A Totally Not Awkward Family Dinner

## Saturday, March 14, evening - The James Apartment

By the time Atlanta makes her way home after the fight with Sapphomet, it’s dark outside. As she unlocks the door to her family’s apartment, she takes a moment to focus on the fact that they’d won. Boon was safe. The tension with Ernest, Tay, and Ellen could wait until tomorrow. Taking a deep breath, she opens the door.

The James apartment isn’t very large. A couch and TV were to the left of the door, and the kitchen was to the right. Noah is seated at the island. Several old photo albums are open in front of him. Atlanta opens her mouth to say hello, but then sees something else on the counter. It’s the latest copy of the Kingfisher Gossip Magazine, the one with her and Boon kissing on the cover. The greeting fades and she just stands in the doorway, staring at her father.

Noah James glances up from the photo album he is paging through. “Oh, good evening, Atlanta.” He gestures at the seat next to him. “I’d like to have a talk with you. Would you like some tea? There’s still hot water in the kettle.” He sips from his own mug, only to find it empty, and stares into it.

Despite not particularly wanting any, Atlanta nods. *This can’t be good. Having something to hold might help?* “Um. Sure. Do you want more?” She closes the door behind her and walks over to the cupboard to get herself a mug. Her eyes linger on the tea options, unsure if she wants to stall or get this over with. But stalling was her usual go-to.

“Yes, please.” Noah puts down the cup at the far end of the table, closest to Atlanta. “Chamomile’s fine. It’s calming.” He closes one of the photo albums in front of him and puts it to the side. He picks up a stack of them on the chair next to his and puts them away, clearing the spot for his daughter to sit at. “Of course, with a little bit of honey, because…” he says, then trails off before realizing what he was saying. He looks down at the photos in front of him and rubs at his forehead with one hand.

Atlanta picks up his mug and finishes his sentence under her breath, “Because I’m not sweet enough for you yet.” It’s something her mom used to say. Silently, she makes them both chamomile tea with a bit of honey. When it’s done steeping, she sits down on the chair next to her father and slides his over to him. She holds her own mug in both hands and stares down at it, waiting for the explosion.

Noah picks up the mug and takes a sip. “Thank you, Atlanta.” He attempts a smile, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. “I was just looking at some old photos.” The one before him right now shows photos of Noah and his wife Demeter, with a pre-teen Atlanta. Photos of them at home, on trips, with Atlanta’s grandparents—the page turns and shows a picture of Noah eating one of Atlanta’s cupcakes at Noah’s and Demeter’s 10th anniversary. His face in the picture is scrunched up in a smile and a frown at once. Looking at the picture, Noah chuckles. “You’ve gotten really good at cupcakes since then.”

Atlanta nods. “Uh, yeah. Practice makes perfect, I guess? Subbing in pickle juice for lemon juice wasn’t my best idea. I’m pretty sure m—mom didn’t stop me just so she could get that picture.” She looks between her dad, the album, and the magazine. A finger taps nervously against her mug.

“Hah, I’m sure.” Noah laughs. “I didn’t want to disappoint you or discourage you from something you loved, something that was good for you. You were so little and you’d worked so hard. I guess I had to tell a little white lie for that. I don’t like lying to you or Jasper, but something like that is harmless, right?”

He gently places his hand on the photo and sighs. “I know you don’t like to talk about your superhero stuff with me, but you didn’t even tell me you’ve got a girlfriend now?” He looks to Atlanta.

Unable to meet his eyes, Atlanta stares down into her tea. “I…” She chokes up and has to start again. “She’s got powers. And she’s on the team. I figured...I thought you’d try to stop me. And I didn’t want to fight about it so I just...didn’t tell you. It seemed like the easiest solution...”

“Atlanta, that’s the most foolish thing. If your two lives were completely separate…I wouldn’t have liked it, but it would’ve been one thing. Yet this girl, this…*Boon*? You and her were seen *kissing*. You were *photographed*. And you were there not as Verve, but as Atlanta James.” His voice grows stern as he turns more towards her. “You’re no longer keeping your two lives separate. I didn’t like this superpower business from the start and we’ve talked about this before. The *only* reason I let you keep this going is because I *trusted* you. I trusted that you could keep your superpowered life and our regular family life separate.”

Atlanta frowns. This was not the reaction she was expecting. Her confusion quickly evolves into anger. She sets her mug down on the counter with a little more force than necessary and looks at her father. "So what, you want me to have a press conference? Announce who I am to the world? Let Kieran Khan and everyone else know that my weakest spot is Jasper? Dating Boon doesn't do that! She asked ME out. As Atlanta. Not Verve. It's still separate. I've tried to keep all the hero stuff away from you, but I'm not going to refuse to even interact with my teammates out of costume!"

