Chapter Text
"Alright. That should be everything!" the man across the desk said. "All checks out, aside from that one blank spot in your records, but there's not much we can do about that."
"Like I said, that's all classified," Naomi replied. "I'm not allowed to talk about what I was doing then."
It wasn't entirely a lie; a lot of the jobs she did as a mercenary were highly classified. It just so happened that she may have extended the 'classified' section of her resume to include her time in prison as well. Better to not raise to many questions about that, she thought.
"That's alright, we're aware that you spent some time doing mercenary work. It shouldn't be a problem, which means that we're done here. It'll take a day or so for the details to upload onto the system, but from this point on..." He looked her square in the eyes, smiling charismatically. "You, Naomi Yang, are officially a licensed hero of the League. Welcome aboard."
Despite it all, Naomi smiled, a warm filling settling in her belly. "It's been a long time coming."
"So I've heard. You didn't deserve what those old execs did to you. We're all heroes here, no matter how we look."
With that extremely backhanded compliment, the man stood up. "Now, would you like a tour of the facilities?"
Naomi shrugged. "Guess so."
The man — whose name she couldn't remember for the life of her — led Naomi through the building and showed her everything she'd been missing out on all these years. A briefing room for strategy meetings and debriefs, a gym with equipment built to stand up to and challenge people with superhuman abilities — with attached swimming pool, sauna, and hot tub rooms — a medical bay, a dedicated in-house engineer for special equipment, and even... accommodation, for the heroes with no place of their own to rest their head at night. Huh.
Naomi didn't know exactly how she felt about the League or the people in it yet, nor did she want to set down roots too early only to have the rug pulled from under her again, but... that was definitely something to consider. The nights were getting colder, and her fur could only do so much against a blizzard, even when she took on an aspect that allowed it to cover her entire body. Or, there was always... the other option.
Acacia.
They'd shared some back and forth through text since the night Naomi left, but it was mostly stilted and difficult, largely due to the powerful shock of fear that hit Naomi's nervous system every time she opened a text from Acacia. She wasn't sure what she was so afraid of, really. Naomi had bared her most vulnerable self to Acacia, and Acacia stayed. When Naomi ran away because she needed space, Acacia respected it. Her emotions were just a whirling vortex inside of her, unsure of anything she wanted. She wanted Acacia; to be near her again, to touch her, smell her, taste her, to hold onto her forever and never let go. Yet she was still terrified of the vulnerability that would mean; terrified to open her heart, lest it get crushed again. Terrified of the possibility, as if it wasn't far too late to avoid that already. They'd already both been knuckle-deep inside of each other, for gods' sake. Her opportunity to stay at arm's length had been and gone a long time ago.
Naomi wasn't an idiot. She knew what this was. This ever-present shadow of Acacia hanging over her at all hours of the day, making her heart pump fast every time she so much as crossed Naomi's mind, which was a lot.
It was love. Pure and simple.
Fucking shitting fuck.
"And, that's about the lay of things," the man said. "We'll get you started with a short and simple patrol route tomorrow, then we have our weekly debrief at 5, where you can meet the rest of the team. Do you prefer to work alone or with a partner?"
"Alone, generally," Naomi muttered.
"Alright, that's fine. But, just so you know, in some events we are gonna have to assign you together with someone, so..."
Naomi huffed. "Don't worry. I know how to play nice. As long as they do as well."
"In that case, everything should be fine. Now, feel free to explore or make use of the facilities for as long as you like. I'll contact you tomorrow with the details on your patrol. Have a good rest of your day, Ms. Yang."
As curious as she was about that gym, Naomi also didn't want to risk running into any other heroes right now. She wasn't prepared for that sort of interaction. As such, she left League HQ right away and fled back to her little rooftop hideaway for the night, bracing herself for her inevitable encounter with Acacia tomorrow. Sleep proved itself to be painfully elusive however, leaving Naomi alone to contend with the battling sensations of anxiety and excitement about seeing her again.
