Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

June 3rd, Monday

Arlo sat on his heels, stretching his arms out as the crowd gathered around Peach Plaza in the midday sun. It was an impressive turn out for such short notice he mused. Paulie had only challenged him that morning after their run when they stopped for a cold smoothie at the Round Table, and yet Sam and Sonia had got so many people involved before he could blink.

The background noise spiked with whistles and cheers, and he let his eyes settle on Hannah. Hannah who had shrugged off her jacket and thrown it on the wall, arms bare in her tank top, and wearing workout shorts. Which, while almost the same length as her usual ones, seemed to show off a great deal more leg somehow, not that he was complaining. She pulled a face at Sam who was standing near him as she walked over.

“So why am I doing this again?” she asked, bumping her hip into Sam’s.

“Because Arlo wouldn’t compete if it was just him against just Paulie,” Sam muttered, not quite quietly enough for him to miss since he was deliberately paying attention. He kept his face as bland as possible though, thinking. 

Because no. He hadn’t wanted to compete against Paulie. He also hadn’t wanted to compete against Mars when he’d got roped in. Or Lucy, Emily, or Oaks. There was no point in competing against Sam, since they trained together and both knew he could outlast her.

But then he’d needed some excuse as to why he’d changed his mind when Sam had mentioned getting Hannah involved. Other than the honest one, of wanting to see what she could do. And maybe, possibly, wanting to show off a little in front of her, now he knew she was at least vaguely interested.

“Because we need to prove to these great lugs that we are just as good as they are, and I didn’t want to do it by myself!” Sam said slightly louder, before she moved to line up with Emily. He kept looking between Sam and Hannah as they settled in next to him, before shrugging and winking at Hannah. It suited him just fine to allow Sam her ego boost.

“Ok, so like, let’s get this push up competition started!” Sonia called from in front of them, and he glanced at the young women standing on the edge of the fountain over them.

“The rules are as follows,” she started, and Arlo tuned her out. He’d helped make the rules, so he didn’t feel the need to listen. Instead he looked over the people in the line facing him.

Paulie was opposite him, at the end and furthest from Sonia. He was smiling in that cool, confident way he had, so sure of himself and his strength right now. Not that it mattered much to Arlo. Because sure, Paulie was out here in the plaza doing push ups every day and looked the part of a tough guy. But that wasn’t the same as actual strength from having a physically demanding job and the assorted training.

Oaks on the other hand might surprise him. He didn’t look it at first glance, but Oaks was surprisingly strong, and had impressive endurance. He’d seen him wrestling with Abu, and while he knew the bear wasn’t going all out, it was still something to see when Oaks picked him up and carried him over his shoulders. And now he wasn’t wearing that bear cloak of his, his back and arm muscles were clearly visible, and more solid than he’d expected them to be.

He watched as Oaks and Hannah shared a quick grin, before they both looked up at Sonia, and felt his own lips twitch in response to their infectious happiness. He quickly scanned Lucy and Mars who finished off the other line as the first whistle sounded and he smoothly and easily dropped into the first set. Five push ups wasn’t exactly a challenge for people like him and Paulie, but he could understand why they were starting with a low number, given the varying fitness levels of the people involved. He sank down to his knees, not wanting to plank and wear himself out until the next round started.

“Well done everyone! That was great. Next round is six per minute,” Sonia called, and he rolled his head as he looked out over the crowd on the steps.

Martha was there with Toby. Alice and Jack. Carol and the girls. Polly had her little notepad and was writing something down. Probably keeping track of how many push ups and how long and such. She was a smart girl. Petra was there, but no Merlin, not that he was surprised. He could hear Phyllis behind him somewhere talking to Django about refreshments. They weren’t expecting a medical emergency, but it didn’t hurt to have someone here. Antoine was standing in the open door of the commerce guild, head close together with Mei, who also had a notebook out...

“What’s up?” Hannah asked him as Sonia blew her whistle again, and he pushed himself up to his hands and toes then dipped quickly to keep in time with her. Slower than he’d normally go, but he wanted to stick to the speed she could match for now, to stop her getting discouraged.

“Nothing much, I’m just wondering how far everyone will get is all,” he answered honestly, eyes still on Mei. He saw her reach towards her pockets, tilting her notebook to Antoine again, who also had his hand in his pocket. “And thinking I need to talk to Mei again about placing bets,” he continued a little louder, feeling smug satisfaction as both the reporter and commerce worker jumped guiltily and looked at him. “Isn’t that right Mei?”

He heard Hannah snort from next to him as he watched Mei splutter, her notebook getting hastily shoved into her bag as Antoine slipped back inside the guild building. He glanced at Hannah, to see if she wanted to chat, but found her with her head hanging and biting her lip, which was… not distracting so much. But for some reason, he found himself drawn to the sight of her lip between her teeth.

Which was strange he thought, looking away to stare at a spot on the floor in front of him as he dropped to his knees after he’d finished his six. He’d seen her bite her lips plenty of times before. Why was he now thinking about it?

Besides the obvious, of what happened the other day. With the Hot Stuff conversation which had played on repeat in his head almost constantly since then, and made him question the note she’d sent last night, claiming a headache instead of training with him. The way she’d blushed, and squirmed, and chewed her lip. Refused to look at him. It made part of him want to do it again. See how flustered he could actually make her.

Movement at the edge of his vision and a grunt during the middle of the next set made him look up, and Mars was sitting back, shaking out his hands, then laughing and getting to his feet. Arlo nodded at him, not that the other man saw. But Mars should be proud. It was brave of him to join in, especially given all the ribbing Paulie normally gave him about being manly.

He let his eyes settle on Lucy, keeping half an ear on Hannah and Sam’s conversation, with the occasional out of breath comment from Emily. She had relatively good form, for someone who spent most of the day sitting down doing paperwork. He’d have to remember to see if she wanted any tips after this was over, or maybe a training plan. He doubted she’d want the help now.

He kept an eye on her until she stopped at the end of the fifth round, not able to lift herself on the last one and letting herself down to lay on the floor instead, laughing happily as everyone behind her cheered. He heard Polly tell her she’d done thirty five, which was an impressive number for the teacher.

He looked out over the crowd again during the next round, finding nothing amiss this time. Mei caught his eye and waved at him, empty handed and trying too hard to look innocent. He sighed and shook his head at her, sparking a laugh from her and Petra.

Paulie was looking to his side, chatting to Jack and Toby who were sitting next to him listening intently. Oaks had his eyes closed and head lowered, breathing slowly and deeply. So he turned his attention back to Hannah. She was on her elbows and knees, head also hanging low and sounding like she was starting to struggle. Which wasn’t great. He’d sort of noticed her stopping talking at some point, but hadn’t realised she was this out of breath. He needed to distract her somehow, get her mind off her breathing, calm her down. What could he…?

Hmmm. Well, he’d wanted to see how she’d react if he called her Hot Stuff again. And sure, maybe it wouldn’t calm her down, but it would certainly distract her...

“Doing good, Hot Stuff?” he asked softly, and her head shot up as colour flooded her cheeks, and ok, wow. It was just as good seeing her react today as it had been on Friday.

Shit. Ok. Maybe this had actually been a bad idea. He looked away from her, thoughts racing as he tried to control his own breathing. He’d only seen her from the side the other day, but now she was looking straight at him and he got the full effect of her reaction. She was staring at him, red cheeked, eyes wide and dark and darting all over his face, her lips parted as she panted. She looked ruffled and disheveled in the best of ways and it was giving him ideas he really, really shouldn’t be having while out in public about someone who was his friend. 

But then, she looked damn good like that. And it was because of him. Because of what he’d said. And that was, that made something inside him stir again, on top of the other more physical reaction he was having. Something perked up and paid attention because yes, she looked so flustered now because of him , and what he’d said. And that part inside him liked that. It liked that very much indeed.

He looked back up at her, and couldn’t stop the quick grin forming as he tipped his head towards Sonia, and could see her cursing him in her head as she got back into position, and started the next set in time with him and Sam.

He kept his eye on her, watching as she powered through the first five and then stopped to reset her hands.

“Come on Hannah. You can do this,” he said, trying to cheer her on without distracting her too much again. It seemed to work, as she started moving again with a spurt of energy, and then she kept going only slightly unsteadily. “You’re doing great. Isn’t she doing great, Sam?”

“Yeah. You’re doing really great kid,” Sam said, shooting him a look he ignored over Hannah’s back as she dipped again even as she kept her tone cheerful. Hannah gasped a laugh and kept going, and he had to admire her. She was clearly starting to struggle, but wasn’t giving up. 

A noise sounded from beyond Sam, and he looked over. Emily was laying on the floor, cheek pressed to the paving, before she pushed herself up to sit and smiled ruefully, shaking out her hands. Damn. He should have been cheering her on as well. Emily had done really well to get this far.

He pushed himself up and sat up, having finished the set, rolling his shoulders as he looked down at Hannah. She’d also finished and was on her elbows and knees again, bent over and really not sounding good with her head hanging low.

Shifted over slightly, he reached out to lay his hand on her back and started to stroke along her spine, hoping to calm her down. Sam had said she liked being touched, so hopefully this was ok, and not overstepping any boundaries.

“You really are doing good Hannah,” he soothed, glancing over at Sam and asking with his eyes if what he was doing was ok. She nodded subtly, then shifted over and rested her hand on Hannah’s shoulder, rubbing in a circle. He went on, “But you can slow down a little if you need to. You still have plenty of leeway for time, no need to push yourself to keep up with us. You’ve done really well to get this far.”

“Yeah kid. You’re doing us proud,” Sam added, leaning down to try and see Hannah’s face through the wisps of hair that had pulled free of her ponytail.

He heard a murmur from the crowd and looked up, finding people looking over worriedly. Ginger was there, standing in the shade next to Mei, her eyes darting between Hannah and him. He nodded at Ginger, smiling tightly, trying to reassure her that Hannah was fine, and she seemed to understand. She smiled back, and then Mei had her hands around her mouth and let out a loud whoop. Several others joined in, just as Ginger called out Hannah’s name, and something else that got lost in the noise.

It seemed to help, because he felt Hannah take a long breath, hold it, then let it out slowly. She shrugged Sam’s hand off, then looked up at him, pulling an amused and grateful face as she looked at his arm stretched between them. And he paused, thinking. Because for some reason, he didn’t want to pull away yet. But he did, and settled back down next to her as Sonia called out, and they started the thirteen round. 

She started strong again, keeping up with him as he slowed down even more, ignoring the slight burn in his muscles at the extra strain. People continued to cheer around them, but he could see her arms start to shake, especially at her wrists half way through.

“That’s it Hannah. You’re doing good. Remember your elbows, there you go. Just six more, almost there…” he started to say quietly. He wanted to help her, keep her going. Distract her from the pain he was pretty sure she was feeling right now. Some of the tension seemed to fall away from her shoulders as he talked, so he kept doing it, keeping up a quiet murmur of encouraging words through the rest of the round, the break, and then all of the next. 

She was relatively silent through it all, the only sounds she made were from her harsh breathing. But the slight smile at the edge of her lips he could just see on her lowered head, meant he was doing something right, maybe.

He looked over her back at Sam in the middle of the fifteen round, wanting to check on her since she’d stopped talking a while ago. She was staring at the floor in front of her as she tried to control her breathing, her arms still steady and back still straight. But then she pushed herself back and sat up, and was finished. So he looked back at Hannah. Hannah, still only halfway done.

She’d stopped, rolling her head quickly and then dipping down into her next one and then… stopping. Her arms were shaking, and he shifted closer to her on his knees, bending down to talk to her more clearly over the cheers and calls of the crowd, many of whom were shouting Hannah’s name since she was the only one still going.

“It’s ok, you’re doing so well Hannah. You can do this! You’re nearly done, just one more, no, two more and you’re finished and you can have a break and--”

The whistle rang out and damn. He felt his stomach clench as she knelt down and sat back, her head hanging low and he didn’t need to see her face to know she was upset, possibly about to cry.

He went to move to her, wrap a friendly arm around her shoulders but stopped. Because they were in the middle of the plaza, and everyone could see, everyone was already watching her, watching him, and he couldn’t…

The most he could do was lay his hand on her shoulder. Which earned him a quiet scoff from Sam as she shifted over instead, wrapping her arm around Hannah and pulling her sideways to rest against her chest, shooting Arlo a pointed look over the top of the builder’s brown head as she murmured something he couldn’t quite hear because of the calls from the crowd.

“So-rry Sam,” Hannah gasped out, sounding breathless and crushed and damn. The urge to wrap her in his arms was almost overpowering, despite where they were. “I, let, girls, down.”

“Don’t be silly,” Sam said, talking in to the top of her head, but keeping eye contact with him. She was trying to tell him something, but he wasn’t quite sure what “You did amazing, girl. Especially since you’ve only been doing push ups properly for what, three, four weeks? You just did, how many was that Polly?”

“One hundred and eight,” Polly called from the steps. Sam nodded, and he saw her mouth open to say something else but Sonia had blown the whistle again, three quick short blasts.

“O~kay then! Well done everyone! But now we are down to the final four, it’s time to shake things up a bit. Paulie, Arlo, Sam, and Oaks, you get a five minute break and then you need to come back here and line up together for me, ok? Django has some rainbow lemonade for everyone, so make sure you stay hydrated!”

He nodded up at Sonia, who nodded back before turning and jumping off the fountain to hurry over to the table in front of the Round Table, and then shifted closer to Hannah. He patted her shoulder a few times. She rolled her head a little, looking up at him from the corner of her eye, which was thankfully dry and bright and she wasn’t crying after all. That was good.

“You did good Hot Stuff,” he said, leaning down next to her and talking quietly, hoping Sam wouldn't hear but no, of course she did. She laughed, and when he tried to glare her into silence she just lifted her eyebrows at him, wiggling them up and down.

Hannah pulled away from Sam, sitting up but keeping her eyes firmly fixed on the floor. Her cheeks were a wonderful pink colour, and that strange feeling filled him again, almost like pride? Because he knew that was from what he’d said, and not the exercise. He just knew .

“But come on, let’s get you over to the steps. Help me get her up Sam?”

He climbed to his feet and reached down to hook his hand under her arm, waiting for Sam to also stand and grab her other arm. Then they lifted and Hannah stumbled to her feet, yelping as her legs didn’t want to hold her up. He twisted round, catching her around the waist and holding her close to him. Trying to resist the urge to lean down and rub his cheek against her hair. Because where had that urge even come from?

