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artificialqueens · 1 year

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[WIP] Masters of the Scene, Chapter 23 Teaser (Bitney Parent Trap AU) - Veronica

A/N: Hello friends! In honor of WIP Wednesday, here's a little teaser from the next chapter of Masters of the Scene. Warning that if you're not caught up, this is very much a spoiler. XO

***

Bianca brushed a lock of hair out of Courtney’s eyes. A moment of silence passed between them, and Bianca cleared her throat, hoping that she hadn’t made the vibes too heavy. “So…bonding, huh?”

“Right.” Courtney grinned, giggling cutely.

Bianca grinned back, dimples deep, finally feeling confident that everything was okay.

“Did you, um, have enough closet space?” Courtney then asked, clearing her throat again, gesturing behind them to the walk-in. “Because if not, we could-”

“No, it’s fine. And honestly, if anyone ever complains about space in this house, you should punch them in the face.”

“I would never punch you,” Courtney said gravely, adding a coy, “Maybe a…gentle spanking, if you asked nicely.”

“Nice to know that’s on the table,” Bianca told her with a smirk.

Courtney giggled, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

“Seriously, the closet’s fine. Thanks for hanging everything. And, um, once I have more stuff, I can always add another dresser or something,” said Bianca.

“I did have another idea,” Courtney said, putting the necklace down carefully on the bureau. “See, when we first built this part of the house, I didn’t have the barn set up yet, so I had an office with a little recording space and editing bay, but…”

Courtney opened a door next to the closet, showing Bianca the adjacent office with a computer desk and bookshelves, and quite a bit of unused space.

“But I don’t use it that much anymore, so if you want…”

“Oh, this is perfect,” Bianca said, stepping inside. “That corner over there has plenty of room for another dresser, some shelves for shoes. And even some hanging racks if we need that.”

“Sure, yeah, we could do that,” Courtney said. “Or…”

Bianca looked at her curiously.

“I mean, it’s been part of the long-term plan for awhile, but before now I didn’t have a reason for it. But if we knock down that wall, we can make the whole office a giant walk-in and dressing room.”

Bianca’s eyes widened in delight. “Are you kidding? Or just talking dirty…?”

A wicked glint flashed in Courtney’s eyes as she reached forward, toying with the silky belt on Bianca’s robe. “With custom shelving…”

Bianca smirked, playing along with a breathy, “Keep going…”

“Racks with clothes sorted by type…length…color…” Courtney’s hands were on her hips now, guiding her backward into the bedroom until her knees hit the bed frame, where she pushed her gently onto her back.

“Uh huh…”

Courtney crawled forward, continuing as her fingers trailed teasingly up Bianca’s thigh, “Floor to ceiling, light-up display shelves for your shoes and handbags…”

Bianca moaned, now only half-kidding as Courtney’s lips found her pulse point, brushing over the tender skin and sending a wave of electricity down her spine. “Fuck…”

Courtney nibbled at her neck, up her jaw, then used one finger to tilt her chin down, leveling a naughty gaze at her. Bianca’s breathing grew ragged as their lips met. She kissed her hungrily, clutching at the loose fabric of her cover-up, wanting nothing more than to rip it away unceremoniously. A warm hand slid up her inner thigh, parting her legs easily.

A whimper fell from her lips as Courtney’s fingers found the edge of her panties.

Then suddenly, without warning, aggressive pounding on the door startled her out of her bliss.

“Hey! Open up!”

They instinctually sprang apart at the noise, panting.

“Ugh,” Bianca groaned good-naturedly, “You didn’t tell me you have kids.”

“Yeah, a couple,” Courtney laughed as the pounding continued.

“Dealbreaker,” Bianca grumbled, pulling her robe closed.

“Sorry.”

“Why’s the door locked?!”

“Just a moment, darlings!” Courtney called, rising from the bed.

“Good call on the lock,” Bianca muttered quietly.

“Not my first rodeo,” Courtney whispered with a wink. She walked to the door and pulled it open, the kids all but falling inside. “Yes?”

“Hi,” Danny said casually, strolling in. Adore followed with a knowing grin on her face.

“Sure, come on in,” Courtney joked, flopping down on the bed.

“Whatcha doin?” Adore asked coyly.

“Talking,” Bianca replied.

“Uh huh, is that what you kids are calling it these days?”

“You know-” Bianca began, a sarcastic comeback on the tip of her tongue, but Courtney put a hand on her leg and cut in.

“Are you guys alright?”

“Yeah, we were just thinking…” Danny said, “Wouldn’t it be fun if we went out somewhere really nice for dinner?”

“Hmmm, what did you have in mind?” Courtney asked, wrapping her arm around Danny’s shoulders.

“Well…” Adore crawled forward on the bed as well, curling up next to Bianca. She patted her on the thigh, saying, “Keep your legs closed. Don’t want to give poor Danny a lesson he’s not ready for.”

“I’m wearing underwear,” Bianca informed her. Sheer, mesh underwear, but they didn’t need to know that.

“Good for you, want a medal?”

“I know all about anatomy,” Danny piped in. “Mum bought me books when I was like 5. They came with little dolls.”

“Gross,” Adore said, wrinkling her nose. “Also, pretty sure looking at a doll is not the same as looking at your own mother’s bush.”

“Once again! I’m wearing underwear! No one’s seeing my bush!” Bianca insisted, though she made sure to clamp her knees together tightly, and put a throw pillow on her lap for extra safety.

Danny looked at Courtney, cringing.

“Yeah, you were embarrassed this morning when I mentioned boobs,” she teased. “They’re gonna talk like that every day.”

“Sorry, bunny,” Bianca said, chagrined. She supposed that the way she spoke to Adore might not always be terribly appropriate for Danny.

“Bunny’s gonna grow up fast,” Adore giggled.

“Can we just get back to the restaurant?” Danny pleaded.

“Oh yeah. We both really like Nobu,” Adore said.

“Ahh, sushi, speaking of vaginas…” Courtney chimed in, making Bianca snort with laughter.

“Mum!” Danny said, looking ten times as horrified as he was before. Clearly, he held Courtney to a much higher standard of appropriateness. Probably justified.

“Sorry,” Courtney gave a cheeky smile that said she wasn’t sorry at all.

#rpdr fanfiction #wip wednesday #bianca del rio #courtney act #bitney #bitney parent trap #teaser #lesbian au #fluff #almost smut #trans character #veronica

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artificialqueens · 2 years

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Masters of the Scene, Chapter 16 (Bitney Parent Trap AU) - Veronica

A/N: Thank you to my star beta reader, @tumble4rpdr, for helping me get this chapter where it needed to go.

Click here for prequels and previous chapters, or here if you’d rather read on AO3.

Chapter Summary: Bianca and the kids return to the Hamptons, where Courtney learns some of the details of her breakup with Fame the night before.

***

Courtney was excited for her kids to come back. She’d missed them, and couldn’t wait to give them both the biggest, warmest hugs the second she saw them. Besides, she knew that she and Danny were flying back to LA that evening, so she was determined to make their last few hours with Adore as nice as possible. She had a glorious lunch planned, as promised, and since she’d had the foresight to do the meal planning and grocery shopping the day before, she was in great shape.

The drawback, the part she was trying not to think about, was having to see Bianca with her fiancée, something she’d been able to mostly avoid until today, when it was going to become a reality, the five of them eating lunch together like some kind of functional blended family. In a way, the shock of it was easier at the party, when she had the element of surprise on her side, and therefore a bit of the upper hand, both of them staring at her with their mouths hanging open. In that moment, as uncomfortable as it was to meet her ex wife’s future bride, she’d felt like she was in control.

Now though, after she and Bianca had been on such a strange journey, after so many moments of unexpected softness and understanding, it was going to be brutal. Because now, she wasn’t thinking of Bianca as just her ex wife anymore—she was thinking of her as a real person again, someone funny and dynamic and loving and who, when it really came down to it, she still cared about, more than she would like to admit. Last night’s FaceTime was a perfect example of that—why couldn’t it always be like that? The four of them, laughing and teasing and having a good time together?

Of course, she knew why. This was the problem. Her heart wanted something that she knew in her head wasn’t possible. Jealousy was an ugly emotion, and it was one that Courtney has always rejected. Or tried to anyway, as best she could. But she couldn’t deny that seeing them together was going to be difficult. In some way, it made her regret coming here, putting herself through all of this.

She hugged a pillow to her chest, eyes slightly unfocused as they followed the lazy circling of the overhead fan. She still had the slightest headache from the wine last night, but she knew it would probably be a good idea to get going in the kitchen so that she wasn’t rushing. She’d already been up for hours, full of nervous energy the second the first rays of sun filtered into the room. She’d showered and gotten dressed, and had just lay down for a few minutes in a sad attempt to meditate. As usual these days, it hadn’t done her much good, her thoughts racing no matter what techniques she attempted to slow them down, so she rose from the bed with a sigh.

She walked past Adore’s room, catching a glimpse of the mess the kids created while packing for Great Adventure. She pushed open the door and stepped inside, wondering how she’d missed this utter disaster before. The room looked as though a tornado had ripped through. Danny’s suitcase was open on the unmade bed, clothes flung everywhere, along with what looked like every pair of shorts and shoes that Adore owned, along with t-shirts and tank tops and accessories. They’d obviously tried a bunch of outfits before settling on the ones they took.

It was the kind of mess that Courtney knew was bound to stress Bianca out, and so she took a few minutes to straighten up. She began to pick clothes up off the floor, folding Danny’s things and putting them in his suitcase, then moving it to Adore’s little bench so that she could make the bed. She returned Adore’s clothes to her drawers. There were quite a few items she wasn’t sure about—they kids really had a lot more overlap in their clothing styles than either of them would have admitted before this summer—so she stacked them neatly beside the suitcase. Finally, she gathered the armful of shoes to return to Adore’s closet, kneeling to line them up on the little shoe shelves.

She was about to get up when she spotted a red shoebox…open and spilling out its contents, dozens of envelopes with her own handwriting on the outside. She felt a stab of pain in her chest, a voice telling herself to just shut the box and leave it alone, all the while pulling out one of the letters and reading it, just a little bit here and there, her own words leaping off the page and gutting her like a knife.

For my beautiful wife,

I woke up this morning before you, and for a few seconds, looking at your face, I couldn’t comprehend how lucky I am…

…you are my rock, and without you, I would be lost…

…I feel every kiss, burned into my skin like the most searingly perfect memory. And when you touch me, your fingertips…

…This is forever love. I know that in my soul. I’ve always known it. You are my past, my present, and my future. You are my eternity…

Courtney lowered the letter, tears blurring her eyes. She shouldn’t have done this, shouldn’t have looked, shouldn’t have allowed herself to open those old wounds. It still hurt so much, so much that it was sometimes too much to bear. She wiped her eyes, returning the letter to the envelope and putting it back in the box with the others, then carefully closing the lid.

She wondered if Bianca had any inkling that the kids had them—she doubted it. Then, for a brief second, she allowed herself to wonder how long it had been since she looked at them herself.

Don’t go there, a voice told her. The same voice that she’d ignored earlier—only this time, she’d listen. She took a deep breath and stood up, wiping her eyes one last time as she shut the closet door.

***

DANNY: Hi Mum, GPS says we’ll be there at noon but traffic’s kinda bad.

COURTNEY: Okay, don’t worry, everything will be ready. XOXO

ADORE: Also…we should probably give you a warning….

COURTNEY: A warning?

DANNY: Mama’s in a bad mood. She’s mad at us.

COURTNEY: Why?? What happened?

ADORE: Well. Fame’s gone.

COURTNEY: Gone?

DANNY: G O N E

COURTNEY: Oh, loves. She’s probably just mad. Not at you.

ADORE: No. She’s mad at us.

Earlier, when Courtney still thought that Fame would be there, she’d obsessed a little too long about what she should wear. She didn’t want to look like she was trying too hard, so anything too revealing or sexy or even too upscale seemed right out. But anything too casual also seemed to be a mistake, because that would imply an inappropriate level of intimacy, wouldn’t it? And then there was the weather to contend with.

She’d finally settled on what seemed like a fairly innocuous and yet put-together ensemble: a blue and white peasant blouse with soft denim shorts—not too short—that were also comfortable enough to wear on the plane, all purchased with Adore on their recent Beverly Hills excursion. It was sweet and innocent, but also stylish enough that nobody could blame her for being lazy around fashion people, especially when paired with Givenchy sandals and some simple silver jewelry.

When the kids informed her that Fame was gone, Courtney did consider changing…but wouldn’t that be even stranger? What should she do, switch out the top for something sexier? What would that accomplish? It was too much of a mind fuck—and besides, the rest of her clothes were already packed anyway. So when she went upstairs to finish getting ready, she just kept on the same damn clothes. She carefully curled her hair, then spent far too much time on her makeup, most of which was blending it out to make it look as if she wasn’t wearing any makeup. She managed to get downstairs to finish the food just in time, barely getting the last of the quesadillas onto the platter before the kids came bursting through the front door.

“MUM!”

“Hello darlings!” Courtney cried, rushing to greet them both, enveloping them into a huge hug. “How was Great Adventure? Did you have fun?”

“Yeah! We missed you though! You would have loved Medusa! It’s so scary and has so many loops! And Nitro! Yeah!”

They chattered away, overlapping, Courtney grinning at their bright-eyed enthusiasm, pulling them both in for another big hug.

“I am sorry that I missed it,” she said, holding them close. “Are you hungry?”

“Starved!”

“Well, good, because I made a huge lunch!”

“Ooh, what did you make?”

“Pepper jack and broccoli quesadillas, refried beans, street corn fritters, mango slaw, grilled zucchini, mini tostada pizzas-” Courtney laughed, watching as Danny took off towards the kitchen so fast, he practically left skid marks on the floor, while Adore’s eyes got bigger and bigger. She pressed another kiss to her daughter’s cheek, then rubbed away the lip gloss with her thumb.

“It sounds so good,” Adore commented. They were still in their mix-and-match ensembles, but at this point, Courtney wasn’t sure how she’d ever doubted her ability to tell them apart for a second—it was painfully obvious.

“Why don’t go you grab a plate and I’ll see if-”

Courtney was cut off by Bianca coming through the front door, arms laden with all of their bags, face a stormcloud of rage.

“No no, please, nobody help with the luggage,” she announced bitterly. “Why would I possibly want help?”

She dropped the bags to the floor and kicked the door closed.

“I was just about to-” Courtney began, but Bianca ignored her, stalking straight past them and thundering up the stairs. She felt Adore’s body tense up beside her.

Danny peeked out timidly from the kitchen, mouth full, saying, “We told you she was mad.”

“Yeah,” Courtney said, rubbing Adore’s back. “Listen, you guys eat, and I’m gonna go…see what’s going on with Mama, okay?”

“She’s gonna bite your head off.”

“Yeah, I know. But we have to leave soon, so…I’ll be fine, don’t look so worried. I’m stronger than you both seem to think, okay?”

Courtney reached out to tickle them, trying to lighten the mood by making them giggle before heading upstairs.

***

Courtney swallowed hard, ignoring the hammering of her heart, and knocked softly on Bianca’s bedroom door.

“Bianca? Can I come in?”

“Do I have a choice?” came the gruff reply.