It would be fine, right?
Gods, Naomi hoped it would be fine.
—
Patrol was pretty easy to get the hang of. Naomi had essentially already been doing it in her independent work, with the only difference being that now she had specific instructions on where to go and when to take her breaks. That was fine by her. The life she led had made her quite used to that sort of structure, and it took the burden of making those decisions out of her hands. The military had turned her into a weapon; one they could point at their enemies and pull the trigger to solve their problem. At least now, the ones pulling her trigger were doing it for good. And weren't putting her in mortal danger every day. It was the little things in life.
But of course, eventually her patrol came to an end after an uneventful day, and she was asked to head back to HQ and attend that meeting she'd been dreading ever since last night.
Naomi stepped into the briefing room, greeting the full entourage of Alephia's heroes, in all of their bright, colourful costumes with their gimmicky names. And their Naomi stood, dressed practically in all black, covered in dark fur where the armoured leather of her costume didn't reach, with her hero name that was simply a description of what she could do. Shifter. Nothing more, nothing less. She'd never been one for showmanship.
Across the room, sitting at the head of the table, was Acacia, shining like a beacon. She hadn't noticed Naomi yet, too busy scrolling on her phone. But it was only a matter of time.
Everyone eventually found their seats; Naomi picking a spot among the quietest and least sparkly of her new coworkers, and settled in, keeping her eye on Acacia all the while. Proceedings were largely boring, and Acacia never ended up looking in Naomi's direction. This was probably all so mundane and regular to her that she just tuned everything out. At least, until the end.
"And, one last thing on the docket today," the man from yesterday said, speaking to the room. He seemed to be the administrator of sorts. Naomi still couldn't remember his name. "I'm sure some of you have already noticed, but we've got a new hero joining us today. Shifter, if you would please stand."
"Gods, don't do this to me," she whispered to herself. Someone beside her chuckled.
Sure enough, as soon as her name was mentioned, Acacia's eyebrows shot up, and she scanned the room until she found Naomi. Naomi pretended not to notice. She wasn't sure why.
"Um, hi," she said to the room, cheeks already burning. Saving lives was one thing, public speaking was entirely another. Everyone stared at her, ogling her beastly features like she was the attraction at a freak show. This was exactly why she'd been dreading this.
"Team, this is Naomi. Naomi, team. I'm sure you'll get to know each other in the coming weeks, but I know you're all keen to finish up, so I won't keep you for much longer. Have to get the night shifters prepped." He glanced at Naomi. "Uh, no pun intended."
Naomi sat down, folding in on herself as much as she could, just glad that was over with. Stupid fur. Stupid tusks. Stupid tail.
She glanced up on instinct, still feeling eyes on her, and saw Acacia. She was beaming at her, smiling as bright as the dawn. Butterflies swarmed Naomi's belly. There were still people out there who didn't see her as a freak. She had to remember that.
The meeting ended quickly after that, and people filtered out the various exits, either to other parts of the facility or outside. Naomi, for her part, made her way towards the gym. The hard part was already over. She might as well get something out of this commitment. Having planned this, she'd come prepared with a duffel bag of suitable work-out clothes, from her own meagre supply. They were ratty and second-hand, but they would suffice.
The gym was largely uninhabited, thankfully. Naomi had gotten enough cardio through the day while walking her patrol route, so she skipped the treadmills, heading for the more advanced equipment and ignoring the other heroes inhabiting the space.
Naomi ran through her old merc routine, pushing her body to its limits, breaking her muscle fibres down so they could grow back stronger. Her tail's prehensile grip strength was a large focus. Gone were the days were she could choke someone out with her tail alone, but she'd build back up to it. Lifting weights with it was a good start.
In her pursuit of exercise, Naomi found herself on the weight bench, doing some reps with a barbell. Only, she seemed to have over-estimated her own strength or under-estimated her own fatigue, as the weight of it quickly became overwhelming. She tried to push it back up, but her shaking arms just weren't responding, and the barbell sunk lower and lower towards her neck. Maybe she should have gotten a spotter after all.