“Easy there kid, no need to fall for the Captain like that,” Sam laughed, and he snapped his eyes to her, gritting his teeth as she just smirked back at him, looking completely unrepentant.

“Sam, enough,” he barked. “Unless you want me to tell her about when you were first learning how to--”

“Stopping now!” she squeaked, throwing her hands up in surrender and stepping back from him. Though she was still smirking, as if he didn’t have so much dirt on her from when she tried to learn calisthenics from watching him. 

Huffing while shaking his head, he rearranged his hands around Hannah to help her walk over to the wall in front of the Commerce Guild. She stood there, staring at it blankly and he smiled, before pulling his hands back so he could gently hold her around the waist and lift her up onto the wall, shifting her backwards until he was sure she wouldn’t slide off.

He let go and stood back, looking her over. She was still red, not as pink now that her embarrassment had worn off, and was staring at him for some reason. She was sweat soaked, and mussed, and looked good. Though no, he wasn’t thinking about that right now. First things first then.

“I’m getting you a drink. Stay here, ok?” he told her, waiting till she nodded at him before turning and starting to head across the plaza.

“Hey Captain, wait for me!” he heard Sam call, and then she was at his side, and he could see her grin from the corner of his eye as he refused to look at her.

Ignoring her as he walked over to the table, he grabbed two bottles of lemonade and nodded his thanks to Django before moving off to the side. Sam took one as well, popping the top off and taking a quick drink before stepping up to him to lean into his space, and he assumed that was meant to be an innocent smile.

“What was that all about?”

“What was what?” he asked gruffly, hoping she’d take the hint and not get into this right here, right now.

“Don’t play dumb Arlo, I heard what you said. I’m shocked, you know? It’s only been a few days since we cleared up your little misunderstanding about Hannah, and you’re already walking around smirking and calling her Hot Stuff. And in that husky man voice to boot! That was fast. Unless…”

Sam trailed off, moving around him to keep watch on his face as he tried to look away from her. He started walking back across the plaza towards Hannah, trying to keep his bland Captain mask firmly in place. But was apparently failing, considering the smug grin Sam was now wearing.

“Unless you’ve already had feelings for Hannah for a while? And now that you know she’s available, you’re going all in? Oh wow Captain, that’s bold of you. I’m impressed!”

He sighed, still trying to keep his face calm and blank even as his heart jumped in his chest. Because yes. Now that he knew he wouldn’t be setting himself up for inevitable rejection, his brain had opened the floodgates and made him realise just how amazing he thought Hannah was.

Of course, there was still the risk that she wasn’t really interested in him in that way. But if it came to that, he could always play this off as a fun thing between friends… right?

He just needed to shake Sam off his tail first was all.

“Sam, drop it. I was trying to get her mind off the competition was all, try to boost her a bit. Nothing more than that. And it worked, so,” he trailed off, forcing his lips to not break into a smile through pure effort. Because yes. It’d worked. It’d worked very well. And he would be thinking about her rosy cheeks, dark eyes, and dropped lip as she panted next to him for days he was sure.

Which reminded him. She needed a drink, and would probably prefer to have it be cold, and here he was arguing with Sam. He shook his head, and looked back over to her, only to freeze.

Because Oaks was with her. A very underdressed Oaks who was standing in front of her, holding her hand up to his chest and pouting at her. And she was, she was smiling and laughing, even as she pulled her hand back from his grip to flick his nose?

What, what was that? Because fine, she was touchy feely, and he knew they were friends, but to sit there and let him hold her hand to his bare chest like that seemed a little bit inappropriate by any stretch. And now he’d jumped on the wall next to her and she was, she was leaning in to him…?

He distantly heard Sam curse, and then she was gone. He kept his eyes on Hannah and Oaks, as she tilted her face up to him, and he tilted his down to her. Were they going to…?

But then Sam crashed into Hannah, saying something he didn’t register because Hannah had fallen sideways against Oaks. Her face pressed into his neck. Her hand splayed across the skin of his chest. And she seemed to be perfectly fine to keep her hand there, didn’t seem in any hurry to pull it away. And for some reason that made him feel… strange.

“Sam! Why would you…”

Her eyes met his. And she looked startled. Surprised. He looked at her hand on Oaks’ chest again, and she finally pulled it back and dropped it into her lap, rubbing at her palm with her other hand, and what, what did that mean?

He met her eyes again, trying to work out what was going on. Because there was just something about seeing her with her hand on another man’s bare chest that was making him feel ever so slightly… unsettled.

Which was strange. Because he liked Oaks well enough. He knew the man was kind, gentle, helpful, if rather odd. He’d never had issues with him in all the years he’d lived in town. He knew that he was friends with Hannah, and helped her with the little monsters and went out gathering and fishing with her. So why, why did he suddenly feel the need to tell him to stay away from her?

Maybe it was the slowly dawning thought, that if she was potentially interested in him, she could just as easily be interested in Oaks?

“Hey, Hannah, are you ok? You shivered. Are you cold? Oh, right, you’re meant to stay warm after workouts, right? Where did you put your coat?” Oaks piped up, making Arlo’s jaw clench as he deliberately shoved that new thought away. Because it wasn’t up to Oaks to look after her, not when he was here and could look after her himself bt that was stupid. He was being stupid. So long as she got looked after it didn’t matter who did it. Right?

“I think it’s on the other side of the steps Oaks, why don’t you go grab it for her?” Sam was saying, and she shot him a look that he caught from the edge of his vision. Then Oaks had jumped down and walked between him and Hannah, breaking their eye contact, and he forced himself to smooth his face out into a smile. A bland, meaningless smile that he didn’t really feel, but was suitable for the circumstances at any rate.

He stepped forward, holding out her drink toward her, and bit the inside of his cheek to keep his face steady as her eyes roamed over him. She was trying to read him, but no, not right now. Not if he could help it, when he felt so confused and off balanced.

“Oh, thanks Oaks,” Sam said, taking Hannah’s jacket off him. He saw her give him another quick look, before she turned back to Oaks with a blinding smile. “Hey, you better go get a drink before the next round starts, right? Don’t want you collapsing.”

"Ah, you’re right. Back in a moment,” Oaks chirped before moving off towards Django, and Arlo was left standing there, watching as Sam wrapped the jacket around Hannah’s shoulders, making her startle and look at his fellow officer. He watched as her eyes flitted up to his face again, before they skittered to the side, looking behind him at the crowd of people he could hear moving around and starting to head back over.

“You better hurry up and finish your drink boss man, before the competition starts again. Don’t want to get dehydrated, right?” Sam said, sounding far too perky for how he felt right now.

“Don’t be a smartass Sam,” he grumbled back, but went ahead and started to drink anyway. 

He couldn’t look away from Hannah as he sipped his lemonade. So he immediately saw when her eyes lit up with amusement at something behind him, and tracked to a spot just to his right. Sonia called out, so he turned around, hoping to catch whatever had made her smile like that. Only to find Oaks.

Again.

Oaks heading back over with the crowd, walking tall and puffing his chest out and smiling and blushing and glancing at Hannah on the wall behind him and Arlo let the bottle tip down and then fall from his lips. He’d only drank half, but he suddenly wasn’t thirsty anymore.

He walked over to stand in front of Sonia as she stepped back up on the wall of the fountain, and set his bottle down next to her out of the way. Then he stepped back again, stretching his arms out as the other three joined him. He deliberately didn’t look around, not wanting to see either Oaks, or whatever face Sam was more than likely making at him.

“I hope you’re all feeling rested after that first part, Polly told me you all got up to one hundred and ten push ups in sixteen minutes, which is like, incredible! But we’re going to switch it up now. You have to keep in time with the whistle, which I’ll blow every three seconds, and whoever lasts longest wins. So let’s get this started already.”

He stepped back, then towards Hannah as he noted Oaks also moving to the side she was closest to. And for some reason, he didn’t like that. Didn’t like the idea of Oaks being the closest to her. Oaks with his bare chest and back and arms, showing off to her and just…. No. So he stepped around the young man and knelt on the floor opposite Sam, ignoring both the raised eyebrow she sent him, and the surprised huff as Oaks moved back towards the fountain to settle opposite Paulie.

He spared a glance at Hannah over his shoulder while he waited for Sonia to start, one leg stretched out behind him in position while he kept his other knee on the floor. He was trying to work through why he was feeling so many mixed things right now. Because some part of him knew it wasn’t entirely her fault he felt like this. While at the same time, he knew she was the cause of a large chunk of it.

But then her eyes met his. Only briefly, before he made himself look away. Because she’d been looking at Oaks before she switched to him, and he’d seen that happy, indulgent look fade away into a worried, confused frown. And he didn’t want her to look at him like that! He wanted her to look at him with that happy smile he’d gotten used to from her. The special, warm smile he’d only ever seen her give him .

Sonia started to blow her whistle, and he slid his foot back to start lifting and falling in time with the blasts. It was relatively easy, and mindless. Possibly a bit slower than what he’d do if he wasn’t having to keep in time with others, but then that might work out better. It was a fine balance between the strain of lifting himself, and the strain of keeping his body straight between dips.

He tried to tune out the voices of everyone on the steps, wanting to focus just on the whistle. Except Hannah’s voice sounded clear in his ears anyway. And he had to grit his teeth as she called encouragement to Oaks. Which was stupid! They were friends , of course she was allowed to cheer for him! And now she was calling to Sam, so obviously it wasn’t just Oaks, and she could only say one person’s name at a time, which meant she’d be calling his soon…

Only she didn’t.

He frowned. Because why wasn’t she cheering for him? He tilted his head slightly, to see her from the edge of his vision, and he wobbled dangerously before he steeled himself back into synch with everyone.

She was staring at him. Not his face, but his body. He could see the way her eyes were glued to his back, his shoulders. The way they trailed down his arms, and he’d swear he could almost feel her caressing them, from the look in her eyes. That look was, different. He’d never seen her look at anyone, anything like that before.

No, that was a lie. He’d seen her look at a plate of apple pie and ice cream like that before, when her sweet tooth kicked in and she wanted to eat every sugary thing in sight.

But then, that meant…

His thoughts were interrupted by a soft oumph and a loud cheer, and he looked the other way to find Oaks sitting back on his heels, laughing and wiping at his face. He tracked him as he staggered to his feet and walked behind him, heading towards Hannah and slumping forward onto the wall next to her. He looked away as she patted his head, that raw feeling stirring in his gut again and he grit his teeth against it.

He set his gaze on a corner of a paving slab in front of him, determined to keep his eyes there and focus on the competition. Because while he hadn’t wanted to compete at the start, he did now. He really wanted to show to her just how strong he was. How fit. How he could outlast everyone who would go against him.

He’d already outlasted Oaks, he told himself smugly, before immediately feeling ashamed. Because fine. Maybe she liked Oaks, and he was seeing things that weren’t there between the two of them in his excitement at finding out she could possibly like him. But she was his friend, and he could and would respect whatever choices she made.

Arlo kept his head down as he listened to the yelling and cheering, quite a bit of it for Sam, since she was starting to struggle. But then he heard people calling out in sympathy, and glanced up. She’d fallen to the side, and rolled onto her back. He heard Dolly call out a number, one hundred and fifty six. Which was really good for Sam, a lot higher than her previous record. The small sets and breaks between them had had an effect it seemed. Maybe they should try training like this again at some point. 

So it was just him and Paulie. And this wouldn’t last too much longer, from the way Paulie was breathing. And the way his own wrists and chest had been burning for a while if he was honest with himself. He looked back over to Hannah from the side of his eye. Hannah who hadn’t once called out in support of him so far. And now both Oaks and Sam were out, surely she would be cheering for him…

She met his eyes, and there was something there. The way she was staring at him, watching him, he could almost feel it on his skin. It took a conscious effort to focus on the whistle blasts and keep up with the push ups, because he knew he could easily lose himself in her eyes right now.

He didn’t even hear the crowd anymore. There was only the whistle, and Hannah.

Hannah, who had just run her tongue along her bottom lip, leaving it open and plump and glistening and damn. Damn, did he ever want to say screw this stupid competition, get up and walk over to her to see if she tasted as good as she looked.

But no. No, instead, he ran his own tongue over his suddenly dry lips, his eyes flickering to her throat for a moment as she swallowed. Because she was his friend, and he didn’t know if she actually wanted that, despite what Sam had said. And he couldn’t give up now because he was going to win this. He was going to win, and then he could talk to her. He just needed to keep going a while longer, and then he could- -

Movement on the other side of his vision drew him away from her, and he looked round to see Paulie laying down, supported by a forearm on the floor as he panted with his head hanging low.

Huh. So he’d won then.

The sound of people cheering slowly filtered back into his thoughts, and he looked up at Sonia, just to check it was ok for him to stop. She smiled and nodded at him, and he let his knees down to the ground and pushed himself up to sit on his heels, trying to breathe slowly and get himself back under control.

The crowd of people surrounded him, offering congratulations as they laughed and smiled, and he gave them small, tight nods back. Because while he was on good terms with everyone in town, this was starting to seem like a little much.

He pushed himself to his feet, and crossed the distance to Paulie, who was now sitting up and leaning his arm on a bent knee, wiping at his face with a handkerchief and taking a bottle of lemonade from Molly. Arlo held out his hand to him, still wearing that small smile, and Paulie laughed as he quickly gave the bottle back to Molly before reaching up to take it, giving a single strong shake before letting go again.

“Well done Arlo, I should have known I didn’t stand a chance against you.”

“Well, you never know,” he hedged, not wanting to simply agree with him. But then he nodded to him, and turned to walk away. He’d talk to Sonia and Django about the free meal later. Right now, he had more important things to do.

Things like talk to Hannah, who was still sitting where he’d left her on the wall, eyes closed and breathing unsteadily as her fingers played with the empty bottle of lemonade she still held. Sitting alone.

He quickly looked around for Oaks and Sam, finding Oaks walking across the plaza chatting with Emily about something, carrying his bear cloak under his arm, and Sam sitting on the edge of the fountain, watching him with an amused smirk and a raised eyebrow. He tch-ed under his breath, before putting her out of his mind. He’d deal with her later. Possibly. Extra training or something.

He walked over and stopped at the edge of Hannah’s legs. He didn’t want to stand between them where they were propped up against the wall and falling open in what must be, had to be, an unconscious move on her part. Because surely she wouldn’t sit like that on purpose…?

