Steph was all smiles when she entered the Black Lantern several hours later, after the sun had gone down. “Hey, babe!” she said cheerfully as she sat at the bar, folding her hands in front of her. “I never heard back from you. What did you think of my show?”

Alex was not smiling. Her eyes immediately narrowed as she flipped the cleaning rag over her shoulder, planting one hand in the counter and the other on her hip.

“What about the customers?” Steph continued. “Did I get any of them to like Cockroach Crash?”

“No. You did not get anyone who heard that broadcast to like Cockroach Crash.” Alex took a slow breath in through her nostrils, as she continued to give Steph and intense look. “You DID, however, make Charlotte laugh at me so hard that she fell off her barstool. And Ryan hasn’t been able to look at me without giggling for the last six hours.”

Her girlfriend raised her eyebrows. “Really?”

“Hey, Ryan!” Alex called out, not moving her eyes.

The park ranger glanced over from where he’d been dusting picture frames across the bar. As soon as he saw the two of then, he turned back and began snickering into his fist.

“Ah ha.” Steph’s smirk faded as she slowly realized that her girlfriend was not in as good a mood as she was. “Sooooo… you’re mad at me.”

“Very observant of you.”

“Exactly how mad are you?”

Alex responded by reaching under the bar and producing a glass filled with green liquid.

The brunette’s face fell as the shot was placed in front of her. “Aw, man…”

“Yep.”

“But it was really funny.”

“Yes. It was.” Alex pushed the glass forward. “Now drink your penance.”

Steph grimaced, but acquiesced, slowly lifting the glass and swallowing the contents in one gulp. She immediately started coughing, putting her fist against her chest. “Oh, man, that’s never gonna get better,” she wheezed. “I think this stuff might actually be radioactive.”

“And what did we learn from this?” Alex asked.

“Not to publicly embarrass my girlfriend.” Steph coughed again. “Ugh, that’s some really strong negative reinforcement.”

“Good.” Alex cracked a smirk as she produced a second shot from under the counter, though it had an amber liquid instead of green. “This is for you, too.”

Steph wiped her mouth as she looked at the glass. “What is it?”

“Fireball.”

“I’m not really a big fan of Fireball. I never learned to appreciate the taste.”

Alex leaned forward onto the bar with crossed arms. “Maybe your girlfriend likes the taste of Fireball,” she said coyly.

It took several seconds for realization to dawn on Steph, before she started grinning again. “So you’re not, like, SUPER-mad?”

“I have had a few hours to get over it.” Alex paused. “Mostly.”

“Mm.” Steph picked up the second glass and downed it quickly. “How much longer until you’re done working?”

Alex glanced around, noting that being so close to closing, it was not exceptionally busy. Other than a small group of friends playing pool in the other room, the bar was essentially empty, and their kitchen had already shut down. “Ryan, I’m calling it a night,” she yelled out as she pulled the cleaning rag from her shoulder.

He didn’t look at her, though he did give her a thumbs up as they went upstairs.

“Did Charlotte really fall off her barstool?”

Alex shook her head as she relaxed with her girlfriend on the rooftop, both of them sitting on her new bench seat while they looked up into the night sky. “She was literally rolling on the floor. Her and Riley laughed so hard I thought they were going to pass out.”

“Ooh.” Steph winced as she cozied up to Alex, their fingers intertwined. “Riley was there?”

“She was. She came in to beg me to make you stop.”

“Why didn’t she just turn off her radio?”

“Apparently Eleanor locked the controls up in her office before she went to the store.” Alex glanced at her. “By the way, I didn’t know we were contractually obligated to keep your station on all day.”

Steph snorted. “You’re not. But I know Ryan didn’t read the invoice that closely.”

“Nice.”

“Yea.” She picked her head up to meet Alex’s gaze. “Sorry I embarrassed you. I just… really enjoy having someone that I can play these dumb games with again, instead of taking everything so seriously.”

Alex tilted her head. “Again?”

“I used to play songs on the radio to annoy your brother.” Steph looked off in the distance with a sad expression. “He hated this one band I found, Style Me Stupid, so I would play two or three songs in a row sometimes just to get a reaction out of him.”

“Oh, jeez,” Alex chortled. “I’m sure he loved that.”

“He didn’t. He actually came down to the store once to make me stop, because he couldn’t take it anymore.” Steph glanced at her. “Like I said, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make everyone laugh at you.”

Alex smirked back. “I… suppose it wasn’t so bad,” she allowed. “Though maybe next time don’t involve the whole town. I really think Riley’s next stop would’ve been to set the record store on fire.”

“Well, at least it would’ve been a half-day.” Steph shrugged. “So… if you’re not that upset, then…”

“What?”

“The odds of this makeout session. Are they above zero?”

Alex smiled. “They are definitely above zero.”

“Are they above… fifty percent?”

“I think so.”

“Are they above… seventy-five percent?”

“Maybe.”

