Always On Call

"Every time I put on that suit, it’s my chance to help people who are in trouble. I guess on a personal level, it’s my chance to look like a worthwhile human being again." - Terry McGinnis from Batman Beyond

[thirtecnth]

"Yeah! That's the one!" Lilith replied, laughing as Circe added in commentary of her own. "Yeah, it was the Dad's dance code. Really cute. My Mom put it on a lot when we were little." She smiled at the memory. There was no one to speak on that memory besides her anymore and that was a weird thought on its own. "Nah. We used to have a dog but she passed away before the chaos started... I guess we just never got back around to it."

[texanmedicdutton]

Zel was nodding along before shaking their head as they laughed, "Jesus feels like forever since I've seen that one. You know if the video store has it by chance? Think my nieces would get a kick out of it," they said. There was something about the way she spoke about her mom that had him leaning towards her not being around anymore, that smile the same he'd had for a while when DJ was missing. "My cousin who tinkers has two dogs, if you ever want to meet up and get some dog time," they offered with a small shrug, "I don't think he'd mind." Pausing he gave her a curious look, "Not keeping you from anyone am I? I can kind of ramble."

[callofthxvoid]

Julie felt her own cheeks heating up when they said she looked pretty, but it was entirely eclipsed by the big, giddy smile on her face that followed. She let out a soft giggle, and while her promise to her cousin to be careful still loomed in the back of her mind, she was finding it very difficult to listen to that voice. Not when Zel was in front of her making her feel truly alive and in love with life. "I'm happy we came here together too," she replied, hesitating for a moment before leaning forward and pressing a brief but firm kiss to his lips. When she pulled back, she grinned somewhat sheepishly at them and chuckled. "Sorry. I probably should have asked if I could do that first."

[texanmedicdutton]

Zel saw her moving and froze, the brief thought that if they moved around too much they'd tip over. His hands were flat on his legs gripping his knees, eyes widening when he felt her lips on his. They hadn't realized they'd been holding their breath until she pulled back, eyes still wide as they stared at her. Letting go of their knees they cupped her face pulling her back to kiss her again. Leaning his forehead against hers he gave a nervous chuckle," I um...um..we can call it even...you uh...you don't have to ask to do that."

[callofthxvoid]

Julie was enjoying the weather, the water, and the relative quiet they had now found away from other people, tilting her face up to the sun and smiling to herself. "I wouldn't mind making this a regular thing," she mused, tilting her head back down in time to catch the look in their eyes and the slight flush to their cheeks. Something about that caught her curiosity, and maybe it was the fact that they had spent all day unable to go too long without touching, but she felt brave enough to ask about it. "What were you thinking just now?" She smiled softly. "Before you turned away. You had a look."

[texanmedicdutton]

Zel had been having a semi water fight with both ducks, sending small splashes of water at them both while they swam around the canoe. Glancing back at Julie they felt the flush deepen on their cheeks, turning back towards her they were careful not to rock the canoe. Wiping the water off on their swim shorts they chuckled nervously, "I was um...I was just thinking you look really pretty," he admitted, "And I'm...I'm happy we came together to this."

[callofthxvoid]

Julie smiled and nodded as she let go of their hand. "Yeah, we can," she replied, and there was something about the way that they both said the word we that made her cheeks flush. She set Tele down into the water, and while he seemed a bit miffed at first to no longer be held, he quickly started quacking happily and swimming after Circe. Taking Zel's hand, she carefully stepped into the canoe and took a seat before peering over the edge, watching the ducks with an affectionate expression on her face. "They seem to be enjoying themselves," she commented, reaching to lazily run her fingers over the surface of the water before looking up at him again. "So am I."

[texanmedicdutton]

Zel had been pushing them slowly out into the lake, partly out of his own anxiety and partly to make sure the ducks kept up. Setting the oars down to just let them float once they were a good ways out without fear of bumping into anyone. "They do, might need to make this a regular outing, feel like they're going to be disappointed with the kiddie pool now," they said. They felt a small flush on their cheeks over how the light made her practically glow, turning his gaze to the water and playfully splashing Circe when she swam by.

[callofthxvoid]

Julie had been about to set Telemachus next to Circe in the canoe when he let out a loud and disgruntled quack. "Hmm, I see your point," she replied with a grin, keeping the duck in one arm while holding Zel's hand with the other, occasionally glancing back at the canoe to make sure Circe was comfortable inside. "I know, I know. I'm spoiling him." She looked out at the lake and nodded. "I know how to swim," she confirmed, glancing back at him and lifting their hands to brush her lips over his knuckles. "All things considered, I had a fairly normal childhood. At least until I, you know... Didn't."

[texanmedicdutton]

"You are in fact spoiling him," Zel agreed shaking his head, he felt the flush come back looking at her. "Yeah I know, but at least now we can just be normal, right?" Giving her hand a squeeze before letting go to get the canoe into the water. Stepping into it, he picked Circe up and set into the water as she gave happy quack; swimming back and forth on the side. Holding their hand out towards Julie, "Watch your step," they said helping her sit down. They were careful when taking the oars to start rowing keeping an eye out for the ducks.

