Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Piper made it to Barley’s Bar after a long day of bounty matches. She won all of them with her teams throughout the day. After all, she is one of the best marksmen in Starr Park, she had a reputation to uphold. Piper walks up to the bar counter and orders her favorite from Barley. Barley’s eye has a musical note on it and laughs heartily.
“Certainly, Piper! How were the matches today?” Piper smiles at Barley as he makes her drink.
“I won them all, but a lot of the tanks were trying to charge at me! The nerve!” Piper exclaims, sighing. Barley laughs again.
“Oh, that sounds like the tanks. All of us brawlers know each other’s weaknesses and strengths. So, we naturally play into them.”
Piper sighs and says nothing, receiving her drink from Barley, and taking a sip. Barley isn’t wrong. Each brawler knows the other’s weaknesses and strengths, but that doesn’t mean they know how to exploit them correctly. Thinking about her matches, she keeps thinking about how all the tanks tried to charge at her. So annoying. Thankfully, Gene was in most of the matches with Piper, so it made it a little bit easier. Piper takes another sip of her drink, savoring the cool taste of alcohol. Byron is seen walking out of the staff room of the bar. Piper waves to Byron, and he nods back to Piper.
“Hey Byron! How’s it going?” Piper asks as Byron takes a seat next to her. One of Byron’s snakes slithers out on his sleeve and flickers its tongue at Piper. She smiles and holds her hand out, letting the snake smell her. The snake then crawls around Piper’s arm. Byron smiles as he talks to Piper.
“I’m all right, thank you. I assume you had massive success in your bounty matches today?” Piper nods confidently. Byron smirks. “That’s my girl!” Piper laughs as Barley gives Piper another round of her alcohol and gives Byron his drink. Byron and Piper tap their glasses together, drinking afterwards. The trio sat in silence as more brawlers arrive at the bar. Piper saw some of the tanks she faced off against earlier in the day, and a few waves at her, congratulating her. Others avoided Piper. She didn’t care really, as she knows which ones were sore losers or not.
Soon, Piper’s mind wanders to her dating life. Her relationship with Rico ended a few months ago, and it didn’t exactly end well. She sighs, making Barley and Byron look concerned at her.
“Is it about Rico again?” Barley asked, topping Byron’s drink. Piper nods. The snake on Piper’s arm seems to feel her emotions and tries to rub on Piper to comfort her. Piper smiles, giving the snake a few head rubs. The snake flickers its tongue happily, as it continues to rub on Piper. Byron drinks his alcohol and speaks to Piper.
“Piper, my dear, Rico did not know how to love and trust you. Rico was simply jealous, and you two broke it off for it. So, do not feel guilty about the breakup. There is plenty of fish in the sea, after all!” Piper nods her head.
“I know, but where can I find someone who will love and trust me? I know I have plenty of suitors, but that doesn’t mean I’ll just date any of them!”
Piper slams her head on the table, looking defeated. This action shakes the bar a bit, and almost knocks her and Byron’s drink over. A few other brawlers nearby look at Piper, started. Some of them start whispering to one another. She can’t hear them, but she can hear Byron hiss under his breath.
“Hey! If any of you are trying to spread rumors in this bar, I will not tolerate it. Especially if Piper is involved. Do I make myself clear?” Barley spits, his words dripping with anger. Byron hisses at the brawlers as he pulls his staff out, flicking the top open. The brawlers stop at once and go back to what they were doing before. Piper picks her head off the counter and speaks to Byron and Barley.
“Thank you two as always. I can’t believe I became the hot topic of gossip after Rico and I broke up.”
Byron sighs as the snake on Piper’s arm retreats into Byron’s sleeve, probably to seek warmth. Piper finishes her drink, and Barley takes it to refill her glass.
“Unfortunately, humans and robots dating are still considered taboo to many folks. It’s ridiculous how people will judge a human and a robot for dating. The fact that you two broke up made the stereotypes that a human and a robot cannot date even worse than they already were.” Byron states, crossing his arms gently. Barley nods in agreement, giving Piper her full glass. Piper sighs deeply, taking a sip of her alcohol. Piper knows the comment Byron made wasn’t meant to offend her, but boy did it sting still. Sure, her relationship with Rico didn’t end that well, but that didn’t mean that robots and humans were incapable of dating. That is what frustrates her the most. Surely someone knew the struggles of dating someone who isn’t exactly what society would agree with.
Out of the corner of Piper’s eye, Tara walks into the bar. She’s wearing her usual outfit today; she must have finished her heist matches. Tara nods at her fellow brawlers, waving to them as she walks up to the bar counter. She takes a seat next to Piper. Tara moves her hands, using sign language to order her drink. Barley nods and leaves to prepare her drink. Piper and Tara nod to each other, and they say nothing. Piper drinks her beverage as she thinks.