Before Naomi could die tragically but predictably under the weight of her own hubris, however, a hand — or, more accurately, a finger — appeared in her vision, effortlessly holding the barbell up and preventing it from snapping Naomi's vertebrae or crushing her trachea. And, of course, who else would it be but Acacia, saving the day once again.
"Need a hand?" she asked, grinning down at Naomi.
Nerves flooded Naomi's body, but she forced them down, trying to remain cool. "That would be appreciated, thanks."
Acacia pulled the barbell clear and placed it back on the stand, allowing Naomi to sit back up, catching her breath.
"How've you been, Omi?" Acacia asked after a small pause.
Naomi sucked in a breath. "Fine," she answered. "Just... plodding along."
"I didn't..." Acacia trailed off, chewed her bottom lip. "I'm glad you decided to join the League. It'll be fun having you around."
"So you say," Naomi replied, standing up. "Uh, if it's all the same to you, I'm gonna go hit the showers."
Acacia pouted for a moment, before her eyes lit up again. "Actually... I was planning on getting my own little workout in, and I could use a spotter. If you want to."
The excuse was as flimsy as Naomi's resolve to keep her distance. Acacia could lift cars without breaking a sweat. If she was having trouble, it would take a lot more than Naomi's help to save her. Still. It worked.
Naomi rolled her eyes, a smile creeping onto her face despite her best efforts. "Fine. I guess I could be convinced to hang around for a little while."
To that end, she followed Acacia around the gym, idly chatting with her as she ran at breathtaking speeds on the specialised treadmills, and lifted weights so heavy they left indents in the floor wherever they were placed. For some reason, just talking with her made Naomi's mood skyrocket, as Acacia's earnest and hopeful attitude shone through in every word, leaving Naomi feeling much better than she had back at the end of the meeting.
Through it all, Naomi enjoyed the show, watching Acacia's muscles ripple as she bench-pressed a 10 tonne bar or squatted with a 5 tonne weight. The sight reminded her of the night they shared together; of the way Acacia's muscles clenched as she came undone, of the way she effortlessly lifted Naomi and held her close, strong enough to crush her but instead just keeping her safe. Naomi had to dig claws into her palms just to stop the blood from rushing downstairs too quickly and making her thoughts known. That wasn't even to mention the overpowering scent of her sweat practically sending Naomi's mind and libido into overdrive. How had one simple night affected her this much?
Acacia finished up her workout after about an hour, and the two of them headed for the showers. Most of the other heroes had cleared out by that point, so they had the room to themselves. The opportunity presented made lightning thrum under Naomi's skin. Oh, gods.
Acacia sat on the bench in the centre of the room, bending down to take her shoes off, seemingly unaware of the struggle Naomi was going through. The need burned inside of her like fire. It had been too long. She had to stake her claim again. And now that she was seated, Naomi wouldn't even have to jump to reach her.
Running on pure instinct, Naomi grabbed Acacia by the shoulders of her tank top and pulled her into a fierce kiss. Acacia squeaked, stiffening for a moment, but quickly melted into it, sighing happily.
"Where did that come from?" she asked, once Naomi managed to pry herself away.
"I- I just... missed you," Naomi stuttered, averting her gaze in embarrassment.
Acacia smiled, gently grabbing Naomi's hips and pulling her in until she was straddling Acacia's lap on the bench. At this distance, the heady scent of her sweat was making Naomi's head spin.
"You can kiss me whenever you want. You don't have to hesitate or hold yourself back."
Naomi shook her head, leaning in and hiding her face against Acacia's neck in an embrace. If it just so happened to get her nose pressed right against Acacia's damp skin, then so be it. "No. This is just for us. No one else."
"You... want to keep it a secret?" Acacia asked.
