Wonderful and Impossible

Nils spoke quietly to Solaris as he rode the last few blocks to Ronnie's house. He owed his bike quite a lot-he'd been travelling so much more the past nine months, since everyone drifted apart. He knew his bike wasn't exactly happy with the demands Nils' constant travel placed on him, so he made sure to let his bike know he was appreciated.By now, the discussions didn't even feel strange anymore.
What did feel strange was coming here to find Ronnie. He knew they all had their own projects, their own things they felt they needed to do, but that stubborn childish part of him in the back of his head liked to scream about how wrong it was. They had been a team, once. All of them together had done amazing things. They still all did amazing things, but it wasn't the same anymore.
At least he still saw most of them, as often as he could. He'd been looking forward to coming back and seeing Esperanza again. Even if it did feel just plain wrong finding her back at her mother's house in San Antonio, she was still her, and the thought was enough to make him smile as he walked up the path and knocked on the door.

Esperanza was, as always, in the kitchen. She looked up from the stove quizzically when she heard the short, sharp knocks at the door. She wasn't expecting anyone. She desperately hoped she wasn't going to open the door and find another live chicken or homemade tamales or paper-mache dolls. It wasn't that she was unappreciative. She was glad that she was helping people and she knew that it meant the world to them to be able toshow their appreciation somehow. It was just... a little unsettling. Esperanza had never been one to seek praise or adoration, and even though they had started shortly after she'd returned home and begun working at the hospital, she still blushed every time she furtively gathered the gifts into the house. Also, she was beginning to run out of room in the small yard to keep the chickens.

She sighed and wiped her hands on the yellow apron that was tied around her waist and stuck the pot she had been stirring on the back burner for now. A moment later she was at the door, smiling as she opened it.

"Nils!" she exclaimed as she saw the gangly young man, "Ay chico! Que maravilloso! What are you doing here?"

Nils grinned at Esperanza's expression and swept her up in a hug. "I was in the area, more or less." He told her, "I dropped down to College Station to see Connie-trying to keep her sane in the midst of all this politics nonsense. And I'd already come all the way back down to Texas, I couldn't exactly go back north without visiting you, could I?"
He kissed her cheek. "How have you been? I don't get to talk with you as often as I'd like, what with being on the road all the time."

Ronnie hugged Nils as hard as she could. She had missed him a lot lately. She missed all of her friends, but Nils' absense was the one she felt most acutely. Without him she had no one to really talk to, and no quick wit and easy charm to make her feel better during bad times.

"I've been good." she said genuinely as she finally relaxed her bear hug. "I got a job as an orderly at the hospital. Also, I still work part time for Simon online. I stay busy. Mom is a handful, but she's been much better than she was. I think she's happier since I've been home."

She stepped back and gestured inside.

"C'mon in, I'll make some tea. I want to know everything about what you've been doing."

Nils didn't fail to notice how long and how tightly she hugged him. It seemed he'd definitely been missed, then. He made a mental note to keep an eye on her. She probably didn't have a whole lot of company, and that couldn't be good for someone who liked to take care of people as much as she did.
"Good, good, I'm glad. Keeping busy helps, especially when you enjoy your work." He followed her inside. "Oh, that would be perfect." he sighed happily, "I could definitely use a good cup of tea. I'm all dried out from spending too much time on the road." He put his helmet by the door as he followed her into the house. "Oh, the usual, really. Monsters, rock concerts, a whole lot of travel." He paused. "Wow. That's the usual? It never seemed so ridiculous till I said it like that. What about you? I hope you're not running into much trouble around here?"

Ronnie laughed as she went to the kitchen to fill the kettle and put it on the stove.

"Nothing so epic, I'm afraid. There was a swarm of some kind of weird rodent-lizard things that were nesting in the outskirts of town a few months back, but we cleaned them out. After my brother... got better... he came back to town and started recruiting some of his old gang friends to form a kind of supernatural neighborhood watch. I help them keep an eye out for threats and we deal with them. It's mostly been quiet, though. Just trying to do some good at the hospital and on the streets. I figure it's my responsibility now, you know? Someone has to look out for these people."

He grinned. "Oh, that's you all over. Look at you, protecting San Antonio with nothing but a bunch of gang kids and stubbornness." He beamed at her. "If anyone could do it, it would be you. And I'd bet quite a lot that you've got them all straightened out and in line now. You certainly had quite a lot of practice with me, and I doubt they're half as good at slithering out."

Ronnie smirked as she came back out of the kitchen.

"Actually it was all Juanito's doing. He's become a real little general. One of his buddies owns a garage on the other side of town and he had them set it up as a base of operations. He even has a real job down at the YMCA. He's really turned himself around. I guess serving as an embryonic host for an Aztec snake goddess will do that to you."

Nils raised an eyebrow. "Well, good for him." he replied, leaning nonchalantly against the wall. "I'm glad he's making something of himself. I guess I can see how that sort of thing would tend to be a wake up call. I bet your Mum is thrilled."

Ronnie sat down at one end of the old threadbare couch and crossed her legs.

"Yeah, she's glad he's started to get himself straightened out and that I'm back home for now. She's happier than she's been in a long time. She's actually spending a few days at a friend's house in Dallas right now. Should be back sometime tomorrow. I'm glad you came by. It's been kinda lonely all by myself here."

"Well, if things are so lonely, I'll just have to stay the night to keep you company." He said brightly, "I was going to ask anyway,I've got a long trip back, but now I have an even better reason. If you don't mind, I mean."
Nils took fidgeted idly with his ring. "I'm glad things are going so well for you, Esperanza. I worry about all of you, now that we're so spread out. Have you heard anything from Bea? She's rather dropped off the map."