“How high would you say they were?”

“I guess that’s up to you, isn’t it?”

Steph smiled back as she turned to face her, the brunette’s other hand making it’s way up to her neck. Alex closed her eyes as she let herself get pulled forward, Steph’s lips meeting hers. Still tasting slightly of cinnamon, as her girlfriend kissed her deeply.

The kiss went on much longer than usual, before Steph finally broke apart and stood up. The brunette swung one leg over Alex’s lap, quickly straddling her. “I really like this bench seat you got,” she breathed.

Alex let both hands rest on Steph’s hips as she smiled slyly. “… I actually had something like this in mind when I bought it,” she admitted.

“Oh? You using furniture in manners other than intended now?”

She reached up and hooked a finger around Steph’s necklace, giving it a tug. “Anyone ever tell you that you talk too much?”

Steph took the hint as she lowered her face back to Alex’s, this time kissing her more aggressively. Alex could feel her face getting incredibly hot as she moved both hands around to Steph’s back, pulling her girlfriend in closer.

The feeling of her and Steph’s lips together was indescribable. Alex’s heart was doing backflips as she kissed her girlfriend, tasting the cinnamon on her lips and tongue. Blood rushed through her ear so loudly that she could practically feel her hearing slowly fade out as she focused on making out with the brunette. All she could hear was ringing.

Really loud ringing.

Slowly but steadily getting higher and higher in volume.

It wasn’t ringing. It was a siren.

She jerked in her seat, as she broke off the kiss as looked at the darkened mountains. “What the fuck?” Steph gasped as she looked over her shoulder.

Blast warning.

“That’s-” Alex felt her chest tighten as the siren began warbling. “It’s Typhon…”

No, no, no, no…  

“They had their mining license suspended,” Steph breathed. “That’s not… they can’t do that…”

Alex let go of her girlfriend and clapped both hands to her ears, hyperventilating and squeezing her eyes shut against the tidal wave of memories that flooded her.

“I touched base with the safety team up at the site. They’re gonna postpone tonight’s blasts until we find him.”

“I’m still really scared…”

“Yeah, me too. But we can do this. One step at a time.”  

“No! No! Gabe! Gabe! No!”

“Alex!” Steph’s hands were on hers. “Alex! It’s okay, it’s okay, everything’s fine-”

“They can’t, they can’t-”

“They’re not! They aren’t allowed! Nothing’s happening-”

“I- I- I-”

“Come on, get up!” Steph was on her feet in a flash, dragging Alex upright. “Inside, let’s go, inside!”

Alex let her girlfriend push her back into her apartment. Steph cast one last look at the mountains behind them before slamming the door shut against the noise.

“No, Typhon is not allowed to work. Normal operations are still suspended indefinitely, on account of the federal investigation.”

Steph sighed in relief, as she sat cross-legged on Alex’s bed while she used her phone. “Then what the fuck happened? Why did their blast sirens go off tonight?”

“I know it’s a common misconception otherwise, but Typhon doesn’t actually own those sirens, the city does,” Jason Pike explained to her. “Typhon just had access to the system, so they could control them. And they could schedule them to go off in the future.”

“What does that have to do with why they just went off?”

“Diane scheduled a blast with the city a few weeks ago, for the new mining area they were trying to open. Tonight was supposed to be the initial demolition charge.”

Steph frowned. “She scheduled an explosion for a site they didn’t have permission to mine in yet?”

“She probably never anticipated that the vote would fail. Which is fair, to be honest; if it wasn’t for Alex, it likely would’ve been approved.”

She glanced at her girlfriend, curled up beside her on the bed. Alex still had her eyes closed, as she took slow breaths, but she was much calmer than she had been ten minutes before. One of her hands was tightly wrapped up in Steph’s, holding her like a security blanket. “Well, that plan clearly fell apart. Why wasn’t it cancelled?”

“The demolition WAS cancelled, obviously. But everyone forgot to take tonight’s warning siren off the schedule, so the computer activated them like it was supposed to.”

“Kind of a big oversight, Pike.”

“I know. I’m sorry. In our defense, it was a little thing, and we’ve been dealing with a lot down here.” He paused. “Also, you’re not the first person to give me shit about it. I got an earful from Charlotte too, right before you called.”

“I bet. Good thing Ethan’s not in town.”

“Yea, we can be thankful for small favors. Anyway, I’m pretty sure that siren was the only one scheduled, but I’ll talk to the clerk tomorrow and double-check. If there any others, we’ll cancel them.”

“All right.” Steph sighed. “Thanks, man.”

“No problem. You guys have a good night. And tell Alex I’m sorry, too.”

She hung up, then turned and laid down next to Alex. “You catch all that?”

“Yea, I heard.” Alex opened her eyes to look at the brunette. “… sorry.”

“Don’t apologize. It’s not your fault.”

“We had a good thing going, and my mental shit killed the mood.”