“So that’s why you didn’t want to talk about this? Because you don’t want to take responsibility and accept the consequences of your actions?” Noah pinches the bridge of his nose. “Of course I don’t want you to have a press conference. But clearly this Khan guy already knew long ago. If she asked you out, then maybe she needs a stern talking to by her father too. How do you even plan to go on with this? How do your teammates keep their little brothers safe? They have families too don’t they? What do they do? What are you gonna do?”

“Well first of all, Boon’s dad is dead. But what would he tell her? Not to date anyone? Or not date me in particular?” She pauses, wanting that question to sink in, but pushes on before he can answer. "And I plan on going on like I have been. Dating Boon as Atlanta. Being a hero as Verve. Trusting the team more overall. Making sure Jasper's safe, as much as I can in this city. What else do you want from me, Dad? What else am I supposed to do?" Her volume has been escalating until she practically shouts her last question. Flinching at her own volume, she crosses her arms and leans back in her chair. She blinks hard, trying not to start crying.

“What I want from you is to talk to me!” Noah’s voice raises as he stands up tall. “How can you expect me to listen if you don’t speak? How can you expect me to see when you don’t show me anything? Do you remember when we talked after the hospital incident? I wanted to have found out about your identity from *you*, not in the middle of a fight. Just like I wanted to find out about you having a girlfriend from *you*, not from a superhero gossip magazine. You wanted us to stay in Halcyon City, one of the statistically most dangerous cities for non-powered people on the East Coast. And I will gladly oblige you to keep our family together! But if family doesn’t talk…if you don’t talk…how am I supposed to know what threatens Jasper?” He sinks back into his seat, looking defeated. “I already can’t protect you anymore, like a good parent should. How am I supposed to protect my son if I…if I just end up like your girlfriend’s dad?”

“I…” Atlanta wipes at her eyes. “I didn’t think you wanted to know. Or that if I told you anything, you’d just yell at me. And I can’t handle that all the time, Dad. If...if you want me to start talking to you, I need assurance that you’re not going to flip out. I don’t **like** keeping things from you. I just...don’t know how to do all this. Or if there’s even a right way to do it. It would mean a lot to me if I knew you had my back. That you weren’t going to yell at me for doing dangerous things, or for staying out too late doing team stuff, or for dating someone with powers…” She trails off, unwilling to touch on the idea that she could lose him, too.

Noah takes a deep breath and is quiet for a little while. His mouth hangs open a little and he looks about to speak, but is still trying to find the words. “I will always want to protect you and do right by you, Atlanta. I yell at you not simply because I am angry, but because I feel powerless. When you do something dangerous, I fear for your life. I can’t help it. I’ve seen how capable you and your team are, even travelling through time to keep the city safe. I should know above all what you are capable of. I am proud of what you are capable of, but I am also afraid, because it’s all so unknown and scary. That’s why I’m in that support group. If you are out late with the team, just send me a text message. Let me know things when you know them. I don’t need the details of your missions, but I do need to know when you’ll be home, who needs to cook dinner, who picks up Jasper. As for dating someone with powers…” He scratches the back of his neck and looks away. “I guess I’ll need to meet her and see for myself what kind of girl she is, don’t I? Your mother wouldn’t let me hear the end of it if our future daughter-in-law was some dangerous gangster or delinquent.” He tried to give a smile to show he was partially joking.

Atlanta flushes and waves her hand in front of herself. “Future daughter—noooo, I mean, we’ve been on like three dates.” She takes a deep breath to steady herself. “But I’ll do better at texting you about stuff. Promise. And uh...I’m actually...having dinner...with Boon...and her mom...tomorrow. I’m uh, meeting her mom. For the first time. Uh. I’m sure, if you wanted to meet her, uh, them, you could come with me?”

Noah stares at Atlanta in thought for a moment, then gets up from his seat. “Yes, that sounds great. I presume this big event wasn’t also a thing you were hiding for a week,” he mumbles the last bit, then holds up his hands. “Right, let’s make a good impression then, shall we?” He smiles again, this time actually looking somewhat happy. He opens up his arms as if for a hug.

After a moment of hesitation, like she can’t quite believe that this is going well, Atlanta stands and gives her dad a long hug. Despite living in the same apartment, she realizes she’s missed him. “Yeah. And she only just invited me today, for the record.”

“Good. Well, we’ll see how this goes. How bad could it be?”

## Sunday, March 15th, evening -- Now Sashimi, Now You Don't

Now Sashimi, Now You Don’t is bustling with activity. Guests have taken their places around large tables sharing bowls of edamame, bottles of sake, and battling over who gets the last shrimp tempura roll on the plate. The kitchen is crowded with chefs delicately rolling sushi and forming onigiri. Despite the noisy atmosphere the restaurant reads as upscale, with what appears to be handcrafted wooden decor and an indoor koi pond.

