dreams of the placid lake under the full moon fading in the pale morning light.
It was still early, again. Was Taylor turning her into a morning person?
Maybe it was just that she was actually excited for the day. That was a novel experience.
Coffee was still a requirement, though.
Unfortunately, just like yesterday, Carol was sitting in the kitchen. Amy really hoped that this wasn't going to become a habit.
"The Protectorate requested your presence to verify the effectiveness of Hunter's Tinkertech," Carol said without looking up from her tablet.
Good morning to you, too.
Amy poured her coffee instead of answering immediately.
It wasn't like she had a choice, but she had already thoroughly examined the blood vial upstairs. It should be easy.
And Taylor wanted her to take a 'field trip' to the PHQ anyway.
"Okay. When am I going? And is someone taking me or should I take the bus?" Amy said. She couldn't quite keep the sarcastic edge out of her voice. Carol just had that effect on her.
"A PRT transport will pick you up from school tomorrow," Carol said in a clipped tone.
Joy. Nothing like an awkward twenty minute drive with a bunch of strange men in a van.
But… whatever. Besides, the idea of Taylor randomly popping out of Armsmaster's walls was worth it.
"Okay. Do you know how long it will take? I usually go to the hospital on Mondays," Amy sipped her coffee and worked her way towards the living room and it's sweet, blissful lack of Carol.
"You can always go on Friday or Saturday to make up for it," Carol said. She still hadn't actually looked at her.
Right. Can't miss any super exciting healing time.
Some of the familiar restlessness that had been her constant companion before she broke down and changed Taylor was already leaking back in. Hopefully, she could go to Taylor's Hospital after their date and do something to get her power off her back.
Ideas for the plumbing system Taylor wanted danced in her mind's eye. Like the veins and arteries of a great beast, living vessels snaking their way through the Labyrinth to a central repository that definitely wasn't a heart.
It was horrifying, but her girlfriend would probably like it, creepy vampire that she was.
Amy escaped from the kitchen and smiled into her coffee at the thought.
She had no idea how long this strange tightrope walk could last, but she would enjoy it while she could.
…
Taylor didn't know if she should call Amy or wait for her to reach out. She thought that she had grown past stupid nervous knots like this, but apparently not. For some reason, going on an actual date resurrected some of the parts of herself that she would have preferred stayed dead.
To help distract herself from the anxiety, she went for a quick run and stole a wheelchair that wasn't falling apart from the basement of Brockton General hospital.
She could probably make a better one, at some point. It wasn't exactly her specialty, but it was simple enough. It kind of fit with the medical aspect of her powers, and they had been very cooperative with the whole prosthetic thing.
Now she was back to being anxious again. Even a hot shower at Kurt and Lacey's didn't help. She decided to stick with the black sweater and jeans that had been her tried and true civilian outfit. Amy seemed to like it, and it covered up the most obvious scars and the docking joint at the base of her leg.
Taylor tapped her finger on the table idly while the smell of eggs and bacon filled the small kitchen.
"How are you holding up, Taylor?"
She glanced over at her father, nursing his coffee across from her.
Kurt manned the stove, humming some off-key tune under his breath.
She hadn't officially told Kurt and Lacey about her nighttime activities, but they must have guessed. Showing up down a foot was a bit of a giveaway.
Plus, she didn't bother with the wheelchair or her stake driver, here. Her inhuman dexterity and Amy's upgrades made it easy to navigate on one foot, even if it looked a bit ridiculous.
"I'm… pretty okay," Taylor said, biting her lip.
She still hadn't decided whether to tell her dad about Amy or not. If there was anyone she could tell, anyone removed from the situation, it would be him.
Kurt portioned out a plate for himself and Lacey, then left to deliver it to her in the living room.
Danny got up to get some for them as well.
It would probably make him happy, to know that she wasn't just wasting away alone in the cold Hospital. That things were… better, than they used to be, despite everything.
"I wouldn't trade any of my scars for an easy life."
She meant it. The idea of going back to a normal life, without Amy, without her Workshop, without Rachel or the freedom and insight that being the first Hunter provided her… it was intolerable.