She opened her eyes, the tired smile growing on her lips freezing in place as she met his gaze, and her mouth dropped open into a small “o” shape. He watched as her eyes then darted over his face, and again he would swear he could feel the trails on his skin. From his eyes to his lips, across his cheeks, up to his hair, then down to his neck, with a very, very quick dip lower to his chest. But then she shifted on the wall, and he felt that feeling from earlier, that one that had started when he called her Hot Stuff, stir.

Taking half a step closer to her to stand between her knees instead of beyond them, he watched as her eyes snapped to the side. They darted around behind him quickly, obviously looking for a way to avoid him for some reason. She was looking in the direction Sam was sitting, and he held down the laugh that tried to bubble up when she pulled a face, obviously finding no help from their mutual friend. 

“Hannah,” he started quietly, not wanting this conversation to carry to anyone still wandering around the plaza. He knew that Mei was over near Sam at the fountain, and some of the others had started to leave already, but he couldn’t be too careful. 

He was about to continue, but paused as he watched her shiver. And that was interesting. After everything else today, why would him saying her name cause that sort of reaction from her? And why wasn’t she looking at him, as close as he was to her?

“I didn’t hear you cheering for me. I have to admit, that kind of hurts a bit,” he went on slowly, watching her even more carefully now, and that feeling stirred again as her eyes dropped from where they’d been vaguely around his face to focus somewhere around the neck of his t-shirt. Her breathing was getting faster, and the colour was coming back to her face, with no excuse of exercise this time to hide behind. She was blushing, because of him.

He shifted even closer to her, still at a semi respectable distance even while standing between her legs and looking down at the top of her head, watching as his breath puffed out against her hair and moved some of the stray, loose hairs around with each exhale.

“Hannah? Look at me?”

She shook her head, a quick jerk from side to side before it dropped slightly, and he could hear her breath shudder. It sounded like she was trying to breathe slowly and deeply through her nose, calm herself down. And that, in and of itself, shouldn’t be a problem. But for some reason, it was making him want things. Making him want to see her face. Wanting to work out what she was thinking.

He lifted one hand to run through his hair, pushing it back and trying to keep himself calm. Because this was starting to get weird. The things he’d felt earlier, his sudden dislike of Oaks, and now whatever this was with Hannah.

He needed to see her face. He could work everything out if he could just see her face! But she didn’t seem to want to let him.

“Hannah? Will you please look at me?”

His other hand, the one not running through his hair again, reached out slowly, gently, and brushed against her knee. And she shivered again, before her head slowly tipped back and her eyes lifted up to look at him.

She was blushing. A dark stain spread across her cheeks that looked so, so damn good on her. She was biting the edge of her bottom lip, only the tips of her teeth barely visible. She was breathing quickly still, her nostrils flaring with each inhale and exhale. And her eyes. Her eyes were dark, pupils blown wide as she stared at him, seemingly captivated by his hair from the way her eyes were tracking the subtle movements of his fingers. But then they dropped to meet his own gaze, and he got lost.

He hadn’t seen her look at him like that before. It was almost like the way she’d looked at him earlier, the way he’d compared to how she’d looked at desserts. And yet it wasn’t. It was new, and exciting, and different to how he’d seen her look at Oaks, even if he didn’t want to think about the other man right now, because that was a good thing. This new look, it was solely for him.

He felt the corner of his lip twitch, then lift up. Because yes. Yes, this look was purely for him, and he liked it.

He let a small laugh out, barely more than an exhale through his nose, then finished pushing his hair back and dropped his hand to his hip, pulling his other away from her leg at the same time.

“Make sure you stay warm, and drink lots of fluids, alright? No alcohol tonight,” he told her softly, then waited as she stared at him. It took a few seconds longer than normal for her to realise he wanted a response, and then she nodded at him, looking dazed.

“Good,” he murmured, allowing his smile to grow. “In that case, stay out of trouble, ok?” 

She was still staring at him, not trying to talk. And well, since she was here, and had already reacted relatively well to the things he’d done today, and seemed to be fine after all, he could try one more thing, surely?

He moved again, leaning forward but off to the side, his arm slowly moving towards and around her, to where his jacket lay on the paving stones. She sat frozen, staring straight ahead and seemingly holding her breath as he got right into her space, and paused with his mouth beside her ear. He grabbed his jacket, then puffed a breath against her cheek. 

“I’ll see you later Hot Stuff,” he whispered, then pulled back, stepping out of the space between her legs and allowing his smile to stretch across his whole face.

Because damn! Her reaction to that was priceless!

Cheeks now a deep, vibrant red. Mouth fully dropped open and moving as she tried to speak, say something, and the look in her eyes was a mix of shock, embarrassment, irritation, and he hoped he wasn’t just seeing it because he wanted to, but maybe a little bit of want too?

He reached out to tap the underside of her chin, and she snapped her mouth shut and pressed her lips firmly together. He swung his jacket over his shoulder and turned away from her, not wanting her to see him laugh and think it was at her. Instead he started to whistle as he took the first step towards the park, which would take him up to the Corps building.

He hadn’t wanted to join in the competition, but he was now very glad that he had.

Chapter Text

June 26th, Wednesday

Crossing his arms and shaking his head, Arlo watched Toby and Jack creep closer to the wasteland door. They kept glancing over their shoulders down the road past the Mystery Man’s shop, which as a former mischievous boy he commended them for. Except they were making the same mistake he had all those years ago and hadn’t looked up the hill towards him even once.

A soft snort and the jangle of a harness announced one of his fellow Corps members approaching, and he glanced back to see Remy on Arrow. His friend was smirking down at the two trouble makers, who were now at the heavy doors.

“They’ll never learn, will they?” Remy said with a sigh, shaking his head fondly. “I don’t even know why they want to go in so badly. We keep telling them how dangerous it is.”

“But that’s half the fun, isn’t it?” Arlo countered, allowing a smile to grow on his lips. He remembered wanting to sneak in himself and test his strength against some of the monsters, until Toby’s father had put a firm stop to that. “Didn’t you ever want to sneak in there, just to see what it’s like?”

“Ah, well,” Remmy trailed off sheepishly, looking away, and he allowed himself a quiet chuckle. The boys were looking at the large lever-lock on the door, and were pulling at it in an attempt to open it. Not that that’d work without twisting the end and pushing the hidden button, but he wasn’t going to tell them that for several years.

“I think we should take them in there,” he said slowly, a rough plan forming in his mind. “They’re both ten, which is older than I was when I first went. We won’t go too far, and if we’re both there it should be safe enough, don’t you think? I know seeing how boring it was certainly killed my enthusiasm as a child.”

Remy hummed with a frown. “I don’t object, but I think Martha and Alice might.”

“That’s a fair point. I suppose we’d need to ask them…” He trailed off, watching Remy from the corner of his eye and biting down his smirk at the flat look Remy gave him, before he rolled his eyes and turned Arrow away.

“If you wanted me to go you could have just asked,” Remy muttered quietly as he left, and Arlo turned his attention back to the boys. They’d given up on the door for now it seemed, and had moved to the wooden fence beside it, crouching down to peer through the holes. Not that they could see much through them he knew, especially if that bush on the other side had grown back already.

It didn’t take long for Remy to return, stopping in front of the Mystery shop to catch his eye and nod, before urging Teddy forward in a much louder walk than usual.

Arlo chuckled to himself as he turned Spacer and headed back towards the path. It wouldn’t do for the boys to learn to check all of their surroundings just yet he mused as he took the long way down to join Remy. He didn’t need the added stress of them actually being able to hide from everyone.

“Good morning boys,” he called as he got near enough, and felt slightly guilty at the way Jack shrunk even further in on himself and shifted behind Toby. “You weren’t taking advantage of Miss Lucy being sick today to try and get into the wasteland again, were you?”

But the guilt practically vanished when he saw the cheeky smirk Toby was beaming up at him. For a moment, all he could see was Toby’s Pa. The boy had inherited his hair colour and nose, along with the wide, open smile Arlo’d always found directed his way when he’d been caught doing something he possibly shouldn’t have been. Except now, it was the smile of someone who knew they’d been caught, and wanted to charm their way out of trouble.

“Haha, of course we weren’t Arlo. We were, er, we were looking for Scraps! He’s wandered off again, and Polly was looking for him earlier.”

“That’s very kind of you boys, but you can stop looking. He was being doted on in the park not five minutes ago,” Remy said blandly, though Arlo could see the amusement in his eyes.

“Ah,” Toby muttered, obviously caught off guard for a moment, before perking back up. “Well that’s good then. So I guess we don’t need to keep looking, and we’ll just be going now-”

“Do you want to see what's inside?” Arlo cut across him, breathing slowly in an attempt to keep his Captain mask in place as the boys jerked round to stare up at him, in wonder and uncertainty.

“Can we really? Really really? Aww yeah! Best day ever!”

“I’m ah, I’m not sure my sister would like me going in there,” Jack offered quietly, wrapping his arms around himself and clutching at his sleeves. “I’d need to go ask her.”

“I already cleared it with her, but if you don’t want to go in you don’t have to. I'm sure Teddy and Spacer would love your company,” Remy soothed, dismounting and walking forward. Arlo copied him and led Spacer to the small tree to the right of the gate, wrapping the reins loosely around a branch next to Arrow’s. He subtly watched as Jack and Toby had a silent conversation, and he was pleasantly surprised to find Toby looking concerned for Jack, instead of trying to convince him to join him like he’d expected.

An approach which seemed to work, since Jack started to grin, and stood himself up straighter with a nod.

He let himself smile as held his off hand out towards the boys. Toby immediately jumped forward and wrapped his fingers around his palm, beaming up at him, and his smile stretched a touch wider at the adoration pouring off of him. He gently squeezed his fingers around Toby’s hand, just like when he’d watched over him years ago, and led him over to the door.

Deliberately meeting and keeping Toby’s gaze, he reached out and took hold of the lever, pulling on it in a way that hid the twist and button press, and was rewarded with a look of amazement and confusion when the giant door swung open. He let go and drew his sword, holding it loosely in his hand while Toby pouted at the door, before tugging him forward and into the wasteland.

It was quiet, as he’d known it would be. Most of the monsters weren’t really active until mid afternoon and into the evening, so that would help convince the two of them that there really wasn't anything worth sneaking in for, if he was lucky. He gently steered Toby to the left and up the hill, despite the way he bounced next to him, trying to see everything all at once. He both wanted to keep the boys as far away from the steep drop as possible, and also show them the view from the top of the incline.

He still remembered clearly the first time he'd seen it. A morning just like this one, cool and calm, the only sounds the water falling into the sinkhole and the wind rustling through the trees. Light danced off the broken windows of WOW Industries and the shiny dome of the old water tower in front of it, and the Desert Ruins on the horizon almost looking gold. 

It was beautiful, he was able to appreciate that now as he looked out over the view. But at seven? Listening to his mentor wax poetic about the power of nature reclaiming the land had been one of the most boring things he'd ever experienced, and it really had rid him of his drive to explore.

Glancing down at Toby, he was amused to see the look of wonder on his face as he took everything in slowly. Jack, who had been standing as close to Remy as he could manage, also seemed to appreciate the scenery, stepping forward and silently mouthing “wow”.

He let go of Toby’s hand, and the boy’s fingers clutched him tighter for a moment before he looked up, startled.

“You can look around up here if you want. But you are not to go inside the buildings, or even think about going down to the sinkhole. The edge is crumbling in places, and the sides are steep and slippery. If you fall down, you’ll be stuck until we can rescue you, which won’t be fun for any of us.”

“Aww yeah, thanks Arlo, you’re the best! C’mon Jack, let’s go.”

Something fluttered in his chest as Toby pulled away, his fingers trailing across Arlo’s palm until the last moment. It was the same warm feeling he’d always gotten whenever he’d watched over Toby years ago, before he’d joined the Corps. Taking him to the park to get him out from under Martha’s feet as she worked, hoisting him up so he could reach the apples he always wanted, carrying him home after he’d worn himself out playing in the fields. It was a feeling he hadn’t realised he’d missed.

He swung his sword idly at his side as he watched them run over to the path between the two buildings. He was fairly confident they wouldn’t find any trouble he reassured himself as they slowly approached the windows. The Corps cleared up the broken glass as soon as any of them saw one of the panes was damaged, and none of the creatures liked to stay so close to the barrier if they could help it. And even if one was inside it’d probably be asleep right now, so that meant--

“Woah, look at that slurpee, it’s huge! And the others are all so tiny!”

Arlo winced at Toby’s yell, and had stepped forward even as Toby yelped and scrambled back, dragging Jack with him and narrowly avoiding the jet of water which burst through the gap they’d been peering through.

A slurpee stomped out of the hole, eyes slitted against the midmorning light shining in its face, hissing angrily at the boys who were backing away towards the other building and away from him and Remy. The slurpee stood in the empty frame for a moment, looking back over its shoulder into the gloom, before setting its eyes on the boys again and starting after them.

He cursed under his breath as they continued to run the wrong way, heading further from him and Remy and into the open area at the other end of the path. He heard Remy muttering too as they went after them, though he did take a moment as he passed where the slurpee had emerged to quickly look inside.

Three crying babies looked back at him, huddling together as they drew away into the shadows, and he groaned, biting down another curse as the boys ran around yelling. Because of course they’d found a mother to annoy out here. 

Remy was stopped at where the area opened out, and Arlo walked over to stand next to him, confused as to why he wasn’t saving them, but a quick scan of the scene before him answered that.

The slurpee wasn’t really chasing them. She clearly knew they weren’t actually a threat to her or her young, but still wanted to make her point. Walking along after them, hissing and thumping at nowhere near her full speed, Arlo saw her deliberately look over at him and Remy as she spat water at a spot a good two foot to the left of the boys as she followed them around the tree in the middle of the clearing. She was staying far enough back that the boys could have broken off and run back to him at any point… but they were clearly too worked up to think clearly.

So instead, they were running around the area from tree to bush to long grass, screaming and yelping every time she hissed. And Arlo had to lift his hand to his face, rubbing his forehead wearily.

“Boys, come here, she won’t hurt you if you’re leaving,” he finally called out, sheathing his sword. He heard Remy huff a laugh when Jack immediately ran over, throwing himself at his friend and wrapping his arms around his middle. Toby took a moment more, skirting carefully around the monster who lazily spat at him one last time, soaking his legs. Arlo ducked down as Toby got closer to him, scooping him him with a grunt and letting him wrap his arms around his neck. He grimaced slightly as Toby’s wet shorts immediately started to dampen his jeans, but it was a small price to pay for comforting him.

