Chapter 9 Albuquerque Comic Expo #2
Noah covered his mouth, his eyes softening as he took in her face. Then he burst out laughing.
“From AJ Graves?” he read. “Are you writing to her from your oak desk?”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” said AJ. “What’s yours, xoxo Rho?”
“I was just going to let the Sharpie burn through the paper, but that’s a good idea.”
AJ cackled, and Noah looked extremely pleased.
“Heads up,” called Xiaobo. They looked away from each other to find a mob of cosplayers rushing their row.
Word was out: Noah Drew was in the house.
At the sight of the stampede, AJ’s stomach lurched. One fan had felt…manageable. Nice, even. And more to the point, in line with AJ’s perception of the show’s reach. This crowd—it had to be Noah. Had this many people even heard of Into the Blue?
“Single file, please single file!” their row staffer wheezed.
Meagan had pushed her way to the front of the pack, closely trailed by a duo in full Arho getups—an enormous, bald man dressed in Ana Tar’s flowing white robes and a slight woman with a black pixie haircut, Rho’s leather armor, and a swirling facial tattoo.
They sidestepped the staffer and the signing table, arriving breathless before AJ and Noah.
“What did I tell you?” said Meagan, elbowing between them.
“I just,” breathed giant Ana, his eyes brimming. “I can’t believe it’s you!” He reached out his hands, and AJ automatically gave him hers. Noah sat forward, alert.
“So protective!” said giant Ana approvingly. “Don’t you just love her?”
AJ’s heart stopped. She didn’t dare look at Noah.
“I’m Otto,” the cosplayer continued blithely. “Obviously, I’m an Ana. This is Oona, she’s my Rho.”
“We are the co-chairs of the Blue Coats Society,” said Oona in a scratchy, meaningful voice.
The Blue Coats Society. AJ knew there were fan forums, but a whole society?
“Meagan here’s the head of our local chapter,” Oona was saying.
“We’re also the co-authors of the most-read Arho fic on Fandom, no big deal,” said Otto.
He and Oona exchanged proud smiles. “We just…love you guys, man,” said Oona.
“Can I have my picture, by the way?” Meagan piped up.
Noah was still holding AJ’s headshot. Reluctantly, he handed it to Meagan. He was taking this all in stride. Of course he was—this wasn’t his first fan experience. It was definitely AJ’s, and she could feel the foreignness of it activating her adrenal glands.
“Ooo, we’ll take pictures as well,” said Otto eagerly.
“That scene when the two of you wake up the crale in ‘Asleep’—” said Oona, as AJ and Noah uncapped their markers.
“Ooo, or the one when you’re at the lake in ‘Mating Season’!” said Otto.
“Don’t even get me started on ‘Castaway’—”
“Or ‘Wholesale’!”
AJ gulped.
“There’s too much to get into it now,” said Oona, conspiratorially. “You guys doing other signings this summer?”
AJ and Noah exchanged looks. “A few,” said AJ tentatively.
“Ah, great,” said Oona. “We’ll be there. We go to all the Into the Blue events.”
“Your love…shaped me,” said Otto, once again on the verge of tears.
“Thank you,” said Noah, as he and AJ handed over their autographs.
“Xoxo Rho,” read Oona. “Nice.”
“From AJ Graves,” read Otto. He seemed mildly disappointed.
“What time is your panel today?” asked Oona.
Noah turned to Risa. “No panel,” she said without looking up from her phone.
“What?” said Oona. Her eyes blazed, and AJ suddenly understood why she identified with Rho. “We’ll just see about that.”
She marched off, leaving Otto and Meagan to chase after her.
AJ and Noah were signing for a duo dressed as Loki and Thor when Oona returned ten minutes later, now accompanied by a violet-haired woman, who introduced herself as the Comic Expo program director.
“I’m so sorry about the mix-up,” she said as Oona looked on, arms crossed. “I know the Arho fandom is a huge community—I’ve been able to do some reshuffling, and I think we can squeeze in a panel for you two.”
Noah glanced at AJ—before either could answer, Risa stepped off the wall to inquire about the details. The staffer had paused the fan line. At the table, Dave, Xiaobo, and Toni craned their necks to see what was going on, the last wearing an expression of extreme perturbation.
“Hey,” said Noah, touching AJ’s arm. As he leaned over to speak directly into her ear, AJ had to concentrate to keep her breath even.
“We don’t have to do this,” he said quietly. “I know it wasn’t part of the plan—I don’t want you to feel like I’m pulling you into some kind of performance piece.”
AJ pulled back to meet his eyes. She wanted to tell him that performing together had been the greatest honor of her life. That she’d only said those things because she’d been so scared it would never happen again.
Instead she said, “I want to do this.”
Noah didn’t smile, but his entire face lit up, and AJ knew she’d made him happy.
“And we should ask them to join,” she said, nodding toward their castmates.
Noah glared. “Why?”
AJ gave him a small smile. “It’s what Ana Tar would do.”
That weekend, after the panel and another signing, AJ walked away with twenty-seven thousand dollars.