"I'm going on a… date, today," Taylor winced at the awkwardness. She slaughtered the entire Empire, burned Kaiser alive and cut Hookwolf in half. She could manage to own her damn relationship status.
Her father raised his eyebrows in surprise.
"That's… well, I mean, is that a euphemism for an assassination, or, like, an actual date?" Danny asked.
That was a fair question, and it made Taylor smile. She had definitely done more hunts than real dates.
Something about the fact that it was genuinely more likely that she was going to murder someone than date them helped take the pressure off a bit.
I fucking kill people. I can handle a stupid date.
And Amy wanted to be her everything, so it wasn't like she had to worry about winning her approval.
"An actual date," Taylor laughed. "Although I appreciate the clarification."
That seemed to surprise him even more.
"Really? You don't have to tell me who, but… do they… know?" He waved his hand in her general direction helplessly.
Taylor couldn't help but grin.
"Yeah. Yeah, it's… um… She's the friend who helped get the bolts out of me, after the Sophia fiasco. She knows… pretty much everything," Taylor said.
Everything except her resurrection, and Amy still had the letter, just in case.
"That's… really good, kiddo. Really good," he chewed on his words for a moment before he smiled. "I don't suppose I have to worry about the traditional parental warnings?"
Taylor snorted. The idea of her father trying to warn Amy about anything was… kind of hilarious.
"You aren't allowed to leave me. I won't let you."
Amy would eat him alive.
"No, I think we can figure it out on our own," Taylor chuckled. "I can't… bring her to meet you, or anything, yet. Being wanted for mass murder makes things a bit difficult, and I can't risk exposing her identity."
Well, mainly she just hadn't asked Amy if it was okay, yet. They were already playing things a bit fast and loose, what with the date this afternoon and everything.
"That's alright. I know you have a lot on your plate, and I can only imagine half the stuff you get up to," Danny shook his head. "Are you doing okay, after the other night? I know you're pretty tough, but that sounds like a lot."
Oh. Right. She had killed two hundred people less than forty-eight hours ago.
"I'm pretty good, yeah," Taylor frowned. "My powers seem to… dull the impact of my hunts. Of so much blood. Like… it's just a dream, or something."
That wasn't exactly right, but it was as close as she was going to get with mundane words. She could still feel an echo of the moon's radiance singing in her bones.
"Okay," her father said slowly. "You know I'm here for you, if you need anything."
Taylor smiled and reached over to squeeze his wrist. Gently. Humans were fragile.
"I know. Thanks, Dad. For everything," she said softly, before forcing more brevity into her voice. "Have you always been cool, or is this a new development?"
He laughed.
"I don't know about cool, but-"
"Don't let him lie to you," Lacey said as she walked into the kitchen. "You should ask him about the tire iron story, sometime."
"Not my proudest moment," Danny replied ruefully, standing up and taking their plates over to the sink.
He stopped and let a hand rest on Taylor's shoulder.
"I'm proud of you, Taylor. Have fun today, and try not to get into too much trouble," he said.
No trouble at all. Just a date with the world's most famous parahuman healer, her flying brick of a sister, and a Ward. Nothing to worry about.
"I'll do my best," Taylor muttered.
…
"...and remember, I told Vicky that you go to school for biochemistry and volunteer at the hospital," Amy whispered into her phone as she paced around her bedroom.
Why had she thought this was a good idea?
"I got it, don't worry. I'm great at this cloak and dagger shit," Taylor said. Amy could feel her grin through the phone.
"And you lost your foot in a car accident."
"Yes, yes, I know," Taylor said. "Do I need to remind you that this was your idea?"
"It's your fault for listening to me! My ideas are terrible," Amy hissed.
"Naw, it'll be fun. I don't suppose you'd be willing to tell me what Gallant's powers are, though. Just in case we happen to run into him," Taylor said.
"He can shoot concussive beams and sense emotions," Amy said absently while she looked for something to wear that wasn't too wrinkled. Since when did she care about shit like that?
"He can sense emotions?" Taylor said incredulously. "And you didn't think to tell me this sooner? I don't know what the hell my emotions look like on a good day."