At one of the tables sit two figures, one looking very much like a larger version of the other. Boon is wearing a black suit with a purple undershirt and a black tie, while her mother is wearing a royal blue cocktail dress and sterling earrings shaped like falcons. Maggie watches with amusement as her daughter nervously devours the “shared” bowl of edamame.

Boon spits out one of the edamame shells and places it on top of a stack of similarly empty chitinous leavings. She’s silent for a moment and then looks up at Maggie. “He already hates me. We haven’t even met yet and he already hates me, I can tell.” With a nervous expression, she rubs one of her large spiraling ram horns, “He’s gonna get freaked out by the horns isn’t he. I miss being able to hide these under a hat. Mom is my tie on straight?” Boon’s heel is audibly tapping against the floor of the restaurant.

Maggie laughs melodiously and walks over to her daughter. “Relax, Blessin’. Meeting your girlfriend’s parents can be a big thing, but it doesn’t have to be. You’ve taken down far worse things.” She takes hold of Boon’s tie and re-ties it for her, straightening it out and tightening it in the process. “You’re the daughter of Margaret and Eric Ostenberg and you have nothing to be afraid of, child.”

Boon exhales the breath she didn’t realize she was holding. “Okay, you’re right. I’ve just gotta stay calm. Worst case scenario, he hates me even more and Atlanta and I have to start sneaking into each other’s rooms to hang out. Like Romeo and Juliet, and that’s adorable.” She takes a deep breath and smiles warmly. “Thanks Mom, I’m glad you're here. And um…I’m really excited that she gets to meet you tonight too. I think you’re really gonna like her, I mean, I like her and I’m your daughter so…”

Maggie hums as she sits back down, choosing to sit next to Boon. “From what you’ve told me of her, Atlanta seems like a nice girl. I’ll have you note that I haven’t liked all of your crushes, though. Do you remember Carrie? Or Lillian? Or Yennefer?” She rattles off a few names. “Really nice girl, but would refuse to shower for some reason; constantly buried in books and didn’t seem to notice you at all; and that last one I’m pretty sure was Catholic. I liked her, but her father didn’t seem to like me.” She reaches for the edamame bowl, only to find it already empty. She places it back with a sideward look at Boon. “It seems you’re more worried about Atlanta’s father than anything else. Is the man truly so terrible? If we must rescue your damsel from her tower, then—”

Boon blushes after hearing her childhood of unrequited crushes recounted back to her. “Okay listen, I came out here to have a good time and I’m feeling seriously attacked right now. Also, Atlanta is ***not*** a damsel, she can handle anything, and her Dad would definitely not be able to stop us from dating. But…I don’t know, he has a...complicated relationship with super powers, and is super protective of Atlanta. I just don’t want him to make things more difficult for Atlanta because she’s dating me. She already has enough going on.”

Maggie nods in understanding. “Those without powers can have a lot of feelings about them, perhaps more complicated ones than those of us who have them…which in turn can make it more complicated for us. If you can date Atlanta without using your superpowers on him, that would definitely be best. Certainly better than drinking poison in a tomb after trying to elope.” She gently squeezes Boon’s shoulder and looks up. “Is Atlanta a freckly, athletic brunette?”

Atlanta and Noah have indeed arrived and are being shown to the table. Atlanta is wearing a black suit jacket that’s a little too big, a white shirt, and nice black pants. She’s wrangled her curls back into a loose bun, but a few strands have already escaped. Noah has dug up a nice gray suit with a green tie that brings out his eyes. He looks considerably less nervous than his daughter.

When Maggie looks her way, Atlanta awkwardly waves. “Um, hi Boon. Hi Mag—uh, Mrs….Ms.? Ostenberg.”

“Please, call me Maggie.” She smiles at Atlanta as she rises from her seat and reaches out to her. In greeting Atlanta, she gives a little squeeze of her upper arm and makes an approving expression. Then she turns to Noah.

“Noah James,” the man introduces himself, straightening his jacket, looking serious but nevertheless with a hint of nervousness that Maggie could pick up on. “Uh, Mrs…Ms.?” He stumbled in the same way as Atlanta.

“It’s Ms.,” she smiled. “Maggie Ostenberg.”

“A, uh…a pleasure, I’m sure.”

“The pleasure is all mine.” Maggie looks Noah over, then back to Atlanta, and gestures at the table. “Let’s be seated. Are any of y’all thirsty? We already had some appetizers—” she excused the stack of empty edamame shells “—but I’m right parched. I could use some wine.”

“Atlanta!” Boon gets out of her seat and gives her girlfriend an enthusiastic hug. “I’m so glad you’re here. You look so beautiful!”

Atlanta relaxes considerably as Boon hugs her, and she gladly leans into the hug. "Um. Thank you. You look really nice, too. I like your tie."