With one last deep breath, Courtney pushed open the door, and shut it behind her. No reason for the kids to hear them argue. Bianca was laying in bed, one arm flung over her eyes. She was wearing what Courtney had to assume were the clothes she’d slept in—a pair of silk pajama pants and a pale pink camisole. The fact that she’d walked through a hotel like that was the biggest sign of all of her emotional distress.

“Are you okay?” she asked quietly.

“What do you think?”

After a beat, Courtney said, “The kids think you’re mad at them.”

“I am.”

“Did they do something? Last night, things seemed fine-”

“Of course they fucking did!” Bianca snapped, sitting up.

Her eyes were puffy, and without her usual makeup, she looked vulnerable and sad. Courtney’s heart broke a little, seeing her like this. It wasn’t until a second later when she realized that she wasn’t wearing a bra—well, that was going to be distracting. Courtney did her best to avert her eyes, back to Bianca’s furious face.

“They were little assholes,” she continued, “They spent all day trying to wear her down, killing her with kindness. And lord knows, they both learned that shit from you, not me…”

Courtney felt her stomach turn over, knowing that she was the one responsible for the way the kids had acted. But wasn’t that better than them being sullen and bratty? She’d truly been trying to help.

“And-and you know, I know it’s not totally their fault. I’m not crazy. But they didn’t fucking help. So. It’s over. And I’m sure they’re just fucking thrilled. And I…”

She looked away. Courtney took a deep breath, unsure how to feel, or respond. It took her a few seconds.

“Are you sure it’s over?” she finally asked, softly. “I mean, people fight, and it doesn’t always mean-”

“Yeah, I’m sure. She gave me the ring back,” Bianca said, sighing.

“Engagement ring?” Courtney asked, one eyebrow quirking up.

“Yeah…what other kind of ring would I mean?”

“Well…no, just…engagement rings are a bit…heteronormative,” Courtney couldn’t help saying, and off Bianca’s dirty look, added, “Sorry, I just…I meant, um…maybe you can still work it out. You know? And if not, then maybe-”

“Courtney…please don’t take this the wrong way, but you are just about the last person on the planet that I want to talk to about my failed engagement,” Bianca said, voice shaky.

Courtney swallowed. She understood that. If the shoe was on the other foot, she’s sure she would probably feel the same way. But as much as she’d have liked to just leave the room and let Bianca wallow in her misery, they still had a lot to talk about.

“Alright, that’s fair enough…can we just talk about the kids, then?” she asked, trying to keep her tone light, not be too pushy. “We still need to lock down the dates. At least until-”

Bianca heaved out an aggravated, put-upon, dramatic sigh, as if the weight of the world was on her shoulders. Like Courtney was asking her to move mountains instead of simply to look at a schedule on her phone for twenty minutes. Courtney had to strain all the muscles in her face to hold back the eye roll.

“Can’t this wait?” Bianca said, voice thin, really laying on the drama.

“Well…no, not really,” Courtney said apologetically. She empathized with Bianca, truly, but she wasn’t about to break a promise to their kids. They needed to work this out, and doing it in person was going to be infinitely easier for both of them, not to mention making the kids feel secure that they had a plan in place. “We have to leave for the airport in a few hours, and we promised them that we’d plan more visits. It was the one thing we said that we’d-”

Bianca held up a hand to silence her, and Courtney bristled; she’d always hated when she did that. “Yeah, I know. But I’m not in the fucking mood right now.”

“Tough!” she exclaimed, perhaps a bit more vehement than she intended. She took a breath and continued in a more measured, even tone. “We have a problem, and it’s not going away. It’s really the least we can do, after how many years we’ve kept them-”

“Courtney, I’m serious. Back the fuck off.”

“I’m sorry, okay? You’re totally allowed to be upset about your breakup, but-”

“Oh, thanks for the permission,” Bianca said, words dripping with bitter sarcasm. “So generous of you. Any other feelings I’m allowed to have, your highness?”

Courtney closed her eyes. She would not take this bait. She would not allow Bianca to suck her into this fight that she was clearly so desperate to have.

“You know what, fine, we’ll talk later. But we do need to talk, before Danny and I leave. So-”

“Do we really? Why don’t you just send me an email about it like you’ve been doing for the past 8 fucking years?”

This was utterly useless. Why was she even trying? Courtney huffed, finally letting out the eye roll she’d been holding back as she turned on her heel and headed back towards the door. It wasn’t until her hand was on the doorknob that she had second thoughts.

Because, of course, Courtney knew exactly why she was trying.

Bianca was in pain. And even though things between them were strange and awkward and messy, it didn’t change the fact that they’d once loved each other. And all that love didn’t just go away. So to see her in pain, to even know that she was in pain…it wasn’t so simple as just walking away. Courtney removed her hand from the doorknob and turned back towards her, speaking in the gentlest and most empathetic voice she could muster.

“Look…B…I know it sucks, I do, but…if two days with the kids was a dealbreaker for her, then she probably isn’t the right person for you anyway, right? And isn’t it better that you know now?”

“Yeah, it’s just fucking perfect, thanks,” Bianca replied, staring at a spot on the wall, voice flat.

“Well…”

“Can you hear anything?”

“No, not really, just some…No, I don’t think so.”

“Was that Mama? I think she sounds mad. Do you think it’s our fault?”

“I don’t know. I-”

“Shh!”

“Look, I’m just trying to-”

“Maybe I don’t want to look for the silver fucking lining right now, Courtney!” Bianca exploded. “Did that ever occur to you?!”

“I’m not sure why you’re shouting at me,” Courtney said, standing firm. She had empathy, sure, but she wasn’t about to be some doormat, some stand-in for the person Bianca was really mad at. Most of the time, though this whole shitty Divorce Era, her strategy with Bianca was to let her be right, just to keep the peace, mostly out of sheer self-preservation. But even so, she had her limits—times when she needed to push back, even if it made her own life hell. This seemed like one of those times. “This isn’t my fault.”

“Yeah, I’m well aware that nothing to do with my love life is your fault. Or your problem.”

Courtney shook her head, confused. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means that I get it, okay?” Bianca said with a groan. “It’s my problem. Only my problem. No one else gives a shit. That’s painfully clear.”

“That’s not what I meant, B. And by the way, I’m still here, aren’t I? Would I still be in this room, letting you talk to me like this, if I didn’t give a shit?!” She could have walked away—she almost had, but the fact that she didn’t should have told Bianca that she, in fact, did give a shit.

“I dunno, you tell me.” Bianca rolled her eyes again, clearly unimpressed.

“I just meant...did you really think she was the person you’d spent the rest of your life with? Honestly?” Courtney wasn’t sure why she even asked that—because she wasn’t sure she wanted to know the answer. But something about their relationship was just strange, and now that it was over, it felt fair to question it.

Bianca threw up her hands, looking exasperated, angry and exhausted at the same time. “For fuck’s sake, this isn’t abouther!”

“Well then, what’s it about?” Courtney asked, still challenging her.

“I’m not like you, alright?! You choose to be single; you think it’s fun. I just want to find someone...And I try. I try really fucking hard.”

“And what makes you think I don’t?” Courtney asked, incredulous. Yes, sure, she had fun being single. But the idea that she didn’t want a partner…was Bianca out of her mind? Apparently, yes. “What makes you think I haven’t tried?”

“Because!”

Well, that was mature. Debate tactics of a 3 year old. Courtney wasn’t about to let her get away with it though, heartbreak or not.

“Because what, Bianca? Use your words.”

“Because! Who wouldn’t want you?!”

She spat it out with a sneer, like it was an insult, so it took Courtney a few moments to register, staring at her in confusion, heart in her throat. By then, Bianca had collapsed onto the edge of her bed, head in her hands. Courtney walked over slowly and stood in front of her, placing her hands on her shoulders.

“Bianca…”

“What?” she asked, voice small and far away.

“Look at me, please.”

She looked up. Tears were staining her cheeks, her normally bright eyes bloodshot and dull. “I can’t take your fucking pity right now! That’s even worse than-” her voice broke, breath hitching in her throat as tears began streaking down her cheeks.

“B.”

Courtney could barely believe it—was it real? After all this time? Or just some accidental comment, some misunderstanding with the potential to destroy Courtney’s life even worse than last time. She had to know. She took Bianca’s face into her hands, cradling it like she was made of glass. She tilted her chin up and began to brush away the tears with her thumb. The gesture only seemed to make her cry harder, tears falling faster than she could catch them.

“I miss you so much,” Bianca confessed, in a voice so soft it was barely a whisper.

“Me too,” said Courtney, finally believing her, sinking to her knees, her shaky legs no longer able to support her.

She buried her own tear-soaked face in Bianca’s lap, soon feeling Bianca’s hands in her hair, stroking her, her touch the only thing keeping her in the present.

Finally, she looked back up, found Bianca’s dark eyes. They stared at each other for a few long, heated moments. She could feel her pulse quicken, hear the soft tick of the clock in the corner as the seconds dragged on in slow motion. Her thoughts began to race, and whirl, a chaotic flurry in her mind’s eye.

Bianca leaned toward her, but as the flurry turned into a snowball, which then grew in size and speed, Courtney whispered, “Don’t.”

As the snowball grew and grew, turning into an avalanche, Bianca continued leaning towards her. Right before their lips touched, Courtney pushed her away.

“I said no!” It probably came out more forceful than she intended, because Bianca immediately looked flustered and embarrassed.

“Sorry,” she gulped, shaking her head, trying to catch her breath. “I’m sorry, I’m really, I thought you wanted…I’m sorry.”

The idea that Courtney didn’t want her was ridiculous. Courtney burned for her.

“I did. I mean, I do,” Courtney said, a bit flustered herself. She was still on the ground, and lowered herself to a seated position, leaning against the side of the bed. Bianca slid off the bed to sit beside her on the rug, waiting for her to explain. “I do want you. But it’s just...I can’t…”

“Okay.” Bianca’s voice sounded sad. Resigned.

“No. You don’t get it.” Courtney wiped her eyes, drawing her knees up, towards her body, curling in on herself. “I...when you left-”

“You mean when you kicked me out?”

Courtney looked up at her sharply. Of course she remembered the night. She’d re-lived it thousands of times, in waking nightmares—and actual nightmares—over and over, so many times. But kicked her out? That wasn’t how she’d have described the end, when she’d broken down, rasping out a hoarse, ‘If you’re so miserable, why don’t you just fucking leave!’

And Bianca had left…but not before taking Adore, who’d been wailing on the carpet from the second she saw Bianca pick up her purse and put on her shoes. The last thing Bianca said before leaving (the only thing she said before leaving), was that her lawyer would be in touch to work out custody.

Custody.

In her mind, it was already over.

Even so, something inside Courtney didn’t give up. All the next day, the next week, even the next month, she foolishly believed that they could still recover. That they’d had a terrible fight, yes. That they had a lot of work to do. But that they also had a love worth saving. Didn’t they? Bianca hadn’t thought so.

“I…I didn’t kick you out,” Courtney said, shaking her head.

“You did,” Bianca insisted, holding her ground, sitting up straighter, voice losing some of its softness.

“No, I mean I…that’s not what I-” Courtney’s voice broke again, a sob escaping her throat. She covered her mouth, trying to catch her breath, before continuing. “That’s not what I meant. I just…I was angry. I was exhausted. I didn’t want to fight anymore, I couldn’t fight anymore, but…I didn’t mean to leave forever. I didn’t think you would…”

There was a look of horror dawning on Bianca’s face, that maybe she really hadn’t ever considered Courtney’s point of view.

“I figured you’d cool off, and then come back. After a night or even a couple of days. A week, maybe, tops. I didn’t think you’d stay away forever. I didn’t think you’d…I didn’t think you’d really just…just leave.”

“You…told me to leave,” Bianca said.

“Why did you listen?!” Courtney asked, ironic laughter breaking through her tears. “I mean, why pick that night to start, of all nights?”

“I really thought you were done,” Bianca said hoarsely, swallowing.

Courtney looked up at her, lashes still wet, head shaking slightly. “And I thought you’d change your mind about marriage counseling, and-”

“It didn’t seem like an option anymore. Not after-” Bianca’s voice broke.

“And then you took Adore, you just took her, all the way across the country,” Courtney said, fresh tears spilling down her cheeks. “Even though I-”

Courtney stopped abruptly. She didn’t want to get into it, couldn’t put it into words, the absolute heartbreak she’d felt. She’s accepted, by then, that their marriage was over, and that was bad enough, but to then lose her child too—it had been utterly devastating.

“I’m sorry.” Bianca looked down. “But you don’t…you don’t understand how hard it was to be there without you. I just couldn’t stay there, Court. Everything...everything made me think of you. Even the way the air smells in LA, makes me think of you. I had to get out.”

Courtney nodded, sniffling. The whole thing was a nightmare. It should have helped, somehow, to know that Bianca had suffered as much as she had—so why didn’t it? Why did it still hurt, just as much, maybe even more, to know that it could all have been avoided?

“I wish you would have stayed,” Courtney whispered, rubbing her eyes. “I wish we’d…been brave enough to talk about this back then. I wish I’d been braver.”

“Even now, after everything?” Bianca asked softly, studying Courtney’s face.

“I wasn’t the one who was planning to marry someone else,” Courtney reminded her.

Bianca winced and looked down. Courtney almost felt guilty; she would have, if it wasn’t true. She’d been engaged less than 24 hours earlier.

“It wasn’t the kids, you know.” Bianca’s voice was still soft, almost like she was talking to herself.

“What wasn’t the kids?” Courtney asked.

“The reason Fame broke it off. It wasn’t the kids,” Bianca explained, eyes closed, breathing almost labored as she forced out, “She…she said…”

After a few moments, Courtney said, “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t feel-”

“It was the way I looked at you. That’s what she said. When we were talking last night. She could tell that I…” Bianca finally looked back up at Courtney, teeth worrying her bottom lip. “Apparently I have no poker face.”

Courtney wasn’t sure what to say to that. She knew she was probably supposed to feel sorry for her, maybe even guilty, but she couldn't help the tug of a smile at the corner of her mouth. After a moment, Bianca’s brow furrowed, her expression turning into a scowl.

“Oh, whatever, neither do you!”

Courtney laughed, finally, the tears drying on her cheeks as she gazed into Bianca’s eyes. “I never claimed to.”

“I really want to kiss you,” Bianca admitted, arm resting behind her on the bed.

“I do too,” Courtney said, her eyes softening. “But I just worry that-”

“Oh, fuck-”

Courtney smiled, but she was unable to keep the anxiety out of her voice. “-If we open this door, it’s gonna be very hard to close it again.”

“Don’t you think that ship has sailed?” Bianca asked, one eyebrow raised ever so slightly.

“What if things don’t work out, B? I barely got through it last time,” she murmured.

“I’m still not through it,” Bianca said. “So?”

“So…do we really want to risk it?” Courtney asked, wiping her eyes with the back of her fingers.

“Yeah,” Bianca said quickly, a wry smile on her face as her dimples appeared.

Courtney let out a dry laugh as she considered it, genuinely. Bianca did have a point. What did they really have to lose?

Bianca reached out, tucking a lock of Courtney’s hair behind her ear, fingers lingering, making goosebumps prickle on her arms, every hair stand up on the back of her neck. She edged closer, slowly, enough that Courtney could feel the warmth of her skin.