"It'll be fine," Amy said, despite all of the things she had recently listed that would not, in fact, be fine. "Just try not to think any murder-y thoughts."
"I'll get right on that," Taylor said sarcastically. "Where are we meeting?"
"Parking lot behind that arcade off the Boardwalk," Amy gave her the address. "Apparently Dean rented it out or some other rich kid bullshit. Do you actually have a car?"
"I didn't even have a bed until last night, you think I have a car?" Taylor said.
"Well, you said you could drive, I don't know-" Amy lost her patience with her wardrobe and just pulled on a plain black sweater and jeans. Taylor always appreciated the view regardless, and she wasn't exactly subtle about it.
"Victor can drive! I don't even technically exist on paper, remember?"
"Whatever. Maybe you should steal a car, just to avoid suspicion? It might look weird if you roll up in a wheelchair with no transportation," Amy said.
"Steal a car to avoid suspicion? Right, your ideas are actually terrible-" Taylor grumbled.
"Well, it's better than telling them that you travel by creepy magic stalker doors!" Amy shot back.
"No, no, no more convoluted bullshit. I'll just tell them I got dropped off by a friend. The idea of getting arrested for grand theft auto as Anne is just… stupid," Taylor said.
"I thought 'no prison could hold you', or whatever overdramatic fuckery you were spouting the other day," Amy said sarcastically.
"That doesn't mean that I want to go to jail! It kind of defeats the purpose of the whole civilian identity thing," Taylor sighed. "No, I'll be there, no car, and we'll figure it out."
"Okay, okay," Amy said tiredly. "I'm… excited to see you, though."
It felt a bit pathetic to admit, but it was true. She already missed Taylor and their little separated, bloodstained paradise.
What the hell is wrong with me?
"Me too," Taylor said quietly. "The Workshop feels empty without you."
At least Amy wasn't the only pathetic one. That was reassuring. If the Nazi-slaying, blood-drinking ghost of the Bay could get away with being a fucking sap in her spare time, maybe she could, too.
"I'll come over afterwards, if I can get away?" Amy bit her lip.
"I'd like that," Taylor smiled. Amy could hear it in her voice.
"Okay," Amy said.
"Cool," Taylor replied.
Amy didn't want to hang up, even though they were literally going to see each other in thirty minutes.
Her bedroom door suddenly slammed open as Victoria barged in and Amy almost dropped the phone.
"Are you dressed yet? It's almost… oh, are you on the phone?" Victoria blinked at her.
Amy ignored Taylor's laughter on the other end.
"Yes! And yes, I'm ready whenever you are, I just…" Amy groaned.
"Tell Vicky I said 'hi'," Taylor quipped in her ear.
"Anne says 'hi'," Amy said grudgingly.
"Hi, Anne! Amy, we're going to see her in like, ten seconds. You'll survive. Hang up and let's go," Victoria said.
Amy just glared at her.
Taylor was still laughing.
"I'll see you soon," Taylor said.
"Yeah, yeah. Bye, Anne," Amy replied.
The line went dead and Amy sighed again.
"Awww, you got it bad," Vicky grinned.
"Shut up."
"No, no, it's so cute. I didn't even know you had a 'whenever shall my love return from the war' expression." Victoria was entirely too smug about this.
"I hate you so much," Amy groaned, running a hand down her face.
She didn't, though. For better or worse.
…
Taylor wheeled herself up the alley from the busier sections of the Boardwalk towards the rendezvous point.
Despite all the potential complications, she was actually excited.
Apparently, there was still a part of her that wanted to do things like this. Hang out with her girlfriend and pretend to just be normal, without the backdrop of hanging bodies and the dripping blood.
Maybe all heroes and villains felt the same. That would explain why they clung so tightly to their secret identities, even when it was all a farce.
It was nice, to pretend. To let the weight and the clouds lift, for just a little while.
She beat Vicky and Amy there on purpose, to avoid the awkward questions.
It was surprisingly warm, for February. Taylor pushed up the sleeves of her sweater. Hopefully the scars on her hands wouldn't cause too many questions.
For a moment, Taylor closed her eyes and let her enhanced senses range out. She had no idea how Amy had done this to her, but it was fantastic.