Naomi hummed an agreement, nodding, biting her tongue to stop herself from licking Acacia's neck. Was this infatuation with Acacia's scent some strange, hitherto undiscovered aspect of the curse? Regardless, it was proving hard to resist, especially with this proximity.
"Well, that just means I get to keep you all to myself, doesn't it?" Acacia whispered, nibbling the point of Naomi's ear. Naomi whined, then pushed herself away, standing back on her own two feet. Any more of that, and she probably wouldn't be able to stop herself. Acacia watched her go with a devious smirk.
"Did you... want to shower together?" she asked.
The offer was so incredibly tempting, but Naomi held tightly onto the last little thread of her common sense. She shook her head. "No. Someone might come in. Maybe... maybe some other time."
Acacia shrugged. "Alrighty. But I'll hold you to that." She winked, then got up and made her way into a shower stall. Naomi let out a breath of relief, stepping into the adjacent one.
They continued to chat through the stall walls as they washed the sweat off, thankfully taking things in a less sexual direction and allowing Naomi a chance to cool down. She could still feel the echo of Acacia's teeth on her ear, and it was doing things to her.
Eventually, they finished up, and made their way out of the building together, back in their costumes.
"Did you wanna come back to my place?" Acacia asked.
Naomi bit her lip, shaking her head. "No thanks. I've got stuff to do."
"Aw, alright. But, the offer stands whenever you want. Seriously, feel free to just show up whenever," Acacia said. "See you tomorrow, Omi."
She gave Naomi a hug that tested the true bounds of Naomi's self-control before jumping away into the distance.
In truth, Naomi did want to go to Acacia's apartment, but once again, that fear crippled her before she could commit. This tenuous little thing that they had right now? That was manageable. Going back with her felt like too big a step to take though, considering the possibilities. The only way she was going to be able to have this while keeping that stupid subconscious paranoia happy was to take it slow. Acacia would just have to deal with that.
—
Naomi and Acacia maintained their holding pattern together for a few weeks, meeting up in the gym, casually hanging out on rooftops during their patrols, and sharing quick, stolen kisses in dark corners when no one was looking. Acacia was grateful that she got to have Naomi in any form at all, and she understood her need to take things slow, especially after their explosive beginning, but damn did it have her feeling pent up. She wasn't going to push Naomi's boundaries, but all she really wanted to do in the moments where their kisses lingered a little too long was take Naomi back to her apartment and ride her face until one or both of them passed out.
One day she would make it happen. But until then, she was happy to wait for as long as it took. Naomi would come to her when she was ready. Acacia was just glad she was around again, safe and sound.
"Star, we have a priority request from the police for you," dispatch said in her ear as she strolled down her patrol path one afternoon, lips still tingling from the kiss she and Naomi had shared during their patrols' brief intersection. "Hostage situation in a building downtown with a confirmed bomb threat. Suspect is asking for you directly."
"On my way," she responded, kicking into gear and leaping into the sky. Of the gifts granted to Starstrike by her godly heritage, flight was not one of them. Thankfully, her strength allowed her to jump so far for it to practically not matter. She made it downtown in two jumps, and it wasn't difficult to find the site from there. Just follow the helicopters and sirens.
Starstrike reached the crowd of police and made her way to the front, where the captain was.
"What's going on?"
He turned, handing her a tablet. "Some psycho set a bomb up on the 25th floor. Said he'd detonate it if you didn't show up. Building's packed full of people, too. Just press that button on the tablet, and it'll call him."
She did so, and it opened a video call, though the recipient's camera was obscured.
"Who is this?" she demanded. "What do you want?"
"Hello, Miss Nguyen," a thin, reedy voice replied. Star's stomach clenched. Her name wasn't exactly a secret, given how Ares screamed it at the top of his lungs in the middle of the city back when he kicked her ass, but it still freaked her out when people called her that in public. "Who I am is not important. No, the question of today is, who are you? And, what do I want? Simply, to observe and learn."
She frowned. "What are you talking about? Let the hostages go."