“So…” she breathed, her plush lips softly parted, hesitating when they were just millimeters apart, breath warm, so close Courtney could already taste her.

They stayed that way, barely touching, just breathing each other in and growing dizzier with every second, until Courtney couldn’t resist for another moment. She reached behind Bianca’s head, taking a fistful of her thick hair and pulling her forward, crushing their lips together for a searing kiss, which immediately sent her hurtling off a cliff.

She was right—there was no turning back now. Luckily, she didn’t want to.

#rpdr fanfiction #veronica #masters of the scene #s6 #adore delano #courtney act #bianca del rio #bitney #parent trap au #bitney parent trap #lesbian au #trans character #kid fic #angst #fluff

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artificialqueens · 11 months

Text

Masters of the Scene, Chapter 25 (Bitney Parent Trap AU) - Veronica

A/N: Hieeee, please enjoy. Thank you to @tumble4rpdr for being a fantastic beta as usual!

Click here for prequels and previous chapters, or here if you’d rather read on AO3.

Chapter Summary: Oh you thought they were done fucking for the night? Lol not so much.

***

It was warm under the covers. Courtney hadn’t slept with anyone else in the bed for a quite awhile—usually her trysts were short-lived, and she never let anyone stay the night, for fear of an awkward encounter with Danny in the morning. And honestly, even when Danny was away visiting Bianca, or when she was traveling for a speaking engagement, she didn’t want anyone to stay. She told herself it was because she was just so independent, such a free spirit, that being tied down or having expectations placed on her was the last thing she wanted. Which may have been equal parts true and utter bullshit.

It just never felt right with anyone else. She supposed that part of it was the way she and Bianca had fallen so hard, so fast, in the way only young people can. It wasn’t the kind of starry-eyed breathless passion that was likely to repeat. And maybe the deeper truth was that she didn’t want to repeat it. Because if she ever found that all-consuming love again…that meant she could lose it again.

So the cocoon she was currently enjoying was…maybe not new, but certainly something she hadn’t had in a long time. And she found herself inexplicably drawn to Bianca’s body heat. Nothing was close enough. She wanted their limbs entwined, their breath mixing; she welcomed how sweaty it was getting.

They’d been dozing for a bit when Courtney stirred, shifting slightly, just to snuggle even closer. Bianca’s long lashes fluttered open.

“Hi,” whispered Courtney.

“Hi yourself,” Bianca said.

The two of them giggled like schoolgirls, exchanging a few playful, sleepy kisses. It was slow and easy and perfect, almost like Courtney hadn’t woken up from whatever dream had already slipped from her mind. All she knew was that it had been sweet and warm, like the taste of Bianca’s lips right now. Safe, like the feeling of Bianca’s embrace.

Before she knew it, the light, lazy kisses had grown deeper, more intense. Bianca gripped Courtney’s waist and pushed her onto her back, hot mouth moving down her jaw to her neck, sucking on her pulse point until she thought she might swoon.

She’d had a rough time letting go earlier, but once she had, once the floodgates opened and all the desire came flooding back, she felt almost consumed by the lust she felt, as if she’d been out in the cold for years and suddenly, miraculously, was now inside, sitting by a roaring fire that warmed her to the bone.

Her fingers dug into Bianca’s shoulders as her hands slid up to caress her breasts. She squirmed, arching up, as Bianca kissed tenderly around one nipple, and then just when she thought she couldn’t bear the torment any longer, Bianca sucked the overly sensitive nipple into her mouth.

Courtney whimpered, head lolling back as her tongue swirled around and around.

“Keep going…”

“I intend to,” Bianca said, giving her a quick, mischievous smirk before moving to the other nipple, sucking hard. Courtney gasped with pleasure, caught off-guard in the best way.

Bianca’s hands slid down, and so did her lips, pressing soft, wet kisses in a languid, haphazard line down Courtney's whole torso.

It was different now—Courtney was no longer trapped in her head, thoughts racing. Instead, she was so very grounded, in her body, that every kiss, every touch, even the faintest brushes of Bianca’s fingertips, sent waves of electricity through her entire body. It felt like she was in tune with the buzzing of each cell.

When Bianca began nibbling even lower, teeth nipping at the soft skin of her lower belly, she sucked in a sharp breath. Though Bianca had shown her so much love and care earlier, she still had a hint of anxiety about her own body betraying her.

“You sure you wanna dive on that landmine again?” she asked, tugging on Bianca’s hair.

Bianca looked up at her with a grin and proclaimed, “I like a challenge.” Then, dimples deepening, added, “Just don’t cry again.”

“Bitch!” Courtney giggled, pulling harder on her hair, but then immediately caressing her face, unable to resist touching those dimples that warmed her heart.

Bianca laughed along with her, pressing her lips to Courtney’s hip, nuzzling into her skin as her strong hands easily pushed her thighs further apart. The playfulness of their exchange eased Courtney’s fears, and she found herself once again relaxing into her touch. Her heart began to beat faster, pulse quickening in delicious anticipation as Bianca’s lips ghosted over her clit.

All she felt now was warm breath, thumbs rubbing gentle circles over her thighs. She took a deep breath through her nose, unwittingly going back to her years of meditation practice, just to withstand the exquisite torture.

Her tongue was soft at first, alternating with kisses from her plush lips, keeping Courtney breathing heavily, eyes squeezed shut, arching into her mouth. She took a gulping breath as Bianca reached up, teasing her nipples, then began to suck at the most sensitive spot on her inner thigh.

Bianca’s hair was thick and luscious in her hands, but she had to stop herself from yanking on it as her tongue lapped over her clit, spine tingling and toes curling. She started to suck, for just a brief, euphoric moment, then paused to nip at her thigh, before going back to her clit, tongue toying with her cruelly.

“B…”

“Yes, angel?”

“Don’t-”

Bianca paused, lifting her head, as Courtney’s breath hitched in her throat.

Then, when she choked out, “-don’t stop,” Bianca chuckled softly and went right back to business.

It was impossible to hold back anymore, as Courtney’s hips rocked forward, grinding her clit into Bianca’s tongue, hands pressing into the back of her head, pulling her closer. This was unlike anything she’d ever felt, the way Bianca seemed to know her body—so in tune with every shift and murmur and reaction that she went from a luxuriously slow and careful exploration to a self-assured virtuoso in record time.

“Angel…” Bianca murmured against her, and a high moan fell from Courtney’s lips.

Waves of pleasure crashed over her, drowning her in bliss. By the end, she was gulping for oxygen, not sure how long it had been. But her hands were still buried in Bianca’s soft, thick hair, and Bianca’s cheek was pressed against her thigh. Her eyes fluttered open slowly.

“Fuck…” Courtney exhaled, fingers loosening from Bianca’s curls. “That was…incredible…”

A smirk tugged at Bianca’s lips, and she took one of Courtney’s free hands, pressing a kiss to her palm. “So…takes you a long time, huh?”

“Well. Usually,” Courtney replied sheepishly, cheeks still flushed with warmth.

“Mmm…”

She looked so smug that Courtney couldn’t resist pulling her up, head shaking. “Glad you’re not a quitter.”

“Yeah. Me too.” Bianca smiled, running her thumb over Courtney’s bottom lip, easily parting her lips.

As Bianca settled against her, Courtney wrapped her arms around her waist. She could still feel the pulsing in her cunt, and as she squeezed Bianca’s thigh in between her own, it only grew stronger.

“Still hungry, baby?” asked Bianca, sliding a thumb into her mouth.

Courtney nodded, hips rocking up to create more friction as she bit down on Bianca’s finger. The benign, amused smile never left Bianca’s lips as Courtney whined, flipping them over, the sudden yearning for more overtaking her.

She buried her face into Bianca’s neck, inhaling her perfectly intoxicating scent. “So, um…” she whispered, lips pressed to the underside of Bianca’s jaw.

“Mmm?”

“Are you up for getting the strap now?” she murmured.

“Hell yeah,” Bianca said, her lips twisting into a delighted smirk, waiting less than a second more before rolling Courtney off and jumping out of bed, practically skipping to the closet.

Courtney watched, resting her chin on her hands as Bianca rifled frantically through her suitcase. “Do you wanna wear it, or should I? Y’know, for old time’s sake?”

Bianca chuckled. “Yeah, like you really spent thousands of dollars cutting your dick off just to-”

“Nothing was ‘cut off,’” Courtney said, rolling her eyes. “That’s not how it work-”

“Sorry…” Bianca turned around, hands on her hips. Given that she didn’t have a stitch of clothing on her gloriously naked body, it was quite a sight. “Are you seriously about to trans-splain bottom surgery to me? Do you know how many damn articles I read?”

“Trans-splain,” Courtney repeated with a giggle.

“Feel free to steal that,” she said.

“I will.”

Bianca winked, going back to the suitcase. Courtney couldn’t help thinking that she should really keep her sex toys in an easier to reach location. But the view of her ass was nice. She tilted her head to get a better look.

“Anyway, you’d really want to wear a strap after all that? Wouldn’t it kick-start dysphoria or something?”

“No, it’s not really like that for me,” said Courtney.

“Yeah?” Bianca held up a canvas bag triumphantly, and headed back to the bed. “What was it like for you, then? Not that you have to tell me, or get into it right now, but-”

“No, it’s okay. I get what you’re saying. A lot of girls do feel that way. But I never…umm…I never felt like my dick prevented me from…being a woman?”

“Well, that’s cause it didn’t.”

Courtney smiled, reaching for Bianca’s arm and squeezing it gratefully. “I think you probably had something to do with that.”

They exchanged a soft smile, and Bianca promptly ruined the moment by pulling a dildo out of the canvas bag in her hand. “Because of my own huge, detachable dick?”

Courtney laughed. “No, because I always felt like a woman with you. From the moment I told you, even when…” her smile faltered for a second before returning as she amended, “You always affirmed who I was.”

Bianca wondered if her mind had briefly gone to that fucking letter. One of the things that they’d agreed not to talk about. The thing that had kept her up at night, hating herself, ever since they fought over the summer. And if that one month of torture was bad, she couldn’t imagine how it must have been for Courtney all these years, or how she would ever make it up to her.

She blinked away those thoughts and said, “So then, um…why put your body through all that? The surgery, I mean.”

“Well…I went back and forth on it,” Courtney said. “I mean, some of my friends had considered it the most important part of their transition. And then a few of them were adamantly against it and I guess I was…sort of in the middle.”

“But why do something so drastic if you were on the fence?” asked Bianca, brow furrowed.

“Fair. That’s what I asked myself, too. But by the time I did it, I wasn’t on the fence anymore,” Courtney explained. “See, the HRT, which was actually important to me because of all the other physical components, kind of…rendered it a bit…uh, let’s just say ornamental, after awhile. So it stopped doing anything for me.”

Bianca chuckled, leaning forward to kiss her on the cheek. “I guess that’s a strong motive then, huh?”

“Basically…” Courtney giggled, adding, “Anyway, a strap gives a lot more flexibility. And plenty of cis women wear them, so…why can’t I?

“Of course you can, I just…I want to make sure you’re offering because you want to. Not because you think you have to, to please me or…you know.”

“No, I know I don’t have to,” Courtney assured her, squeezing her arm once again. “It’s not something I do a lot. Just like, when the moment really calls for it…”

“A special occasion thing?” Bianca asked, one eyebrow arching up.

“Exactly.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” she said, and kissed her cheek again, adding, “But, uh…as special an occasion as tonight is…how ‘bout I wear the dick?”

Courtney took her face and pulled her in for another kiss, this one deep and sweet, tongue dancing with hers, fingers tangling into her hair. When she broke away, breathing heavily, there was a satisfied smile on her face. She relaxed against the pillows. “Lube’s in the bottom drawer.”

Bianca pulled a bottle of lube out of the canvas bag. “Do I look like a fuckin’ amateur to you?”

Courtney giggled girlishly as Bianca began to slip on the harness. Her body was already tingling in anticipation, eyes glued to Bianca’s ass, which always looked good, but in the jock-style harness…fucking spectacular. So perfect and peachy-round that Courtney had a strong desire to sink her teeth into it.

But she supposed that particular urge could wait.

Bianca got everything situated, quickly securing the base and slipping the dildo through the O-ring. Definitely not an amateur. She then crawled onto the bed, her hands sliding up Courtney’s trembling body.

“Are you ready, angel?”

“Mmhmm,” Courtney threaded her hands into Bianca’s hair, pulling her down for a kiss.

She could feel the dildo against her thigh, the silky-soft touch telling her that it was a top-of-the-line model.

When they’d first tumbled into bed together, it had been with an intense desperation, a mad scramble to rip each other’s clothes off, a whirlwind that made her lose track of time and space.

Now, it felt like Bianca was intentionally taking her time, mouth trailing over her skin at a leisurely pace, clearly meant to keep her on the edge as long as possible.. Her kisses were deeper, longer, lingering on her neck, her collarbone, between her breasts. Courtney tried to go with it, to relax and enjoy the journey, but it wasn’t long before she had the blankets clutched in her fists.

She arched up, whimpering, as Bianca swirled a tongue around one nipple, fingers toying gently with the other. When she started to suck gently, the pressure in Courtney’s abdomen became almost unbearable.

“B…please…”

Bianca released the nipple from her mouth and looked up at her with a lascivious smirk, very much enjoying this power she had, this ability to turn Courtney so helpless and needy.

“What’s wrong, angel?”

Courtney said nothing, the delicious agony racing through her veins rendering her nonverbal. She whimpered again, hips thrusting fruitlessly into the air.

“Ohh…” Bianca’s voice was taunting, asking, “Did you want something?”

Courtney flopped backwards against the pillows with a frustrated pout. Bianca gave her a patronizing smile, a chaste kiss on the cheek, before turning her face, licking up her throat. Courtney was so focused on the heat of her mouth, that she must not have noticed Bianca squeezing lube into her hand—not until she felt the cool, slick wetness against her, Bianca’s fingers easing into her slowly, relieving some of the pressure.

Her eyes fell closed, and she almost, almost relaxed into it when a few strange noises made her tense up.

“What was that?”

“What, baby?” Bianca murmured, nibbling on her earlobe.

“That noise.”

“It’s nothing,” Bianca assured her, “Probably just the wind.”

“No, I don’t think so. Don’t you hear that? What if something’s wrong with the kids?” she fretted. “Should we check on them? I really need to be relaxed in order to-”

“The kids have been asleep for hours,” Bianca said. “Look at me…”

Courtney shifted her gaze, just in time for Bianca to go in with another generous fingerful of lube. Courtney gasped, wanting to let go completely so that she could really enjoy it, but the sounds she’d heard were definitely not coming from outside.

She strained to hear them again, but there was nothing. Maybe Bianca was right. She took a deep breath, blocking out everything except Bianca’s tongue against hers, her fingers curling forward. She inhaled, shakily, then exhaled in a broken whimper.

“See, angel?” Bianca murmured softly. “There’s nothing to-”

CRASH!

“Okay, that wasn’t the wind,” Courtney choked out, and this time Bianca nodded, an aggravated look on her face.

“Fuck.” She slowly withdrew her fingers, leaving Courtney empty and aching, but for the first time that night, her own needs weren’t at the forefront of her mind.

“Should we go and-”

“We don’t need to do anything,” Bianca said, rolling over onto her own back with a groan. “You relax. I’ll go deal with the monsters.”

