Kathy's Baltimore to the causeway, so-late-Monday-night-it's-actually-Tuesday-morning

[tigerundercover]

There wasn't a lot to scavenge in an empty city in the middle of winter, but Raven still wasn't ready to give up on the causeway just yet. Fandom would pull through for her -- somehow. She didn't believe in much anymore, but she had to believe in that just a little bit longer.

Besides, the way her life was going, it would open back up the moment she gave up and left.

She'd managed to clear out a few local exes in the last couple days, enough that she felt confident enough dozing next to her small fire. She kept it lit for light more than warmth, in case the road just decided to fade back into existence in the middle of the overcast night. Plus, it meant she had just enough light to practice making shark-tooth faces at herself in a little shard of mirror.

She'd learned how to make her own fun.

[ooc: For those expected. THE JOURNEY IS NEARLY OVER!]

Comments

[tigerundercover]

Raven blinked at the swirly portal that had just appeared for a moment or two longer than she would ever admit to anyone, ever. It'd been a long almost-nine months, okay? She could be forgiven for not entirely comprehending immediately that it might actually be over.

Then she jumped up with a woop! that sounded especially odd through shark teeth, kicked some dirt on her fire, and went running up to the portal, shifting as she went into something nice and small and inconspicuous, just in case the other side wasn't actually Fandom.

Or if Fandom was having one of its special times.

[geniuswithasmartphone]

Hardison stood on the other side, earnestly waiting for Raven to appear. He was back to shivering, now that the complicated part was over. He'd imagined her running through it, where he'd be standing looking super cool, his arms open, saying something pithy like, Ready to come home, little mama? or something.

Instead, he was confused by the appearance of a tiny jackrabbit, head tilted for a few seconds and arms falling, before he called a tentative, "TA? That you?"

He would be so mad if it were an ordinary rabbit.

[tigerundercover]

Raven stopped just on the other side of the portal, ears twitching as she waited for the familiar *clack clack* of exes.

Instead there was just the quiet noises of a late winter night on a small island populated by drunken squirrels.

And Hardison. Whose voice was the best sound she'd heard in ages.

She shifted back into her natural form and launched herself at him.

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"Raven!" He caught her, folding her into his arms and bringing her to his chest. He was choking up, voice thick, but he couldn't stop saying her name. In a minute, he'd remember to shut down the portal before they got unexpected clacky company, but for right now, all he could focus on was her, safe and sound and alive. "So glad to see you, girl. So glad."

She was never, ever, ever allowed to leave the island again. Unless she wanted to, because Hardison would never be able to put limits on her.

And part of him ached for Eliot and Parker because Raven's return would last longer than a weekend.

[tigerundercover]

"I made it, you're real, Hardison, I'm back, I made it." Raven hadn't even noticed she was talking, she was just so glad to see someone she knew -- someone who knew her -- and not have to constantly look over her shoulder or wait for the other shoe to drop. "I'm home."

Oh. God. Wow.

She was home.

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"Course you are, little mama," Hardison said. "You think I was gonna let you be stuck there forever? Hell no, girl, we weren't gonna lose you. Who else could I have train future TAs?" Hardison was barely making sense, but it didn't matter. Every word he said was just a cover for Home. "I'm just sorry it took so damn long."

[tigerundercover]

Raven's snort of laughter was a bit wetter than it should have been. She hadn't noticed when she started crying any more than she had that she was babbling. She managed to slow down her own chatter enough to actually listen to what he was saying, at least.

She hadn't even realized how much she'd missed his voice.

"It was a long walk," she said, trying to reassure him. "I only had to wait a little while."

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"Damn girl, you are the bravest person I ever met," Hardison said, shaking his head. "Walk all that way. I don't think I coulda done it."

Eliot and Parker, sure. Either singly or together. But not him.