"The hostages have always been free to flee the building, not that it would save them. The bomb I have placed on the 25th floor has the explosive yield of 100 tons of TNT. Approximately the same yield used in the calibration test for the Trinity detonation. I'm sure I don't need to tell you this, but that is potent enough to flatten this entire city block, and cause significant damage to the surrounding area."
Starstrike gritted her teeth, fear gripping her insides. If he was telling the truth, this was a full-on Code Red scenario, equivalent to Ares' rampage.
"Just tell me what you want, and we can sort something out, okay?" she replied, forcing her voice to exude calmness and authority.
"Oh, Acacia. I already told you, remember? All I want is to observe, and see how you act. When I finish speaking, I will end this call, and I will trigger the detonation sequence. From that point, you will have fifteen seconds to make a choice. I've studied your exploits; I know you're quick enough to reach the bomb. What will you do when it's impossible to get everyone out of the blast radius in time? I am interested to find out. Good luck, little hero. Your time begins now."
The call ended. Starstrike's stomach dropped. Instincts kicked in. She had to find the bomb first. Everything else could come after.
Electricity flooded her body, sparking out from her skin as her muscles kicked into overdrive. She sped forward, through the front doors of the building, as her perception of time accelerated and everything around her slowed to a crawl. She pried the elevator doors open at the other end of the lobby and climbed into the shaft, pouncing upwards until she reached the 25th floor. From there, Star sprinted through the hallways, checking every room until she found the one with the bomb in it. Five seconds down, ten to go
She recognised the bomb as a conglomeration of crystal detonators left over from the X'drigu invasion, shoddily wired together with a digital timer. Just one of those had enough explosive power to destroy a building. Star didn't doubt that the suspect's claims about the explosive yield were completely accurate. But... what the fuck was she supposed to do about it?!
Okay. Okay, just think. If she couldn't get the civilians out of bomb's radius, then she needed to get the bomb away from the civilians. She could try throwing it into the air, but with the size and shape of it, there was no guarantee she'd be able to throw it far or high enough to prevent anyone from getting hurt.
Fuck. Alright then. Only one thing to do.
She grabbed the bomb, heaving it up to her chest, and leapt through the window. Lightning fuelled her body as she strode from rooftop to rooftop faster than the eye could see, heading for the tallest building in the city. Once there, she ran up the side, feet digging into the concrete for leverage, pushing her upwards faster and faster. When she reached the top, she jumped, kicking off of the peak as hard as she possibly could and flinging herself far into the sky. Three seconds left.
She wasn't high enough. There wasn't enough time. Even if she threw it now, the explosion would likely still blast the tops off of all the nearby buildings. People would die. All she could do was... block it. Wrap herself around the bomb and absorb as much energy as she possibly could. Would she even survive that? Hard to say, but there was no time to deliberate. Starstrike held the bomb close to her chest and wrapped her arms and legs around it, squeezing her eyes shut.
If this kills me, sorry I never told you, Naomi.
BOOM
Everything went dark.
—
Shifter idly wandered down her patrol route, basking in the warm afternoon sun, sticking to the rooftops as usual. People still hadn't really gotten used to the sight of her, so she preferred to stay out of sight where possible. Still, she wasn't completely alone up here.
A cat plodded across her path, curiously eyeing her.
She smiled. "How'd you get up here, little buddy?"
The cat hissed at her. Shifter frowned, and hissed back.
"Little asshole."
At that moment, a flash in the sky caught her attention. Shifter looked up in time to see a massive fireball rip the air in half, sending a wave of heat washing over her. A second or two later, the shockwave hit, popping her eardrums and sending her stumbling back as the deafening crash reached her.
She reached up to her earpiece, watching in amazement as the explosion dissipated and some flaming piece of debris fell back to the earth.
"What the fuck was that?!" she asked.
"We... We just sent Starstrike to go deal with a bomb threat, but she hasn't answered her comms since we gave the order. Shifter, you're close and you're the most agile. Go check things out and give us a sit-rep."