As she’s hugging Atlanta Boon remembers the elephant in the room. “Just a second,” she breaks off and turns towards Noah James. Her expression drops into an expert poker face, just as her own father taught her years ago, but to the especially observant her eyes would betray a certain coldness. “Mr. James,” Boon says matter of factly, “It’s good to finally meet you.” She extends a hand and delivers a handshake that’s *just* a bit too firm.

Noah shakes Boon’s hand and feels Boon’s grip tighten. He looks the girl in the eye. “It’s good to meet you as well, Bobby. I’ve heard a lot about you. You’re in a band, right? Must be where you got that firm hand from.” After a few seconds he pulls his hand loose from Boon’s grip, frowns slightly, and walks to his seat while opening and closing his hand a few times. “Some wine sounds good,” he nods at Maggie as he sits down. Shortly after, a waiter pops up by the table and the group orders their drinks.

Noting the tension, Atlanta squeezes Boon’s arm before taking a seat next to her dad and across from Boon. The best way to deal with this, she decided, was to ignore it and make small talk. “She does roller derby, too. It’s really cool. I uh, don’t understand any of the rules but it’s fun to watch!”

Atlanta's gambite pays off as a sizeable chunk of the mountain of worry in Boon's brain is blown to bits at the mention of her favorite sport. Her eyes light up and her poker face curls into an excited smile. "That's right! You're looking at the number one jammer for HalcyBRAWN City" she confidently points a thumb at her chest. "The rules are a bit complicated but it basically boils down to a lesbian mosh pit on wheels. Atlanta here is one of my biggest supporters! She shows up to all my bouts." Her expression is noticeably more relaxed as she smiles at Atlanta.

“Well not all of them,” Atlanta brushes a curl behind her ear, smiling back at her girlfriend. “But I try to make it to most of them. I like supporting you.”

“A lesbian mosh pit on wheels, huh?” Noah gives a sly smile in Atlanta’s direction. “Now I know where you went those Sunday afternoons. No wonder you had a hard time keeping your story straight.”

Atlanta flushes and opens her mouth to protest, realizes she has no defense for that because it’s true, and instead looks down at her hands.

Maggie Ostenberg watches her daughter light up as soon as a subject of her interest is mentioned. She looks like she’s vicariously experiencing her enjoyment of local sports. Her gaze settles on Noah, looking him over to assess the man that Boon earlier had seemed to be afraid of. Yet she had opted to try and seem intimidating when they met. Maggie chuckles at the thought. It seems to run in the family. She plays a little bit with a ring on her finger, which bears a large blue stone with a burning crimson red crack in the middle. She’d known the night would not be boring, but for her daughter’s sake she hoped it would not be dramatic either.

Noah notices Maggie’s gaze and looks nervous. When the waiter arrives with their drinks, he quickly sips from his glass to hide his nerves. “So,” he gestures in Boon’s direction, “Atlanta, Jasper and I have lived in Halcyon most of our lives. She’s told me that you’re from Georgia. What’s your family like? What brought you two to Halcyon City?”

"Well Mom here used to…work…in Halcyon. After she met my Dad, he convinced her to move down to Georgia to be closer to his extended family. And then they had me!" Boon looks nervous for a moment and considers her words carefully, *Okay so, probably shouldn't bring up the demon stuff. Or the fact that my Dad was a supervillain who left my family to go be a supervillain. Or really talk about my mom being a superhero?* Does he know about that? She continues cautiously: "Then my Dad moved to Halcyon for…work…and then he passed away while he was living here. A few months after he passed away I moved here for…work…and then mom here followed suit for…um…work…" Boon grimaces, but attempts an innocent smile.

“Oh? Atlanta didn’t mention you had a job. What kind of work do you do?”

Boon appears panicked. Her eyes flitting back and forth between Maggie and Atlanta with an expression that says "Please help me." When help does not arrive she attempts to improvise. "Well um. I do, um, medical…work…and uh, community service…stuff." *Wait shit he's a nurse, I heal people with magic, this is only going to lead to more questions, and no good answers.*

Atlanta has managed to pull the sleeves of her blazer down over her hands and rubs the fabric between her fingers nervously. “You know what she does, Dad. We’ve talked about it. I just didn’t call it a job.”

“Right, sorry sweetie,” Noah softens momentarily, then gives a nod towards Boon and points with his fork at her. “You do good work, but don’t ever pass yourself off as trained medical personnel if you’re not. That’s more dangerous than you realize.”

"I'm sorry, I—" Boon lowers her head solemnly. "You're right, I'm sorry."

Noah takes a breath and his shoulders relax a little. “Look—” he starts.

“How dare you?” Maggie Ostenberg cuts him off, surprising him. “Have you ever even seen what magic can do? What wonderful feats it can accomplish? How many lives it can save? My DAUGHTER—” she rises up from her seat and places one hand on Boon’s shoulder “—healed the EYES of a BLIND GIRL. She would have lost something precious to her if it weren’t for Boon!”