“Wearing that?” Courtney asked, amused, gesturing to strap.

“Fuck. No,” Bianca said, reaching down to pull the dildo out of the harness and placing it gingerly beside Courtney on the bed. “Here. Just don’t have too much fun without me.”

“I’ll do my best,” Courtney laughed.

As annoying as it was to be interrupted in the state she’d been in, Courtney had to admit how much she enjoyed the sight of Bianca staggering to the bathroom in her sexy jock-strap to wash her hands. When she emerged, she was tying the belt on her robe.

Before she left the room, Bianca returned to the bed to press one more kiss to the corner of Courtney’s mouth, whispering, “Don’t move. I’ll be back in a minute.”

***

CRASH!

“Shhh!” Danny hissed, as he emerged from the walk-in pantry, arms full of all the ingredients they needed for the promised triple-chocolate brownies.

To his surprise, Adore actually had gone to sleep when they first went upstairs, while he headed to the loft. She’d joined him a few hours later, casually snacking on the mason jar of Courtney’s homemade granola while they hunted scorpions. It wasn’t long before the granola was gone, Adore lamenting her decision to not order dessert at the restaurant. Thus, the Brownie Plan was born...a plan that required, first and foremost, that they be quiet.

He glared down at Adore, who had just dropped about 20 pans while looking for the 8x8 square he’d requested. She knelt sheepishly on the ground amidst the mess.

“Oops,” Adore whispered, then held up a small square pan. “Is this the one you wanted though?”

“Yeah, that’s fine.” Danny dumped the contents of his arms onto the island and moved to the fridge, while Adore tried her best to stack the unneeded pans as quietly as possible.

Danny pulled a carton of eggs from the fridge, scanning the shelf for butter. Mum didn’t use dairy very often, so they only had vegan butter, but he supposed it would do. It was one of those high-end Whole Foods brands, too, which he remembered could be browned, and that would make the brownies extra delicious.

He took both of the items back to the island, where Adore was examining the ingredients, brow furrowed.

“What’s wrong?” he asked. He opened the cabinet slowly, carefully getting out a little saucepan, trying not to create another enormous crash.

“Why do we need this if we have the chips?” she asked, holding up a chocolate bar. It was one of Mum’s fancy Ecuadorian fair trade bittersweet 90% ones that she kept on hand for ‘chocolate emergencies’.

“We said triple-chocolate brownies,” Danny said. He turned on the stove and dumped the butter into the saucepan. “So we need 3 kinds of chocolate. Cocoa powder, chocolate chips, which are semi-sweet, and that one, bittersweet, which is like, super dark. We’ll chop it up and add it and then sprinkle some of it on top. Actually-”

“I don’t think I like bittersweet chocolate,” Adore told him, face screwed up in disgust. “It sounds gross.”

“Trust me, you’ll like it. We make these every time there’s a bake sale at school; they’re amazing. Get a cutting board and start-”

“And why is the peanut butter out?” Adore then asked. She clearly didn’t trust him.

“For the peanut butter swirl,” he explained, very slowly, as if this should be obvious. He poked at the butter with the wooden spoon, wondering how long it would take to brown it, and how he’d know when it was done. It was possible that browned butter wasn’t the best idea—the peanut butter swirl, however, would be absolutely delicious.

“Oooh!” Adore’s eyes lit up, finally catching on. “Omigod, Chef Roach! You might be a genius.”

Danny grinned, saying, “I know, right?” He turned back to the stove, where the butter had finally begun melting. “So like I was saying, you should get a cutting board and a knife and start chopping that chocolate bar into little pieces-”

“Uh oh.”

“What?” Danny asked. He turned around and froze. Mama was standing there, hair a mess, scowling at them.

“What the fuck is going on in here?” she demanded, rapping her knuckles on the wooden top of the island.

“We wanted to make brownies,” Adore said. Danny was glad she did, since he was currently tongue-tied.

“It’s 2 am!” she barked, picking up the carton of eggs and shoving it onto the fridge. She walked over to the stove.

Danny swallowed, finally finding his voice to say, “Sorry, we just thought-”

“I don’t care what you thought!” Bianca snapped off the stove and peered into the saucepan, scoffing at the half-melted butter as if it had personally offended her. “Go back to bed! Now!”

She then quickly picked up something from the ground by the cabinets, which Danny recognized as Mum’s shawl.

“Sorry, Mama! Did we wake you?” Adore asked, leaning against the island, in no way intimidated, giving her best innocent angel baby eyes.

Bianca turned around and gave her a pointed glare. “No.”

“Then…why are you mad?” Danny asked, confused.

Bianca closed her eyes, and Adore covered her mouth in an attempt to muffle a snicker. Danny looked from her to Mama, and back to her, waiting for someone to explain the joke.

“Just go back to bed,” Bianca finally said tiredly. He supposed that she’d been trying to go to sleep, but he didn’t get why that was so funny.

“I’ll explain it to him upstairs,” Adore giggled.

“Adore…” Bianca growled warningly.

“Explain what?” Danny asked.

Adore slipped an arm around him and looked back at Mama. “Kids these days…so innocent.”

“Go to bed!” Bianca bellowed, and something clicked in his mind.

Oh. His eyes widened, then he immediately turned and began to flee from the kitchen.

“Alright, alright,” Adore said. She followed Danny, at a much more leisurely pace, continuing in a sing-song voice. “Tell Mum goodnight for us…”

Danny reached out from the stairwell and grabbed her arm, yanking her along behind him.

***

Bianca entered the bedroom, dumping the items she’d collected from the kitchen onto a chair beside the door: Courtney’s shawl, her Birkin, and Courtney’s surprisingly bougie Valentino tote.

“Is everything okay?” Courtney asked, sitting up, a sheet clutched against her body.

“Everything’s fine,” Bianca said, making sure to lock the door before untying her robe. “Our delightful children decided that now was a great time to bake brownies. I sent them to bed.”

She slipped the robe off her shoulders and dropped it on the chair.

“You didn’t yell, did you?” Courtney asked.

“Of course not,” Bianca lied, flashing a charming grin.

Courtney looked at her skeptically, eyes narrowed, although her gaze softened as Bianca climbed onto the bed.

“Listen,” Bianca said, pressing a kiss to Courtney’s cheek, lips lingering before murmuring, “Sometimes you have to raise your voice so they know you’re serious.”

“Uh huh…” Courtney clearly wasn’t buying it, but she also didn’t seem too bothered, tilting her head to give Bianca access to her neck.

Bianca moved closer, sliding a hand over Courtney’s stomach and nuzzling into her pulse point.

“Side question…you don’t think they’re smoking weed, do you?” Bianca joked, and Courtney pulled away, eyes huge.

“Oh my god, are you serious?!” she exclaimed, horrified, sitting straight up.

“Well, no, just, 2 am brownies. Plus you said it’s legal here, so-” she tried to clarify the joke, reaching for her, but Courtney was not finding it funny in the slightest.

“Oh my god!” Courtney repeated, shaking her head, chest rising and falling rapidly. “They’re only 11, do you really think-”

“No, of course not, I was just kidding-” said Bianca.

“-Where would they get weed?! Mine is locked in a safe and they don’t even know about it. I don’t think. Oh, god.” She appeared to be quickly spiraling, eyes panicked, and Bianca knew she had to act quickly, because of course this would freak her out. Anyone who ever worried about custody would be triggered by the idea of their pre-teens getting their hands on narcotics.

“No no no no, I just, I was being dumb, stupid joke, undo undo undo-”

“Really? You didn’t like, smell weed on them?” Courtney asked, her hand pressed to her heart.

“No,” said Bianca firmly, adding, “Not at all.”

“Okay…”

“Don’t worry.” Bianca took her hand, kissing the inside of her wrist, trying to soothe her still racing pulse. She made a note to her future self: no jokes about the kids doing drugs.

“You’re sure?”

“Yeah, I’m sure. I promise,” Bianca said sincerely. “But…do you want some?”

Courtney let out a halfhearted chuckle, laying back down with a sigh. “…maybe.”

She closed her eyes as Bianca kissed up her arm to her shoulder, slowly making her way across her collarbone. Then, when she was finally relaxed, she reached around to grasp Bianca’s ass firmly in her hands, pulling her closer.

Bianca straddled one of Courtney’s legs, pressing a thigh right up against her pussy, admiring the way she inhaled sharply at the pressure.

“Are you okay?” Bianca whispered, nuzzling her cheek.

“Mmmhmm…”

The fingers digging into her ass, heavy breathing and fluttering lashes indicated that she’d moved on. But as Bianca eyed the dildo still lying on the pillow beside her, she found that she couldn’t. Not until she was sure that everything was okay.

“I’m sorry if I freaked you out,” she said.

“What?” Courtney asked, head lolling, necklace glinting in the moonlight.

“About the kids. I’m sorry for making that dumb joke,” Bianca clarified.

Courtney pulled her in for another kiss, arching against her. “You wanna keep talking about it? Or…” Her eyes shifted sideways to the dildo, and Bianca chuckled.

“I’ll take ‘or,’” she said, reaching for it, waves of relief washing over her.

A breathy little giggle escaped as Courtney bit her lip, eyes glimmering.

Bianca slid the dildo into her harness, adjusting the base cover against her own clit. She opened the bottle of lube, but Courtney cupped her own hands together before Bianca could pour any out.

“Let me,” she insisted, and Bianca tipped the bottle, pouring a generous amount into her hands. Courtney gave her a filthy smirk as she reached down to lube up the dildo, legs spreading wider to straddle Bianca’s hips.

Bianca buried her face into Courtney’s hair, inhaling deeply, goosebumps prickling her skin as she imagined what was about to happen. Earlier, she’d been teasing her, but now, she was in no mood to postpone anyone’s pleasure, especially her own.

She lifted her head, stroking Courtney’s cheek with her thumb, hips moving slowly to rub the tip of the toy over her pussy, and murmured, “Are you ready, angel?”

“Yes,” she replied simply.

Her eyes were closed as Bianca lined up the dildo, pushing inside of her slowly. She gasped, and Bianca paused, whispering in her ear, “Are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m…keep going,” Courtney said, her nails now digging into Bianca’s shoulder blades. Bianca examined her face, trying to discern if she was feeling pain, even pulling out slightly when she wasn’t sure.

“Do you want me to switch to a smaller one?”

Courtney shook her head, eyes still squeezed shut.

“I don’t want to hurt you, baby…”

At that, Courtney opened her eyes, a smile pulling at her lips, declaring, “I’m not as fragile as you think.”

“Oh no?”

Courtney pulled her closer, tangling their tongues together in a heated kiss.

“Does that mean you want me to keep going?” Bianca whispered against her. “You’re ready to-”

“Not quite,” said Courtney, giving her a wink.

“What do you-”

Before Bianca could get the sentence out, Courtney had flipped her onto her back, kneeling over her, lube-slippery hands gliding up her body.

“Fuck,” Bianca groaned, unprepared for how hot it was to see her from this angle, hovering over the strap, hair wild and untamed, that wanton look in her eyes.

Courtney’s fingers danced gracefully around her nipples, making her burn with need. Bianca lifted her hips to rub the glistening tip of the dildo against her clit, daring her to come closer.

A deliciously naughty smirk pulled at Courtney’s lips as she asked, “Are you ready?”

“Fuck. Yes,” replied Bianca, holding the dildo steady, her other hand on Courtney’s hip.

Courtney let Bianca guide the toy, gasping softly as it finally slid inside her, sitting down firmly on it. Her eyes closed, body barely moving as she adjusted her weight and began to roll her hips, slowly and subtly.

The pressure from the dildo base was driving Bianca crazy. All she wanted was to thrust upwards at a furious pace, to make her come completely undone. But she also loved that Courtney was in control, making her heart pound, riding her with total confidence, her firm thighs squeezing Bianca’s hips.

“Jesus christ,” she moaned, thrusting up to meet her perfect rhythm.

Courtney smiled and leaned forward, hair falling into her eyes, tits brushing against Bianca’s chest, picking up the pace until Bianca couldn’t take it anymore, finally coming with a groan, her whole body flushed and sweaty.

“I’m close, B, I’m-” Courtney let out her own broken moan. “Are you okay? Can I keep-”

“I got you, I got you,” Bianca panted, riding out the aftershocks of her orgasm as Courtney’s hips rolled faster than before, her hands now buried in Bianca’s hair.

The sound of her—whimpering and moaning and calling out Bianca’s name—was the most beautiful music she’d ever heard. Something inside Bianca’s heart cracked open, realizing how easy it would have been to lose her forever. She held her tighter, savoring how precious this moment was, how lucky she was to be here. When Courtney finally collapsed on top of Bianca in a sweaty heap, they lay sandwiched together, hearts beating wildly.

Bianca lifted her head and pressed kisses along Courtney’s hairline, fingers dancing up and down the smooth, slick skin of her back. It wasn’t until her breathing began to even out that Bianca rolled her to the side, easing the dildo out slowly.

Courtney let out a sharp hiss as she pulled out, nails raking down Bianca’s back.

“Are you alright?” Bianca asked.

“Mmm…” Courtney sighed, adding a lazily murmured, “I’m perfect.”

“You certainly are.”

A sleepy smile spread across Courtney’s face, and she sighed again, pulling Bianca close against her, arms wrapped tightly around her. Perfect.

#rpdr fanfiction #veronica #masters of the scene #s6 #bianca del rio #courtney act #adore delano #bitney #bitney parent trap #parent trap au #lesbian au #trans character #kid fic #smut #fluff #mild angst #comedy

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artificialqueens · 1 year

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Masters of the Scene, Chapter 24 (Bitney Parent Trap AU) - Veronica

A/N: Well. Originally this fic was gonna be family-friendly. But I decided to take pity on my little pretend people and give them some good old-fashioned smut. Thanks as always to @tumble4rpdr for their indispensable beta help.

Click here for prequels and previous chapters, or here if you’d rather read on AO3.

Where we left off:

Once the kids headed upstairs, she turned to Courtney, a rush of butterflies filling her belly as she took in her soft expression. A lock of blonde hair had fallen into her eyes, the same one that never cooperated, and Bianca reached forward to brush it away.

“So…”

Summary: Yeah uh…banging.

***

Courtney stood in the kitchen, biting her lip as she gazed into Bianca’s eyes. Bianca brushed a lock of hair out of her eyes, fingers lingering on the shell of her ear. So much was in that gentle touch, making Courtney feel weak-kneed and pleasantly dizzy, her heart pounding with nervous excitement.

“So…”

“So,” Courtney echoed, swallowing. “Um…do you want some wine?”

“Please.”

Bianca already had a few glasses at dinner, but Courtney stayed sober since she was driving, and really needed some liquid courage. Fortunately, one glass would likely catch her up, given their extremely different alcohol tolerances. She opened the wine fridge to pull out a bottle.

“You may want to think about getting a lock on that, now that Adore’s here full time,” said Bianca.

“You really think that’s necessary?” Courtney asked, raising an eyebrow. She knew that Bianca was mostly joking, but couldn’t help the shred of concern that nagged at her.

“No, no, not yet,” Bianca assured her, eyes warm, a little half-smile pulling on her lips. “But if you wait until it’s necessary, it’s probably too late.”