“Come on, I think that’s enough fun for one day,” he soothed as he turned and started to walk back to the gate, sparing one last glance for the slurpee who was glaring at them with her arms on her hips, chittering crossly. He nodded at it, mentally calculating how long he’d need to give them before encouraging them to move out of the building, and hitching Toby up more comfortably.

“So what did you boys think? Want to come back in tomorrow if Miss Lucy is still—”

“No! No, I’m good thank you,” Jack shouted, clinging tighter to Remy’s leg and nearly tripping him over, while Toby whined and clutched at him.

Well. It wasn’t the boring nature talk he’d originally planned, but maybe today’s events would be just as effective at stopping them trying to sneak in.

Chapter Text

June 28th, Friday

"Hey Hannah, what are you doing Sunday afternoon?"

He turned around to watch her when he realised she'd stopped, and tried not to let his amusement show as her nose scrunched up, her eyes flickering from side to side as she thought. She was standing in the shade of the fountain close enough to be misted by the spray, but from the angle he stood at it looked like she was surrounded by rainbows, and it was a struggle to focus back on her face when she finally shook her head slowly before looking up at him, openly curious.

"Nothing I can think of, why's that?"

He shrugged, trying to seem nonchalant even as his heart jumped in his chest.

"I was thinking we could take Adrien and Marinette out, let them stretch their legs with a run. It's been nice lately, so maybe we could take a picnic over to the Duckpond or something?"

That was friendly, right? He used to take Nora out there, when he knew she was stressed and needed to get away for a little while. There was nothing wrong with seeing if Hannah might be interested in taking a break, spending some time with him. Maybe he'd finally work up the courage to actually talk to her about whatever was going on between them. Especially after yesterday.

"Oh. Wow, yeah, that sounds great! I'd love that!" she said, smiling brightly at him, dimples forming in her cheeks as her eyes lit up. He felt the slight tension that had crept into his shoulders drop away, and was about to ask her what food she might want when she went on.

"Nora was telling me about how you used to take her out there the other day, she'll be so happy to go again. I'll go ask her what time she'll be free right now!"

"Ah, wait-" he tried to say, but she'd already started jogging across the plaza towards the slope that led to the church, a bounce in her step that made her hair sway jauntily behind her. He sighed, lifting his hand to rub at his mouth and hopefully hide the grin that was forming despite his best efforts to not, since Sonia was openly watching him from her position by the Round Table's doors.

Ah well. He could take them both. What was the worst that could happen?

~

June 30th, Sunday

He was never going to challenge the powers of worse ever again.

A cheerful laugh and shifting pressure made him look down at Hannah as she leant further back against him, practically snuggling into his side, and he shifted his hands on the blanket behind them to make more space for her. She seemed to unconsciously move closer as she kept talking to Nora, who was sitting on the other side of the picnic blanket and listening intently while Hannah waved around her half eaten apple and recounted the epic battle between her cranky monster-chickens and her new ducklings.

This was probably a form of torture, he thought as she laughed again, her head tipping back and bumping into his shoulder. Having exactly what he wanted within reach, and not being allowed to enjoy it.

A soft snort of laughter that didn’t fit in with Hannah’s story drew his attention to Nora, who was smiling at him in a knowing and completely unapologetic way, the stinking brat. The looks she’d been giving him ever since he picked her up in Peach Plaza made it damn obvious she knew exactly what he’d been planning with Hannah, and the fact that she’d come along anyway, and kept making teasing comments in an attempt to make him blush was entirely unfair of her. He’d have to think of some way to get back at her, he decided. Maybe he could tell--

“-isn’t that right, Arlo?”

“Hmm?” he asked, switching his attention back to Hannah, which was a mistake. Because she was still leaning into him, and had tilted her head up towards him against his shoulder. Which meant she was right there. All he’d have to do is bend his head down ever so slightly, and--

“I was saying about my darlings and how they’re getting better with people. They didn’t attack you at all yesterday, did they?”

She was staring up at him, her eyes dancing with happiness. There was a fleck of apple on her lip, which was incredibly distracting for some reason.

“Ah, yeah.”

Her smile grew even wider, and then she looked towards Nora again, and the breath that had caught in his chest tried to leave his lungs all at once. He turned away to shake his head, trying to re-centre himself and ignoring Nora’s smirk as she very obviously didn’t watch him from the corner of her eye while she reached into the picnic basket.

“Here Hannah, I think Arlo might be a bit thirsty , pass him this would you?”

“Huh? Sure.”

His head snapped round to Nora and he clenched his teeth because that was low of her, but before he could object Hannah had pulled away, leaving his side feeling empty and cold, swapping her apple to her off hand so she could take the bottle from Nora. Then she was settling back against him, feeling warm and right and perfect, and looking up at him again from his shoulder with a faint blush dusting her cheeks for some reason.

Shifting himself onto the hand behind her to take it, he muttered his thanks when she unstopped it for him. He’d lifted it to his lips, because he was actually thirsty in the literal sense, only to jerk it away with a quickly silenced gasp when Hannah dropped her now free hand to his leg, and started rubbing the outside of his knee with her thumb.

Eyes sliding shut, he tried to block out the sound of her happily continuing her story about her new animals, and Nora’s stifled laughter, and instead think about reports.

Because sitting here with her curled next to him, surrounded by her laugh and scent and warmth, and unable to do or say anything about it at all because Nora was sitting right there ? That was the worst that could happen.

Chapter Text

August 4th, Sunday

Hannah grumbled and rubbed her eyes as she walked through the doors to the Corps. Not only was she going to get Arlo back for insisting on double training today because she'd missed Thursday's from cramps, cheerfully switching things up and getting her out of bed before sunrise, but making her meet him all the way up here too? When she was pretty certain he was just going to tell her they were running to the tree farm?

Yes. Payback was in order. Possibly something involving sugar and his precious noodles. 

She looked around the common area, not seeing him, and a quick glance through the door to the kitchen showed nothing either. She couldn't hear anything from the bathrooms, so where…? 

No. No, he wouldn't. 

Trying not to stomp as she crossed over to his room, she pushed the handle as gently as possible, and eased the door open to peer inside. 

Asleep. Sprawled out on his bed, one arm thrown wide, his other clutching his blanket to his chest. His shirtless chest. Which was rising and falling steadily. Because he was Still. Asleep. 

Well. She had options, she supposed. She could go in there and wake him up, get her payback now. There was a glass of water on his nightstand she could see, that would do it. 

Or she could wait out here for him to wake up by himself. If he was still asleep then it probably meant he needed it. And she could always sit at the desk and work on… Something? 

Or. Or she could keep on being creepy and stand here in his doorway watching him, she realised when he shifted, turning his face towards her and sighing deeply. 

All the tension he usually kept in his brow and shoulders simply didn't exist right now, she noted absently. He looked younger, more like his actual age than she'd ever seen him. Completely relaxed and open. Softer somehow. Still strong of course, the muscles of his arms and the little bit of chest apparent in the early morning light, but still.

She felt like she could stare all day. 

Only she couldn't, she realised as her cheeks started to burn. Because that glint just now was his eyes as he blinked at her, then stayed open as barely more than slits. 

"Hannah? What's wrong? Why're you-" 

Cutting himself off with a jaw popping yawn as he pushed himself up, she dragged her eyes away from his chest as the blanket fell down to pool in his lap. He was rubbing at his eye, mouth slowly closing and scrunching up his nose, and yet he somehow still looked stupidly amazing.

"Hey, sorry,” she whispered, starting to pull the door back to. “Nothing's wrong. Go back to sleep."

"What? No, I mean… Shit. Training. I'm sorry. Gimme a minute and I'll-" 

She yelped and turned away, pulling the door closed and cutting him off before she saw more of his bare thighs emerging from the side of the bed than she could take. As much as she wanted to know if he was a boxers or briefs guy, she shouldn't find out like this. Leaning her shoulder against the wall next to his bedroom door, she rubbed her hands over her burning cheeks. 

Oh boy. Today was going to be a looooooong day. 

Chapter Text

August 16th, Friday

“Ok! So each steel shell needs one steel plate, one steel frame, and a welding rod, and I’m making five so that’s five steel plates total.”

Hannah drew a long line down the side of the page next to her other notes then scribbled the numbers down as neatly as she could. She vaguely heard someone saying her name, but she was in the zone right now, so started talking a little louder, hoping whoever it was would take the hint.

“So that’s five steel plates, which are three steel bars per plate, so total of fifteen bars. Plus the, the, the twenty five bars for the steel frames makes--”

Movement at the edge of her vision as someone stopped there had her bending over, ducking her head down so the back wall of the bench hid them from view.

“Forty steel bars,” she said more firmly, screwing her eyes shut as she tried to keep her train of thought going long enough to finish it before her brain switched focus to whoever had not taken the hint. 

“Forty steel bars for the shells plus the thirty I want as spare with each needing a ratio of five iron to one charcoal, means I need, I need. I have a chest full of charcoal over by the stable, so that means I need to put in another yes I know you’re standing there waiting for me but I’m trying to number right now so you can--Freaking frog fish flippers, what ?”

Slamming her hands down on the worktable with a low growl and making the little things dotted around it jump, she forced her eyes open to half heartedly glare up at Arlo. He was standing with his arms folded, far enough back that if he were anyone else he wouldn’t have even registered to her while she worked. But like always, he was an annoyingly solid presence in her peripheral that she simply couldn’t ignore.

Her eyes scanned over him, taking in his stiff stance and blank Captain face before meeting his gaze, and the tension in her shoulders from thinking he was here because something was wrong instantly drained away again at the warm, amused sparkle she found. By Peach, she would stare at his eyes for hours if she thought she could get away with it.

“You only need to start two furnaces going on charcoal, not the four you were planning,” he started, sounding overly amused, and she bristled at his tone. “Because you’ve forgotten about the extra box from two weeks ago over by the coop, and the four spare steel plates you made last week and stored in your hayloft.”

She opened her mouth to argue simply on principle, but nothing came out. Because yes. Yes she had. Pursing her lips as she quickly scribbled down a note to herself about the furnaces, and doing a proper inventory of the hayloft at some point, she fought the urge to grumble at him for sounding so damn smug, since he had just saved her a huge chunk of time and energy. Looking back up at him however, trying to think of how she could try to flirt with him today, made her flinch slightly. Because there was someone standing next to him and peach sucking panbats, how long had they been there?

Strong. That was the first thing that crossed her mind as she looked at the woman, even before any details about her registered. Whoever this was, she was strong.

Though not much taller than herself, whoever it was exuded even more strength and self confidence than Arlo, which was impressive indeed. Short hair with streaks of playful colour on one side, and wearing a single huge earring. A bright purple top that Hannah had to stop looking at because wow , sensible jeans, and a very pastel pink jacket tied around her waist to seperate them. She let her eyes flick down, almost expecting maybe lime green shoes, given her other bold colour choices, but instead found the most gorgeous boots she’d ever seen.

Knee high with little buttons along the outsides, which looked incredibly sturdy while also impossibly soft. The actual shoe parts might be leather, but the extended legs definitely weren’t. Possibly suede, she’d guess from the muted colour and texture? But then fabrics weren’t her strong suit. Well whatever they were made of, she wanted a pair.

“Hannah, this is Inspector Mali of the Flying Pigs. She’s got a job for you, if you’ve got the time?”

Her eyes snapped up to Mali’s amused and curious face and she felt herself pale because sun baked spaders, shit . An inspector from the Flying Pigs had just watched her completely ignore Arlo trying to get her attention while she failed to remember what supplies she had, and then get distracted staring at her footwear.

As first impressions went, it was terrible . And it probably reflected poorly on Arlo too, given how she’d been trying to ignore him then snapping like she had. Didn’t really show him as a respected member of the Corps, even though he truly was. She had to salvage this somehow, because she was not going to be the reason he lost face with someone so important to him and his dreams! She straightened, quickly rubbing her dusty hands over her shorts before sticking one out to the other woman, pasting a polite smile on her lips.

“Of course Miss Inspector Ma’am. How can I be of assistance?”

Blinking at her slowly, Mali’s lips twitched up into a smile as she reached out to shake. Firm grip, just like she’d expected, but she met it well enough going by the new twinkle in her red eyes.

“Just Mali is fine. Have you heard about the problem with the tunnel leading to Walnut Groove?” She paused while Hannah nodded slowly, because yes, she’d heard something was wrong, but not the details. “There’s water leaking through the roof here at the Portia end, which is affecting the lighting and ventilation systems inside. It roughly matches up to where the hot spring is, and I’ve already been up there to check. I can see something that looks vaguely promising for the cause in the left side of the rock wall, but I can’t get to it because it’s half submerged. Arlo told me you made the water pump that’s already at the spring?”

Hannah nodded again, starting to see where this was going and already running through what materials she had laying around, her hand dropping from Mali’s so her fingers could tap against the worktable.

“Excellent. In that case I’d like you to make me one. I’ll section off the left side of the spring and pump the water over so I can--”

“That won’t work. Oh, sorry Inspector Ma’am,” she rushed to correct herself when Mali tilted her head, brows raised in question. “I mean, pumping it to the other side of whatever you section it off with will be problematic. You’d need to make sure that whatever you used as a barrier was sturdy enough to withstand that added volume of water, and was tall enough to then deal with the increased waterline, which would probably cause damage to the other cliff faces and building foundations. Plus if it rises as much as I’m thinking it would then it’d end up flooding the building, which would cause a whole slew of other problems in the future. It’d be much better to pump it into storage tanks, like what I’ve got there next to my stable, set up on the ridge.”

She trailed off, staring blindly over Mali’s shoulder as she made a few sloppy guestimations.

“Twelve water tanks maybe? Possibly thirteen. Depends on where along the sandbar you set up the barrier I suppose and how far down the crack goes. If it’s the same crack I’m thinking of I mean. But then I’ve got everything I need for a water tower too which holds about a tank and a half so if I finish making that then I can call it twelve and still have a bit of leeway, and if I’m wrong then it won’t take too long to make another one, so--”

A quiet chuckle cut through her thoughts, and she winced as she realised what she’d done. She really wasn’t making Mali’s impression of her any better.

“No no, I’m sorry for laughing. A pump and thirteen water tanks sounds perfect. How soon can you have them set up for me?”