Before they'd even finished talking, Shifter had already called on her falcon aspect and summoned her wings, taking to the sky and speeding over to the spot she saw that piece of debris fall. Her heartbeat pounded in her ears, adrenaline and terror swirling around inside of her like a noxious soup. Acacia was okay. She was a fucking demigod who'd survived a fight with a literal God of War; there was no way some measly, sub-nuclear explosion could kill her. Even if its heat made Naomi sweat from several kilometres away and its shockwave knocked the air out of her lungs. Even if it seemed like Acacia was right in the middle of it. She couldn't die. She just couldn't.
Shifter swooped around between buildings, searching for any sign of Acacia, until she finally stumbled across something promising. A large group of people, all crowding around something. She did a fly-by to get a good view, and her heart dropped. Acacia.
She flew low, landing as close to her as she could get with the crowd.
"Back! Get back!" she yelled, hissing and snapping until these idiots actually parted the way for her so she could reach Acacia. The sight she saw when she finally made it through caused her breath to catch in her throat.
Second-degree burns covered most of her body, visible through the ruined remains of her costume. One of her legs and both arms appeared broken; bruised and bent at odd angles, and the surface of her skin both at the breaks and on her chest had split. Her face was a mess of bruising and bleeding, teeth missing from between her lips, blood bubbling from her mouth with every breath. But she was breathing.
Shifter rushed over, letting her training overtake the terror and checking Acacia's pulse and breath sounds by pressing her ear against her chest. She reached up, pressing a finger to her earpiece.
"This is Shifter, I'm with Star on Main Street, she needs immediate medical attention! Pulse is erratic, breath sounds are weak on both sides with heavy crackling; I think her lungs are punctured."
"Roger, Shifter. Catalyst is on their way for transport to HQ."
Shifter took her finger off of the ear piece, leaning in close to Acacia as tears threatened to form in her eyes. "Come on, you can make it through this. You've been through worse. You'll survive this, Caish. You'd better fucking survive this."
"Hey! Outta the way! Hero coming through!"
Shifter turned around to see Catalyst barging their way through the crowd, their shaggy neon-yellow hair sticking out like a sore thumb. They finally burst through, took one look at Acacia, and paled.
"Oh, fuck."
"Help her!" Shifter hissed.
"Right, right," they muttered, stepping close to her before turning away and spreading their arms. The space between their hands ripped open, revealing League HQ's medical bay on the other side, with a team of medics at the ready. They rushed out, carefully placing Acacia down on a stretcher, before carrying her back through the portal. Shifter followed along, her body moving on autopilot.
All she could think about was how much time she wasted these past few weeks. All those moments she spent brooding on cold, dark rooftops when she could've been with Acacia, listening to her yap on about whatever piece of media had her by a stranglehold that month, savouring the sound of her laughter and breathing in her scent. And for what? For some stupid, fake idea of emotional safety? Acacia might be dying. Naomi might have missed out on the last few moments they ever got together, because she couldn't handle needing someone. She might be about to lose the only good thing in her life before she ever got the chance to savour it.
A hand on her chest stopped her absent forward march. She blinked, coming back to herself and seeing the medic blocking her path further into the medical wing.
"Sorry, you can't follow. We need to get her prepped for surgery."
Right. Surgery. Of course. Naomi took a step back. The medic turned and disappeared through the doors, cutting her off. Naomi just stood there, feeling empty.
"Hey, Shift? You alright?"
She turned towards the voice, finding Catalyst waiting at the door to the exit. Naomi stared at them, trying to formulate a response.
"Uh... yeah. I'm okay. I should... get back to my patrol," she replied, not really hearing herself.
Catalyst shook their head. "Uh-uh, not happening. Come on, let's go sit down."
Naomi was in no state to argue, so she followed them out into the hallways and through to what appeared to be a luxurious waiting room, with cushioned armchairs, a full bookshelf, and a tiny kitchenette. Catalyst led her to a chair, and Naomi sat down, staring blankly at the floor.