Noah freezes in the face of the fury of the Valkyrie, leaning back in his chair with wide eyes. “I…I didn’t mean to diminish the good she has done…I…” He almost turns to Atlanta, but then seems to think differently of it and avoids his daughter’s eyes. “I have seen what magic can do. Supers trained in magic and medicine are a godsend. Seeing Nursemaster at work is one reason I wanted to become a nurse. Yet…since becoming a nurse in Halcyon, I’ve also seen—more than anyone—the other side of things. I don’t…”

He takes a deep breath and covers his face with his hands for a moment. He then looks at Atlanta, gives her a weak smile, and looks back at Boon. “I’m sorry if I came across as attacking you. If…If you’re interested in using your magic for healing, there are some colleges and universities I can recommend.”

Atlanta has shrunk down into her chair as tempers rose. Despite things having maybe calmed down, she stands. “I’m, uh, gonna use the bathroom. I’ll be right back.” She looks around the unfamiliar restaurant, not seeing any signs to point her in the right direction.

Maggie gets distracted by Atlanta’s excusing herself. Seeing her look around, she sighs, frustrated with Noah. “Let me help you, child,” she says to Atlanta. She walks around the table and gestures for Atlanta to follow. “I know where the bathrooms are. We’ll be right back,” she says the last thing to Boon before shooting a look that could kill daggers at Noah.

Atlanta glances back at Boon with a look that pretty clearly says your mom scares me, but follows Maggie away from the table.

Boon is silent for a moment before sheepishly looking back up at Noah “Sorry about my Mom, she’s…protective.” Boon attempts a smile. “Umm, I guess we both are to an extent…speaking of...you mentioned you knew some good universities? I was actually thinking of going to med school. I want to learn how to help people with my powers. The right way.” She frowns again. “I’ve hurt people in the past...I don’t want to do that anymore, I recently got a second chance at everything and I…I don’t want to waste it, I want to make the world a better place with the time that I have.”

Noah considers Boon’s words and sips his drink. “It’s good that you’re considering other avenues of using your…gifts. I’ve seen a lot of people get their second chance. I’ve known too many of them who squandered it.” He looks down.

“I…admit I wasn’t very happy to find out about you and my daughter. From what I knew of you you seemed irresponsible, destructive—to yourself and your environment, and only sticking around wherever the fun was to be found. Knowing that you are someone who learns from their mistakes, who tries to find a better path…it makes me feel better about knowing you personally.” He puts his glass down and manages to smile sincerely at Boon. “IF you can follow up on the promise you’re showing, and IF you can show me you’re doing well in your studies at school, I’d be happy to write you a recommendation letter.”

Tears start to well up in Boon's eyes ever so slightly. She wipes them with her napkin and chuckles. "You know…you kind of remind me of my Dad before he left, in a good way." She once again extends her hand for a shake. "Mr. James, you have yourself a deal." *Although I'm definitely going to have to put in time on getting my history grades up.*

Noah shakes Boon’s hand. ‘*Before he left*’? He thinks to himself. *No wonder she’s a mess.*

## The Bathrooms

“Here they are,” Maggie says, opening the door to the bathrooms. She walks over to the wash tables and washes her hands. Her expression is one of frustration.

Atlanta splashes water on her face and glances over at Boon's mom as she dries it off. "I uh, I'm sorry about my dad. He's...weird about superpowers sometimes. But he means well. Usually."

“Usually?” Maggie looks at Atlanta. “Does he often make you feel bad about your powers? About what you do?”

Atlanta stiffens, but pushes down her immediate instinct of denying having superpowers. After glancing around to make sure no one else was in there, she tugs her sleeves back down over her hands nervously. “How do you—oh. Boon must have told you about me. About who I am?”

Maggie stares at Atlanta for a moment, then fakes an expression of shock. “Oh! Terribly sorry, I should not have assumed. These things are a secretive subject for some. I have never been that way myself and most of my colleagues and paramours have been the same.” She suddenly appears less collected after her gaffe and looks around as well to make sure nobody else had overheard her exposing Atlanta. A little awkwardly, she gathers her bearings again and mindfully focuses on flattening a crease in her dress. “Boon has told me, yes. I’ve never kept a secret from her that was my own to keep. I don’t require the same of her, but it has pleased me that she’s seemed to have shared everythin’ with me so far.” She gives a sad smile, recalling the near-destruction of Shady Glen Manor the day before. “Well, almost everythin’. Sometimes she’s a little late with important matters.”

Atlanta crosses her arms and shrugs. “Um. It’s okay. Most people who know aren’t people I’ve chosen to tell. Boon is, though. Just uh, please don’t tell anyone? I’m still not okay with just anyone knowing.” She glances around like that’ll give her a topic of conversation. “Soooo, you’re a Valkyrie? That’s cool.”

