VELVETEEN vs. Normalcy #4
“You don’t have to settle for your story,” said Velveteen.
“Hell, you don’t have to settle for anything you don’t want to do.
You’re so much better than any story could ever be.
If you don’t like where it’s going, get that corporation you work for to put out a few new movies.
Rewrite the parts of the narrative that don’t do what you need them to do.
Look at me. My parents were awful people who sold me to the first corporation that came sniffing around.
I was exploited, manipulated, gaslit, and then I spent my twenties thinking I was going to die a villain.
I was not a success story in the making. ”
“You were a hot buttered mess,” said the Princess.
Velveteen laughed. “A little mean, maybe, but accurate enough. I have a city. I have a career. I have a team. I didn’t think I was ever going to get a team again.
I have people who watch my back, and part of that is down to you, Carrabelle.
You saved Tag. You saved me. You are so much bigger than your story.
And if Jack couldn’t love you enough to stay here, that’s not on you.
It’s not her fault, even: she had her world to get back to, she had the people she’d loved long before she knew us.
But if she’d been the right one for you, you know she would have found a way to stay. ”
The Princess looked at her for several seconds, solemn, before she burst into tears and buried her face against Velveteen’s shoulder. Velveteen made a soft shushing noise and began to stroke her hair.
“It’s all right,” she said. “There are people here who love you. That feels enough like true love to me.”
The Princess sniffled. “You mind if I stay here a while?”
“We don’t have a guest room.”
“Sure you do.” The Princess lifted her head and smiled. “You just never looked for it the right way before.”
* * *
Three days after the Princess’s visit, Polychrome intercepted Velveteen in the middle of a midnight patrol.
She floated in a corona of black light, so dark that it was almost like looking into the void, and when she popped into view, Velveteen shrieked and tripped, almost slamming face-first into the roof she’d been running along.
“Vel!” Polychrome squeaked in her own surprise, reaching out to catch and stabilize her teammate before she could finish falling. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to startle you! I didn’t mean to—oh, this is already going badly.”
“This?” asked Velveteen, voice unsteady as she fought to get her voice back. “There’s a this? What does that even mean?”
“It means I really wanted the chance to talk to you for a minute,” said Polychrome. “Alone. And this was the best way I could think of to make that happen.”
“Okay, new house rule,” said Velveteen, as kindly as she could manage. “No ambushes just because you want to talk. Can we do that?”
“Sure,” said Polychrome. She drifted down to land on the edge of the roof. “No more ambushes.”
“Sounds perfect. So what did you want to talk to me about?”
“Remember when we went to The Super Patriots, Inc. a few months ago?”
“You mean when they abducted us so they could stop the legislation that would have turned me and Tag both into useful tools for the American government, rather than people with actual rights and stuff?” asked Velveteen. “Yeah, I remember.”
“They asked me if I wanted to come back.”
“And you said no, and everything’s good now,” said Velveteen. Polychrome looked away. Velveteen stared at her. “And you said no,” she repeated.
“I did,” said Polychrome. “But I think…I think maybe I spoke too soon. I think maybe I need to go back, just for a while, just to be absolutely sure they’re not hurting kids anymore.
I need the closure we never got. And I wouldn’t be going alone.
Torrey says she’ll go with me, if this is something I really want to do. ”
“I got you out,” said Velveteen. “You got yourself out. We both worked so hard to be together, and now you just…you just want to leave me again?”
“No!” said Polychrome. “No, I never want to leave you. But if I have the opportunity to be sure, I have to take it. For both of us. For all of us. But most of all, for me. I need to know we did some lasting good in this world.”
“You’re an adult. I can’t stop you.”
“No, but you can hate me, and I can’t stand you hating me again. I’m not sure I would survive it.”
Velveteen laughed, deep in her throat. “That’s the problem, Lena.
I never hated you. Even when I thought I did, I loved you too much for that.
If you need this, then go. I guess this is what Uncertainty meant when he said we needed the opportunity to decide for ourselves.
I guess we need to start having faith that we can love each other without being in the same room. ”
“This is the new normal,” said Polychrome.
“Normal sucks,” said Velveteen. “But I guess normal is also a good thing, because normal means we’re getting better.
We’re growing as people. And Tag and I can handle Portland on our own, especially with Jackie and the Princess on speed dial.
Go and get your answers. We’ll be here when you’re ready to come home. ”
“I love you,” said Polychrome.
“I love you too,” said Velveteen, and stood, crying without shame, as she watched her best friend step off the edge of the roof and fly away. They were building a better future. For everyone. Sometimes, that had to hurt.