"Can you have chocolate?"
Naomi blinked, looking up at Catalyst, who was wincing and shaking their head, seemingly at nothing. "Huh?"
"I'm gonna make a hot chocolate," they recovered. "Do you want one?"
"Oh. Okay."
Catalyst sighed, walking over to the kitchenette. Naomi continued staring at the ground.
"Here you go."
A mug appeared in her vision, along with a sweet scent in the air. Naomi looked up.
"What?"
Catalyst frowned. "Your hot chocolate?"
"Oh," Naomi muttered, carefully taking it from them. The mug was warm in her hands. She hadn't realised that much time had passed. "Right."
"Gotta be honest, Shift," Catalyst said, settling down in the armchair across from her. "I'm a little surprised at how shaken up you are. I didn't think you and Acacia were that close. Or, have you just never seen someone hurt like that before?"
"I've seen worse," she immediately replied. "I just... I don't know. I guess I didn't think anything would be able to hurt her like that."
The image of Acacia's broken body had burnt itself into Naomi's eyelids, tormenting her every time she blinked. She shuddered, taking a calming sip of her hot chocolate.
"I know, sometimes she can seem like an impenetrable bulwark of strength," Catalyst said. "Don't worry, she'll pull through. Believe it or not, Ares beat her up way worse than this."
Naomi shook her head. "You don't understand, it's... I just don't like seeing her like that. She shouldn't have to go through that sort of thing."
Death had surrounded Naomi for her entire adult life. Whether it be the lives she herself took, or the lost lives of her teammates, she had rarely gone more than a month throughout her twenties without seeing a corpse in some state of dismemberment. But, Acacia was supposed to be separate from all of that violence. She wasn't supposed to experience those horrors Naomi was subjected to. Acacia was too good. She didn't deserve that.
Catalyst hummed. "You're the one, aren't you?"
Naomi frowned, looking up. "Huh?"
"The one Acacia refuses to talk about. Whenever I ask her why she's smiling at her phone, or where she's running off to, or where that weird bruise on her neck came from a month or two ago."
Naomi's ears warmed. She went back to staring at the floor. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Uh-huh, sure," Catalyst deadpanned. "Well, whatever's going on between you two, if you wanna keep it a secret, don't worry about me. I won't say anything. But, when you do want to go public with it, I call first dibs on the lore. I wanna hear how in the hells you managed to bag Alephia's number one hero before even joining the League."
Naomi barely held herself back from hissing. "Our lives are none of your business."
Catalyst threw their hands up in surrender. "Sure, sure. Message received."
They sat in silence for a while, as Naomi drained her mug. As irritating as the brief conversation had been, it had succeeded in pulling her out of her own head a bit. There wasn't anything to worry about. Acacia was in good hands.
"You make her really happy, you know that?"
Naomi huffed, keeping her eyes down.
"I'm serious. Ever since she showed up with that hickey, and especially since you joined the League, there's been a spring in her step I haven't seen in a long time. She's generally pretty shy and quiet when she's not showboating for the fans, but it seems like she always has things she wants to talk about lately. It's... good to see."
Was that... true? The thought made Naomi blush. It was a fact that Acacia had always been a quiet kid in school, only to open up when it was just the two of them. She just hadn't expected that to extend so far into her adult life, as well.
"Well... whatever you're doing, keep it up. I'm sure Acacia could use the support, especially after today," Catalyst said, getting up. "I can see that you'd rather be alone, so I'll leave you to it. Holler if you need anything. I know a great pizza place in Naples if you get hungry."
With that, they stepped through the air and disappeared. Naomi let out a sigh of relief. It wasn't that she disliked Catalyst, but their observation had been correct; she did want to be alone. All her energy was reserved for thinking about Acacia; nothing was left for conversation. She curled up on the chair, settling in for the long haul
—
An unknown amount of time passed before Naomi was disturbed again. An older woman peered into the room, her eyes settling on Naomi. She huffed a laugh.