“A Valkyrie, yes,” Maggie responds. She shifts her stance and while her face looks friendly, her stance shows confidence and power, taut leg muscles visible through the slit of her dress. “There are others. Boon notwithstanding, though she may well be one one day herself. That’s not up to me, however.” She grins. “But yes, it is very cool. Has Boon told you the story of how I killed the eighth Fafnir, or the time I saved Thor from a flock of sirens? If not, I can tell it when we return to the table.”

Atlanta shakes her head. Boon had not, in fact, talked a lot about her mom when she and Atlanta were hanging out. Parents weren't exactly one of their favorite topics of conversation. "She hasn't, no. But it sounds cool." Atlanta takes a few steps backwards toward the door, then stops and awkwardly gestures toward it. "Do uh, you want to head back now?"

Maggie nods. “If you are done here, then we are done here.”

## Return to the Table

Noah looks up from the conversation with Boon as he sees Maggie and Atlanta coming out of the bathroom at the back of the restaurant. “By the way,” he says coyly, “the South Halcyon High Rollers are the best roller derby team in Halcyon City. You couldn’t hope to beat Grizz Lee in her prime.” He stares Boon in the eye, then turns away to smile at Atlanta as the others return to the table. “Hello Atlanta. Ready to order?” He waves over a waiter, who gives a signal back. A little later one of the waiters shows up at their table to take their orders.

Boon pauses and her jaw drops momentarily. "I- how do-" her stammering is interrupted by the return of Maggie and Atlanta, but she remains visibly surprised by Noah's apparent knowledge of her favorite sport.

To be totally honest, Atlanta had half expected Boon and Noah to be shouting at each other by the time she and Maggie got back to the table. And of all the potential possibilities, Noah looking pleased with himself and Boon looking shocked wasn’t one she’d anticipated. She hastily sits down to take a quick look at the menu as the waiter comes over.

After the group orders, Atlanta feels the silence creeping in between them and asks the first question that comes to her mind. “So do you like being back in Halcyon, Ms.—uh, Maggie?”

“Yes, darlin’?” Maggie shakes up from her imagination of the spicy tuna rolls she ordered. She smiles at Atlanta. “Oh! I do so love it here. I enjoy the quiet things in life and the more open spaces down south in lil’ ol’ Georgia, but I’ve made plenty of friends ‘round these parts that it easily feels like a second home. Some old friends, some new ones…and the variety of food is much greater here! I do love a good pimento cheese spread or peach cobbler, but earlier today I walked through a street with five different Asian cuisines! If that ain’t divine, Freyja strike me down.”

Boon smiles. "Besides, things are more interesting here. Everything was further apart back home, quieter. And yeah, the food's pretty great here." Boon gives a warm smile at her mother, "I'm glad you're here now Mom. It's good to have you back."

“Awww, Blessin’!” Maggie reaches over and gently ruffles Boon’s hair.

Atlanta grins at the face her girlfriend makes at her hair getting ruffled, and pushes back the pang of regret that her own mom isn’t around to tease her like that. The conversation moves on, food arrives, and embarrassing stories and entrees are shared. After they’re finished and Maggie and Noah are disagreeing on how the bill should be split, Atlanta nudges Boon’s knee under the table.

“Want to get some air?”

"Oh my God please. Knowing my mom this may take a while."

“This might be one of those immovable object and unstoppable force situations,” Atlanta responds, then stands. “I’ll meet you outside, Dad.”

Without waiting for a response, she heads toward the exit.

Boon follows Atlanta outside into the parking lot. It's gotten dark since their arrival at the restaurant and the night air feels cool on her skin. “You know, you’re probably gonna look at me like I have horns growing out of my head when I say this, but your Dad’s actually not half bad.”

Atlanta takes in a deep breath of cool night air, then raises an eyebrow at Boon. “Um, Boon, you do have horns.” She gets up on her tip-toes to tap one of the ram’s horns adorning her girlfriend’s skull. “But you’re right. Who are you and what have you done with my girlfriend?” A grin pops up on Atlanta’s face, though, giving away that she doesn’t mean it.

Boon scratches the back of her head and gives a bashful smile “Look he’s—well for starters, did you know he’s a roller derby fan? That caught me by surprise. Also he…well we were talking about med school, and he told me he’d write me a recommendation letter. Maybe he’s—” she exhales, “maybe he’s not as much of a hardass as I made him out to be. I enjoyed talking to him.”

Hearing Boon of all people saying good things about her dad hits Atlanta with a sudden wave of emotions. To hide her face, she gives Boon an abrupt hug. After a moment, she quietly says, "I'm really glad to hear you say that. I know he and I haven't been on the best terms all the time, but I think he's really trying, and it means a lot to me that you like him. Or at least don’t hate him."