Courtney nodded thoughtfully as she began to turn the corkscrew, starting at the wrong angle before realizing her mistake and tearing her eyes away from Bianca’s to concentrate. “Wouldn’t locking up the booze just make them think we don’t trust them?” she wondered.

“Well…I don’t trust them,” Bianca said plainly, and Courtney laughed.

“Fair enough.” She gave Bianca a wink before going back to struggling with the corkscrew, fingers still clumsy from nerves. “Shit.”

“Want me to do that?” Bianca offered.

“Thanks.” Courtney handed over the bottle and corkscrew, admitting, “I never really learned to be slick with these things.”

“I can’t promise slick, but I can promise effective,” Bianca said.

Courtney smiled, watching her twist the corkscrew almost violently, clearly needing the wine as much as she did. She turned to the cabinets to get out a couple of glasses.

After a few moments, she sensed Bianca approaching behind her. Her heart began to hammer harder as Bianca drew closer. Her shawl had slipped down when she reached into the cabinet, and when Bianca trailed her fingers over the lacy straps of her dress, she inhaled sharply.

Her skin prickled with goosebumps, eyes closing as she let herself luxuriate in the moment. Bianca’s touch was like reliving a memory that had been seared into her skin. Like the very best kind of déjà vu, that sent tingles up her spine, made her heart pound, made the room spin slightly, even though she’d yet to take a drink.

She turned around with the glasses clutched in her hands, burning with lust while Bianca silently poured wine for both of them. Bianca then set the bottle on the counter and took one of the glasses, lightly ghosting the back of Courtney’s fingers with her own as she did so.

They clinked their glasses together, still just gazing into each other’s eyes, Courtney’s breathing shallow, her abdomen tight with desire.

“What are we toasting?” she asked softly.

“Farm life.”

Courtney laughed, releasing a little of the tension building up inside her before taking a long sip of her wine. She put her glass down on the counter and leaned back on her elbows, giving her best bedroom eyes.

Bianca gazed back, but made no move towards her, instead taking another sip of her wine without breaking eye contact. Courtney waited as long as she could, her pulse nearly jumping out of her skin, until she couldn’t take it anymore.

She lunged forward, grabbing Bianca by the lapels of her jacket, their lips finally meeting. Bianca’s hands slid around her waist, pulling her closer as they kissed hungrily, both of them desperate for more. A whimper escaped Courtney’s throat as Bianca pressed her against the counter, trailing a row of hot, biting kisses down her jaw.

“Do you want to-”

“Yes!” Bianca groaned immediately, fingers digging into her waist.

Courtney laughed breathlessly. “You don’t know what I was gonna ask.”

“Whatever it was, the answer is yes,” Bianca said, as she continued to trail her lips over the most sensitive part of Courtney’s neck.

Courtney giggled, gripping her jacket tighter, head lolling to the side to give her better access. The cool metal on leather in her hands was a stark contrast to the heat of Bianca’s mouth, the warm breath against her.

“What was the question?” Bianca finally murmured into her skin.

“Do you want to move to the bedroom?” Courtney forced out, gulping for air.

“Okay, I’m changing my answer...” Bianca lifted her head, and for a split second, Courtney felt a flicker of disappointment. Until she added, “To fuck yes.”

Courtney laughed again, shaking her head, laying one more kiss against Bianca’s lips before picking up their wine glasses and sauntering forward towards the bedroom.

Once behind a closed, locked door, it felt like an insatiable demon had taken over Bianca’s body. She couldn’t get enough of the taste of her, the smell of her hair, the little sounds she made that told Bianca exactly what was working.

It felt like they were very much on the same page, as Courtney tugged inelegantly at her clothes, tossing each article to the floor, one by one. Soon, they were rolling around on the bed in a feverish daze. Bianca began to regret all the accessories she had on—the necklace was just in the way, and when one of her earrings got tangled in Courtney’s hair, she realized that it might be a downright safety hazard.

She pulled back, pausing for a regretfully long time to take it all off, as fast as possible.

“Oh, good idea,” Courtney panted, her kiss-swollen lips smeared with an alluring shade of pink made from their lipsticks combing. She removed her own earrings, bracelets and cocktail ring, dropping them into a little bowl on the nightstand. Her necklaces proved trickier. “Can you…?”

She rolled to the side, lifting her hair.

“Sure.” Bianca swallowed, still trying to catch her breath, fingers feeling clumsy as she tried to undo the delicate clasp of the first chain, distracted by the way her straps hung off her shoulder, the unzipped dress revealing a peek of her lace thong. When she started on the Cartier necklace, Courtney reached back to stop her fingers.

“Not that one,” she said, almost shyly, requesting, “Leave that one on?”

Bianca wrapped her arms around Courtney’s waist from behind, kissing her neck, nipping at the tender skin of her pulse point. Courtney whimpered, making her suck harder as she slid her hands down, lifting her skirt.

Suddenly, Courtney tensed up, and Bianca stopped instantly, smoothing her skirt back down.

“Are you okay?” she asked, gulping for air.

“Yeah.” Courtney turned slightly, biting her lip. “I’m sorry. I know…I know it’s probably silly, but I’m…nervous.”

“It’s not,” Bianca assured her. She brushed some hair out of Courtney’s eyes. “Not silly, I mean. And look, we can wait if you want-”

“God no,” Courtney said, with such a put-upon look of horror that Bianca had to laugh. “I just…need you to know that…um…”

“Yeah?” Bianca pressed a kiss to her shoulder, nuzzling into her skin.

“It…takes me awhile,” Courtney explained, looking a bit apologetic. “I mean, longer than-”

“Good thing we have all night,” Bianca shrugged. She made no move, though, instead waiting while Courtney turned the rest of the way, laying on her back.

“Right.” Courtney swallowed, pulling Bianca in for a tender kiss.

As her weight bore down, she could feel Courtney’s hands tangling into her hair, her body shifting to allow Bianca to slowly lift her dress over her head.

“God, you’re so fucking hot…” Bianca breathed, a smile pulling at her lips.

“Look who’s talking.” Courtney ran a hand up Bianca’s arm, eyes wandering greedily over her body, fingers slipping under her bra strap to pull her close once more. “Come here.”

Happy to obey that particular order, Bianca moved back towards her, hovering over her on her hands and knees, capturing her lips in a soft, deep kiss.

Courtney’s heart was pounding, a million miles a minute, and she wasn’t quite sure why. She knew that Bianca wanted her. She could see the lust in her eyes all evening. And she generally wasn’t precious about nudity in the least—it was easy enough to find pictures of her tits with one google search.

But something about being naked with Bianca, here, after all the time that had gone by, was freaking her out. She couldn’t help but be self-conscious about the way her body had changed.

Would she like it?

It was a ludicrous question, a completely insane thing to be obsessing over. After all, Bianca loved her. She loved her before the transition, and after. Especially after. And the way she was kissing her, the way she was caressing every inch of her skin, showed Courtney how much she wanted her.

She tried to relax as Bianca took her time, mouth wandering lazily down her bare chest, licking teasingly, just once, at her nipples, making her arch up with desire, before traveling lower, sucking a hot, wet kiss to her belly, just above the top of her panties.

Courtney held her breath, waiting for her to start sliding them down, but instead she seemed to be focusing on her shoes, pulling at the top strap.

“Oh, fuck me,” Bianca muttered, and Courtney laughed. Apparently, she’d just realized that the gladiator sandals were made up of a row of tiny, individually-fastened buckles.

“Sorry.”

“It’s fine, it’s…like I said, I’m not in a rush.” Bianca smirked down at her, sitting back on her heels to carefully undo each buckle before dropping the shoes off the side of the bed.

Now, she was naked save for the black floral lace thong that she’d chosen specifically for the occasion. Bianca hovered over her on her hands and knees, down to her bra, panties shoved down around her thighs. The hot pink looked so alluring on her skin, not to mention the sheer fabric leaving nothing to the imagination, that Courtney couldn’t resist reaching up. Her fingers teased at her nipples through the fine mesh, watching them harden immediately.

Bianca kissed her slowly, murmuring against her lips, a thigh between Courtney’s legs holding them apart. But she was in such a love-struck daze, she missed what Bianca had said entirely.

“What was that?” Courtney whispered back.

Bianca lifted her head, the fingers of one hand running along the edge of her panties making her shiver with delight. Her eyes were dark but gleaming in the dim lamplight.

“I said…I want to taste your pussy,” Bianca repeated, and Courtney was overcome by a wave of pure euphoria. “Is that okay?”

“Uh huh,” she said, nodding vigorously. “Yes.”

Bianca’s lips curled into a smirk, her dimples deep as she moved down Courtney’s body again. She kissed soft trails over her, making her squirm in anticipation, then finally, Courtney could feel the hot breath against the front of her thong, lips ghosting over the little embroidered roses. And it was so good, but it wasn’t enough.

When Courtney let out a pleading, impatient whimper, Bianca began to slowly, excruciatingly, slide her panties down. In spite of the desire that pulsed through her, Courtney found her nerves returning, waiting with bated breath for Bianca’s reaction.

“Fuck. You’re beautiful,” Bianca said, her voice thick with emotion and as reverent as a prayer.

The praise made a shiver of delight race up Courtney’s spine, and she leaned back, determined to stay out of her own head and simply enjoy this experience, this intimacy that she’d been craving for so long.

“Mmm,” Bianca hummed against her, swirling her tongue in a way that made Courtney arch up in surprise.

“Keep going,” she breathed.

It was like a fantasy come true, one she’d kept buried deep. The feeling of Bianca’s mouth against her was a reminder—how often she’d chosen lovers because of their full lips, their thick curly hair as close as possible to the handfuls that were grasped in her fists right now.

She told herself that it was just a preference. Everyone had them. Never admitting to anyone, least of all to herself, how often her thoughts drifted to Bianca, no matter who she was with. How, in the best of cases, she was able to submerge herself into a world where they were still together, still in love. Bianca’s voice—her actual voice, and not the one in Courtney’s imagination, was what brought her back to the present. How long had her mind wandered? Shit.

“Is this okay?” Bianca asked, thumbs stroking her thighs.

“Yeah, it’s…so good…” Courtney said, biting her lip. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry,” Bianca said, shaking her head. “I know you said it takes you awhile, but I just wanted to make sure you like what I’m-”

“I do!” Courtney insisted.

“Because you used to be a little more…um…a little more responsive.”

Guilt flooded Courtney’s chest. She was, usually, more responsive. More present. And it certainly wasn’t Bianca’s fault, or anything she was doing wrong, that was stopping her from being in the moment together. Quite the opposite, in fact.

“I…everything you’re doing is perfect,” said Courtney, trying to hold her shame at bay.

“Okay…” Bianca pressed a gentle kiss to her inner thigh, then another, a little higher, then another.

Courtney sighed audibly, and Bianca smiled against her skin, warm tongue seeking her out once more.

It wasn’t a lie, either. What Bianca was doing was perfect: light brushes of her lips, soft flicks and swirls of her tongue, hands trailing tenderly over her skin. Courtney closed her eyes, determined to enjoy it, determined to stop her mind from wandering again.

“God, you’re fucking delicious,” Bianca murmured.

A whimper fell from Courtney’s lips and she gripped Bianca’s hair tighter. “B…”

“Mmmhmm?”

“This is so…” she bit her lip.

It was so different, was what she was thinking. So different than it used to be with them—and not just because of the way her own body had changed. She shook her head, not wanting to chance even a single unpleasant memory. Instead, she took another deep breath, concentrating on the softness, the heat, the way every touch sent a new and welcome sensation through her body. When Bianca began to suck on her clit, she let out a hiss of pleasure.

God, she was good. Gentle and firm, with just enough teasing to keep Courtney guessing, keep her hips rolling and her breath caught in her throat. Which was why, of course, Courtney absolutely detested herself for the next thought.

She’s done this before.

It was a bit of a ‘no shit’ moment—of course she’d done it before. They’d been divorced for over 7 years. And even with a cursory, occasional stalking of Bianca’s social media, along with a few telling comments from the kids, Courtney knew full well that she was never lacking for beautiful and elegant female companions. Hell, Courtney had met the last one.

But was she the last one?

Courtney gulped. It had been a month. Had she been with other women in that time? And why did it matter, anyway? The only reason Courtney was stressing like this, for the first time in years, was that old, nagging insecurity ever since Bianca confessed that she was a lesbian…what if she wasn’t the kind of woman that Bianca ultimately wanted? And if the nagging doubt had been bad before, now it felt compounded by the fact that she had years of who knows how many other women to compare her to.

Meanwhile, all Courtney had done, since they parted, was to compare everyone to Bianca. Living her entire sex life in a state of perpetual fantasy. Delving so deep into them that sometimes, she wasn’t even sure what was real. Was this real?

“Baby…are you okay?”

Fuck.

“I’m…yeah, I’m good. Great. Why?” Courtney swallowed, loosening her tight grip on Bianca’s hair. Fucking shit, had she hurt her?

“You just seem a bit…I don’t know. Uh…far away.” Bianca’s voice was gentle, that raspy whisper that Courtney missed so much it made her chest ache.

“I…I’m sorry-” Courtney’s breath hitched as she covered her face with her hands, repeating a muffled, “I’m sorry.”

“Hey, it’s okay…” Bianca shifted away, crawling forward to lay beside her. She wrapped an arm securely around her shoulders. “You don’t have to be sorry-”

“But I am, because you’ve been so incredible, so perfect, and I just…I can’t get out of my head.”

“Okay. Then…” Bianca nuzzled into her. “Then maybe, let’s talk about what’s going on in your head.”

“Oh god, please let’s not.” The last thing she wanted was to burden Bianca with this tedious bullshit. Courtney could feel her lashes wet with tears as she hugged Bianca close.

“Are you sure?” Bianca asked. And the look on her face was so loving and concerned that it compounded Courtney’s guilt, made her feel like an idiot for doubting where they stood, even for a second.

“I’m sure,” Courtney whispered, stroking Bianca’s cheek, admiring the way even a gentle smile made her dimples appear. “I’m just sorry that I killed the mood.”

“You didn’t kill anything,” Bianca assured her.

“Oh no?” Courtney sniffled. “You find it sexy when I’m a weepy, neurotic cunt?”

“Devastatingly sexy.” Bianca chuckled slightly and shook her head, voice still low as she confessed, “The truth is…since the second you walked into that party in the Hamptons, I’ve been so desperate to be with you that I’ve literally been climbing out of my skin. You think a few tears are gonna change that?”

A relief surged through Courtney’s limbs, like a soothing balm over her frayed nerves and faltering confidence. A small smile tugged at her lips as she relaxed in Bianca’s arms, asking, “Only since the party?”

“Don’t tease me. I’ve been in agony,” Bianca whispered, ghosting her lips over Courtney’s.

“Oh yeah?”

“Feel. Feel how fucking wet you make me.” Bianca guided Courtney’s hand down to her cunt. The sharp inhale as Courtney pressed the heel of her hand against her was exactly what she wanted.

Courtney’s fingers sought out the perfectly wet heat, stroking her. Her thumb had just barely touched Bianca’s clit when she felt her shiver. She smiled against her lips, tongue delving into her mouth as she pushed two fingers inside her. She dragged her thumb back over Bianca’s clit, making figure eights and swirls, feeling her hips stutter.