She could hear conversations on the Boardwalk, two blocks away. A man was quietly paying for the dress his wife liked, but wouldn't buy for herself.
She could smell the sea breeze, with a hint of countless different pollutants, and the exhaust from the roads filled with cars downtown.
The wind shifted, and a smile crept onto her face at a very faint sound of air moving around a rapidly approaching flyer along with two elevated heartbeats.
Roses, and coffee.
Taylor opened her eyes and waited for Amy and Victoria to appear over the surrounding buildings.
She also heard a car approaching. Probably the boyfriend, then. Amy didn't like him, but Amy didn't really like anyone except for her and Victoria.
Victoria landed lightly in the parking lot and set Amy carefully on her feet.
"Hey, Anne! Long time, no see," Vicky greeted enthusiastically.
"Hi, Victoria. Thanks for covering for us, yesterday," Taylor said. She would try to be nice to Vicky, given how important she was to Amy.
Amy walked over and hovered uncertainly for a second, like she wasn't sure how to do this.
Taylor raised an eyebrow and smirked at her sudden awkwardness. Amy was always either brazenly reckless or ridiculously indecisive, and there didn't seem to be anything in between.
Sure enough, Amy caught the challenging look in her eye and glared back briefly before leaning down to kiss her.
It was definitely weird, being shorter than her. Taylor wasn't used to tipping her head back to reach Amy's lips. She preferred being the one in control, even if Amy was always technically in control, while they were touching. Complete biokinesis was such a bullshit power, and Taylor loved it.
The kiss was still as wonderful as ever, though. She would never, ever get used to this.
Amy obviously couldn't either, given the way she gasped at the contact. That may have been due to the new vial that Taylor had consumed, though.
Taylor groaned involuntarily as she felt Amy restructuring something inside her. She could never quite tell exactly what was changing, but it always felt amazing.
Victoria cleared her throat.
Oh, right. They had an audience.
Whoops.
Hopefully she didn't notice the impromptu augmentations.
Amy straightened like she had been electrocuted and went red in the face. Taylor couldn't help but laugh.
"I would say sorry, but I'm not," Taylor grinned over at Vicky. Luckily, Amy's sister was pointedly not looking at them, so she probably didn't see any biokinetic weirdness.
Victoria rolled her eyes, but she was smiling.
"I guess I can't really complain, after all the horrible double dates I subjected Amy to before now," Vicky said ruefully. "In my defense, it wasn't exactly my fault that I was barking up the wrong tree."
Amy glared at her sister but was saved from commenting by the arrival of the car that Taylor assumed belonged to Not-Gallant.
It was one of those cars that didn't necessarily look fancy, but was probably more expensive than her father's house, even before she blew it up.
"Hey guys!" the boyfriend said as he stepped out of the driver's seat. What had Amy said his name was? Dean?
He was, objectively, an annoyingly attractive guy. Styled blond hair, just messy enough to not look overly stiff, a tailored blue button-down tucked into beige slacks, which were probably also tailored, with the sleeves casually rolled up.
Taylor could see where Amy was coming from. He was probably a totally decent person, but she also had an automatic desire to steal his kneecaps.
His eyes swept over her as he walked around the car and he flinched slightly.
Oh, right. Emotion sensing. No more thinking about stealing his bones and using them for Tinker fodder.
Of course, it was a bit like trying not to think about purple elephants, or whatever.
"Hey, Babe!" Victoria floated over and kissed him, much more tastefully than what Amy and Taylor had done. It wasn't her fault that Amy was so distracting. "Anne, this is my boyfriend, Dean."
She had remembered his name right. Excellent.
"Hi, Dean," Taylor waved. "I'm Amy's girlfriend."
Her chest tightened at finally getting to actually say that out loud.
"It's really nice to meet you," he said. He glanced between her and Amy and His smile got a bit more genuine.
Taylor suppressed an automatic frown.
That was going to get really annoying, really quickly. It obviously wasn't his fault that he was constantly reading their emotions, but it felt… weird. Like she had to be on her guard against things she couldn't help but feel.
Like, for example, the current desire to gouge out his eyes. Maybe then he wouldn't be able to see what she was feeling.