Boon is surprised by the hug but nonetheless pulls Atlanta in close. "Your family's important to you, dear. And if they're important to you they're important to me, too, no matter who your dad is…unless he was like…Godspeed or something. On that note, how'd you like my mom? She can be a little intimidating but like, so can plenty of our friends."

Atlanta tenses in Boon’s arms. “Um. Yeah. She’s really...uh...something…”

Boon feels Atlanta tense up and grows concerned. "Hey, is everything okay?"

Atlanta lets go of Boon and tugs on her sleeves, looking at the ground. "Okay, don't take this the wrong way, but your mom is terrifying."

Boon does a double take. "Hang on a minute. We fight demons, power hungry mega-corps, and villains with giant space lasers regularly, and you're afraid of the woman who calls me blessin'?" Boon rests her hand on Atlanta's shoulder "I'm not gonna lie that's actually pretty cute, but I don't blame you. My Mom is a bit intense, she likes everyone in the room to know that she's in charge. And if you were ever wondering where I got my stubbornness from, well…but I promise she's a really sweet and caring person and you have nothing to be afraid of."

“Okay, it sounds ridiculous when you put it like that. And on the one hand I’m sure you’re right, but on the other, she’s still really scary?” Atlanta holds out her hands and shrugs. “And like, compared to the Abyss, or Reaper One, or just like, my own powers, she probably shouldn’t be but she is? Sorry, ignore me. I had a nice night, regardless. And I’m glad you like my dad now.”

"I had a nice night too, and I'm glad I got to talk to him. I'm not gonna lie, I was pretty worried when I heard that he knew about us. I'm glad he does though, we don't have to keep it secret anymore." Boon inhales sharply. "That said, I've still gotta figure out how to pretend I'm not dating Verve."

Atlanta takes Boon's hand. "I'm glad there are fewer secrets now, too. I know that I have too many. And I'm sorry that keeping that a secret is hard, but my identity is never going to be public. I'm working on telling the team, though. So that'll at least be one more secret you don't have to keep?" She squeezes Boon's hand and gives her a guilty smile.

Boon smiles reassuringly. "Hey it's okay, you don't have to worry about it. It's your story and your secret and it should be up to you who you tell and when." A coy look crosses Boon's face. "But when you do tell the team I can finally kiss you as Verve when they're around." She accentuates with a smug grin.

Atlanta's face flushes bright red, and she ineffectually tries to cover it with her free hand. "I...uh...yeah. Yeah you could." She glances back toward the door to the restaurant. Not seeing their parents, she mumbles, "You could do that now, too, if you wanted."

Boon takes Atlanta's hands in her own and stares into her brilliantly green eyes. "I—I'd like that very much." Her face turns a shade of red to match Atlanta's as she leans down to kiss her.

Atlanta gets up on her tip-toes so Boon doesn't have to bend down quite as far to kiss her. She remembers her idea of carrying around a step stool in her Pockets for circumstances like this, and grins as she pulls away. "So does it count as a date if our parents were here?"

Boon puts her hand on her chin pensively. "Yeah I don't see why not? What's that make this, date number 12? 13?"

“Uh…” Atlanta looks at her girlfriend like her horns weren’t usually there. She counts in her fingers. “We went ice skating, and then Valentine’s day, and I think when you asked me to be your girlfriend counts, so that would make this 4?”

"But what about that time we baked a cake for my mom? Or when we went to the coffee shop together. I mean you were Verve for both of those but you are Verve so…also there was that time we watched a movie together, and that time we both sat on the couch and looked at our phones for 5 hours, and that time we went for a walk in the park…we have very different ideas of what constitutes a date don't we."

Atlanta giggles. “Seems like it. And for the record, baking for your mom doesn’t count because you didn’t know I was me yet, and you hadn’t even asked me out yet when we went for coffee!” She tucks a curl behind her ear and hums. “I guess, if we didn’t call it a date, I didn’t count it? Does every time we hang out count as a date, then? What about missions?”

It's a simple motion, but Boon feels butterflies as Atlanta tucks her hair behind her ears. It's so adorable when she does that. "I mean, I suppose whenever we're together and doing something fun; and I get to just enjoy having you be a part of my life, it certainly feels like a date to me, even if we don't call it one." A happy tear escapes her eye. "To me, I guess I don't feel like we need to do anything super romantic for it to be a date, I just enjoy being with you no matter what."

"I like that, calling anything a date—hey, what no don't cry!" Atlanta grabs one of Boon's hands in both of hers. "I'm sorry! Just because I didn't think of them as dates doesn't mean I didn't like them! Hanging out with you is always the best part of my day. Even when you want to watch weird movies!" She looks up at Boon, worried about how this was a big enough misunderstanding to make her cry.