Tara is a mysterious lady, but she’s friendly. They’ve chatted before. By chatting, she means Piper talks while Tara nods, hums, and occasionally types something into her phone’s text-to-voice app to talk for her. Overall, they are friendly acquaintances who meet up for tea every so often. But Piper is curious about Tara’s love life since she mostly talked about her own love life when she’s with Tara.
“Hey Tara, I have a question for you.” Tara looks up and turns to Piper, waving her hand in a circular motion. Piper continues, taking a sip from her alcohol.
“I was just curious about your love life. Do you have a date? Are you even dating? Or are you not interested in that type of thing?” Okay, maybe that was more than one question. Tara tilts her head at Piper. It’s hard to tell what she’s feeling, with the head wrap and all. Piper looks at Tara, her face flushing a bit red.
“Oh! I’m sorry, sugar. Did I offend you at all?” Tara shakes her head and pulls her phone out to type into her text-to-voice app.
‘I am just wondering what the sudden interest in my love life is about. Is it about you and Rico breaking up?’
Piper freezes at the question. She nods slowly, moving her hands while she speaks. “Well, sort of. I feel guilty that I talk about my love life when we drink tea together, so I thought I’d hear about yours! And I need to vent a bit.” Tara tilts her head at Piper again, and types:
‘I do not mind listening; I prefer it actually. But do rant to me, and I will answer your questions afterwards’
Piper sighs, sipping her alcohol. She feels Byron getting up, and he whispers into her ear. ‘I’m heading to bed, but good luck with charming Ms. Tara.’ Piper blushes at the comment and turns around to try and defend herself, but Byron has already left. The cheek of him! She turns back to Tara, flustered still.
“Sorry! I was just a bit surprised at what Byron said, is all!” Tara nods in understanding, waiting for Piper to speak her mind. Piper secretly prays that Tara didn’t hear Byron just a moment ago.
“It’s just, I’m upset. Not that Rico and I broke up, I’m glad we’re over. But the negative connotations that a human and a robot cannot date will be fueled by us breaking up.” Tara hums sadly as Piper rants more.
“It’s so wrong! I just know Uncle Sam is going to use Rico and I’s failed relationship to fuel why he hates robots so much” Tara gives Piper a reassuring rub on the shoulder. She then types into her app:
‘Sam is a troubled brawler. He has been through a lot, and unfortunately, he is taking it out on the robots around him. The robot brawlers are lucky that Sam is not allowed to attack them unless they are brawling. But I do understand what you mean by how society treats those that are not ‘normal’. That’s why I left home from my home country for Starr Park, where I am protected, and I can be me. You’re not alone.’
Piper gives Tara a warm smile and nods. “That’s why I’m proud to be a brawler for Starr Park, just like the rest of my family has for generations now. But I am curious why you left her home country if you don’t mind me asking, sugar.” Tara waves her hand at Piper and types into her app:
‘It’s a long story. But the bottom line was that my family wasn’t exactly happy that I did not match their way of life. The final straw was when they tried to marry me off to someone I was not attracted to. I managed to leave after Starr Park offered to let me be a brawler years ago, and I haven’t gone back since.’
Piper looks in awe at Tara. It takes a strong person to leave a tough situation like that. At least Piper knows she’s not the only one who feels like she’s being pushed into a corner to submit to regular society. Piper offers Tara some words of encouragement.
“Thank you, Tara! I appreciate your insight, and I’m glad you managed to leave. Starr Park wouldn’t be the same without you!” Tara closes her eyes and hums happily as she types into her app:
‘Aww, thank you! That makes me feel much better. But as promised, I will tell you about my dating life. It’s stagnant, really. I dated a few women, but none of those relationships worked out. It’s ironic, really. I give you all your dating advice, but I can’t apply it in my own dating life.’
Piper is smiling, thinking about what it would be like to date Tara. Strangely, she didn’t think about Tara like that when dating Rico. Piper can see herself holding hands, going on cute dates, and cuddling with Tara. Piper then blushes more as she thinks about what Byron said earlier. It’s not like Piper isn’t interested in women; She’s pansexual. But she barely knows Tara. Piper looks at Tara and bites her lip.
“Hey Tara, this is going to sound very forward, but, would you want to date me? Like, romantically? Dates, cuddles, the whole nine yards?”
Tara’s eyes widened, clearly surprised at this revelation. She types into her app:
‘I wouldn’t mind. I liked you for a while now, but you were dating Rico. I didn’t want to ruin anything by pursuing my feelings for you.’ Piper grins, holding her hand out to Tara.
“Would you like to get to know each other? Like going on a date, testing the waters?” Tara nods and hums happily, taking Piper’s hand. The two look fondly at one another, leaving Barley’s Bar to go on a nice date.