He flinched again.
Dammit.
Okay, fuck it. Let him come to whatever conclusions he wanted; she wasn't about to try to micromanage all of her emotions just to keep Wonder Ward happy.
"It's nice to finally meet you, too. Amy's told me so much about you," Taylor said.
There. Let him have a taste of his own medicine.
"I can imagine," he said with a self-deprecating grin. "I'm not exactly her favorite person in the world, but I hope you can tolerate me. Vicky manages it, somehow."
Well, shit, maybe he was also charming, on top of the overly symmetrical facial structure.
Vicky elbowed him in the chest and he turned his smile on her.
"Anyway, I know you guys were wanting to stay out of the public eye, and one of my friends' families owns this place, so we have it all to ourselves for the afternoon," he said. "We can order pizza, or whatever else you want."
Okay, that actually sounded kind of fun. If it weren't for the emotion reading and designer khakis, Dean might not be an awful guy.
"Come on, let's go, then!" Vicky said, flitting over towards the doors.
Glancing up at Amy, Taylor frowned. Her girlfriend's face was twisted into some weird combination of grudging happiness and sour lemons, eyes bouncing between Dean and Victoria.
Taylor reached up and took her hand, pulling it over to press a kiss on the back of her fingers.
Amy jumped and her face fell slack. Taylor recognized the familiar expression as Amy got lost in her inhuman biology.
It took a moment for Amy to come back, but then she met Taylor's eyes with a forgetting-to-frown smile.
Much better.
"Thanks," Amy whispered.
"You okay? We don't have to do this," Taylor said quietly.
"No, no, I want to, it's just…" Amy trailed off.
Taylor's eyes flicked over to where Dean and Victoria stood by the door to the Arcade, catching Gallant's stare.
It would probably make Amy happy if she drained his blood, right?
He flinched again. Serves him right. He shouldn't go poking around in her mind if he didn't want to know.
Amy noticed as well, this time.
"Whatever you're thinking… No," Amy whispered, but she was trying not to laugh, now.
"I just really think he'd be even prettier without eyes," Taylor hissed back, careful to make sure her voice didn't carry.
Amy laughed, so it was worth it.
"Are you coming? Everything okay?" Vicky called over to them.
Taylor looked at Amy again, and smiled when her girlfriend nodded.
"Yeah, just checking in real quick," Taylor said as she wheeled her way to the doors. "Now let's play some games. I'm totally going to kick your ass at DDR."
Dean looked down at her missing foot and she could feel him deciding whether to comment on it or not.
He didn't.
Maybe this would be fun, after all.
…
"Okay, no, you're cheating somehow. I can fucking fly, and you have one foot! How are you winning?" Victoria whined.
Amy was just enjoying the show. She couldn't even manage to feel guilty about watching both Taylor and Victoria. It wasn't like anyone would know.
Even Dean wouldn't be able to tell, which was a welcome change from the usual bullshit she had to keep an eye out for in his presence.
Besides, he was probably too busy wondering why 'Anne' kept cycling between murderous violence and whatever insane crap went on in Taylor's head when she wasn't thinking about murderous violence.
It was like watching one of those montages of people falling off of ladders and shit, but better, because Dean deserved it. He did it to himself, after all. Nobody asked him to play shrink.
Part of Amy knew that she was being a bit unfair, and he couldn't exactly turn the emotion sensing off, but he got to kiss Victoria, so he could go die in a hole for all she cared.
Except, not really, because that would hurt Victoria. But she could still fantasize about it.
It was actually a weirdly convoluted chain of causality to consider. If Dean was in trouble, should she send Taylor to save him? To spare Vicky the heartbreak, even if she personally hated him?
Even if Dean was out of the picture, it wasn't like Victoria was going to magically fall for her. And Taylor deserved better, anyway. She couldn't exactly just up and leave.
She probably would, anyway, if Victoria did fall for her, but now that idea made her stomach twist painfully, too.
Because obviously, life wasn't fucking fair.
"Have you considered," Taylor smirked as her one remaining foot blurred over the arrows, leaning back against the railing to stay upright. "That you might just suck?"
