wrt cleogundo specifically the arc we'd look at for a fic is like. probably set sometime around ep2 and goes along the lines of:
cleo and legs NOT getting along. specifically cleo is especially annoyed by legundo and thinks he's very insincere and full of himself
however. cleo overhears legundo talking about how overworked like half his hospital staff are and their IWW Sensor pings. these guys need a union STAT
cleo makes one thing very clear to legundo up front. she does not like him. they are not friends. this is a matter of professional pride and duty on her part in the same way legundo SHOULD (they glare at him) be willing to treat any patient, even someone he hates. they will not be friends by the end of this. he should not expect that. cleo is doing this because it is the right thing to do. that's it. she is his ally in pushing for worker's rights but she is NOT his friend.
extended dialogue scene where we get way too into the fine details of starting a union in the early to mid 20th century, bolstered by as much research as we can get our hands on
("and that's it on picket lines?" "no. that's how you start one." "...and then what?" "the cops show up to beat the shit out of you. IF you're lucky. if you're unlucky they've called the pinkertons.")
legundo already did not mind cleo but this has turned her in his eyes from someone he was trying to align with as "the only really sane people in town" to "actually vital resource and incredibly articulate person, extremely good leader" and he is really struggling to remind himself that cleo wants nothing to do with him after this, he cannot let himself get attached to this -- them being able to talk tactics across a table and share stories is temporary. they said she would not suddenly be his friend after this. he has to remember that.
cleo is begrudgingly impressed by legundo's willingness to shut up and listen to them/defer to someone else's expertise. most educated types think they know better than her and start ignoring or talking over them but legs has stayed consistently focused and seems to really be hearing them out. and that's... nice. it's rewarding to be able to do something like this and feel hopeful that it'll work. maybe legs is someone she could see herself standing with. maybe even sharing a pint or something -- no. they can't. they're not getting either their or his hopes up. they're not friends after this. she can't expect him to actually respect her outside of this, and he'll probably go back to being condescending -- this is a fluke. they're not friends. they're not going to BE friends.
cleo might be the smartest person in town, actually. he'll keep his "useless compliments" to himself but it does hurt. knowing that after this they go back to little more than vaguely estranged coworkers again. and they -- he can't tell them this, that would be completely out of hand, but. the way their hair shines in the light and the way they look when they're talking animatedly about something makes it impossible to stop paying attention, even if he'd wanted to. they're a magnetic force. no wonder she's a union leader, hell, legundo thinks he might just follow cleo back into war if she happened to ask. but...
legundo isn't half bad, actually. little smug sometimes but he seems pretty responsible and dependable for some ivory-tower white collar -- they want to insult him but they can't think of anything mild enough. he's standoffish but it seems like a lot of that was just a front. and he -- they can't tell him this but the way he looks when he's actually listening to something is kind of endearing, if more people like legs would listen to cleo then she'd have a hell of an easier job. he's actually pretty easy to talk to past the initial bad first impression. not half bad looking either. cleo thinks he might just be the type of guy they'd actually let buy them a drink, if they met in a bar. but...
...uh oh. shit. this is not just "they could have been friends" anymore. what now.
it's fine. just play it cool. they just have to make sure the other person never knows they've caught feelings. surely that'll pass anyway right? right????
(bonus points: abolish tagged along for this -- cleo insisted to legs that you should unionize even if you've personally got a good job, before it's too late, and abolish thought that was good enough advice for him to shadow this meeting and maybe pick something up -- and the tension in the room is driving him up the fucking wall but honestly let them sort it out on their own. this is relatively low-stakes and kind of funny as hell. he's here for the actual union tactics part, sure, but he's not going to remind them he's here unless they get REALLY distracted)
jacobvanloon
izzy806
blakekathryn
