au yeah autumn challenge

[sunrises]

Soulmates - Riku / Namine (Kingdom Hearts)
College - Lloyd Irving / Colette Brunel
Single parent - Tyler Lockwood / Caroline Forbes
Enemy - Ochaco Uraraka / Izuku Midoriya
Laundromat - Peyton Leverett / Maxine Hunkel
Hogwarts - Stefan Salvatore / Misty Day
Famous - Tom Bronson / Sharpay Evans
Kwami swap (Power Swap) - Yato / Hiyori Iki
Summer Camp - Evan Tildrum / Tani (Ni No Kuni II)
Secret agent - Izuku Midoriya + Bakugou Katsuki
Mermaid - Senel Coolidge / Shirley Fennes
Royalty - Stefan Salvatore / Jesse Wells
Fake dating - Stefan Salvatore / Freya Mikaelson
Reincarnation - Jason Grace / Piper McLean
Life Swap - Stefan Salvatore + Eugene Woods
Neighbors - Roxas / Olette (Kingdom Hearts)
Sidekick - Iris West + Ashley Williams
Circus - Shizuku Mizutani / Haru Yoshida
Reverse Crush - Katsuki Bakugou (MHA) / Leila (Riordan-verse)
Coffee shop - Ryuji Sakamato / Makoto Niijima
Childhood Friends - Stefan Salvatore / Elena Gilbert
Crime - Tenko Midoriya + Hana Midoriya + Izuku Midoriya
Historical - Barry Allen / Iris West
Office / workplace - Sebastian Debeste / Kay Faraday
Friends with Benefits - Goro Akechi / Haru Okumura
bff swap - Sean Diaz / Ally Parker
Internet - Masayuki Hori / Yuu Kashima
Gym - Eijiro Kirishima / Katsuki Bakugou
Time travel - Max Carson / Lester Papadopoulos
Roommates - Jeremy Gilbert / Kol Mikaelson
"Dealer's Choice" - Roland Crane + Evan Tildrum

PROGRESS: 31/31

Comments

Sidekick - Iris West + Ashley Williams | wordcount: 993

[sunrises]

Ashley had never been this late before. Iris had triple-checked the time as she waited outside Common Grounds, first on her cell phone, then on her smartwatch, and finally on the giant analog clock ticking on the back wall. All of them were in unanimous agreement: Ashley Williams was, for whatever reason, fifteen minutes behind schedule.

"Come on, Ash... where the hell are you?"

It wasn't like her best friend. Not one iota, when Ash's military born-and-bred family had instilled a peculiar punctuality to every single event. Birthday party, late-night Netflix and platonic chill, even social dinners had her fifteen minutes early to the letter. Every single time. (Between forever-early Ash and her forever-late fiance, Iris looked downright normal for showing up to an event when she was supposed to.)

Then a text message flashed across Iris's phone - Running late. Save me a coffee :) and Iris didn't hesitate to select her tracking app and run in the direction it indicated.

Save Ash an coffee, her butt. Ash didn't believe in emojis or punctuality - this was a Warning, and whatever Ash was doing, she was in Trouble.




According to the app, which Cisco had downloaded on Iris's phone before he had Ported out, Ash was in downtown Heropa, on the corner of Main and 5th. On this Earth, which Iris had lovingly nicknamed "Earth-Weird," epic fights between superheroes and their archenemies were the norm. Just on her brisk run across town alone, she spotted Blue Beetle duking it out with Negotiator, Green Lantern fending off some elderly wannabe robber, and Reggie Mantle tackling a teenage girl onto the grass. (Or - no, wait, he was just making out with her, but that general vibe remained.)

She didn't know what trouble Ash would have, let alone what that warning signified. Iris should've checked with the League before she made that mad dash, but she could handle it. She had her explosive earrings; she had her smoke-bomb bracelets; she had the gun she conceal-carried every time she left her apartment; and she had all that boiling-hot coffee she could conjure from thin air. She could distract even the surliest of supervillains.

The building on the corner of 5th and Main was unexpected, too: the fanciest hotel in town stood there, with its imposing golden logo and stark-white pillars staring right back at her. The doorman even held the door open, despite Iris's windswept hair and wrinkled blazer.

Deep breaths, she had to remind herself. This wouldn't be the first time she faced off against a supervillain inside unexpected territory. Maybe this Rogue preferred the finer things in life, as opposed to James Jesse's toy factories and Mick Rory's abandoned warehouses. Maybe this Rogue could afford said finer things in life.

(That would be a laugh - Iris owned two successful businesses and she still didn't feel right walking among these well-dressed men and their sharp, neatly-pressed three piece suits.)

Right as she takes the elevator down to the basement, in search of locating Ash's signal, her phone pings again -

I thought I told you to save me a coffee??

I can conjure coffee from thin air. You would've gotten it regardless. 😩

Yeah, but I wanted their dark roast. And to properly meet you there, like we usually do?
Why are you all the way at the Plaza?

Grabbing my best friend to go, of course! Hang tight!

If the lobby of the Heropa Plaza was intimidating with its sleek tile floors, minimalist architecture, and white Grecian pillars, the basement was even more so with its flickering fluorescent lights, thick carpeted floors, and empty silence. Iris could hear her heels dive into that floor as if it were her heartbeat. She could feel her breath as she tried to steady herself, and she couldn't see much - even after using her phone as a flashlight.

Cisco's signal was growing stronger as she took those tentative steps forward. Gotta be a hero, gotta save Ash, gotta grab her from whatever impending danger waited behind those imposing double doors....

Iris twisted the doorknob, steeling herself for what waited ahead.

The doors gave way to a large, impromptu stage with chairs littered about in a circular fashion. 10 rows in total, each filled with people except at the very edges on the right. The signal was stronger than ever (and for the first time, Iris was glad it was silent), and in this dim lighting, the faint green glow of Ash's skin was as stark as ever.

The speaker on stage, a cheery blonde woman holding a martini glass filled to the brim with cocktail shrimp, was continuing, "so what do we owe to each other? Some guy in Australia taught me, way back before I even dreamed about doing this personal life coach gig..."

Iris decided to press on, ignoring her as she slid into the seat next to Ash's.

Ash, as always, glanced at her first, with a suggestion of a smile on her lips. "I told you to stay put."

"Yeah, but then I wouldn't be able to rescue you from..." Iris pauses, squinting up at the stage, "ANew You Personal Life Solutions?"

Ash winces, with all the subtlety of a marble statue, "My roommate's the speaker."

Ah. In that moment, as the blonde woman eats shrimp - on stage! - with no care or regard for the hundreds of people piled in here, the pieces click into place, as Iris spies another person hovering around the mic stand, trying to push the blonde off stage.

"She went over time, didn't she?"

Ash's smile only grows wider. It's the only answer Iris needs as she loops her arm within her best friend's.

"Well, friend..." Iris laughs, nodding her head towards the door. "Come on. I said I'd rescue you, and unlike a certain punctual friend, I always keep my promises."