“Oh.” Blinking, started by the abruptness of the decision, she glanced at Arlo for a hint of if this was a good sign or not, and found him staring at her with unguarded hope in his eyes. And pecking pinecocks, did he have to look at her like that? Like he believed in her, like he had complete faith in her ability to do whatever Mali wanted perfectly.

Damn him and the stupid warm fuzzy feeling he was sparking in her chest by looking at her like that. Because this was more than she’d been planning on taking on this weekend. She’d been looking forwards to a chance to restock her supplies and build some of the more tedious components she needed for larger projects, but, well.

When he looked at her like that, how could she possibly let him down?

“If I start right now, then I should have everything made and ready to go up there by,” she started slowly before stopping, letting her eyes wander while she worked out how long each step took, and what could be doubled up, before meeting Mali’s gaze head on and continuing more firmly. “By Monday. And then if someone else has set up whatever barrier you’re thinking of, then I can start draining the water straight away and it’ll be clear for you by late Tuesday? No, I’ll say Wednesday, to be safe. If that’s ok?”

“That sounds wonderful. I’ll leave you to it then. Thank you Hannah.”

Hannah nodded, lifting her hand to give a small wave while Mali turned towards the west gate and walked away. She glanced at Arlo when she noticed him watching her, and tried to look casual as she leant against the edge of her worktable.

He was smiling. An actual, real, full smile, with his wonderful dancing eyes looking at her with warmth and gratitude, and she was so caught up with them she almost missed him silently mouthing “thank you” at her.

Nodding again, she kept watching as he turned away and started to jog after Mali, who was waiting for him in the gate’s shadow with a curious look on her face, and slowly let more and more of her weight rest on the edge of her table until he’d disappeared from view, before slumping completely.

By Peach. His smile would be the end of her.

Sighing wistfully, she made herself stand up again, then walked around to pull the special drawer open and start flipping through blueprints. Autopump, autopump, wherefore art thou autopump and aah, there it was! And then the water storage was… there.

She carefully pinned both blueprints on the back wall of the worktable, then grabbed the paper from before to scribble another note about organising her blueprints underneath the one about doing inventory and pinned that up too before pulling the waterproof cover over them. Sliding a fresh sheet from the little organising tray Arlo had bought her, she quickly began to note down what she needed for the pump. Large pipes, aluminum plates, a control panel, and oooooh. One of the big engines. She definitely didn’t have that. So that was a trip to the harbour for her before it closed today...

She vaguely registered warmth along her left side, and finished writing before glancing up at Oaks standing practically on top of her, peering down at her notes with interest. She shifted the paper over slightly so he could see, and watched with amusement when his nose scrunched up in thought.

“Huh, looks complicated. Are you sure you can get it all done by yourself in time?”

“Huh? Er, maybe. Well.” She stopped, thinking about what he said and quickly rolling an idea around in her head. Oaks knew how to use most of her equipment well enough at this point, and had shown a real knack for putting together some of the smaller things she was going to need to make.

“Oaks,” she drew out sweetly, turning to face him properly and grinning into his knowing face as the edges of his lips twitched, as if he were fighting to stop them from curling up properly.

“What’s in it for me?” he asked dryly while glaring at her playfully. As if they didn’t both already know he was going to help his Little Cub with whatever she needed regardless of what she offered him.

“Hmmm, three jars of Royal Honey for you to give to Papa, whatever you want every day from Django, and,” she ticked off on her fingers before pausing, wracking her brain to think of something to wipe his annoying little smirk he’d given in to back off his lips. “And I’ll ‘forget’ to show up the next time I’m meant to hang out with you and Emily?”

The smirk instantly vanished, and he perked up hopefully.

“Will you really? Well ok then. What do you need me to do?”

She scoffed, leaning back slightly and giving him a quick once over.

“Well first of all, I need you to tell me why you’re covered in sawdust and straw. You said you’d clean their stalls for me, not try to hibernate.”

“Adrien wanted to play,” he answered simply, standing still and allowing her to brush the worst of the mess from his bear cloak. “What now?”

“Now?” She allowed a smirk to stretch across her lips. “Now I need you to take Adrien and pop down to the harbour for me and buy an engine. Then head over to Emily’s and ask if she and her cart will be free on Sunday to help us take things up to the spring. After that, I’d like you to...”

August 19th, Monday

“Really? You don’t even want to try? I’ve done it a couple of times now, it’s perfectly safe and loads of fun.”

“No, I don’t. If humans were meant to fly they’d have actual wings, not Hot Air Balloons.” Oaks stopped talking to bang something with his hammer a few times, before huffing and continuing. “It’s not that I don’t trust your work, because you know I do. I just want my feet to stay firmly on the ground, thank you.”

Hannah sighed, dropping her own hammer to shift the knot of her swimsuit’s neck band again. She was going to need to beg some more lotion off Emily to deal with the sunburn she was getting from working up here in her swimsuit. Being in the water often enough to have to wear it, but not enough to get out of the sun or cool off, was making her feel like she was slowly cooking. And then she thought, a smile playing on her lips, she could send Emily Oaks’ way too. He was catching even more sun than she was since he’d taken off his cloak when it got soaked. Pushing herself up with a groan, she checked the water level in the currently filling tank and nodded to herself.

“I still think you should give it a shot, since Emily sounded interested when I mentioned it, but whatever.”

The overly dramatic sigh he let out made her think he was rolling his eyes at her, and a quick peek around the other side of the pump where he was setting out the pieces for the next tank frame showed her to be right. Biting down her chuckle, she reached out for the ladder, intending to climb up to be ready to turn the water off at the last moment to maximise storage, and hopefully not soak the ground this time. Only the back of her hand collided with it sooner than she’d expected.

"Panbat poop," she swore, grabbing at the ladder as it tipped backwards towards the edge of the ridge as she stumbled on the wet ground. Dropping to her knees for safety, given how close to the edge she was, she lurched forward, reaching out desperately. But she could only watch helplessly as she ended up on her stomach while her fingers barely brushed the last rung before it slipped completely out of reach, and turned her face away when the splash from it hitting the water splattered her. Damn. Pushing herself back up, she clambered to the tank and checked the view port, and winced, because shit, she needed to turn the pump off now . "Oaks!"

"What happened? Are you ok?"

He appeared around the side of the water pump almost instantly, face set in a concerned frown as he skidded to a stop, having obviously already been coming when she called.

“No! I need to get up there and turn the pump off but the ladder’s in the spring.”

After taking a second to blink at her, then look around, Oaks nodded and turned to lean back against the pump, linking his hands in front of him and looking at her expectantly.

“C’mon then, up you go.”

Staring at him for a moment, trying to ignore the stray thought of how badly will Arlo yell at me if he finds out I climbed up Oaks while we’re both wet and slippery , she shook her head as she decided what he doesn’t know can’t hurt him , then grinned at her friend.

“You are the best Oaks!”

She stepped forward and set her left foot in his hands, then pulled herself up by his shoulder, trying not to yelp when he started to lift her before she was stable. She wobbled slightly as she waited for him to finish straightening, setting his shoulders back against the metal, then tried to stand up.

The rough calluses on his palms and fingers itched at the bottom of her bare foot, and pulled at her concentration when she tried to rise, as did the way his hands trembled from the strain of holding her up. And the way his breath puffed out over her stomach, and then her hip through her damp swimming shorts, was also distracting in a ticklish sort of way as she stretched and reached up for the power switch. 

“Little higher?” she asked, trying to ignore the feeling and focus on her task as her fingers only just brushed the edge of the switch, not quite managing to press it.

“I really can’t,” Oaks grunted, sounding strained.

“Oaks, please ,” she whined, fingers scrambling against the panel but not making any more progress up it. “I can’t reach and it’s going to spill!”

“Go ahead and climb on my shoulders already then!”

“Ah, yeah. Shift me to the side, yeah, that’s it, perfect.”

She brought her knee up, waiting until he’d tilted his head as far out of the way as possible before setting it on his right shoulder, then bouncing herself up with a huff. His hands immediately left her foot to reach up and hold her legs around her knees, grunting as he steadied her when she wobbled again, her left leg kicking out at nothing. And then she felt him stagger slightly under her, his head knocking into the outside of her thigh and brushing his hair over her skin just as the sound of the water changed, and a quick glance showed it bubbling up to start overflowing the tank.

Swearing quietly, she slapped her hand at the control until her fingers finally made contact with the switch, flicking it off. She allowed herself to let out a long, slow sigh as the pump's background gurgles petered out, making Oaks’ heavy breathing seem all the louder in the ensuing silence.

“You ok there?”

“Yeah, yeah I’m fine. Wouldn’t object to you getting off now though.”

“Aha, yeah, sure. Erm. How?”

A quick glance down at the floor showed water trickling over and around Oaks feet on its way back to the spring. The rocky ground was soaked, and given how little space there was between them and the edge of the cliff, she couldn’t risk simply jumping down.

“If I brace my arm you can stand on-”

“Please don’t let go of my legs. I’m really not feeling all that stable right now.”

“Hannah?”

Hannah squeaked as Mali’s voice sounded behind her, and she had already half turned before she remembered that she probably shouldn’t, and squealed as she completely lost her balance.

Her knee slipped off his shoulder to the side and she grabbed out for something to hold onto to save herself, but there wasn’t anything. She screwed her eyes shut, knowing she was about to get seriously hurt since she didn’t have enough time to fall like she’d been taught. But instead of hitting the hard, wet ground, an arm wrapped around the back of her shoulders, and another under her thighs, and she was pulled against a warm chest as a muted thud jolted her whole body.

Eyes popping open again, she looked up to find Oaks peering down at her, a mix of concern and pain playing across his face. He was sat against the auto pump, and she was practically curled in his lap, his arms firmly around her.

“Sorry. I tried to catch you but you fell weird. Are you ok?”

“Yes,” Mali agreed with Oaks, sounding concerned. “That could have been nasty, are you hurt?”

Glancing behind her showed Mali walking across the clearing towards them from between two of the tanks, and Hannah forced a laugh as she pulled herself back to her feet. Because slow gooey trails, this was not helping her attempts to make Mali think she was a professional!

“Mali! Hi! Er, yes, fine, everything here is just fine, nothing to worry about. How about you Oa-EEE!”

Hopping backwards on one foot with her arms windmilling for balance, Hannah felt slightly justified that she hadn't jumped down when she slipped on the wet floor, but then she was falling again. Oaks let out an ouff as his arms wrapped around her from behind when she fell back on him, before a loud thunk rang out and he hissed in pain.

“Shit! I’m so sorry Oaks, are you ok?”

“I, yeah, I think. Oww.”

Her attempts to twist round and check on Oaks were stopped by his arm around her chest, and then by his head falling forward to her shoulder. She turned hers as far as she could, her nose brushing against his cheek while he whined quietly, and she lifted her hands to rub over his forearm. Sudden movement at the edge of her vision was Mali settling into a crouch next to them, reaching towards Oaks. And over Mali’s shoulder…

Arlo was jumping off Spacer at the top of the ridge where the line of tanks started, then skirting around the wooden supports with his eyes fixed on her and face blank in a way that made her want to shrink down and hide. She tugged at Oaks' arms, and scrambled to her knees when he finally let go, only to freeze when Arlo skidded to a stop right next to her, and fell to his own knees in front of her.

She barely had time to take in his set jaw, narrowed eyes, and the little frown between his brows which betrayed how unhappy he truly was before his hands were on her face. Tilting her head from side to side then up and down, fingers moving gently but firmly around her skull. His heavy breathing sounded even louder than Oaks behind her, which it shouldn’t because it hadn’t looked like he’d really moved that fast to get over here.

“Arlo?” she asked when his hands dropped to her neck, then along the backs of her shoulders and down to her arms, a little puzzled by his behaviour. She’d been expecting anger and lectures. Not, whatever this was.

“Are you hurt? Did you hit anything when you fell?”

“Ah, no, Oaks caught me. I’m fine, really.”

He let out a slow, controlled breath, his hands skirting back up to her face. His fingers ghosted over her cheeks as they made their way into her hair, and he tugged her forward until their foreheads touched. She watched as his eyes fluttered shut, and had to fight the urge to do the same as she reached up to wrap her fingers around his forearms.

“What have I told you about climbing things other than ladders, you panbat brained numpty?” he asked, low and husky and strained, no more than a breath really that barely reached her ears, and a shiver raced up her spine because shit. That voice, filled with all that emotion, so close to her face.

“That I shouldn’t do it without someone to watch my back?” she murmured back, stroking along the solid muscles of his arms, hoping to comfort him. Because shit, he’d seen everything then. He huffed a small, quiet laugh, his nose pressing into hers as his head shifted, and then the warmth vanished when Mali spoke behind her and he jerked back.

“Well, nothing seems to be broken or bruised, though your back looks a little scraped, so I’d say you got off lucky young man. Now, do either of you want to explain to me what I just saw?”

Hannah blinked when Arlo yanked his hands away from hers, slipping through her grip when she tried to hold onto his fingers, and she watched as he turned his head and coughed, a faint blush starting to dust his cheeks.

Oh. Right. Other people were around. Had to keep up appearances.

Sighing silently, she turned round to look at Oaks, who was sitting back against the pump again, his hand on the back of his head and looking at her expectantly. She tried to ask with her eyes if he had any ideas of what they could tell Mali, since she was probably even more concerned with safety than Arlo was, and she was blanking on how to get out of this while still seeming even slightly professional to her.

"That depends on what you saw?" she asked, hoping to buy them some time, and bit her lip when she saw Oaks wince, and heard Arlo grumble loudly behind her.

Mali stared at her flatly for a moment, before shaking her head with a chuckle, and opened her mouth to probably start lecturing them, but Oaks piped up before she could.

“Hannah knocked the ladder in the hot spring, and we needed to turn the pump off before it flooded the ridge and made our footing worse. Arlo's always said safety first, so I thought that turning it off and stopping future problems was more important in the long run than being a little dangerous climbing up like she did.”

Huh. Hannah blinked a few times at Oaks, who was looking at Mali with a completely straight face, and then Mali who was eyeing him back with what might have been an amused smirk on her lips. She was going to buy Oaks his favourite foods every day for a month for that, and definitely try harder to get Sonia and Antoine to stop teasing him so much about Emily. Not only had he saved her from making herself look even worse to Mali, but he'd snuck in a compliment to Arlo too.

"Safety first, hmm?"