Chapter Text

Piper and Tara leave Barley’s Bar and walk around the Wild West, holding hands. The two chat about where they wanted to go to start their date. After all, the night is still young, even if they’re not. Soon, the pair come across the Mexican Entertainer trio. Looks like it’s performance night, and El Primo is up first. He is currently performing some wrestling moves with Sam, and the fans are eating up the performance. Piper chuckles, as she didn’t expect her own uncle to wrestle again, especially since he prefers to box these days.
The duo watches El Primo and Sam wrestle, and it’s getting quite intense. El Primo manages to get Sam into a camel clutch, and Sam’s face turns red, and sweats from the contact. Piper looks extremely worried for her uncle, as Tara squeezes her hand in reassurance. Soon, the wrestling bell rang, signaling that the round was over. The luchador releases his hold and offers Sam a hand, which he graciously takes. Sam laughs heartily. “Oi, I’ll tell you, Primo, you definitely know how to put on a show! Got me red and sweatin’!”
El Primo laughs as he puts a hand on his shoulder. “It is what El Primo does best! After all, El Primo isn’t a part of the Mexican Entertainment trio for nothing!”
The men laugh as Sam spots Piper and Tara. Sam leaves El Primo to greet Piper and Tara.
“Ah, me dear niece! How are you? Hello to you Tara.” He hugs Piper, and Tara hums and waves at Sam. Piper pulls away and feels disgusting now since Sam hugged her, but she says nothing to save face.
“I’m good, Uncle Sam! Are you alright? You seemed to have struggled against El Primo.” Sam laughs again and waves Piper off.
“Oh, Piper, I might be old, but I’m not out of shape. Yet.” Tara and Piper giggle at the joke, and Belle waves at the three, with a water bottle, a water bucket, and a towel. Belle kisses Sam’s cheek and hands him the water bottle. Sam smiles and down the water, as Belle uses the now wet towel to cool Sam off. Belle then starts to compliment Sam on how well he is doing against El Primo. Sam chuckles lightly and gives Belle a tender kiss.

The sniper and the tarot card reader beam happily at the old couple. They’ve been married for decades, and their devotion to one another shows. Piper wishes that her future spouse would treat her with that much love, care, and trust. Well, a lot of people wish for that in their future spouse. But for Piper, this is extremely important. This was reinforced after Rico didn’t give her what she wanted the most: trust. It breaks her heart a bit thinking about Rico.
Tara notices Piper looking quite somber and looks at a food stall. ‘Maybe some food might cheer her up.’ Tara thinks as she walks up to it and sees that it’s Mexican street food. But… Piper has never mentioned if she liked Mexican food or not. Sure, she lived in the Wild West area of Starr Park all her life, but that didn’t mean she liked the food.
Tara ponders for a moment until a man with a loud and boisterous voice speaks up. “Holá chica! Welcome to Jimenez Street Food! Names Joaquín! How may I serve you today?”
The tarot card reader flinches at the sudden voice but regains composure and types in her text-to-voice app on her phone: ‘It’s just…my date is upset about something. And I want to cheer her up with food, but I don’t know if she even likes Mexican food or not…’ After she finishes typing, Tara points to Piper near the wrestling ring. Joaquín, who sees Piper looking gloomy, gestures for Tara to come closer. Tara tilts her head curiously and walks closer to the vendor. He starts speaking in a hushed whisper.

“Oh, is my chiquita your date? I’ve known Piper since she was a little girl! She loves Mexican street food! Especially elotes!~”
Pablo then serves up 2 elotes on sticks with extra mayonnaise and chili pepper on them. He then places them on disposable serving trays and hands them to Tara. The psychic can smell the savory scent of the elotes and pulls her wallet out to pay for the food. Pablo declines and hands Tara some churros too. “Oh no, chica! My treat! Tell my chiquita I said hello!~”
Tara nods and waves with what little hand space she had left and walks over to Piper, who is currently watching Sam get KO’d by El Primo. The stage people quickly clean up the wrestling arena, where Sam is being dragged away to Pam’s Clinic, with Belle close by. Soon, she sees Poco and Amber get on stage. Poco sings a Spanish love song while Amber twirls her fire baton, dancing to Poco’s song. While Piper wasn’t fluent in Spanish, she knew enough to understand a few of the lines. It essentially talked about how love takes time to find, and we shouldn’t rush into it. She looks down, thinking about the lyrics of the song. Piper sniffs the air and turns to Tara, shocked that Tara brought her favorite foods.
The sniper smiles warmly and takes the elotes out of her hands. As this exchange happened, Tara could feel Piper’s hand brush against hers, making her face heat up under her head wrap. Piper takes a big bite out of an elote, and she can tell that Joaquín made these. They always taste the same, no matter how many times he’s made them for her over the years. She remembers fondly how she used to collect spare change to buy an elote from him. Piper swallows her bite, and she speaks to Tara.
“Aww, sugar! You didn’t have to get me any food! Especially my favorite~”