“Baby, that’s…fuck-” Bianca gasped, fingers digging into her waist.

“Good?” Courtney breathed into her ear.

“Uh huh,” Bianca whimpered.

Her hips were rolling faster now, fucking down onto her fingers, breath hot on Courtney’s neck. She curled her fingers, matching her rhythm, finding the exact angle that sent her into a frenzy, the sense memory of exactly how she liked it coming back with a vengeance to guide her along.

A low, breathy moan fell from Bianca’s lips, hips flexed, muscles tightening around Courtney's fingers in spasms. “Oh, god…”

Courtney kissed her deeply, unhurried and content, waiting until her breathing evened out before slowly withdrawing her fingers and sucking them into her mouth, the taste making her dizzy with lust.

Courtney tilted Bianca’s chin up, kissing her again, then pressing a row down her jaw to her neck, licking at the light sheen of sweat on her skin, suddenly needing to savor every inch of her.

Bianca sighed against her, lashes fluttering, before saying, “Hey…don’t think you can use orgasmic trickery to make me forget that easily…”

“Forget what?”

“That you were upset.” Bianca said.

“Oh. That...”

“Yes, that.” Bianca gave her a pointed look. “Spill it, buttercup.”

Courtney groaned slightly, knowing that she wasn’t gonna squirm out of this conversation the way she used to. The New and Improved Bianca seemed anxious to discuss her emotions in a way she never used to be—for the first time, Courtney wondered if things were better before.

“I just…” A lump rose in her throat, tears burning in her eyes. Fuck. She didn’t want to do this, not now. She wanted tonight to be a clean slate, a fresh beginning for them both. “Sorry, I…”

“It’s okay.”

“No, we’re…this is so good, I don’t want to ruin it-”

“You won’t. You can’t,” Bianca assured her. She kissed her cheek, then said, “Tell me what’s going on, please.”

Courtney bit her lip. She didn’t want to go there. It seemed like it would just be too much. But on the other hand, Bianca was looking at her with such love and tenderness, and maybe it would feel good to unburden herself.

“I just…I feel like a hypocrite,” she admitted, the words tumbling from her mouth before she could stop them, “Because, anyone I’m with. Everyone I’m with. I always…think of you. I talk about being mindful and embracing the moment and I’ve never really, truly done that, for years. Because I’ve never let go. Not for one…one second.”

Her voice broke as hot tears began spilling down her cheeks. Bianca kissed them away, holding her close and shaking her head.

“Angel… You think I ever let you go?” Bianca asked incredulously.

Courtney didn’t say anything, just buried her face in Bianca’s neck, inhaling the intoxicating scent of her as she moved forward, laying Courtney back down gently against a pillow, weight bearing down.

Desire twisted in Courtney’s abdomen. She arched up, grasping Bianca’s ass in both hands, rubbing against her, desperate to feel exactly how wet she was against her own body.

“Do you want me to get the strap?” Bianca murmured into her ear.

“No. Not…not yet. I just want to feel you,” Courtney panted. “I want to see you. I want to know that it’s really you…not just my imagination. I-”

“Look at me…”

Courtney lifted her eyes, looking directly into Bianca’s, warm brown eyes gazing down at her.

“It’s not your imagination,” Bianca assured her, and Courtney had to bury her head in her neck.

She would not fucking cry again, not this time.

“I love you,” Bianca whispered, still rutting against her, speeding up until she was almost frantic. “I will never stop loving you.”

Courtney held her tighter, legs wrapped around her waist. She wasn’t sure until it was happening that she could come this way, just by rubbing their clits together, Bianca’s voice murmuring in her ear.

When she began to moan, Bianca continued whispering, calling her baby and angel and perfect, the sound of her voice leaving no room for even a shred of doubt.

This was real, Courtney told herself, over and over as her body arched up in ecstasy. It was real, and it was everything she wanted.

***

“God…why did we waste so many years?” Bianca said.

They were tangled together on the bed, Bianca trailing her fingers up and down Courtney’s bare back, fingertips dancing along her spine. Sated, sweaty, and utterly relaxed, Bianca felt as if her bones might melt into the mattress. Her brain, the normally racing thoughts, had slowed nearly to a stop….all she knew in this moment was that Courtney was finally nestled in her arms, and it was the best feeling in the world.

“Ummm…” Courtney mused, “Stupidity? Stubbornness? Bitterness-”

“That was a rhetorical question, babe.” Bianca reached down to swat her lightly on the butt.

“Oh. Right,” Courtney said with a light giggle. “I’m not good with those.”

Bianca continued to pat her ass, admiring how the peachy flesh felt against her hand. “Did you ever end up getting a BBL?”

“How dare you!” Courtney exclaimed, lifting her head.

“I just don’t remember you having this much ass,” Bianca laughed.

“Yeah, well, I’ve been doing squats every day for years, so…”

“Damn. Good work.”

Courtney gave her a wink and settled back down, her head pleasantly heavy on Bianca’s shoulder.

Both of them seemed utterly content to bask in the glow of finally being together, in each other��s arms. Bianca let out a deep sigh, nuzzling against her skin.

Every so often, she would tip up Courtney’s chin for a slow, lazy kiss, but generally they just lay in contented silence.

“So…” Courtney finally said, “You never really said…how long you’re planning to stay here. In LA.”

“However long you want me,” she answered. “I have to go back to check on things in October, but that’s probably just a few days.”

“I guess this means you’re open to being bicoastal?” Courtney asked hopefully.

“I’d rather be in one place, most of the time,” she answered, and before that could make Courtney worry, she quickly added, “But I think I could get used to being an Angeleno again.”

Courtney grinned, laying a soft kiss against her lips. “I’m so glad you’re here. Both of you.”

“Mmm…let’s hope the fresh start here is exactly what Adore needs.”

“I think it could be,” Courtney said, laying her head back down against Bianca’s shoulder, cuddling close. Almost as an afterthought, she said, “They sent you the revised 6th grade schedule, right? The one we voted on at the last PTA meeting?”

“Uh, I don’t think so,” answered Bianca, then teased, “What is it? More time to share their feelings?”

Courtney gave her a mildly cross look, but then smiled again. “Well…”

“Oh lord.” Bianca slapped her forehead.

Courtney began to sit up, eyes bright as she exclaimed, “No no, listen, it’s gonna be so great!”

“Yeah?” A smile tugged at Bianca’s lips. She couldn’t help but be amused by Courtney’s boundless enthusiasm for their kids’ education.

“Yeah! So there’s all this new research about how difficult it is for kids to straight into like, intense academic subjects first thing in the morning, before their brains are ready to take things in, like a lot if this STEM stuff just goes in one ear and out the other and that’s why homework can be a nightmare, right?”

“Okay, yeah, that makes sense,” Bianca said.

“So there’s this school in Mount Shasta that’s been experimenting with different models and they found one that’s been super effective and we’re gonna try it. So they start the day with a full hour of just intense, calming, guided deep breathing.”

“An hour?” Bianca said, horrified. Had she made a grave error in subjecting Adore to this hippie nightmare?

“Yeah,” Courtney said, continuing on breezily, “Then, once they’re in that calm, relaxed head space, they join the friendship circle, where they share, yes, of course, but also use positive affirmations to uplift one another, while snacking on artisanal sprouted nut balls and locally sourced wheatgrass shots. Which are just packed with nutrients.”

She smiled widely, and Bianca narrowed her eyes. ‘Artisanal sprouted nut balls’? She had to be fucking around. This was way too much, even for her.

“So anyway, after the second hour of friendship circle, there’s abstract finger painting. Cruelty-free, non-toxic paints, of course, while they listen to Tibetan monks chant about environmental justice. Followed by-”

“You are an asshole,” Bianca proclaimed, now certain that she was full of shit.

Courtney cackled with mischievous glee as Bianca shook her head, unable to muster up any irritation at all.

“Actually, we just added an extra snack break in the afternoon, and more time in the computer lab. But I had you for a minute!” she insisted, still laughing.

“You know what,” Bianca said, tugging her closer, “you’ve had me for a lot longer than that.”

“Hmm…” Courtney laid back down with a sweet, contented sigh. “Good.”

#rpdr fanfiction #veronica #masters of the scene #bianca del rio #courtney act #bitney #parent trap au #bitney parent trap #lesbian au #trans character #fluff #mild angst

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artificialqueens · 1 year

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Masters of the Scene, Chapter 19 (Bitney Parent Trap AU) - Veronica

A/N: Thank you so much to @tumble4rpdr for being an incredible beta, and to both @aqalbatross and @artificialeevee for their help with the video game speak.

Click here for prequels and previous chapters, or here if you’d rather read on AO3.

Chapter Summary: A month later. Courtney gets a surprise.

***

Topanga Canyon, California. September.

Courtney knelt in the garden, stabbing the cultivator into the ground, over and over, trying to loosen the soil enough to grab ahold of the weeds that were attempting to choke her poor onions. She attacked the ground, the weeds, with a violence that most people would probably think was unlike her, but she had to get the anger out somehow, and weeds and dirt seemed like a pretty benign target.

She’d been out there since before sunrise, harvesting and planting and trying to get as much done as she could while the air was still cool and misty. If it was up to her, she’d be in the garden every day, but that just wasn’t usually possible during the week. The weekends, though, that was her time. It was a good way to focus, to try and keep her mind on a task, rather than spinning off the way it had been doing ever since she’d gotten into that car and pulled away from her daughter, watching Adore’s sad little face get smaller and smaller until she disappeared around the curve of the road.

She hated leaving Adore, especially like that. And now she was back in school, and Courtney wished more than anything that she’d been wrong about how hard this school year was going to be. It wasn’t Bianca’s fault—New York Fashion Week, and the rest of September, was the most important time of the year for her, business-wise. Nobody expected her to be sitting down with Adore and helping her with homework every day. That’s why she had after-school help, and tutors, and why Courtney had completely rearranged her own schedule to be available on FaceTime when Adore got home in the afternoons.

But it didn’t seem to matter. The workload was insane; granted, Courtney hadn’t finished University herself, but she couldn’t do half of what they were asking of Adore at that godforsaken school. And Adore had convinced herself almost immediately that everything was too hard, that she was stupid, that she’d never be able to keep up with her classmates or the rigorous level of college prep instruction that was expected of her.

Adore’s psychiatrist wanted to increase her dosage of Adderall and put her on an antidepressant, but Bianca wanted to wait and see how she adjusted once she got used to the new schedule and teachers. Courtney wanted to cry and scream because she couldn’t fucking hold her child and kiss her and tell her that nothing, nothing, nothing was wrong with her and that fucking school shouldn’t be putting so much pressure on her in sixth fucking grade.

She stabbed the soil one more time, tears falling that she brushed away with her gloved hand, leaving behind streaks of dirt on her face, no doubt.

Her frustration wasn’t just about what a hard time Adore was having. That was horrible, and of course she wished she could be there for her in person, more than just FaceTiming her, which she gladly did, as much as possible. It was also about how difficult it was to nail down visitation dates with Bianca.

She understood that she was busy right now, but she got the distinct impression, especially in the last few weeks, that she was being brushed off. The whole thing was intensely frustrating, when all she wanted was a few confirmed long weekends with both children, and all Bianca had to do was say “yes” in writing. Surely no one was too busy to check a calendar and type a 3 letter word, right?

Courtney was busy too: she had three different YouTube channels, which involved research, brand relationships, collabs, scripting, filming, editing, and approvals; her podcast; the studio and creative partnerships; overseeing her nonprofit, which included the hands-on work she did at the Carlotta House; her advocacy and activism work; appearances and social media content that she had to keep up with to stay ‘relevant’ as well as producing branded content; being on the PTA at Danny’s school. She also had employees, she also managed teams of people and multiple projects with multiple timelines. And just like Bianca, she’d been a single mother since their kids were 3 years old.

Still, she managed to find the time to respond to emails about their children.

So she just had a hard time believing that Bianca was too busy to respond—that couldn’t be the answer. There had to be another explanation. Was it a power thing? Was she punishing Courtney for their fight? Because that would be a new low, a new level of pettiness—they’d managed, somehow, not to let their children suffer because of their own bullshit so far (at least not directly), but this would make the kids suffer. They missed each other, and wanted to see each other and wanted to see their mothers and if Bianca was letting her own anger get in the way of that-

“Mum?”

Courtney jumped, startled out of her thoughts, arm aching from how aggressively she’d been stabbing at the ground, the same spot over and over. Those poor weeds. She looked up at Danny, trying to plaster a benign smile on her face.

“Hi, darling.”

“Are you gonna be done up here soon?” he asked, shifting a little, biting his lip.

Courtney swallowed. She’d been stressing so much about the child who wasn’t here with her—had she been neglecting the one who was?

“I’m sorry, Danny. Are you alright? Are you hungry? What time is it?”

“I’m okay, I made myself breakfast,” he said, giving her a smile and a pat on the shoulder. “I just, um, think you probably need a break, right? Cause, like, uh…you’ve been out here all morning, and it’s almost noon.”

“Oh.” Courtney looked up at the sky, squinting. She had no idea. She’d been out here since sunrise, and had left her phone inside. The sun was high in the sky, and it was warmer than she’d realized, her t-shirt sticking to her, brow sweaty. She adjusted her hat. Where had all those hours gone? And why was she only now feeling how sore and tense her muscles were from the hours of bending over in the dirt?

“Don’t…um, don’t you want to relax? Like, shower, change, maybe even like…put on a bra?” Danny asked, shifting again.

Courtney turned and looked at him curiously, suddenly wondering just what he was up to, “A bra? Since when are you concerned with me wearing a bra?”

“I’m not concerned,” he said defensively, crossing his arms, “I just think…you know, you should be comfortable. Wouldn’t that make you more comfortable?”

“Is that the message you’re getting from society about boobs? That bras are comfortable?” Courtney asked, one eyebrow raised.

“Oh no, not society,” Danny groaned, slapping a hand against his forehead. “Please, please don’t start talking about society.”

“Okay, sorry. I just…” Courtney paused, recalling Bianca’s description of Danny dressed as Adore over the summer, how he’d worn a padded bra and, according to her, perhaps enjoyed it. “I do…want you to feel comfortable talking to me about this kind of thing, so if you have any questions, you can always ask. It’s very normal to talk about you body, or bodies in general, and breasts are-”

“I don't think it's normal for boys to talk to their mothers about boobs,” Danny said skeptically.

“Well, ‘normal’ is kind of a loaded word, I should have chosen a better one. But it’s certainly natural to be curious. And maybe it’s not typical for boys to talk to their mothers…but…but…” Courtney remembered all too well what it was like to be Danny’s age, to be painfully curious, to the point of obsession, about women’s bodies, but look down at a flat-as-a-board chest and feel nothing but shame, emptiness and panic. She didn’t want Danny to feel a fraction of that. “But, I’m not exactly a typical mother, am I?”

“That’s true…” Danny paused thoughtfully before adding, “Typical mothers wear bras.”

“Touché,” Courtney laughed, shaking her head. “I just want you to know that it’s okay to ask me about-”

“Can we please be done with this conversation? Before my ears start bleeding?”

“Fine, Mr. Sassy Pants,” Courtney said, swatting him on the leg with her gardening gloves. “But I’m here to talk, or even just listen, if you change your mind. Okay?”

“Fantastic,” he deadpanned, then turned to walk away, typing into his phone.