"Oh my god, you're such a bitch," Victoria panted, but she didn't sound actually mad.
Of course, Taylor was totally cheating. Amy didn't know exactly how her girlfriend's supernatural dexterity worked, but between the body and sensory enhancements, Vicky didn't stand a chance.
"So, how'd you two meet?" Dean asked, obviously trying his best to sound casual as he sat down at the table across from her.
His best wasn't good enough. Amy knew this stupid song and dance.
"I'm sure Vicky already told you. Do you enjoy asking bullshit questions?" Amy said.
Being around Taylor was making her soft, but Dean knew just how to bring out the acid.
"I just… I don't know. Are there any questions that are okay to ask?" He said.
Sanctimonious shit-stain.
"She volunteers at the hospital. She's taking classes at BBU. She won't let me heal her foot because she has some weird hang-up about being a burden to me, and she gave herself the scar because she's impulsive, overdramatic, and too fucking edgy for her own good. Happy now?" Amy demanded.
Dean blinked at her in surprise.
"Yeah, sorry," he said carefully. "Vicky seems to like her."
Amy snorted.
"Vicky likes everyone, including you. It's not exactly a high bar to clear."
His face twisted, but he didn't reply. Score.
Luckily, Taylor noticed that she was stuck alone with Mr. Ward-tastic, and hopped over to collapse onto the booth next to her.
"Your sister is kind of a sore loser," Taylor flopped over and let her head fall into Amy's lap.
Amy reached down and threaded her fingers through Taylor's curls. Her girlfriend's hair was as soft as ever, and the contact with her scalp let Amy relax into the sea of endless stars.
"Hey-" Vicky protested, but Amy cut her off. It was nice to finally have someone in her corner.
"Yeah, she's always like that when she doesn't get what she wants," Amy said, smirking up at her sister.
Victoria met her eyes and whatever she saw in Amy's face made her expression soften.
"I still think you cheated somehow. A bunch of those notes required two squares at the same time!" Vicky complained, but there wasn't any heat behind it.
"I'm just that good," Taylor grinned up at her.
"Whatever," Vicky scoffed. "Dean, I need a confidence boost. Come lose at skee-ball."
Dean laughed but followed her across the arcade anyway.
Taylor and Amy both watched them go.
"This is… actually pretty fun," Taylor said softly. "I've never… um… well, being dead isn't exactly conducive to going on dates."
Amy looked down at her. Taylor's eyes were closed and she hummed appreciatively as Amy ran her fingers through her hair.
"You never went on any, before?" Amy asked. Aside from the issues with Shadow Stalker and her mom dying, Taylor hadn't really talked about before.
"No. Emma, my former… favorite person… made sure that no one would want to. And I didn't really want to, either, after everything," Taylor whispered.
"Oh," Amy said. She wasn't sure what to say, but she silently decided to melt whoever Emma was into a living pile of shit if she ever met her.
Taylor might not have been willing to kill her, but Amy had no such reservations.
Nobody was allowed to hurt Taylor. Taylor was hers.
Amy caught Dean's concerned look from across the room and scowled at him. His fucking power was worse than eavesdropping, honestly.
"Well, you didn't miss out on much," Amy said. "None of the bullshit 'dates' that Victoria dragged me on were any fun until this one."
Taylor cracked one eye and looked up at her.
"I guess I can understand that. Being stuck alone with the psychic frat boy must be a pain. I wonder how Vicky stands it," Taylor mused.
"It's not like she doesn't wear every emotion on her sleeve," Amy sighed. "I also think her aura passively messes with Dean's power, somehow."
"Must be nice," Taylor chuckled darkly. "Think you could steal some of her blood for me?"
Amy tugged as hard as she could on Taylor's hair and smiled at her girlfriend's surprised hiss. She couldn't tell if Taylor liked it or not.
Actually, based on the chemical fireworks in her brain, she definitely did.
Huh.
"No, I'm not fucking stealing Vicky's blood for you, you fucking vampire," Amy hissed, even though she was still laughing.
Taylor grinned and pulled herself up to kiss her, and the stress and the bullshit melted away beneath the blanket of stars.
Best date ever.
…