"Oh yes!" Hannah jumped in, eager to use the opportunity Oaks had given her to try and fix any damage her actions had caused to Arlo’s standing in Mali's eyes. "Arlo's real big on protecting everyone he can, and keeping people safe. He does an amazing job of it too. Always telling us how to look after ourselves, and teaching us defensive techniques. He recently taught me how to climb and fall properly too.”

She trailed off into silence, hunching down under Mali’s indecipherable stare when she heard Arlo sigh again, and started to rub at her arm. She couldn’t really tell if this was going well or not, and stinking slurpees, she could only hope at this point that she wasn’t ruining things for him. She’d never forgive herself if she messed up his shot of following his dream.

“Well. That’s something at least. I’m glad to hear Arlo is such a dependable and hardworking Captain.”

“Yeah, he really is! He’s always telling us how we can do better and what to look out for. He's always patrolling, fighting monsters, finding ways to make things better for everyone in town-”

“Hannah,” Arlo interrupted in a strained voice, one of his hands landing heavily on her shoulder. She turned to look at him, concerned, and found him looking anywhere but at her as he pushed himself to his feet, his cheeks now a bright pink colour. “That’s enough. Just. Just go get the ladder so you can start the next tank, ok?”

"Oh, right. The ladder," she agreed, scrambling to her feet. She smiled without looking at Arlo when he steadied her when her feet slipped again, before skirting around him with her head down, not wanting to see just how badly she'd embarrassed him as she headed down the ridge.

Chapter Text

September 15th, Sunday

Arlo whistled to himself as he walked across the Plaza to the Round Table. As birthdays went, today wasn’t shaping up too badly.

Sam and Remy had both given him gifts when they saw him that morning. A bottle of weapon cleaner and a new boot knife. Good, practical things he’d been thinking of getting for himself anyway, which was nice. And now he was on his way to meet Nora for lunch, since she hadn’t been able to see him yet due to Church, and had sent a note to him with Toby. Toby who had come running into the Corps building and thrown himself at him for a hug, and then gave him a handmade birthday card. 

And maybe he’d go see Hannah, he allowed himself to think as he pushed the door open. He hadn’t seen her in a few days since they’d both been busy, him investigating strange behaviour in the wasteland and then a mountain of paperwork yesterday, and her working on something big she wouldn’t let him see. He could stop by at some point this afternoon for a chat at the very least and--

“Surprise!”

He looked up, startled, as people called out. Nora, Sam, Remy, Gale, Matha, and Toby were all gathered by one of the tables in the fenced off area, wearing little party hats and smiling at him brightly. There was balloons tied to the backs of the chairs, and along the railing, and he could see several wrapped presents in front of people on the table. He shook his head and walked over to them.

They’d left a seat for him along the railing between Remy and Sam, and he eyed them all with exaggerated wariness as Sam stood up for him, and he stepped past Gale standing at the end of the table and slid onto the bench, feeling his lips start to twitch.

“It is indeed,” he allowed, looking over them all. “I honestly didn’t pick up on anything from any of you about this.”

“That’s because she only told us last night to be here for now,” Toby piped up, standing up and pushing his chair back to bounce in place while grinning at him. 

She? He glanced at Nora, who was on the other side of the table next to Toby and was smiling at him in her more subdued way, and he blinked at how reserved she appeared until he noticed how much her eyes were sparkling with amusement. She shook her head at him, biting her lip, so he turned to look at Sam, who was grinning widely and also shaking her head. So it wasn’t either of them, and Toby wouldn’t call his mother “she”, so who--

“Happy Birthday Arlo!” he heard just as arms wrapped around his shoulders from behind, and he felt a cheek press against his own. Ah. Hannah. She let go of him quickly and pushed herself up using his shoulders, and he glanced back at her to see her leaning on the railing and grinning down at him. He was about to grin back up at her, before remembering everyone else around the table, and damn. Because he’d almost been tempted to reach back and pull her arms around his shoulders again, allow himself to indulge in a hug from her as a birthday gift to himself.

Maybe even ask for a birthday kiss. Just on the cheek of course.

She pulled away and walked around the barrier, making her way to the empty seat at the end of the table next to Nora, and he watched as she put a long bulkily wrapped package on the floor next to her, leaning it against the table. But then Sam was leaning on the table and grinning, holding out a small wrapped box to him.

“Here Arlo, your actual present. Because you didn’t honestly think what I gave you earlier was it, did you?”

He blinked at her as he took it, because yes actually, he had. He slid his fingers under the edge of the paper and pulled it back to reveal a new Flying Pigs multi-function knife.

“It’s from the both of us actually,” Remy said from his other side, clapping a hand to his shoulder. “Your old one looked to be falling apart, and I know the magnifying glass fell off ages ago.”

He nodded mutely, touched. Because he hadn’t thought they’d noticed, or would have had time to send off for a new one for him.

“Us next!” Toby piped up, spinning around to Martha who laughed indulgently as she handed him a fairly large and heavy looking parcel, judging from the way he struggled to hold it across the table to him. He took it from him, allowing himself to smile kindly at the boy who grinned all the wider at him, and set it on the table to open.

A brand new arm stretcher, still shiny and oiled with tightly coiled springs. Which was great, given how his old one was wearing out and he’d been thinking about commissioning a new one soon.

“Here you go my boy, just a little something I thought you might find useful,” Gale said, passing over a lumpy package which flopped over his hands. Slightly concerned, since Gale had given him some truly odd things over the years, he pulled the paper open to find three new belt pouches, along with a new belt. Which was brilliant actually, since one of his pouches had ripped the other week and Carol had said it was beyond repair.

“Happy birthday Arlo, I hope you like it,” Nora said, standing up to lift something off the floor behind her, and it was a power lamp. A power lamp that at first glance wasn’t missing any pieces, and he watched in amazement as Nora reached down and flicked a switch and it actually turned on! He’d never seen one that turned on before, most of them having their circuitry corroded from being underground for so long. And he didn’t know Nora went ruin diving, so how in Peach’s name had she…

His eyes slid to Hannah. Sitting at the end of the table quietly, watching him with a wide smile and soft expression. Hannah who he’d mentioned his knife to, and had been there when his belt pouch ripped, and had told him not to commission a new arm stretcher since his one still looked to be good for a few more weeks at least. 

Hannah who was now lifting up the long package and passing it across to Remy to pass to him, and he remembered again how she’d been too busy to see him for the last few days.

He looked at the package, then back to her. Her grin turned mischievous, as if she knew he’d worked it out by now, but she was utterly unrepentant about any of it. She just flicked her fingers at the present in front of him before leaning her chin on her hand. He faintly heard chuckles from the adults as he slowly reached forward and started to unwrap it, and then a low “ooh” of amazement from Toby and an impressed hum from Remy as the wrapping fell away to reveal a sword.

It was dull grey and looked the perfect length for him, with a shiny silver cutting edge that had a protective rubber cover from hilt to tip right now. The handle was wrapped in leather with small dots of rubber spread about for grip. He ran a finger along the side of the blade, and hummed. It felt different somehow to the iron sword he had already, but he wasn’t quite sure why.

He looked up at her again, brows raised in question, and she dropped her eyes to the weapon, arms crossing on the table in front of her.

“Carbon steel. Should be stronger than iron. It cut better than both the bronze and iron ones I made at any rate, and Django said it was good enough to use.”

“Yep, it certainly is a fine blade. I’d be honoured to be given a sword like this one,” the restaurant owner said from behind him, making him jump since he hadn’t heard him approach. He was holding a large tray, and he could just see a candle flame on top of it and he groaned. Because they all knew he didn’t like cake, so why would they--

He stared at it as Django set it on the table. Because that? That was not a cake.

At best guess he’d say it was bread. A plate sized round loaf of bread that had been flipped over so the flat bottom was now the top, and someone had written “Happy Birthday” on it with a red sauce. Red sauce that he could see small flecks in.

Everyone was chuckling happily, and all smiling as if they were in on a joke when he looked around, which didn’t make him feel any better at all as Django held out a large knife to him and stepped back to stand next to Gale, who had covered his mouth with his hand.

Remy was moving his new sword out of the way as Sam gathered up his other gifts, and he reached out to pull his “cake” closer, then pressed the knife into the top. There was resistance from the crust, but then when he broke through that the knife sunk into a soft squishyness that surprised him. And when he pulled the knife back to make the cut bigger, it was covered in red sauce?

He made quick work of the first cut, and then twisted the plate round slightly to make the second, intrigued despite himself. Because what had they even done?

When he finished the second cut and slid the knife underneath it like with a normal slice of cake and pulled it back, he let out a small noise of surprise when noodles and sauce spilled out of the gap, and he was left with a hollowed out triangle section of bread.

Everyone chuckled, and he soon joined in. Because he had to admit that this was certainly different!

“I made the spaghetti extra spicy for you today,” Django said as he put a few plates on the table, grinning before stepping back and started to walk away, patting him on the shoulder as he passed. “I’ll bring some milk out for you in a minute, just in case. Happy Birthday Captain.”

“Ah, thank you,” he called, watching him walk back to the counter, then he turned to look at everyone around the table. “And thank you everyone. I wasn’t expecting anything like this, so…” He trailed off, not sure what to say.

“Think nothing of it my boy. I hope you enjoy the rest of your day. But I must be off now, I need to finish writing some reports. Goodbye now everyone.”

He nodded at Gale as he left and the others called out to him, then grabbed one of the plates and scooped some of the spaghetti onto it, along with the piece of bread that had covered it.

“So, who wants to share some of my cake with me?”

Sam and Martha immediately leaned back from the table while laughing at the same time that Toby jumped up on his chair again. Nora hummed, eyeing the spaghetti warily.

“Can I try a little of your sauce first? While I like spaghetti, I’m not sure I like the sound of Django making it extra spicy.”

“Of course,” he said, moving his plate closer to her, and she ran her finger through a splatter of sauce at the edge of the plate before licking her finger and immediately squeaking, reaching for her glass of water on the table.

He blinked, because it couldn’t be that bad, could it? He ran his own finger through the sauce and wow, that did have some kick.

“Toby, pass me your fork. I think you should try this before I give you a plateful,” he warned, knowing the boy liked to copy him when he had the chance to, but also knowing this might be too much for him. He ignored Toby’s pout as he dipped the fork into it, barely coating the tines, before passing it back over, and watching carefully as Toby bravely stuck it in his mouth. He licked his lips with a look of intense concentration as he pulled the fork back out, before colour started to rise in his cheeks and he scrambled for his own glass.

“I thought so. Remy? Hannah? You want some?”

“Ah, not right now, I have to get back to patrolling. Bring whatever doesn’t get eaten back up to the Corps though, and I’ll help you finish it off tonight.”

He nodded at his friend as he stood up and made his way round the table, clapping Hannah on the shoulder as he passed and nodding to Martha as she refilled Toby’s glass.

“I need to head off as well, but have fun with your cake,” Sam chuckled, punching his shoulder lightly as she stood up. “You coming Nora?”

“Ah, yes. Sorry Arlo, but I need to head back up to the Church for the afternoon service. I hope you enjoy the rest of your birthday.”

“Thank you,” he said sincerely as he watched the two women leave the restaurant, and turned back to the people who were left. Toby was gulping another glass of water while Martha stroked his hair, but she was looking at him with a soft, motherly expression. He felt like the small child he’d been when he first came to Portia all over again, when he’d moved his small bag of things into her and Tobias’ spare room.

He looked away from her at Hannah, who had moved round the table to where Remy had sat and reached out to run her finger through the sauce on his plate, and was sucking the end of her finger looking thoughtful.

“Hmm, this is really good. I’ll have some, if that’s ok?”

He nodded, trying to tear his eyes away from her finger between her lips as he swallowed, and only managed it when Martha laughed lightly on the other side of the table.

“I think Toby and I are going to go find Django and see if he can find something to help his taste buds. I hope you enjoy the rest of your birthday sweetheart.”

“Thank you Martha,” he acknowledged, ducking his head when she reached over to smooth  his hair just like she had been with Toby. He listened to them leave and head over to the counter as his eyes skittered back to Hannah, who was watching him softly again.

“Thank you for setting this up for me,” he murmured quietly, finally allowing a grin to form on his lips. “I really, I appreciate all the effort it must have been.”

“Don’t be dumb Arlo, it was no effort at all to make sure you had a good day,” she said primly, rolling her eyes before taking the knife from his hand and pulling his cake towards her. “I’m just glad everything worked out ok. I wasn’t sure how this would turn out, but Martha always does excellent work so I really shouldn’t have doubted her.”

He leaned back and laughed as she sliced herself a piece of bread and scooped the spaghetti onto a plate, grabbing a fork and digging in. She waved her fork at him while her mouth was full, and he shook his head as he picked up his own and spun it in the pasta. It was utterly amazing. He’d have to ask Django what he’d added to it to give it that extra kick.

“I’ve got another gift for you, that I couldn’t really bring along,” Hannah said quietly after he’d cleared his plate and was mopping up sauce with the last of his bread. “If you’re free later, you could come round to mine and, erm, get it?”

She reached across the space between them to settle her hand on his back, smoothing it up across his shoulder blade to settle against his neck, her thumb stroking soothing patterns against the skin of his throat.

He looked at her, startled, taking in her lowered lashes and the way she bit her lip, because what could she…

His mind trailed off as flashes of memories played through his head. Her at the beach, smiling at him while they drank, and then showing off her swimsuit as she posed. Everything that had happened with that conversation about their shared preferences. The flirty comments she’d made when he helped her bring her bed home. The way she’d looked at him while eating that cream puff. The way she’d always been so relaxed around him, so willing to drape herself over him and touch him...

All those memories, plus the way she was looking at him now, a blush spreading across her cheeks as she waited for him to answer. Did she mean...? Was she saying…?

“I, er,” he coughed, setting the plate on the table but keeping his hands on it, his eyes locked on her face. “Yeah. What time?”

Chapter Text

September 25th, Wednesday

Hannah leant back on the couch of the common area, half listening and watching intently as Arlo methodically punched the training dummy. Sam could keep taking as long as she wanted putting away equipment, she thought. She was quite happy to sit here and watch Arlo’s "quick demonstration on different fighting techniques" that he'd offered while she waited. 

He’d taken off his jacket and jeans due to the muggy heat from the impending thunderstorm, so was standing there in just a t-shirt and shorts. He was talking about working various muscle groups, keeping certain ones tense, and foot placement. So he had practically told her to watch how the muscles in his back moved as he danced around and jabbed, and her fingers itched to be able to touch them again. And his legs! They were beautiful, all sculptured and firm looking! Yes, she had to pay close attention to his legs to get his foot placement down!