“But Danny-”

“Ughhhhh!” he looked up from his phone, irritated.

“Alright, alright, alright!” Courtney held up her hands in surrender. “Look, I’ll finish up here. And then maybe you can even join me for lunch, if I promise no boob talk?”

“Yes, fine.”

Courtney cracked her neck, rubbing at the stiff muscles.

“Great. Would you mind if I jump in the pool for a little bit first? I’m feeling sore and-”

“No, that’s a great idea!” he exclaimed, eyes lighting up.

“Okay. Thanks,” she said, taken aback. “I appreciate your enthusiasm.”

“Just ‘cause like, I said I wanted you to relax, and I know that swimming helps you relax, especially on a nice day, so…uhh…”

“Well, I do appreciate that,” she told him. “Although you know, I would get to the swimming a lot faster if you helped me out here.”

“I’ll help eat it, does that count?” he asked, giving her his cutest smile and a flutter of lashes.

“No,” she replied, grinning back and ruffling his hair.

“Well…what if I carried some of the baskets in?”

“Really?!”

“Yeah, if it’ll help,” Danny said.

This was an actual first, him volunteering to do any yard work at all. She wasn’t sure what had gotten into him. She decided not to question it, instead just gave him a big hug and kiss and then worked with him to bring in the day’s harvest and put away all the gardening tools in the shed.

She hopped into the outdoor shower to rinse off the dirt and grime, then changed into her swimsuit before getting into the pool, while Danny stretched out on a lounge chair nearby, playing with his Nintendo Switch.

Another only moderately successful method to turn off her chaotic mind was vigorous cardio. She was probably overdoing it—that was her usual MO when she found something that worked. She knew that some of the definition she had now hadn’t been there a month ago, some of the softness and curves gone and replaced with hard muscle tone. Most women would probably like that, but her body was starting to remind her of the way it looked years ago, pre-hormones, and she wasn’t thrilled about it. And yet, as uncomfortable as that was, she couldn’t stop.

(She was probably the only one who would even perceive the changes that way, anyway. To most people, she probably just looked like she’d been to the gym a lot recently.)

Swimming laps was great exercise, and perfect for the hottest part of the day, the weather still feeling like summer. But it wasn’t perfect. Because no matter what she did, how much she tried to focus on the movement and clear her head, Bianca’s words would always be there, bouncing around like a ping-pong ball in the depths of her mind.

He just doesn’t seem all that anxious when he’s with me…

Of course he wasn’t anxious when he was with her. She got to be the fun one. She got to have him on vacations and weekends and holidays. She got to take him to Broadway shows and concerts at Madison Square Garden and Chinese restaurants where drag queens serenaded him while he ate crispy egg rolls. And of course, the source of Courtney’s deepest resentment…Bianca never had to be afraid, not for a second, of losing him.

It wasn’t just that, though. If Courtney was honest with herself, truly honest—what Bianca said had sent her over the edge, not because it was wrong, but because it was right. Of course, she’d wondered the same thing many times. Was she contributing to Danny’s anxiety in some way? Were her own neurotic fears making things worse for him?

She didn’t have any answers. Just question after question after question. No solutions, either, except to swim harder, to work her body to a breaking point, so that she couldn’t think, couldn’t worry, couldn’t do anything except exist. Some time after she began—she had no idea how long—she heard a distant voice calling out. It most likely wasn’t the first time.

“Mum!”

She emerged from the water, gasping for air.

“Mum, look!”

Danny had jumped up from his chair, a big smile on his face. She paddled to the side of the pool and managed to grab the edge, panting, looking in the direction that he was pointing. A small, familiar figure was running towards them, across the grass, navy blue pigtails flying behind her.

Courtney’s mouth dropped open, her heart bursting with joy as she hoisted herself out of the pool as quickly as possible, scrambling onto the stone patio.

“MUM!” Adore cried, flinging herself into Courtney’s arms, apparently not caring that she was dripping wet.

Courtney held her tightly, heart pounding, relieved and shocked that she was actually here, a lump rising in her throat. She clung to her, holding back tears, nose buried in her hair, barely able to believe it was real. Her baby girl, really in her arms, face pressed to her shoulder.

Once she got over her initial shock, she turned her head to look at Danny, who was grinning wildly and jumping up and down with excitement.

“Did you know that she was coming?!” she asked him.

“Uh huh. It was a surprise!” he said.

“Are you surprised?!” Adore croaked out, pulling her face away, cheeks wet with tears.

“I am,” Courtney said, wiping her face tenderly with her thumbs. “And it’s the best surprise I’ve ever had in my whole life.”

Adore smiled and Courtney hugged her tightly once more.

“Come here, love, get in,” Courtney said, beckoning Danny over. He bounded over on the balls of his feet and allowed Courtney to wrap him into the embrace.

She sighed contentedly, squeezing her eyes shut, laying her cheek against Adore’s hair. There was no feeling on the planet as good as both of her babies safe in her arms.

Bianca swallowed, taking a couple of deep breaths. She wanted to let Adore have her surprise moment before ruining everything with what she was pretty certain would be her own unwelcome presence. Which was why she was leaning against the side of the house, the key to the rental car digging into her palm, still not sure whether this was the worst idea she’d ever had in her life. Probably, yes. But either way, she couldn’t hide forever.

Fuck. She wanted a cigarette. She closed her eyes. Not happening. Not here, not now. Instead, she dropped the key into her handbag and then took one last breath, realizing that her stupid heels had sunk into the grass. Why she thought that a pencil skirt and stilettos would be an appropriate outfit for today was anyone’s guess.

Bianca turned around the corner and crossed the grass to the patio, where Courtney was embracing Adore, Danny beside them, his arms wrapped around them both. They all looked so happy. A lump rose up in her throat.

She slowed her pace, more uncertain than ever about coming here. Should she have just dropped Adore off and gone to the hotel? Was this going to be a disaster?

“Mama!” Danny spotted her first, waving and skipping over happily. At least one person there would be glad to have her around.

“Hey, bunny,” Bianca hugged him, kissing the top of his head. “Did you get taller?”

“You always say that,” he laughed.

By now, of course, Courtney had realized that she was there. Bianca absolutely hated the stricken look on her face as she took Bianca in—like she was wounded by her mere presence. Well how the fuck else did she think Adore had appeared on her property? A spaceship?

On the other hand, what Bianca didn’t hate was the sight of her fresh from the pool, skin glistening wet, hair in a fat braid over her shoulder. The red one-piece she wore was a simple cut, showing off her body to absolute perfection. Bianca tried not to get too distracted, but damn.

“Um…hi,” Bianca said, giving her a tentative wave, letting Danny lead her closer by the hand.

“Hi,” Courtney replied, swallowing, looking a little lost as Adobe slipped out of her arms to pull on Danny’s T-shirt sleeve.

“Roach! I want to show you who I just invited to the camp. Raymond! I've got screenshots of him on the seesaw with Chief!” Adore said. She whipped out her phone to show him whatever godforsaken game they were obsessed with at the moment.

“Awesome! And come check out Splatfest! Deep Cut sing Anarchy Rainbow, and Big Man’s boss fight is straight out of Super Mario Sunshine…” he said, leading her over to a lounge chair where his Nintendo was, both of them chattering happily in a language Bianca didn’t understand for the life of her.

She stood awkwardly with Courtney, a strange and uncomfortable distance apart.

“What, um…what are you doing here?” Courtney asked, reaching for a towel. She wrapped it around her shoulders, taking on the appearance of a disaster victim, shivering after being pulled out of a sinking lifeboat.

“I um, heard you have some really nice tomatoes,” Bianca told her, attempting to lighten the mood.

Courtney stared at her, unblinking. “Is that supposed to be funny?”

“...yes?” Bianca said, trying not to let her voice shake with uncertainty.

Courtney nodded, her expression unchanging, and Bianca sighed, defeated. Not a good start.

“I’m looking at some retail space,” Bianca then explained, changing gears, as matter-of-fact as possible. “The investors want to go full speed ahead with the new stores, so…”

“Oh. Oh, that’s great. I mean, good for you.” Courtney managed a smile, which Bianca supposed was very generous of her given the circumstances.

“Thanks.” Bianca let out a little sigh of relief. Her attempt at levity had failed, but at least Courtney was being civil, now that she knew the real story. “I’m sorry for being cagey about the visitation dates, but Adore got it in her head to surprise you, and so-”

“No, I get it, that makes sense now,” Courtney said. Her grip on the towel had loosened. It now seemed less like a blanket protecting her from the elements, and more like a shawl. Bianca chose to see that as a good sign.

“Mum!” Adore cried, skipping back towards them. “Can we go see my room?!”

“That’s a great idea!” Courtney said, relieved. She put an arm around Adore. “Um, why don’t you guys take a minute and go use the restroom, get a drink? And I’ll go rinse off and throw something on, then meet you in the kitchen?”

“Sure,” Bianca said.

“Don’t take too long, I want to see it!” Adore cried, bouncing on the balls of her feet.

“You can give her twenty minutes to get dressed, Adore,” Bianca said, shaking her head.

“Five minutes,” Adore pouted, ignoring Bianca and looking up at Courtney with fluttering lashes.

“I’ll do my best!” Courtney gave her one more kiss and hurried towards a building next to the pool, straight for what Bianca had to assume was her bedroom.

A separate building for the master suite? Interesting.

Meanwhile, Adore followed Danny towards the main house.

Which was fucking massive.

She hadn’t really taken it all in before, because she was too nervous, but the place was a sprawling compound, with a huge house, more like a damn mansion than a ‘farmhouse,’ along with several smaller buildings (which were still big, but it was all relative, Bianca supposed). It didn’t look like this on YouTube, that was for sure.

She knew that there would be an extraordinary view. Courtney had been posting about #thisviewtho for years. It was the main reason she’d bought the property. And she knew that there was a big vegetable garden, and a lot of trees. But despite watching videos on her channel, not to mention seeing pictures of the kids there over the years, and FaceTiming them, Bianca had never even imagined the size of the house itself.

The kitchen looked like something out of a magazine, with a 12-burner stove and 4 ovens. She’d seen Courtney’s cooking videos on YouTube, and she was confused as fuck, because it seemed much smaller there. Maybe they used angles that only showed half the room and appliances? Bianca shrugged, shaking her head.

She drank a little of the ice water that Danny offered, and then went into a nearby powder room, where she was able to take a couple of minutes to herself to get her bearings.

Bianca leaned over the sink, hands pressed into the sides of the reclaimed wood vanity, eyes closed. She had a plan. She’d discussed the whole thing with Shangie multiple times before she left New York. Apologize, fill her in, tell her what I want without being demanding, then leave it in her hands…

Although, Shangie was sure to warn her that her plan needed to be flexible.

“You have to make sure to listen as much as you talk,” Shangie warned, more than once. “Maybe more, knowing you. You know what? Definitely more. Listen first, in fact.”

“What makes you think I’m not planning to listen?” Bianca had asked, and off Shangela’s pointed eyebrow raise, quickly followed up with, “Don’t answer that.”

Bianca stared at her reflection. She knew that she looked terrible these days. She hadn’t been eating, and her skin was drawn and sallow. The bags under her eyes were practically suitcases, requiring layers and layers of heavy-duty color-correcting concealer and powder to cover up. She opened up her handbag and began the tedious task of touching up her makeup, making herself look as presentable as possible.

When she was finally satisfied (or at least, as close as she was gonna get), she finished off with a light facial mist that promised to be both moisturizing and calming. It was probably bullshit, but since she couldn’t have a cigarette, she figured it wouldn’t hurt.

She sighed heavily and went back into the kitchen, surprised to see Courtney already there, showing Adore something on her phone. She figured that she was going to shower and change, but it appeared that when she said “rinse off,” that was exactly what she meant. Her blonde hair was loose from the braid, drying in waves over her shoulders. She was also still wearing her bathing suit, the damp red material visible through her linen cover-up. Bianca didn’t hate the overall effect.

“Hi,” Bianca said, adding, “that was fast.”

“I didn’t want to keep you waiting,” Courtney explained. “So I just used the outdoor shower by the pool house.”

“Ahh. Right.” Bianca nodded, as if ‘outdoor shower by the pool house’ was a normal phrase that regular people said in conversation. At least it explained why she was going for the smaller building earlier—the ‘pool house,’ which was probably the size of Bianca’s Hamptons house.

“Can we go up now?!” Adore asked, hugging Courtney’s waist and batting her lashes.

“Sure!” Courtney gave her shoulder a squeeze, and they headed in the direction of a staircase off the kitchen. “Your timing is perfect, actually! I was determined to be finished before your birthday, and we just hung your chandelier a few days ago. It’s pretty much all done now.”

“It is?! Why didn’t you send me pictures?!” Adore squealed.

“Well, you’re not the only one who likes surprises,” Courtney laughed, tickling her in the ribs.

As they climbed the stairs, Danny slipped his hand into Bianca’s. She looked at him and smiled gratefully, squeezing his hand in return. What a good fucking kid.

“She’s gonna be really excited,” Danny whispered, “Mum’s been working so hard on it.”

“Yeah?” Bianca asked.

Danny nodded, grinning, and Bianca smiled at him, impressed at how genuinely happy he seemed for his sister getting something nice. Not even a trace of resentment or rivalry. It certainly wasn’t anything like the relationship she’d ever had with her own sisters.

They’d just reached the landing when Bianca heard Adore’s shrieks of joy coming from the bedroom.

“I guess she likes it,” she commented drily, and Danny laughed, nodding. He led her into the room, and Bianca’s eyes widened.

She wasn’t sure what she was expecting, but this was truly something else. Bianca could see Adore’s taste everywhere: the colors, which were mostly black and charcoal and deep, rich purple, with accents of violet and lavender; the big queen-sized bed with black velvet headboard in the middle of the room; the collection of ridiculous and impractical throw pillows; the zebra-print rug; the gothic, witchy touches like the antique dresser, the purple lace ribbons that held the blackout curtains open; the framed prints on the wall of SIX: The Musical and The Craft and the incredible smoke-glass chandelier that Adore had told her all about already.

Bianca could also see what was obviously Courtney’s own agenda: the quiet alcove where a computer desk sat, stacked with neatly labeled and organized school supplies, beside a beautiful, half-full bookcase. There were a few shelves on the wall which contained carefully placed knickknacks, souvenirs, and family photos, including some from camp, and one of Adore and Danny from this summer at Six Flags that Bianca had taken.

Looking around, it was quite obvious how much time and care had gone into this room. It wasn’t just some slapdash design job. It was a labor of love, and Adore could tell too. She exclaimed over every detail, hugging Courtney over and over. When she opened one of the organizer boxes on the bookshelves, she started to cry, burying her face in Courtney’s chest and sobbing like a baby.

Bianca swallowed. She wasn’t sure what the tears were about, but figured that whatever it was, she could safely blame herself for keeping them apart for so long. It was just more evidence that she was making the right decision. She took a deep breath through her nose. Small talk, apologize, explain, request...don’t get ahead of yourself, bitch. You’re still in small talk.

She breathed slowly, walking forward to look closer at the bed, letting them have their moment. Courtney was whispering something to Adore, making her giggle, before taking her hand and leading her around the bed to the other side to show her something less emotional.