"Thought it might be you. How the tables have turned."
Naomi frowned. "What?"
She stepped into the room, folding her arms and leaning against the doorframe. "I was the one that patched you up after you got your ass handed to you by that ogre, when Acacia dragged you back to her apartment. The name's Althea."
"First of all, I killed that ogre. It just got a lucky hit on me," Naomi grumbled. "Secondly... Thanks for that."
She waved her off. "No problem. Anyway, Acacia is out of surgery. She's doing alright, all things considered, but she's gonna need to spend a little while in my care. I can't heal everything right away, or it would use up all of her body's energy. She's still asleep right now, but you can go see her, if you'd like."
Naomi very much would like to. She stood up. Althea took it as the affirmation it was and left the waiting room, Naomi hot on her heels, roiling with anxiety. They quickly made it back to the medical wing, and Althea led the way inside.
Acacia laid in one of the beds, looking far too fragile for Naomi's liking. Both arms were wrapped in thick casts, and one of her legs was being held up by a support strap hanging from the ceiling. There was an IV drip stuck in her uninjured foot, a feeding tube down her nose, and a ventilator in her mouth, no doubt trailing down her throat. Naomi sucked in a breath.
"Gods..."
"Stay with her as long as you like. Though, I should warn you she won't be able to hear anything for a while. Explosion blew out her eardrums. And, obviously, she can't talk with that thing keeping her breathing, but she should be well enough for me to remove it after a day or two. Though, her jaw is broken as well, so it'll need to be wired shut afterwards, and that'll make talking difficult anyway. Point is, she can't really communicate right now, but she'll know you're there, and that's the important bit. Or something like that, anyway. We're keeping her sedated until the ventilator comes out, so it's entirely possible she won't notice you at all. Either way, do what you want. Just don't touch the equipment."
Naomi sat down next to the bed as Althea left to do her own thing. The constant beeping and whirring of the machinery keeping Acacia alive and monitoring her condition grated her ears, but she could put up with it. She wasn't leaving Acacia's side until she knew for sure that she'd be okay. Nothing could pull her away.
—
Acacia floated listlessly in a soft world of inky blackness, with no awareness of her body aside from a subtle push-pull in her lungs. Every thought that popped into her head disappeared into smoke just as quickly, but she was fine with that. She had been here before, a long time ago, after a great battle. This Space between the waking and the dream meant that she still lived, despite how hurt she might've been.
Her awareness sharpened, though not of the physical world around her actual body. She focused in on that Space; that thin line between the exteriority of reality and the interiority of her mind. The Space that no mortal could ever notice or inhabit, but through which Their world saw into hers.
"Acacia," a voice said. Soft, echoey, and vaguely familiar. Acacia had heard it only once before, the last time she found herself in this strange limbo.
"Athena," she replied, her thoughts expressing outward.
"Hello, sister. I hadn't expected to find you back here so soon."
"So soon?" Acacia thought. "It's been five years."
"A sixth of your lifespan, but less than a tenth of a percent of mine."
"Fair enough. Uhh... how am I doing right now? I can't really tell."
Athena hummed. "It seems you will recover. What you did was commendable. Our father is impressed, and Ares sends his regards for your resolve."
The thought of her father actually knowing what she did; being proud of her, made something warm buzz through Acacia. It wasn't easy to impress a god. "Was anyone killed in the explosion?"
"There were no injuries worse than your own."
Relief flooded her mind. "That's good."
"I will leave you to your rest now. However, I believe you would appreciate knowing that your... friend, Naomi, is at your side. She has remained with you ever since your surgery concluded."
She certainly did appreciate that. "Thank you, Athena."
Acacia felt an acknowledgement pass through her, before Athena's presence left, and the focus that had been sharpening her mind softened. She faded back into that thoughtless, unfeeling abyss, and went to sleep.