Chapter Text
The Undersiders had become a near permanent fixture in Brockton Bay, and each day saw their leverage reach further, and their connections running deeper. Seemingly overnight they’d gone from a no-name band of ragtag thieves to one of the major players in control of the city, and since then they’d pretty much been unopposed.
In a way, they’d stopped feeling like they were really in danger of consequences. They chose their battles carefully, and they chose them ruthlessly, until they just weren’t worth the price of victory anymore. They’d been thriving, they’d been winning.
They’d been complacent.
Another harebrained scheme they somehow managed to get away with, another daring heist in a long list of them, until they were left with their spoils. It couldn’t have gone better, so the only thing that could happen was it getting so much worse.
They’d opened Pandora's box, the kind of secret they really weren’t supposed to know, and everything had blown up in their face. The two of them had taken the fall for it and this was their punishment. The result of all their misdeeds. The culmination of their criminal empire. The inevitable consequence.
“Tayloooooor,” Lisa cries out, “please. You gotta help me.”
Taylor can’t even reply, too caught up in her own trap. The cruelties of this place are truly unending.
Lisa tries in vain to reach out once more, hoping to somehow stretch herself further and grasp sweet salvation, but it’s all in vain.
Her only escape from this ceaseless attack is just inches away, and yet so ever out of reach.
Her options are rapidly running out, and she may soon have to resort to drastic measures.
Just as all hope feels lost, she hears something wonderful: the chitinous skittering and clambering sounds she’d come to associate with Taylor. Even as occupied as the girl is, she’d still sent a part of her swarm to help.
It’s not something Lisa has seen before, likely due to their change in locale, but it’s a sight that brings comfort nonetheless. A meter wide spider-like crustacean with thick claws and long armored legs might once have been a nightmare, but now she couldn’t see anything other than the comfort she’d come to associate with Taylor. Even if it’s still a lil creepy.
The coconut crab saunters across the sand and stops by the tantalizing cooler of drinks, before popping the lid and handing Lisa a cold Dr. Pepper. Sweet bliss.
Pressing the cold can to her forehead, Lisa lets out the longest drawn out sigh of relief yet, and slumps back in her beach chair.
“Thank you,” she murmurs, still enjoying her blessed chill.
Taylor just snorts slightly, “not like you needed my help, you could have just gotten up.”
“And ruined a perfectly comfortable position? What do you take me for?” She grins back at Taylor, yet the girl just shakes her head with a fond smile and goes back to reading.
She wasn’t entirely kidding, she genuinely can’t remember when last she was this comfortable. Forget everything that required them to lay low in the first place, getting up right now would have been the true crime.
Warm beach, wonderful company, cold drinks, and just getting to rest in the shade of a parasol. Lisa can’t think of much that would make it better.
Well, except for one thing, of course.
“Tayloooor,” she cries out again, even if her smile might ruin the effect.
“Hm?” Taylor hms, not even looking up from her book, meaning the effect stays unruined. Score.
Of course, Lisa already knows that doesn’t mean she isn’t watching her, but still, the thought counts for something.
“So you know my laptop…”
Taylor stops reading to give her a bemused glance, “the work laptop that we explicitly left at the hotel so that you wouldn’t be tempted to do anything that might draw attention to us whilst we were here, that one?”
“Yuh-huh.”
“Yeah, what about it?”
“Can you get it for me? I’m bored out of my minddddd.”
Taylor just looks at her for nearly a full minute, and part of Lisa is tempted to try and discern whatever is going through her mind, whilst another is busy winning this staring impromptu contest.
Taylor blinks– fucking score– and shakes her head slightly. “You’d hate the feeling of sand in the keyboard.”
Lisa blinks back in response. Well. Damn.
She’s still left with the core issue: how is she supposed to relax without anything to keep her busy? Technically there’s a stack of novels next to Taylor, but, y’know, eh.
Obviously the only thing left to do are the drastic measures. The ones that can be done without having to go anywhere, at least.
With a long languid stretch that completely coincidentally happens to catch Taylor’s attention, she maneuvers out of the comfort of the beach chair, lays down her towel across the sand, and casually undoes the straps for the top part of her bikini.
Graciously pretending to ignore the way Taylor goes completely still, and the way the nearby crab population very much doesn’t, she relaxes onto the towel and lets herself soak in the sunlight.
“Y’know, if you’re not super busy,” she says as if Taylor had been doing anything at all for the last minute, “I could use some help reapplying sunscreen.” She turns to give a wide smile, and to enjoy the way Taylor’s still frozen. The absolute dork.
But there’s no one she’d rather be on vacation with, and a few seconds later Taylor seems to have snapped out of it, as Lisa hears the sound of rapidly approaching scuttling.
She smiles and sighs to herself, “With your human hands, hon, not the crabs.”
She hears the sound of rapidly departing scuttling.
She then hears the sound of rapidly approaching Taylor, and she smiles wider.
Sometimes it’s good to get exactly what she deserves.