Ronnie sighed.

"No, I haven't heard from her. Honestly, I haven't heard much from most anyone. Aime and I chat online once in a while, and of course I talk to Simon a lot, but other than that... Connie is busy with her campaign. Chad and I were never really that close. Bea has been AWOL for months now. To tell the truth, I've been worried sick about her."

"I don't know..." she said, wistfully, "I kinda feel cut off out here. It's not like I'm not busy, I just miss everyone. You know?"

"And of course you can stay the night, Mijo." she said with a slight smile, "I'd be glad of the company."

Nils nodded. "Yeah. I try, but it's hard to keep in touch with everyone AND run publicity for Aimee's tour, AND fight monsters AND travel around trying to talk people into coming back together." He wasn't overly concerned about letting Esperanza know his plans-he rather suspected she would back them. "I'm sure Bea's fine, just off doing her own thing. I expect we'd find out, one way or another, if something had happened to her."
"I know." He nodded and absentmindedly reached over to straighten things on the side table. "We were so much more when we were together, I think. Not that you're not all brilliant and wonderful on your own, but as a team we were just... I don't know, better."
He stopped himself with an amused smile and leaned back. "I have this hunch that if we could all work together again we might be able to do more than just fight random monsters and help random people. I'd love to see that happen."

Ronnie smiled, but the smile was hollow.

"Yeah. We were good together. But you can't go back again, Mijo. Connie and Aimee were kind of the glue that kept us together. Without them... It's not the same. I miss them."

She sighed and leaned back, sinking into the couch cushions.

"I miss a lot of people."

He shook his head. "Yes, they were, but they still love each other, I'm sure of it. Trust me, Esperanza, if I know anything about anything, I know love, and it's still there. They still have a chance." He took a moment to assess the look on his face. Generally, this was the point where he'd expect someone to get skeptical, after the nasty fight that had split them. "Even if we don't get them together, we still have that depth of feeling. If we weren't all so stubborn it could work. It could still work."
He met her eyes squarely, his expression full of hope and fire. "We don't HAVE to just miss them. You could help. We all listen to you. If we work together on this, we could make it happen. Maybe. It's worth a go, anyway."

Ronnie stood up and walked over to where Nils stood, putting her arms around him and leaning her head on his shoulder with a sigh.

"Nils, just because we want it to happen doesn't mean it's going to, or that it's even a good idea. There are some things you can't force. When you try... people just end up getting hurt."

He hugged Esperanza back for a moment before stepping back to meet her gaze. "I know that. I'm not saying we should force it. Just maybe... encourage it a bit. The right words at the right time. If it's not meant to be, then nothing will come of it. If it is, then it will have happened that much faster."
He grinned. "Trust me, I've gotten very good at gauging these things over the past year. It's kind of what I do. When I'm not trying to help everyone else out." He shrugged. "I've gotten pretty good at it. So I think we could pull this off."

Ronnie bit her lip and put her hands on her hip considering Nils' proposal. A few moments later her thoughts were interrupted by the piercing whistle of the tea kettle. She sighed.

"I don't know, Nils..." she said as she turned and headed to the kitchen to prepare the tea.

"I know that this is your thing, and I believe that they still love each other... but what if they're not ready? We could end up driving them further apart."

Nils followed Esperanza into the kitchen. "I won't push anything they're not ready for. But the power of the right offhand comment at the right time cannot be overstated." He winked. "At this point I'm pretty sure I have a higher success rate than Eharmony-though I don't exactly go back and check in on everyone, that wouldn't leave me time for anything else- so I think it's worth a go. You with me?"

Ronnie turned around to continue arguing, but the first thing she saw was the eager twinkle in his eye and she couldn't help laughing.

"Ok, Nils..." she said resignedly, "Ok. If we have a chance, I'll try to help. But I make no promises."

He grinned. "Thanks! You won't regret it, I promise. You'll see, it'll all work out in the end." He looked away, a little awkwardly. "Probably. This will probably work. Or it will do absolutely nothing. But I'm smart enough not to make things worse, anyway."
A sheepish smile and a shrug. "Or maybe I'm just mad and overconfident. But I can't just sit around while my family is apart and lonely and not try to help. I just can't. You understand that, right?"

The word "family" caught Ronnie's attention. They were a family. And if there was one thing Ronnie knew about, it was fighting for one's family.

"Yeah", she said, with a nod, "I do."

She finished preparing the tea and picked up the tray, taking it back out to the living room and pouring it out for the both of them.

"Nils..." she said after a moment of thought, "Can I ask you a question?"

He beamed at her response and followed her happily, the scent of the tea having it's normal calming effect on him. He took his cup with a happy sigh and sat down to take a long sip as she thought.
"Of course. What is it?"

Ronnie bit her lip again trying to think how best to phrase her question.

"You're good with people. You... see things. Not just from the objects you touch. You know what people are... specifically... you're good with people's love lives... with relationships."

She sighed again.

"What do you see when you look at me?"

Nils gave her a long look. The question seemed innocuous, but it wasn't rocket science for him to discern what she was asking. He swallowed, trying to find the kindest way to voice his thoughts on the matter. "A woman that the whole world will love, given half a chance." He replied with a smile. "A woman whose future is tied to the love of everyone, not to one man. The most amazing woman, whom any man would be lucky to love."
So, he went with flattery. It was true, and less uncomfortable than opening up that particular can of worms.