player week prompt 1: "We're old friends. From her school days."
rating : gen, no major archive warnings i believe
characters: carmen sandiego, player(makes sense), and vera cruz. mentions of julia :)
disclaimer: i don't usually write stories so this is probably really bad im so sorry
additionally brain went no at the first prompt so my first ones an alt oof
i swear that these will get better.
Player squinted at his phone, double checking that the address was right. He ignored that this was the fifth time he'd done this, and that it was most definitely the right address.
After all, it was probably best to make sure that the orphanage where your best friend found their mother was the right one, since, y’know…it’d be kind of awkward to just go up to a random lady and be like, “Hey, I know your daughter” and have her not know which one you were talking about.
He took a deep breath and smoothed his hair anxiously, still not ready to even ring the bell. He was possibly about to meet Carmen’s mom for the first time in the at least ten years he’d known Carmen, sue him.
A couple of kids in the yard looked at him weird. Player did his best to ignore them, still extremely nervous.
Finally, his shaking fingers rose to ring the doorbell. The sudden ding! of the doorbell sound made him wince.
A pretty woman with hair the color of the red-brown soil appeared at the doorway, her eyes crinkled.
“Hello. Who are you?” she asked.
Player fumbled for a second, then replied, “Uh, my name’s—---but you can call me Player. I’m…a friend of Carmen?”
“Oh! You must be the boy she talks about in her stories, then? How do you know her?” Carmen’s mother asked. While she seemed perfectly friendly, Player noticed the slightly hostile undertones in her voice. He approved. That wariness had probably kept her and Carmen safe when Carmen retired for a bit.
“We’re old friends. From her school days. Uh, but, I’m not part of VILE. Sorry,” Player said, automatically using his usual excuse before realizing that it would likely not go over well with whatever Carmen had told her mom.
Before either of them could say anything more, Carmen appeared behind her mother.
“Player!” she exclaimed, seemingly excited to see her old friend. Player put out a fist and the two fist-bumped.
“Didn’t expect to see you here, Red,” Player joked, and Carmen winked.
“Decided to go on vacation for a bit. You caught me a couple days before I was going to go meet Julia at her college, actually!” Julia had worked at ACME for a few more years before deciding that the siblings had it under control. Chief told her to do whatever made her happy, so she went back to being a professor. She was somewhat of an Oracle, helping out with cases from behind the screen.
“Come in, it’ll be better than standing out here,” Carmen urged, and Player smiled, stepping into the home that his best friend had found.
@playerappreciationweek i think this is how you do it? apologies in advance lol
also sorry i dont have ao3 so,,,hopefully this will do!!