[thirtecnth]

Lilith watched just as curiously, her head tilting as Circe trotted around her. It was funny, something so small and innocent. When Zel picked them up, her attention was brought back to them, tucking a few strands of her hair behind her ear. "I like it. Original. Plus ducks are awesome." She gave him a smile and shrugged. "I watched some movie when I was little um-- super stupid now but the Pacifier? The family had a pet duck and I always wondered if that was a real thing."

[texanmedicdutton]

"The Pacifier," Zel asked brow furrowing, leaning his head back in thought before snapping his fingers. "Oh right the one with Vin Diesel, he does that like bear dance with the traps. I forgot they had a duck," they said receiving a quack from Circe. "Geez, sorry I'm not aware of every famous duck," he stroked her feather before glancing back at Lilith, "Do you have any pets, know it's kind of harder in this town to swing that."

[callofthxvoid]

Julie had not expected the whine, or the pout, but both caused an absolute uproar of butterflies in her stomach. She had thought about kissing them before—more times than she was willing to admit—but the urge had never been as strong as it was now. Still, the thought of actually crossing that line and having to define what they were to each other scared her. She had already gotten a taste of what it was like not to have them around and she didn't want to repeat it by freaking them out. "No, I have what I need," she replied easily, squeezing Zel's hand before scooping up Tele and making her way to the canoes. "Think they'll keep up with us if we put them in the water here?"

[texanmedicdutton]

Zel still mildly flustered but was grateful she didn't make a huge deal out of it, squeezing her hand back. Bending down they scooped up Circe into their own arms, following behind her. "They should be able to, wasn't planning on rowing that fast and if they get actually upset think we'll know by the quacks," he said shaking their head. Setting Circe inside one of the canoes he picked up a rope to start tugging it towards the lake, "Probably should have asked sooner but you know how to swim right?" Any nervous energy at the question being used to tug on the rope.

[thirtecnth]

“Cool, I know where to go if I need something fixed,” Lilith replied, smiling. She took note of the slight flustered look on his face and decided to only laugh at the display of duck feet instead of comment. Seemed like he was making good progress with 'Mom'. Raising a brow at his offer, her eyes went to Circe and back to them again. “Sure, can’t say I’ve ever done that before.” She approached slowly, very gently petting the little feathered thing on their back. “What made you wanna raise them? No offense, just-- a funny choice.”

[texanmedicdutton]

Zel was watching the way Circe shifted out of his lap and followed after Lilith's hand, trotting around her in a circle curiously. "I grew up on a ranch in Texas, we had goats and ducks mostly, but um...," with a duck in their lap again they felt more comfortable enough to keep talking, "She's actually for emotional support, know most people have a dog or a cat for that but uh...yeah. Duck worked out for me," he finished with a sheepish chuckle.

[callofthxvoid]

Truth be told, Julie had never had a relationship with anyone where she was nearly as physically affectionate as she was with Zel. Even among the handful of boyfriends she had been allowed to have over the years, their relationships had always been a lot more restrained; partially because anyone she was wish was so heavily screened and vetted by her grandparents. She wondered if that was the reason she found herself clinging to them as hard as she did—both metaphorically and literally. Because he gave her something freely that she had been starved of her whole life. "Yeah, but that's still a win for me, because I love carrying Tele around and holding him in my lap," she replied with a smile without making an effort to step back. "You know, we're gonna have to untangle ourselves from each other eventually if we wanna get on the lake."

[texanmedicdutton]

"You're spoiling him," Zel said though there was no actual annoyance in his voice, just amusement as he shook his head. At her remark they out a small whine and pouted without thinking, the second it registered they felt their face flush. "Sorry, yeah, we should um...boat, I mean canoe, we can grab with," he said shaking his head. Reluctantly they gave her one squeeze before releasing her, dropping one of his hands to take one of hers. "Ready or did you want to grab something for the ride?"

[callofthxvoid]

Julie hadn't realised how anxious she was until Zel wrapped their arms around her and pulled her closer. It was like she existed in a constant state of heightened emotions, and she felt like that was a normal way to be, because for her it was. But now that she had discovered a mental state where everything was quiet and she was calm, she could feel how exhausting it was to always be in her feelings one hundred and ten percent of the way; everywhere, all the time, twenty-four seven. "That's all I ask," she mumbled, tilting her head back to look up at him without pulling away, her chin still resting against them. She laughed softly. "Nobody is drowning either," she quipped back, her voice remaining lighthearted. "But I was gonna ask if you wanted to get a canoe with me? Circe and Telemachus might enjoy getting further out in the water."

