𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗠𝗜𝗦𝗘 𝗠𝗘? | vi x fem oc

IV. lecture? blah blah blah

(Please comment and vote xx)

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Vander was tending the bar as he usually did, his keen eye anxiously waiting for the first of the kids he took in to arrive. He often found she was the one to seek solitude when her mind became busy or when she simply wanted a break from the busy life, but he found her lateness becoming unsettling.

The streets seem to become more and more unstrustworthy as the days go on - of course Benzo had told him of what happened earlier in the day - and Vander simply worried. He knew Maeve could handle herself, he had told her multiple times, but that didn't stop him from worrying.

He knew she wasn't the scared little girl she was nine years ago when she first came into the bar after her parents' untimely deaths. She had grown into her potential since then with the help of both him and Vi. He was, as he said all those years ago, so proud of her.

And then he saw.

Her hood was up, her head tilted down and hands stuffed into her pockets as she tried to move inconspicuously throughout the crowd and get to the basement door. She almost reached it, her bruised hand reaching for the handle but Vander grabbed it first. He stood there, an expectant look on his face as he watched her blue eyes look up at him in shock.

Maeve gulped and stared her mentor down, her hand outstretched for the door a moment more before quickly falling down to her side. She wanted to curse herself out for being so stupid, to think she could make it without Vander seeing her.

"Wanna explain?" His voice was gruff, as it usually was, but it didn't have disappointment in it. No, for Vander was proud of Maeve yet he wanted her side of the story. "You left early, you fought people, you're in a state-" he cut himself off by gently grabbing her face. He listened to her hiss as he accidentally pressed onto the bruise and slight scraps that were on the side of her cheek. "Maeve, what the hell happened?"

"You said it yourself." She shrugged as she pushed his hand away from her face with a sigh, unable to look him in the eyes for fear of being seeing as a failure. She feared he'd be mad, thinking he raised her better than that. "After helping Ekko, i went to my roof."

"Ya play your dad's guitar?" He watched her softly smile, a reminiscent look upon her face. "You're a good kid, Maeve." He then told her strictly, his eyes hardening as he looked at her. "They look up to you like they do Vi."

"That's only 'cause-"

"It doesn't matter why." Vander cut her off before sighing. He grabbed the door handle and twisted it down, but not opening it yet. "All that matters is that they do. Try and lead by example-"

"If i see a kid, whether it's Ekko or not, i'm not just gonna walk away!" Maeve couldn't help but bellow, her fists clenched with the burst of anger that coursed through her veins. She hated Vander's lectures, because they were always about trying to find a peaceful solution first, and she hated it.

"I'm just saying there's always ano-"

"Stop it!" Maeve pushed Vander harshly in the chest, unknowingly slightly letting the door open by the action for those below to hear. She didn't think about the flash of pink hair from the crack of the door, she simply focused on her anger. Something she always slightly lost control of. "I don't care if there's a damn "peaceful option"! Those kids that were about to beat the shit out of Ekko certainly didn't care either." She huffed and shook her head, her anger slowly dissipating. "The Lanes are rough, Vander...." Maeve looked towards him with a pained expression and small sigh. "I've gotta help the ones that can't help themselves."