"You gotta be tired. An' hungry. Aww, hell, I shoulda told Eliot to start cookin' somethin' before I left!" Hopefully, Raven would be okay with fortune cookies and cereal while somebody made her something warmer? Hardison would make her Hot Pockets, just to make sure she had a warm meal. "I'm sorry, I wasn't thinkin' about anythin' more than gettin' you back here."

Where he could hug her and hold her and keep her safe for roughly ever, if she'd let him.

[tigerundercover]

"I had some fish," Raven said. That had been the original purpose of the shark teeth. "But I could eat more." She would cheerfully eat absolutely anything you put in front of her right now, though she'd have to go slow with the processed and sugary foods if she didn't want to get sick.

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"Yo, when we get home, I'mma cook you up anythin' you want," Hardison assured her, wrapping an arm around her both to keep her close and also because, well, he worried. "If you want somethin' microwaved, anyway. Otherwise, I'mma make Eliot cook you up anythin' you want."

He paused, then added, "You cool comin' back to our place? Got plenty of room. An' a sweet puppy who loves to cuddle new folks."

You know, on the off-chance Raven needed some kind of snuggle therapy. Just saying.

[tigerundercover]

Val would actually get a little bit of side eye from Raven, seeing as she'd actually been someone's pet dog for a while. Val would win her over eventually, though.

"You house sounds good," Raven assured him. "I haven't slept in a house since, like, October."

That probably wasn't as reassuring as she thought it was.

[geniuswithasmartphone]

Nope! Not in the least! Raven was very bad at this game, where 'this game' was 'not making Hardison look at her in horror.'

"Yeah, so, first order of business," Hardison said, barely remembering to scoop up his computer and shut down the program. "Get you home, get you fed, get you somethin' warm an' comfy to sleep in." He paused, remembering Raven's propensity to make her own clothing. "Okay, maybe not that last one. Hot bath instead?"

[tigerundercover]

So the fun thing about being a shapeshifter: when your eyes go wide, they sometimes went really extra wide. "I haven't had hot running water since before LA!"

So that was a 'yes please' on the bath, there. She might be immune to cold, but that didn't mean she couldn't enjoy a good hot water experience.

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"We'll get you into the tub while Eliot makes you somethin' to eat," Hardison promised immediately. Hell, he'd be promising her the moon if she'd made that face at him right now. "Maybe we'll even find a way for you to eat in the tub!"

Like...have Val drag a tray in? Something? He'd let Parker figure it out if Raven liked the idea. She was the Mastermind for a reason.

[tigerundercover]

Hardison, Raven was naked right now. She wasn't even pretending not to be. You think she was going to get mad at someone bringing her food while she was in a tub?

"That sounds very . . . posh," Raven decided. "But we can do it one thing at a time."

More might actually be kind of overwhelming, let's be real.

[geniuswithasmartphone]

Yeah, but she'd be...more naked in the bathtub! Super-naked! Like being naked except for socks, which only highlighted how very naked you were!

Besides, Hardison was so happy to see Raven right then that he hadn't even noticed that she wasn't mimicking clothing. He was too excited to be seeing her in the flesh to realize how much flesh there was.

"Whatever works best for you," Hardison assured her, leading her past the diner and towards Eliot's--now their--home. "Girl, you could probably get a piggyback ride outta me right now you asked right. All the way up these damn stairs."

[tigerundercover]

"It's okay. I'm used to walking." Raven's callouses had callouses with callouses. She looked back at the diner, confused. "Did you move?"

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"Yeah, right around the New Year," Hardison said, managing somehow to smile even wider. "Me an' Parker decided to move in with Eliot. He had more space anyhow."

And it left Raven with a place to live once she settled in. But he figured he'd bring that up later. Let her get used to the idea of being safe first, before he threw the idea of her own apartment at her.

[tigerundercover]

Raven let out a little squeak, then clapped her hand over her mouth. "You all moved in together!" That was adorable. "I guess you're finally managing to tame Mr. Spencer, huh?"