[texanmedicdutton]

Zel was glancing down at her, feeling her relax against him had his own shoulders losing the tension they'd held. They hadn't planned to be so physically affectionate with her, but it was instinct at this point to want to be close, they'd cuddled most of the car ride much to Ian's amusement. He was grinning when she laughed, feeling oddly proud over being able to garner that reaction. At her suggestion they briefly hesitated, a 100 different scenarios rushing past their head. A leak in the canoe, one of them getting whacked by an oar, or one of the ducks just having a fit. Catching her gaze again he slowly nodded without thinking, "Yeah they'd probably like that," he agreed shoving his anxieties to the side, "Tele's foot has been holding up pretty good, but swear he pretends just to get free rides for lap time."

[thirtecnth]

Lilith really couldn't help herself as she saw the duck. He really hadn't been kidding and it was awesome to see. "No kidding? You really got it fixed? Way to make a mistake into something really special for some kids." She gave him a smile and then nodded toward his feathered friend. "Is this the one with the prosthetic foot?" She couldn't tell but she might have been extra curious about that.

[texanmedicdutton]

"Other cousin fixed it, Ian's the one who's good at that stuff," Zel explained before shaking his head. "Nah that's Tele, he's off with his mom," briefly they felt their face flush as their own words registered. Picking up Circe so she could see both webbed feet kicking at the air, "She got both feet," he hesitated as he set her back down in his lap. "Uh you wanna pet her? She won't like bite or anything."

[callofthxvoid]

Julie shook her head. "You didn't ruin the moment," she reassured them, lifting her free hand to their other cheek and gently holding their face. "I want you to tell me when you're anxious. Especially if it's about something bad happening to me. It doesn't stress me out, okay? It stresses me out more when I don't know what's going on." After a moment of simply standing there, cradling his face while looking at him, she dropped her hands to his chest and slipped into his embrace. "I don't like the thought of you not being here either," she admitted, wrapping her arms around them and pressing her face to their body. "I don't really know what I would do with myself if that happened."

[texanmedicdutton]

Zel bit his lip, biting back a sigh, considering how last relationship had ended he wasn't exactly running to be honest about all his anxieties. Still considering the last time things had gone wrong had been because he'd been silent he was trying to meet her in the middle. They felt the flush spread on their cheeks, pulling her fully to him and wrapping his arms around her waist. "I'll try," they mumbled before pressing a kiss to the top of her head. Their family had grilled them over her plenty of times trying to figure out the situation, one that even he couldn't fully explain. "Well I was in the Coast Guard so your cousin at least can't drown me today," he said trying to get them back to a lighter mood.

[callofthxvoid]

Julie was laughing until she suddenly found herself being pulled flush against Zel. She looked up at their face, confused for a moment as to what had garnered that reaction from them, before her expression immediately softened. "Hey, baby, it's okay," she said, reaching up to cup his face and running her thumb gently over his cheek. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have made that joke. I'm not going anywhere. You know that, right?"

[texanmedicdutton]

Zel was taking even breaths, he hadn't wanted to be a downer but he had the reaction before he could think. He met her gaze feeling his cheeks flush again at the pet name before slowly nodding. This was the part of him he hated, they weren't sure if it had always been like this or if it had gotten worse when they'd lost DJ and everyone else. "I do...I mean I do most of the time. Sorry for ruining the moment, I'm not trying to stress you out," he mumbled.

[callofthxvoid]

Julie let out a soft chuckle and squeezed their hand back. "I can tell, based on the way she is with that boy from school she clearly has a crush on," she replied, placing her hand on Zel's shoulder and pulling herself up to kiss his cheek. "I'm gonna have to go with Babs. I never imagined she'd be the reason I'm out here living through Romeo and Juliet but here we are." She paused. "Well, without the vial of poison. Hopefully."

[texanmedicdutton]

Zel was chuckling before freezing slightly when she touched him, bending down for her and feeling his cheeks flush at the kiss. "It's funny seeing her crushing, she sent him a note saying get out of my school," they said shaking their head. He was smiling down at her before the mention of poison, without thinking he let go of her hand to wrap his arm around her waist and pull her to his side. Considering both their histories the joke wasn't as funny, "Neither of us are taking poison," they mumbled before feeling their cheeks flush for a different reason, "Shit sorry...just...I don't know don't like the idea of you not being here."

[texanmedicdutton]

WHERE: Lake Party WHO: Julie (@callofthxvoid)

Zel gave Julie's hand a small squeeze, "Ok so who gives us a worse look, your cousin or my niece?" They had an amused grin on their face, having let the girls wander off with the ducks for now at least. "Least with Alexa, she's only snippy with people she likes," he said giving a small shrug.

[texanmedicdutton]

WHERE: Lake Party WHO: Lilith (@thirtecnth)

Zel had needed a small break and was not at all avoiding Julie's cousin Babs. No not at all, never would they do that. He was simply letting the two have family time, yup. Though he'd left one duck with her keeping Circe in his own arms as he sat down to take a second. Running his fingers over her feathers as they looked at the lake. Glancing up when he heard someone get close, "Oh hey, actually did fix that radio. Cousins using it to play music for his kids today," they said, not sure if Lilith would care enough for an update.

[texanmedicdutton]

Zel Lake Party 2024