The back of the couch bounced as someone leaned over it, and she glanced up as an arm was slung around her shoulders to find Sam grinning widely, wiggling her eyebrows. She felt the start of a blush forming, but held her stare anyway. It wasn’t exactly a secret between her and Sam and Nora that she liked Arlo, or had been trying to flirt with him lately, so why should she be embarrassed to be caught staring?

Sam snorted, and the sound of punching stopped for a moment, Arlo calling out to Sam who just waved him off without looking at him. She heard him grumble something about interrupting his demonstration, and then a playful jibe about not taking too long at lunch, she had a patrol in the wasteland later. He called bye to her, and she waved a hand at him without looking away from Sam’s smug face, before the punching started again.

Sam let go and tapped her shoulder, tilting her head towards the door. Hannah sighed, taking one last look at the perfection that was Arlo mid workout, before following her friend across the open space and out the front door.

“Hmm, sorry to take you away from your show, but he is right that I only have a limited amount of time,” Sam said happily, slinging her arm back around Hannah’s shoulders and leading her around to the stable. Hannah tugged Marinette’s rein free and mounted up, taking her foot out of the stirrup and holding her arm out to Sam so she could swing into place behind her.

“It’s fine,” Hannah sighed with a shrug, tugging the reins and starting Marinette across the open area and to the start of the twisty slope downhill. Sam’s arms wrapped around her waist and her chin rested on her shoulder, rubbing her face against Hannah’s and making her smile. She loved that her friends were willing to indulge her need for physical affection so freely. Especially Oaks, who had a slightly skewed idea of what personal space was anyway, having been raised by a bear and all.

“I’m sure I can catch him training again before the weather turns and he goes back to wearing more layers. Or I can always ‘accidentally’ break the thermostat and make the building a sauna…”

She trailed off, letting Marinette take them down the switchback path as her mind filled with mental images of Arlo working out in heat like that. Sweat beading on his head, darkening his hair, a drop running down the side of his face which he’d wipe away with the back of his hand as he looked at her. He’d take his top off because of the heat, and it was all too easy to imagine just how good he'd look like that...

Sam’s laugh broke through her fantasy, and her fingers squeezed against her stomach.

“Easy there kid, I can practically see the steam coming out your ears. Though I’m not sure Remy would thank you if you did try that. He lives there as well, remember?”

… yes. Yes he did. But then, Sam had a couch he could sleep on for a few days while she pulled this off, right…? Allow him to escape the heat, while Arlo would stay behind in the Corps building in case of emergencies?

This was starting to seem more and more like an idea.

Sam laughed again, tugging her hands to pull the reins and guide Marinette to the left around Gales house towards the next slope downhill. She sighed again, because it was such a nice thought, even if she knew she’d never do it.

“Though I will admit, I can see why you’d want to look. Maybe we can arrange a leaking pipe or something, that can happen to break above his head? Only problem might be if you then got wet fixing it.”

Hannah coughed, feeling her cheeks heat up even more. Because the thought of being in front of Arlo with a wet t-shirt was, certainly something. Entirely different to when he’d seen her in her swimming costume. And wow, what a rush that had been, to see him looking at her like that the first time he’d seen it. His eyes repeatedly catching before he pulled them away, and the blush that had started to form on his cheeks. But no, no him seeing her in a wet top, clinging to her and highlighting whatever bra she happened to be wearing that day was just…. Not something she was sure she could handle.

Especially since they’d have to break the cold pipe to make sure it didn’t hurt anyone, and that made it a definite no.

Sam laughed again as she shivered, one arm leaving her middle to lift up and pat her on the head.

“Ok yeah, maybe not. But don’t worry kid, I’m sure you’ll get your chance to ogle him properly one day. But c’mon, Nora is waiting for us, and I’m hungry.”

They’d reached the Round Table, and Hannah blinked because when had that happened? Had she really been so lost in her fantasies that she missed half the trip through town? Apparently so. She held her arm out as Sam swung herself down, then dismounted herself, pulling half an apple from her pocket and holding it out to Marinette. Her horse took it daintily from her hand, swinging her head away so to not get apple chunks on her. She had no idea where Marinette had learned to do that, considering how messy Adrien was and how none of the Corps horses were so polite, but she appreciated it.

She led her to Alice's small fenced off garden and quickly tied her to a post, making sure she couldn't eat any of the flowers and there was a bucket of water there for her. Then with a final pat she turned and walked back around to the door to let herself inside the restaurant.

Sam was already at the booth Nora had claimed, sitting next to her with her arm slung along the backrest and their heads close together, giggling over something. Hannah rolled her eyes and detoured to the bathroom, wanting to wash the horse hair off her hands and give her friends a few moments to sort out whatever it was they were planning this time. They were nowhere near as subtle as they thought they were.

She nodded to Sonia and Albert as she walked past them chatting at a table, then slid into her seat at the booth. Sam had leaned back out of Nora’s space, but was now playing with her hair as she liked to do, running the little tuft at the end of the braid through her fingers. Nora was smiling at her in the way that meant what she’d thought was right, and the two of them were planning something. But that smile also meant nothing she said or did would get Nora to reveal anything before she was good and ready to.

Sighing, she shook her head fondly and leaned forward, wrapping a hand around the tall glass of milkshake Nora had already ordered for her and pulling it closer.

“You should have seen her,” Sam started as she sipped at her own drink. “I practically had to swim across the room to her she was drooling so much, and I thought her eyes were going to fall out her head as hard as she was staring at him. I’m surprised he didn’t have a hole burned right through him, or his clothes didn’t catch fire.”

“Well, he does have nice muscles, you have to admit that much,” Nora acknowledged, nodding at Hannah and winking, even as Sam rolled her eyes.

Hannah snorted a laugh, lowering her drink back to the table and leaning her arm next to it to prop her cheek on her hand, tilting her drink in circles and making the whipped cream spiral.

“I’m allowed to look, ok? It’s not like I’ll be allowed to touch them again at this rate.”

“Awww, don’t be like that,” Nora soothed, reaching across the table to lay her hand on her wrist, stilling her drinks movement. “He does like you, he’s just…”

“He’s just being Arlo is all. Don’t you worry kid,” Sam joined in, letting go of Nora’s hair to start rummaging in her bag. “Things will turn up soon enough. And for when they do, I’ve got something for you. Gimme your hand.”

Sighing again even as she set her drink down, she pulled out of Nora’s light grip to lay her hands palm up in the middle of the table. A quick glance at Nora showed a smug and excited grin, so this was probably whatever they had planned and-

Sam slammed her hand down on top of her own, causing a loud slap sound and making her wince because whatever she’d sandwiched between their hands was kind of prickly. She met Sam’s eyes and started to feel a twinge of fear at the pure, unmitigated, devilish glee in her face.

“Now, make sure you don’t use them all at once, ok? I’m not getting you more.” Sam waited until she nodded slowly before pulling her hand back, and Hannah looked down to see what she’d been given and shrieked. She flipped her hand over, slamming it to the table and trying to cover her gifts only for them to puff up and slide slightly so she had to slap her other hand down to fully cover them.

“Sam!” she squealed, feeling her face start to burn as she noticed Albert looking over at them curiously, and glanced over her shoulder to find Sonia staring at them with a raised brow from the bar. “Why, I mean, what-?”

Nora was doing a very bad job of hiding her amusement at her predicament, both her hands covering her mouth as her shoulders shook and tears formed at the corners of her eyes. Sam was leaning back in her seat, both arms stretched out along the backrest and looking both smug and highly amused.

“What? Are you telling me you don’t know what they are Hannah?” she drawled, far too loudly for Hannah’s liking and she shrunk down in her seat, shoulders lifting up to her ears.

“Of course I know what they are,” she whisper screamed, wanting to yell but not wanting everyone else around the plaza to know what she was talking about. “I was asking why are you giving them to me!”

“I thought that was obvious, given what we were talking about,” Sam went on, slightly more quietly as she leaned forward again and rested her elbows on the table.

Hannah opened her mouth to start spluttering, since actual words were a bit beyond her right now, when she felt someone stop next to her. She swung her head round and found Django at the end of the table, balancing three plates and looking bemusedly between them.

“Everyone ok here ladies?”

“Everything’s fine thanks Django. What’ve you got there?”

“Two spaghetti with hot sauce, and a highwind fried rice for you Sam, here you go. Plate’s hot Nora, watch yourself. And, Hannah?”

He was looking down at her, a brow raised and still looking bemused, glancing between her face and her hands still cupped on the table and her mouth fell open as she made some undefinable noise. Because she couldn’t. She couldn’t move her hands without letting some of them slip out and then he’d see and she just couldn’t .

She closed her mouth and looked at Sam, then Nora pleadingly, whining low in her throat as she felt her cheeks burn hotter, and she felt relief as Nora turned to Sam and gave her a look . There was an unspoken conversation between them, but then Sam sighed and shook her head.

“Here Django, I’ll take that. Could you fetch us a pitcher of water please? Lots of ice.”

Django handed her food over to Sam with a nod, laughing quietly as he turned from their table and headed back across the room. Hannah watched him go, waiting till she was sure he was out of sight, and then checked Albert who was chatting to Sonia at the bar now, before quickly pulling her hand towards her and scooping her gifts off the table into her lap.

Quickly counting them, she found six. And Sam’s comment about not using them all at once floated back into her brain and she whined again, letting her head fall to thump on the table. She almost wished the floor would just open up and swallow her.

“I think you broke her,” Nora said dryly, sparking Sam’s musical laugh. Something nudged the top of her head, and she groaned as she sat back up so Sam could put her dinner down finally, and she felt slightly guilty at the way Sam shook her fingers out, until the gifts in her lap crinkled and no, not guilty at all.

She gathered the rustling foil squares up, straightening them so she could hold them all in one hand and then held them out over the table towards Sam, begging her with her eyes to just take the damn things.

“Sam, please, I don’t-”

Sam’s hand landed over her own, and curled over it, gently pushing her back over the table.

“With the way things are going between you two, I’d say you’re going to need these sooner rather than later. And as close as I am to him, I’m not giving these to Arlo, or asking him if he’s keeping the one in his emergency medical supply in date.” At Hannah’s blank look and Nora’s soft giggle, Sam rolled her eyes and sighed, before starting to recite in a vaguely bored tone.

“They can be used in emergencies as a covering for a wound on an arm or lower leg, to provide extra grip on slippery surfaces, to help start fires, or to hold a significant amount of water. They’re more versatile than you’d think. But they are an optional extra for the kit, so it wouldn’t surprise me if he’s completely forgotten about it, or his are out of date despite their long life. And if you didn’t know, the only place to get these in town is from the Clinic. And trying to sneak some without Phyllis or Xu knowing is, mm, difficult .”

She pushed Hannah’s hand a bit further, lowering it to the table and smiled kindly. 

“So you can either take these from me and have them as a just-in-case supply, since they do last for ages, or you can not have them and have to go running up to the clinic when you do need them. Which will kinda kill the mood, don’t you think?”

Hannah hesitated, meeting Sam’s level and surprisingly serious gaze. She made a lot of sense, really. She hadn’t known that the clinic was the only place to get them, not having given it much thought. Back in Barnarock they’d been available in the general store. But then, Portia didn’t really have one of those, did it.

She nodded, accepting Sam’s logic and pulled her hand back, dropping it under the table to quickly slide them into her pocket, shoving them as far down as they’d go to try and make sure they wouldn’t end up falling out and sparking embarrassing questions from whoever might see them.

She wasn’t embarrassed by them, she reassured herself. There was nothing wrong with needing or using them. There was simply a time and a place for them was all. And while waiting for your dinner with friends in the middle of a restaurant was most definitely not the time or place!

“Besides,” Nora piped up, leaning her cheek on her hand as she twirled her fork round in her spaghetti. Hannah felt the muscles in her shoulders tense and the hairs on her neck stand up, because she knew that tone of voice from Nora, and it always meant she was going to say something completely outrageous-

“You know what he says, right?” she said, eyes sparkling. “Safety first.”

Chapter Text

February 26th, Wednesday

“Hey Hannah, do you have a minute?”

Hannah froze in place, one hand still inside her bag, and slowly looked up at Arlo where he stood on the other side of her fence. He looked, well. Strained. Just like he had every time he’d tried to start a conversation with her in the last few days. Which she was noticing, since he was trying to start conversations. 

Always at the absolute worst possible times.

“So long as it is only a minute, Captain Sir,” she told him politely, looking back inside her bag as she moved things around. “How can I help you today?”

The little cough he gave sounded painful, and she was half tempted to offer him the herbal juice she was holding, instead of forcing it in her bag next to her spare socks.

“Oh. Right. Where are you off to today?”

Small talk. He was trying for small talk again. Ok. This was fine. She could handle this.

“Starlight Island. I need to collect some coral for a few things I’m planning to make.”

“Ah. That sounds nice.” He stopped for a moment, and a quick glance showed him looking down the path to the sea, thinking, before he muttered under his breath, “Actually, that might work out.”

Coughing again, he looked back at her, and she kept her blandly polite smile fixed to her lips, even when he gave her a small, timid one in turn.

“I was wondering if you might be free later, but if you’re going to Starlight, then would you maybe-”

“Hey Hannah! Sorry I’m late. I ran into a sea urchin who wanted to chat, and he was telling me all about what he saw the llamas get up to yesterday. Oh, hi Arlo. Did you need Hannah for something today? We’re going to look for coral and coconuts and have a picnic.”

She loved Oaks. She really did. But sometimes, she thought, she could quite easily strangle him as she watched the way Arlo’s face fell as he looked at her friend then completely close off. He looked almost pained for the split second before he shut all emotions down like he’d flicked a switch, just like he had every time Oaks had managed to interrupt them since Arlo had actually seemed to remember she existed.

It was frustrating, in a way. Because she thought that maybe, maybe he might be trying to talk to her, maybe trying to extend a hand. But then every time Oaks, or Sam, or anyone else came anywhere near them, he’d clam up and leave. Just like he was doing now.

“No, no I didn’t. I hope you both have fun out there, remember to stay hydrated. I’ll, I’ll see you, I mean. Be careful.”

Lifting her hand to wave at his back as he turned and left, she sighed silently and leant against Oaks when he moved next to her.