Piper sees Tara rubbing the back of her head as she takes another large bite of her elote. Tara finds her eyes wandering to the elotes, smelling the aroma of chili peppers and mayo. It smells really good to Tara, especially the chili pepper.
The sniper feels her heart feel warm and fuzzy, as she realizes that Tara got her these because she was feeling bad earlier. This is entirely different from how Rico treated her. It’s a strange feeling Piper, but a welcomed one as she finishes her elote. Tara hums happily as she sees Piper enjoying herself. She motions to a nearby picnic table and Piper nods, walking with her.
When the pair sit across from one another, Piper grabs another elote and takes a big bite. She manages to get mayo everywhere, but Tara simply smiles under her face wrap. Piper is happy right now, and she doesn’t want to ruin that for her. Tara looks at the elotes with immense curiosity. Piper wipes her face, looking at Tara. The tarot card reader tilts her head at Piper and waves her hands in a circling motion.
“Sugar, I’ve always been curious, what do you look like under the head wrap? If you don’t mind me asking, of course!”
Tara freezes at the question. Tara’s heart pounds as she thinks about her family in her home country, always shaming her for not wearing it. At all costs. Unless it was for personal hygiene, she and her family didn’t take off the sacred head wraps. Ever. Unfortunately, this mentality eventually shattered her self-esteem, making her insecure about her appearance. She only wears crop tops just to try and gain some confidence back in her body. Tara looks down at the picnic table and she starts to shake violently. Her heart pounds faster, breathing very heavily as she thinks of her family’s words over and over again. It just seems it won’t stop! Tara starts to feel dizzy and clenches her stomach. But Tara snaps back to reality because she feels a gentle touch of her leg from under the table.

“Tara, I’m sorry I brought up a sensitive topic. I didn’t know that asking was going to trigger a panic attack from you.” Tara calms herself down with a few deep breaths and looks at Piper, on the verge of tears. Piper feels even worse for asking now and offers her date a warm, comforting smile. Tara hums weakly as takes her phone out and types in her text-to-voice app:
‘No no, you’re okay. You didn’t know any better. All I ever told you was my family and I didn’t agree on anything, I didn’t give you details. You can say that my family had extremist views on the topic of head wraps.’
Piper feels her heart break at the sight of Tara as she wipes her tears away. Tara might not have spoken any verbal words, but her hums sounded sad and depressed. Her body language screamed ‘I’ve been through a lot’ and Piper’s determined to try and make it better. After all, Tara’s been there for her, it’s time to return the favor! Piper quickly finishes the last of her second elote and throws the trash away. She grabs the churros and offers one to Tara.
“Let’s eat churros together. You’re not alone, Tara.”
Tara is touched by the kind offer, even though she got these churros for Piper when she was feeling down. Piper turned it around and gave it right back to her! Tara stares at the churros, then realizes her predicament: she still has her head wrap on and she’s not keen on showing Piper her full face yet. Despite this, Tara decided that in order to get more confidence in her appearance, she’ll have to let her face be free.
Well, at least partially, for right now. Taking it off fully would be a nightmare for her anxiety. Tara breathes deeply and partially unties her head wrap, leaving just enough room to bite her churro. The churros are still warm, even though the pair haven’t touched them in the last 15 minutes of them sitting at the picnic table. The tarot card reader hums happily as she savors her churro. Piper then bites into her churro, she smiles affectionately at Tara. She’s okay with Tara not revealing her full face today. After all, with anything relating to trauma, it takes time and effort to heal. Piper will wait for as long as she needs to, as Tara is worth it. They finish the churros and Tara wipes her mouth, tying her head wrap back on. She then offers to walk Piper home, which the sniper gladly accepted.

As the pair walk to Piper’s bakery, Piper thinks about the lyrics that Poco sang earlier. She manages to translate a few of his Spanish lines into English again. Her heart beats at one thing she translated: not all relationships are going to be with your true love. She reflects on her relationship with Rico, and her past relationships for that matter. They always ended when Piper would stop giving them love when they wouldn’t give her any from the beginning. But with Tara, it's different. She can feel the love, care, and trust that Tara gave her tonight. And she wants to make sure she gives it back to Tara. The pair face one another as they reach Piper’s bakery. They gaze at one another with love and adoration, and Piper holds Tara hands into her own, and asks:
“Tara, would you like to be my girlfriend?”
Tara blushes heavily under her head wrap and rubs the back of her head again. Tara takes her phone out to type on her text-to-voice app:
‘I’ll gladly be your girlfriend, Piper!’ That was all that Piper wanted to know, and the two held each other close, just being comfortable in each other’s presence.