“First of all, we had a GREAT thing going.” Alex found it in her to return Steph’s smirk, as the brunette continued. “And I think if anyone has a good excuse to freak out about unexpected blast sirens, it’s you.”

Alex sighed. “Still.”

“How are you feeling now?”

“Tired.”

Steph nodded, biting her lip. “… is it okay if I stay here tonight?”

Alex raised her eyebrows.

“In a completely platonic, non-sexual, gal-pals sharing a bed kind of way,” she quickly added.

A snort of amusement escaped Alex’s nose before she could stop it. “Gal pals? What the hell is that?”

“I guess I have to catch you up on some LGBT culture.”

“So it appears.” Alex sighed. “I… definitely wouldn’t hate some company. Full disclosure, though, I’m kind of a bed hog.”

“You mean I have to sleep right up next to my girlfriend? What a shame,” Steph remarked dryly. “Come on, kick off your shoes.”

Alex complied, before taking off her glasses and setting them on her nightstand. Steph removed her beanie and dropped it on the floor before reaching towards their feet and pulling up the blanket to cover both of them, while Alex turned off her bedside lamp. The only source of light in the apartment was the neon sign as she settled into her pillow.

Steph kissed her forehead before she laid down, finding Alex’s hand and gripping it tightly. “Hey, babe?”

“Yea?”

“This was still a great night.”

“… you’re talking about the kissing part, right?”

She could feel Steph smirk across from her. “Yea, we totally made out. That was pretty rad.”

“Yea, it was.”

“Just relax. And try not to think about bad shit.”

“… okay.”

Steph was not in the same position she’d gone to sleep in, when Alex woke up in the morning. They were definitely spooning. The brunette was pulled in tight next to her as she faced the window, Alex’s arm was thrown carelessly over her.

Alex let out a slow breath, basking as she closed her eyes. This is nice, she thought as she slowly tightened her grip.

“Don’t start something you won’t finish, babe,” Steph muttered sleepily.

It took Alex a few seconds to figure out where she was squeezing. She quickly repositioned her hands. “Sorry.”

“I’m not. Just saying.”

Alex smirked as Steph rolled over. The brunette slowly peeled one eye open as she smiled across the pillow. “How’d you sleep?”

“Really good.” Alex smiled back. “I like this whole ‘waking up next to a pretty girl’ thing.”

“Same.” Steph let out a sigh as she closed her eyes. “Though if this becomes a regular thing, I’m gonna have to leave a set of PJs here. Not a big fan of sleeping in jeans.”

“You could’ve taken them off, you know.”

Steph opened her one eye again. “Like I said, Chen, don’t start something you won’t finish.”

Alex hummed. “Maybe later.”

“I might hold to that.” Steph re-closed her eye. Then they both flew open. “What time is it?”

“Um…” Alex fished around behind her, retrieving her phone. “Eight-thirty-eight.”

“Oh, shit!” Steph bolted upright. “I have to be at the record store in fifteen minutes!”

“What? Why? You don’t open until ten!”

“The delivery guy is coming to pick up a package at nine!” Steph threw the covers back. “Aw, man, I don’t have a toothbrush or anything here. We did NOT plan this sleepover well.”

“There’s a new toothbrush in the bathroom,” Alex told her as she got up. “Top drawer.”

“Oh, you’re a lifesaver.”

Steph got ready quickly as Alex got a breakfast burrito from her freezer and threw it in the microwave. It finished just as her girlfriend left the bathroom, jamming her beanie back on her head as she sat down to tie her shoes. “Here you go.”

“Yummy.” Steph took it as she stood up. “I, uh, guess I have a toothbrush here now.”

“Small steps,” Alex agreed. “PJs can be next.”

“Yep. Okay, gotta run.”

With that, she ducked out the door, closing it behind her.

Right, then. Alex sighed, scratching her arm as she looked back at her kitchen. Guess I should grab one of those before I help Ryan open up. He should be here any-

A rapid-fire knocking sounded behind her. “I forgot something!” Steph called.

Alex frowned as she opened the door. “What?”

“This.”

Steph grabbed her collar and yanked her forward, kissing her fiercely for a few seconds.

“Okay,” she breathed as they separated. “Now I really gotta go. See ya!”

Alex stared at the door as Steph took off, slowly smiling as she closed it.

… hot damn.

Steph trampled down the stairs as fast as she could, taking bites of the burrito as she ran towards the back door. So fast that she opened it, turned the corner, and ran headlong into Ryan.

“Oof! What the f-” He blinked, recovering as she bounced off him, a smirk slowly playing across his face. “… well, well.”

She reacted without thinking, grabbing the park ranger’s shirt and getting in his face. “If you make fun of Alex for me staying the night, I will spend all of my substantial creativity coming up with painful ways to castrate you,” she said in a low voice, staring into his eyes intensely. “Understand?”

Ryan looked decidedly unsettled. “Uh… okay.”

“Good boy.” She patted his face. “Later.”