She was so very confused right now.

Chapter Text

February 28th, Friday

Arlo pushed Hannah's front door open, sparing a thought that she must have oiled the hinges for it to swing as silently as it did as he stepped inside. He'd been surprised to get her message inviting him over today, but since it was the perfect chance for them to clear the air at last, talk things through, he'd dropped everything to rush down as fast as he could. It had fed the fragile hope he’d been harbouring that things could get better between them, and he wasn't going to potentially lose the opportunity by second guessing things. 

He stopped to listen, and the only sound in her house was her bright, musical laughter drifting from the open doorway to her kitchen, so he crossed the main area to lean against the door frame, and let himself smile at the sight within.

Hannah was by her sink facing away from him, which meant he was able to savour her appearance for a quick moment. She was slowly swaying from side to side as she danced in place, drawing his attention to her loose shorts that sat incredibly low on her hips, and yet despite that they seemed to barely cover any of what they were meant to. They looked to be made of something soft and flexible, so they draped instead of clung, and created deep shadows at the tops of her thighs that grew and shrank with her movements. He was mesmerised by the tantalizing glimpses of skin that were consistently being revealed and hidden. 

Her strappy top on the other hand had to be a size too small for her. The way the bottom hem rolled up to expose a band of skin around her middle, highlighting the curve of her waist, before tightly hugging her other curves as he looked higher made him wonder just how long she’d had it, and why he’d never seen her in it before.

Dragging his gaze further up, he found her fingers were combing out sections of hair as it fell down over her shoulders, individual strands illuminated by the light pouring through the window before her and making them glow. She dropped her hands forward to reach for the tap, and shook her head from side to side to make her hair shimmer like water as it settled down her back, then turned her face ever so slightly towards him.

Sunlight danced over her features, highlighting details he’d studied countless times before. Hazel eyes that sparkled like emeralds in rich earth. The almost permanent dent in her lower lip from where she bit it while thinking and planning, with a shadowy dimple already formed at the corner. Matching creases at the edge of her eyes from constant true, honest laughter. Long nose which crinkled every time she smiled.

Hands in her hair again, he could only stare as she started to gather it into a high ponytail. Fingers combing through it again and again as she alternated gathering the flyaway wisps from each side, revealing more of her shoulders and neck each time. It was almost like she was putting on a show for him, and he made himself swallow despite his dry mouth. 

Her thumb on the side closest to him settled on the outside of her shoulder, and started to slowly sweep along her skin towards her neck. And he hungrily followed its progress as it scooped up the last few stray hairs along its way… to reveal dark marks dotted along her skin.

A solid weight settled in his gut as his eyes skipped over the marks. Because they were… they were...

Here and there along her shoulder, mottled marks in varying sizes stood out clearly against her pale flesh. Some were deep red, others purple, a few faded and merely a faint outline of dots. But it was obvious what they all were, he made himself admit, still tracking them and her thumb as it brushed up her neck and behind her ear, drawing his attention to a small cluster of them at that sweet spot behind her jaw. He'd only dreamt of leaving marks exactly like that on her for months before he'd made himself pull away from her.

She finished tying her hair in a messy knot, and the air left his lungs as if he'd been punched when she turned to face him. Because while he'd thought her shoulder were covered, her chest…

There was a trail, starting at the top of her throat and leading lazily downwards. Small at first, only to grow larger and darker the closer they got to the low cut neckline of her top halfway down the swell of her breasts, before disappearing underneath it.

He dragged his eyes up to her face, hoping for an explanation, any vague hint of why she'd tell him to come meet her and then appear before him like this, and found her staring straight at him.

She was, she was smiling still. That wide, infectious smile he loved so much, and hadn't seen except in his dreams in months. Rosy cheeked as her head tipped back as she laughed, looking happy and free and… and something was wrong.

He'd been wanting her to look at him like this again, wanting her eyes to not skip over him, wanting her to not turn away whenever he walked in the room. But now that she was, it felt like some heavy, squirming creature had moved inside his stomach, making him feel cold and sick.

Lifting her arm gracefully, he could only stare in confusion as she twisted her hand palm up, and curled her fingers to wriggle in a "come here" gesture towards something inside her kitchen.

His eyes followed where she was pointing, and he finally noticed Oaks sitting at the table. He wasn’t wearing his bear cloak, and his lazy smile, hooded eyes, and messy hair gave the impression he hadn’t been awake terribly long. The jaw popping yawn he let out when he pushed himself to his feet added to the impression, and then the way he stretched…

It was almost like he was showing off really, the way he reached his arms over his head, the muscles of his stomach gaining clear definition in the sunlight that washed over him. He twisted from side to side, emphasizing the smooth planes of his body and somehow making his trousers drop lower on his hips, and Arlo tore his eyes away because he didn’t want to look. He didn’t want to see any more of Oaks than he had to.

But when he looked back to Hannah, she was staring at the other man with open adoration. So much love and fondness, care and affection, that his heart pounded heavily with want, with a need for her to look at him that way. That way she used to look at him, not that long ago.

Words caught in his throat as Oaks crossed the distance to Hannah, hands settling on her waist then sliding down to her hips and round until he could tug her flush against him. They were almost the same height, so the other man barely had to move to nuzzle his nose against the side of Hannah’s head, and start whispering into her ear from the way she smiled.

Fingers twitching at his sides, he wanted to reach out. He wanted to grab Oaks and pull him away from her, tell him to back off, but he couldn’t move. He was rooted to the spot, arms hanging lifeless, words stuck in his throat. Because Hannah had turned her face round, nose to nose with him now, eyes sliding shut, and—

He yelled, jerking up in his bed as his eyes flew open, hand reaching out above him as his fingers grasped at nothing.

Confused, his eyes darted around the dark room, breathing hard.

He was. He was in his room. He was in his bed. It was still night time, and, and a quick glance at the clock revealed it to be five twenty five ish. Shit. There was no point even trying to go back to sleep, he'd never manage it before he had to get up to start his morning routine.

Groaning, he sat up properly, pulling his knees up to fold his arms over and leaning forward to rest his head on them.

Because shit. Shit, that had been too real. Everything about that dream had been too fucking real. All the little details, the way she’d looked and sounded, the way she’d been with Oaks. After everything he’d seen of the two of them together lately… it was too real and too possible to do anything but rip his heart to shreds.

He wanted her back. Ideally he wanted her to look at him like she’d just been looking at Oaks but, but he’d take whatever he could get at this point. Whatever she’d let him have. Even seeing her smile had made him willing to rip his heart out and serve it on a plate to her. He had to try harder to talk to her. Had to make more of an effort because this was… this was...

Trying to ignore the warm dampness that was starting to drip off his chin and onto his legs, he attempted to slow his breathing. He had to calm down. It was just a dream. He didn't know if it was real or accurate. So nothing to be upset over, really.

It was just a dream.

Chapter Text

March 14th, Saturday

Arlo glanced up as he heard the door open and nodded at Sam distractedly as she walked in, only half registering the odd look on her face, before bending his head back down to the pile of new paperwork he was working his way through.

Thankfully the storm hadn't been anywhere near as bad as it could have been, so he didn’t have to deal with major structural damage. Only a few flying roof tiles from the Commerce Guild and a small mudslide in the wasteland which was already being dealt with, but still needed forms filled in in triplicate, and-- 

Something heavy scraped across the floor, making him flinch and lift his head to find Sam spinning a chair to a stop opposite him. Sitting on it backwards with her arms crossed over the backrest, she was staring at him and visibly trying not to smile, which immediately put him on edge.

“I heard you finally managed to catch Hannah awake yesterday and had a chance to talk to her,” she started with a hint of something in her voice, and he found himself flinching, and trying to sink down in his chair. She sighed heavily, and tapped on the table between them, continuing more softly with, “Oh stop it. You know I didn’t mean it like that. How did things go?”

It was his turn to sigh then, tension draining from his shoulders from the fact she wasn’t mad at him for taking so long to get round to it. And after a quick glance upwards, which showed Sam watching him with gentle kindness and understanding, he focused his eyes down at his hands as he started to play with his pen, flipping it over and around his fingers.

“I, things went pretty well I think," he said quietly, trying to think about the talking they had actually managed before, well, what his visit had turned into. “She remembered most of what we talked about last Saturday, if you didn't know?"

He looked at her again, and saw her nod, smiling at him now with encouragement, and that hint of teasing he'd thought he'd seen before nowhere in sight. Which was, which was good. Maybe all she'd heard was he'd been round, and this wouldn't get weird. He went on as loftily as he could, hoping to discourage her from asking more if she didn't already know anything. 

"So we managed to talk some things out, clear a few things up. She, she said she forgives me. Which is, which is more than…"

He stopped, dropping the pen so his fingers could curl into fists on the table before him, only to be stopped when Sam's hands settled on top of his. He made himself breathe deeply, then unclenched his fists so he could gently squeeze Sam's fingers in gratitude for her support.

"I’m hoping I can go back tomorrow afternoon if I get enough of this paperwork filed, so we can finish what we didn’t get to cover.”

And maybe he should go ahead and put the heart knot back in his pocket, as a sort of lucky charm that it might be one of the things they got round to talking about, he thought.

“Oh? You can't have that much more to talk about though, surely?” Sam asked, and his head snapped up so he could stare at her when she pulled back to cross her arms on the chair again, because that tone was far too innocent and bland to be sincere. That hint of mischief he’d grown to both love and hate over the years was dancing in her eyes around the compassion. “I thought you got to hers around midmorning Emily said, and were still there when Nora got there? That should have been plenty of time to cover everything, surely?”

He grit his teeth as he felt his cheeks start to burn because shit. He needed to think of a way out of this and distract her, quickly.

“Unless your lack of talking has something to do with the new bruises that Nora mentioned seeing on Hannah’s neck last night…?”

His mouth dropped open in shock, then he snapped it shut again as heat flooded more of his cheeks. Because shit! Of course Sam would have heard about the marks he’d left on Hannah since Nora was the one who had showed up. He hadn’t even thought about what he would say to anyone who noticed, let alone Sam who was well aware that they hadn’t been together the last half year and wasn’t afraid to comment.

"But then," she drawled lazily, her entire face now lit with mirth. "They were in a rather strange place for bruises, the way she described them. I wonder how Hannah could have hurt herself--"

"That's enough," he cut across her, hands landing heavily on the desk with a muffled slap as he half stood from his chair. He tried to glare at her, but her knowing smile didn't waver in the slightest, even as his cheeks grew warmer. Damn her. "There are lines Sam, since I'm not just your friend but your boss, and you're getting dangerously close to crossing one."

A knowing eyebrow twitched up, as if asking him Really? That's what you're going with? , and he grit his teeth and looked away. While he meant what he'd said, he knew things weren't as cut and dried as he was trying to make them. 

"But then I suppose," he went on in a mumble, sitting back down and letting himself slouch in his chair, lifting a hand to push his hair out of his face. "I suppose after everything I put you through the last few months you've probably earned the right to tease, just this once. So go ahead, get it all out now so we can move on." 

He watched her as she slouched too, sticking out her lip in a pout as she sighed heavily. “Well I don’t want to now I’ve got permission. You take all the fun out of teasing you sometimes.”

He snorted a laugh at that, shaking his head, before tipping it back so he could stare at the ceiling. A comfortable silence settled between them, broken only by the distant ticking of the clock in the kitchen.

“Well, so long as you did talk to her at least a little bit before you had your fun yesterday, that’s something,” Sam said as she started to push herself off the chair, and Arlo felt his cheeks flare again at her blatant acknowledgement of events, before something triggered in his mind. 

“Hey, Sam? Can I,” he started, only to cough and look away when he saw her entire attention was laser focused on him. "Can I ask you something?”

“Of course Arlo. You know you can ask me anything.” He waited while she knelt on the chair, leaning over the back of it now and smirking down at him. He had a sneaking suspicion she knew exactly what he wanted to ask about, but was going to make him spell it out anyway.

“While I don’t particularly like the idea of you being invested in my love life,” he started, then raised his volume slightly when he saw her about to say something. “I just want to know when... When did you even give her the condoms?" 

He glanced at her quickly before setting his eyes firmly on a spot on the wall behind her. "Not during this last week surely...?" 

She was already shaking her head before he’d finished the question, and sighed heavily again.

“Arlo. Arlo Arlo Arlo. Do you really think I’ve had time to go to the clinic and pick up condoms with the week we’ve all had? What with all the checks we’ve been running, I’ve barely had time to sit down to eat, let alone try to sneak anything past Phyllis.”

He nodded, a feeling almost like guilt starting to form in his stomach. While he knew they'd all been busy, he hadn’t realised that Sam had been working so hard to pick up the slack for him. He probably needed to check in with Remy too, and make sure they both got time off soon.

“No. No I got them for her back when I thought she might need them, since she had no idea the only place to get them in town is from the clinic, or our emergency med kits. Apparently they were sold in the general store back in Barnarock.”

Emergency med kits? There was one in the emergency med kit…?

Yes. Of course there was. How in Peach’s name had he forgotten that? He… he should probably check if his was in date. Or if there was even one in there at this point.

But anyway. Back when Sam thought Hannah might need them. So, back when Hannah was flirting with him, which meant, well, any time after she’d flirted at the beach, he supposed, but before he’d started pulling back, which he knew Sam had noticed. So was there any point between them when Hannah started acting differently maybe...

Right after he’d helped her with the bus. She’s been blushy and embarrassed for a few days, and then, they’d ended up in Amber Cave. And she’d sat on his shoulders and been more high strung than ever. And she’d made all those new noises he’d never heard before then, and been squirmy and twitchy. And... 

And she’d been wanting him since then ?!

No. Since before that, for Sam to have known about it, and then had to find the time to get condoms to her.

“And besides. I’m not invested as you say in your love life. As you said, you’re my boss and that would be all sorts of weird. But Hannah is my friend, so I’m invested in her happiness.”

He met Sam’s eyes again and found her staring at him with the same soft, caring look from before. She climbed off the chair and walked round the table to lean over him, and wrapped her arms around his shoulders in a quick hug.

“I’m invested in all my friends’ happiness you stupid numpty, and don’t you ever forget it,” she whispered fiercely into the side of his head before pulling away and walking behind his chair. She didn’t look back as she made her way towards the door, but did pause with her hand on the handle after she'd opened it.

“But that said. If you mess her about again, then I’ll be coming for your kneecaps. And I don’t dare imagine what Nora might do to you.”