"No, no it's fine. These are tears of joy. I'm just—I'm so happy you're a part of my life. Sometimes I have trouble believing I could be this lucky." More tears start to well up.

Atlanta stands there in surprise for a moment before reaching up to touch Boon’s cheek. “Hey, it’s not luck. I’m here because you’re amazing, Boon. And we’re both here because you had the courage to ask me out. Which, for the record, I never would have been able to do.” She grins. “Even if you had to ask me for advice on how to ask me out.”

Boon laughs at the awkward memory. She can barely imagine how her girlfriend must've felt at the time. "You're amazing too Atlanta. Thanks for saying yes."

"I'm really glad I did." Atlanta rubs her thumb over Boon's cheek to wipe away some of the tears. Gosh, she's so pretty. How is this my real life? "I, uh. Can I kiss you again?"

Boon doesn't say a word, she just smiles and nods silently, tears welling in her eyes. She bends down once again and kisses Atlanta.

A little distance away, Maggie Ostenberg and Noah James have just exited the restaurant and stand still, watching their daughters. “Don’t you dare say a word,” Maggie warns Noah softly.

“I wasn’t planning to!” Noah hisses back, trying to straighten his jacket. “I want Atlanta to live happily, I’m not going to ruin her having a moment like some shitty sitcom dad.” He pauses, looking at the pair. “I want her to have a better start than I did.”

“Aw, gettin’ sentimental?” Maggie teases, opening up her purse.

“You’re not going to try to pay me back for my half of the dinner, are you? We compromised!”

“Naw, I’m a woman of my word.” She says, fishing her phone out of her purse and snapping a photo of Boon and Atlanta. She looks at Noah and presses a finger to her lips. “No embarrassing the kids just yet, just recordin’ happy memories. And maybe embarrassing them later.”

Noah sighs. “At least someone’s having a good evening today. I didn’t think I’d end up in an arm wrestling match with a Valkyrie this weekend. I’m going to be sore at work tomorrow.”

Atlanta pulls away from the kiss, grinning. That is, until she sees Noah and Maggie standing off to the side, watching them. Her eyes widen, and she would have blushed if her cheeks weren’t already red from the chilly night. "Uh, Boon? They're here. Um. It's probably time to go."

Boon rolls her eyes "Uggghh is she taking a picture of us kissing? She's so embarrassing. I guess that means they settled the check though, honestly that was faster than I thought." Boon holds Atlanta's hands and smiles at her, getting lost in her eyes for a moment. "I guess uh, I'll see you later then. It was great seeing you, you look…so beautiful tonight—I mean you always look beautiful but like, you know."

"I um, thank you." Atlanta had been called cute fairly frequently, but couldn't remember being called beautiful before. "So do you. I, yeah. That whole thing. And like, you seem happier. Freer, maybe? Not having a passenger suits you." Atlanta squeezes Boon's hands. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

"I uh, I'm not sure. It hasn't really sunken in yet you know? It feels like…" *It feels like a dream that I'm gonna wake up from and still be possessed? No, I don't want to bring down the mood.* "I've gotta give it time to sink in, but having a head to myself again is amazing." Boon squeezes Atlanta's hands and lets go. "I'll see you tomorrow, dear."

“Goodnight, Boon.”

“Goodbye you two,” Noah mumbles politely.

“Goodbye Atlanta! Goodbye Noah.” Maggie lingers for a moment. “Consider my words.” Then she turns and follows after Boon to their car.

They part, and the two girls go their separate ways with their parents. After Atlanta and Noah get back to the apartment and relieve the babysitter, Atlanta hugs her dad goodnight and heads to bed. She lays there, letting herself really feel the relief of her dad knowing about her and Boon, and knowing that Boon’s life was her own again, and falls asleep fairly quickly.

After the door to Atlanta’s room closes behind her, Noah James sighs. He stands still in the middle of the living room of their small apartment. He rubs at his eyes. Tired. He should sleep soon. Tomorrow was going to bring another long shift at the hospital.

He looks at a shelf next to the door where mostly some knick-knacks and books are placed. Off to the side, bright and prominent, more free of dust than the other items on the shelf, stands a pair of framed photos. One of the James family, a recent one, showing Atlanta, Jasper and Noah at an amusement park the summer before. The other is a photo of Demeter. Noah stands in front of the shelf, rubbing his hands together. He looks down at his hands. He had never taken off his marriage ring in all those years since his wife disappeared. He takes hold of it and pulls, sliding it off his ring finger with some difficulty. He holds it up in front of the picture, his lip beginning to quiver. “I’m sorry.” He mutters, kissing the ring and clenching his fingers around it. He takes a deep breath and puts the ring in his pocket. He takes another deep breath and wipes at his eyes again. Not just tired now. He walks to his own bedroom and flicks the lights out, plunging the apartment into darkness.