“This looks really…incredible,” Bianca said, touching the duvet cover, plush charcoal velvet embroidered with moody gothic-looking roses in various shades of purple. She knew damn well how expensive that kind of fabric was.

“It really does,” Danny said.

“Jealous?” Adore asked. She stretched out on a plush, aubergine-colored chaise lounge in front of the window, slipping on a new pair of cat-eye glasses encrusted with rhinestones, her mood clearly lifted as she teased, “You still have that baby room.”

“My room is cool too,” Danny said.

“Your room is full of dinosaurs,” Adore countered.

“Dinosaurs are cool,” Danny volleyed back.

Adore scoffed, as if that was the most ridiculous statement she’d ever heard, but then smiled, looking at Courtney and saying, “Kids. Gotta love ‘em, amiright?”

“Absolutely,” Courtney said, stifling a chuckle.

“We do,” Bianca chimed in. “Even when they’re 11-year-olds who talk like they have a martini in their hand.”

“Almost 12,” Adore corrected her, and then gasped, jumping up to examine a vintage jewelry box on her nightstand. Courtney had really gone overboard.

“Do you want to see my room?” Danny asked Bianca, almost shyly.

“I’d love to,” Bianca said.

“Ooh, we should take Mama on like, a whole house tour!” said Adore, suddenly showing more affection for Bianca than she had in several weeks. “She’s never been here.”

Bianca exchanged a look with Courtney, brief but panicked, both of them clearly thinking the same thing.

“Why don’t you guys do that, and I’ll put together some lunch?” Courtney suggested. “I assume everyone is gonna want to eat soon, yeah?”

“Omigod, yes, I’m starving!”

“Great. Just come to the patio when you’re ready.” Courtney kissed the top of Adore’s head.

Bianca let out a sigh of relief. The small talk part of her plan could only go on for so long. She didn’t think she could handle an extended tour of however big this property was without things getting incredibly weird between them. There was too much, way too much, that she needed to say.

For now, at least, all of that could wait.

#rpdr fanfiction #veronica #masters of the scene #s6 #adore delano #bianca del rio #courtney act #bitney #parent trap au #bitney parent trap #lesbian au #trans character #kid fic #angst #fluff

5 notes · View notes

artificialqueens · 2 years

Text

Masters of the Scene, Chapter 11 (Bitney Parent Trap AU) - Veronica

A/N: Click here for prequels and previous chapters, or here if you’d rather read on AO3.

Chapter Summary: Bianca and Courtney finally sit Adore and Danny down and ask them why they pulled the whole switch extravaganza. They’re surprised by their answers, and reluctantly agree to some ‘family time’ as a result.

***

“So…” Bianca began, folding her hands.

“So, we really need you guys to tell us what’s going on,” Courtney said.

Adore took a deep breath. She and Danny were on the sofa in the living room, facing both of their mothers, who sat opposite them in armchairs. After what had been a totally great breakfast—especially once Fame left—Bianca and Courtney had informed the kids that they needed to have a family meeting. At first, Adore was a little excited, even that they were thinking of the four of them as “family” was a great sign. Until they actually all sat down, and their expressions went serious.

The whole thing felt a little bit like a police interrogation—Bad Cop Bianca leaning forward, her elbows on her knees, eyes narrowed, while Good Cop Courtney sat back thoughtfully in her chair, a hand under her chin.

“What is it that you hoped to gain from this little stunt?” Bianca added sternly.

“And why did you feel like you couldn’t just talk to us directly?” asked Courtney. Though her voice was softer than Bianca’s, it was just as serious—in some ways, that was even scarier.

Adore glanced over at Danny, who was biting his lip. She knew that he expected her to speak first, to take the lead, but as much as they’d discussed this, she wasn’t actually sure what she should say. She wasn’t used to being tongue-tied; she just cared so much about saying the right thing, the thing that would make them understand, that it was paralyzing. After a few excruciating seconds, she was about to just start babbling anyway when her brother surprised her.

“Di-did you know that last night was the first time we’ve seen you in the same room together?” he asked, swallowing hard. “At least, that either of us can remember?”

“I…” Courtney began, then faltered, looking slightly ashamed. “No. No, I didn’t…realize that.”

Adore could see in her eyes that she was starting to beat herself up. And if she knew Mama, she was doing the same thing behind her serious poker face.

“We’re not trying to make you feel bad,” Adore told them. “But we want to be a family.”

“Adore-” Bianca said, clearly gearing up for a whole lecture.

“I know what you’re gonna say,” Adore cut in, pleading, “But I just mean…sometimes. Can’t we sometimes all spend time together? Once in awhile?”

“Breakfast was great, right? So…you can do it,” said Danny, a hint of desperation creeping into his voice. “We love you both, and we just want…”

He looked down, and Adore could see the tears shimmering in his eyes. She reached out and grabbed his hand, then looked back at her mothers, challenging, sitting up a little straighter.

“You asked us what we want. This is what we want,” she said adamantly. “More time together, more time with you. Both of you.”

Bianca and Courtney shared a glance, and Courtney gave an almost imperceptible nod.

“We can try. If that’s what you guys really want,” Bianca said.

“Yes! We’re not saying that you have to be best friends or anything, but…it would be really cool if we could have some holidays together,” said Adore.

“Maybe even take some family vacations?” Danny offered. “If we’re out of town, it would be neutral territory.”

“And we want more visits,” Adore cut in to add, feeling like this was the time to put everything out there. “With both of you. Longer ones. And some one on one time, but also more time for Danny and I to be together.”

“Listen, my loves. We can look at the visitation schedule, but we do live on opposite sides of the country,” said Courtney.

“We didn’t choose that,” Danny said, voice breaking, and Adore squeezed his hand. She could already see the waterworks spreading, as Courtney dabbed the edge of her eyes with her sleeve.

“We’ll do better, okay?” Bianca said. “And we can also be better about calling and FaceTiming. Maybe we can have a regular schedule.”

Courtney looked over at her with a grateful smile, and that’s when Adore saw the perfect opening.

“Mum, can you and Danny stay here for the week?” she asked, giving Courtney her best puppy eyes.

“I-I don’t know, honey. A week is a long time, and we both have work-”

“But you’re off until the end of the month,” Adore reminded her. “That’s what you said.”

“And Mama’s off too this week,” Danny supplied helpfully.

“It’s a real imposition, love-” Courtney began, but Bianca interrupted.

“Well-”

They exchanged another uncertain look. Adore could feel her heart in her throat, waiting for an answer. Things were already going so well. They were getting along, and seemed to be totally united, and if they could just have a few more days, Adore was certain that they’d start to remember just how much they loved each other. Her eyes moved from one to the other, just barely catching Bianca give a little shrug before they both turned back to the kids.

“Look, let’s just…see how it goes, okay?” Courtney asked.

“Yes!” Adore cried, jumping up and pumping her fist. She ran to them, throwing her arms around both of them, Danny close at her heels.

***

At first, Courtney was a ball of nerves. What business did she have pretending that she could act normal around Bianca? It had been hard enough the first day, the first morning, and she’d nearly crumbled on multiple occasions. The whole thing was a recipe for disaster. But, it was for the kids, so she forced herself past the anxiety that felt like it was eating her stomach from the inside.

Because they were so, so happy. And seeing the joy on their faces all day made any suffering worth it.

The strange part was that after awhile, it didn’t actually feel like suffering. That gnawing in her stomach subsided, the nervous twisting of any tissue or napkin that ended up in her hands. She even stopped biting the skin on her cuticles and just began to have a good time.

Turned out, the twins’ happiness was infectious. They played a giggly game of rock, paper, scissors to determine who would choose their activities for the day. And when Danny won, Adore didn’t even pout or roll her eyes—she just went along with his suggestion of the bowling alley with a spring in her step.

Bianca was a terrible bowler, and she knew it, but she was also highly competitive, and took every swing incredibly seriously. Soon, they were all having a hard time keeping a straight face every time she missed and let loose a string of curse words that made the family in the lane next to them toss angry, dirty looks over their shoulders.

After her fourth gutterball, and fourth hilariously angry diatribe, Adore called out, “Watch your fucking language, this is a family activity!”

“This is a stupid fucking family activity, who’s idea was this anyway?” Bianca grumbled, sitting down heavily in one of the hard plastic chairs.

Danny raised his hand, a cheerful smile on his face, proclaiming, “Mine.”

“Oh…right.” Bianca reached out for Danny, who slid closer and rested a head on her shoulder as Adore got up to take her turn.

“I think you’re really improving,” said Courtney. “That last swing almost knocked one down.”

“Ha ha ha, fuck you,” Bianca said, and Courtney couldn’t help bursting into giggles, especially when she saw the dimples appearing in Bianca’s cheek.

It was getting harder and harder to remember that they’d been estranged for so much longer than they’d been together.

After the game, the four of them squished into a booth in the adjacent diner for fries and grilled cheese.

“Enjoy this junk while you can,” Courtney warned. “Because I went shopping this morning, and tonight I’m gonna make everyone a delicious and healthy dinner. Seitan kebabs with beet slaw and roasted Brussels sprouts.”

Bianca laughed, shaking her head. “Are you planning to disguise this nutritious food in a pizza? Because that’s the only way Adore will eat it.”

Adore looked up from her phone, where she’d been furiously typing something, brow furrowed.

“I like Brussels sprouts,” she said.

“Since when?”

“Since I tried the way Mum makes them,” she said, going back to her phone.

Courtney looked at Bianca with a victorious smirk, biting down on a French fry.

“Well…alright then.”

“Danny’s not allowed to eat them though,” Adore said.

“Why not?” Danny asked.

“Because I don’t want you farting in my bed all night. So either skip the sprouts, or you can sleep on the couch.”

Danny huffed, crossing his arms, although Courtney could see the sparkle in his eyes.

“Listen, the couch is better than your room in the city,” Adore added.

“What’s wrong with his room in the city?” Courtney asked her, unable to suppress her curiosity.

“Nothing’s wrong with it,” Bianca said, the exact same time Adore explained, “It’s a closet.”

“It’s not a closet! And put down your phone, we’re supposed to be having family time,” Bianca reminded her, “that youdemanded.”

“I’m working on a thing, for the family,” Adore said, then turned to Danny. “Don’t you think it’s a closet? There’s no window.”

“Well, it’s small, but…it’s cozy,” Danny said unconvincingly.

“Cozy for a jail cell,” Adore replied with a chuckle.

Bianca’s cheeks were starting to darken with embarrassment. “Adore, knock it off. You’re gonna make Courtney think that I can’t take care of you guys-”

“It’s okay,” Courtney cut in. “I understand how real estate works in New York.”

“Right.” Bianca caught Courtney’s eye, shoulders relaxing.

“Um…Mama, did you tell Adore about the expansion? And the new stores you’re opening?” Danny asked.

“New stores?” Adore lifted her head. ��Where?

Courtney slipped an arm around his shoulders, proud of him for seeing how uncomfortable Bianca was and helping to build her up.

“Well, yeah, we’re tripling production next year,” Bianca said, clearly thrilled but trying her best to appear casual, as if tripling production on a clothing line was just a normal part of business that happened all the time, “so the idea is to open stores in a couple of new cities, just as a kind of marketing thing.”

“Tripling?! Wait, is one of the new stores gonna be in LA?!” Adore asked, now excited.

“Could be,” Bianca nodded and took a sip of her Diet Coke, the picture of cool nonchalance once again.

Adore looked across the table at Courtney, asking, “Did you hear that? Isn’t that awesome?!”

“Yeah, I heard,” Courtney said, shooting Bianca a grin. “Pretty impressive.”

Bianca smiled back, then cleared her throat and asked, “So…what do you guys want to do tomorrow? Please, no more sports.”

“Is bowling really a sport?” Courtney wondered.

“Yeah, there’s a ball and I hate it,” Bianca replied.

“You’re just mad that you suck,” Adore laughed, stealing a fry from her plate.

“Exactly!”

“Don’t worry, Mama, we’re not planning on any more athletic activities,” Danny promised.

“Good. So…what do you think? Beach day, maybe?”

“Well…” Adore and Danny exchanged a conspiratorial look, and then Adore continued, “Me and Danny are actually planning something kinda special.”

“But it’s a surprise,” Danny added.

“A surprise?” Always a skeptic, Bianca’s eyebrow immediately shot up.

“Yeah, so it would be really helpful if you could like, stay out of the house all day,” said Adore.

“All day?!”

Courtney was wondering the same thing. What could they possibly be up to?

“Well like…12 to 6.”

“Maybe 11 to 6,” Danny corrected.

“Okay, yeah, 11 to 6,” said Adore, then turned to Courtney and added, “Also you should know that it’s gonna be a cheat day. A little bit of dairy and some seafood.”

“Oh god,” Bianca moaned, putting a hand to her forehead. “You’re cooking? You’re gonna burn down my house, aren’t you?”

Danny laughed and reached across the table to pat her hand. “You can trust us! We promise. But we do need you to leave.”

“Where are we supposed to go all day?” Courtney asked.

“Well…you could go to the beach like Mama just said.”

“Or! There’s a very nice spa less than a mile away.” He suddenly whipped a brochure out of his cargo shorts and unfolded it, showing it to Courtney. “See?”

“How long have you been planning this?”

“Awhile,” Adore said.

“Yeah guys, I don’t know about…ooh, they have shiatsu and hot stone massages.”

“See? You should treat yourself. You deserve it,” Danny encouraged.

“You guys…are such manipulative little monsters,” Bianca said, and off Adore’s shrug, added, “Good thing I love a spa day.”

She sat back with a grin, which faltered just slightly when Courtney caught her eye. Would they really be able to get through a day alone together? Courtney took a deep breath, resigning herself to the fact that she needed to at least try. After all, she wasn’t going to be the one who dashed her kids’ hopes.

***

“Goodnight, Mum,” Adore said, hugging Courtney tightly.

“Goodnight, my love. Sleep well.” Courtney kissed her on the top of her head.

On the other side of the bed, Bianca was saying goodnight to Danny, and Adore couldn’t help but revel in the warmth of this very basic scene—her brother at her side and both of her moms putting them to bed. She knew they were probably too old for this kind of thing, but for once, that didn’t stop her. She just sighed happily, leaning on Courtney’s shoulder and inhaling her scent.

“Can’t wait until you see what we have planned tomorrow,” Adore murmured, and Courtney giggled.

“I’m sure it’ll be marvelous,” she said, giving Adore one final kiss before releasing her.

Even just thinking about it, Adore’s stomach filled with nervous, excited butterflies. She thought the plan was pretty magical—but would her moms agree?

Courtney and Bianca both began to walk around the bed to say goodnight to the other twin, leading to a very cute moment of them awkwardly trying to get around each other without touching.

Adore snuck a sly glance at Danny, who was grinning like a loon, clearly delighted by the whole moment too. She looked back at Bianca, who was doing her typical thing when she tried to hide her nerves, running her fingers through her hair.

“Hi, Mama…”

“What are you smiling about?” Bianca asked, eyes narrowing suspiciously.

“Nothing. I’m just…happy to be with you.”

“Mmmhmm…” Bianca sat on the edge of her bed. “You gonna tell me what’s going on tomorrow?”

“No.”

“Is it gonna piss me off?”

“I hope not,” Adore said honestly, then added, “Actually, I think you’ll love it.”

“Hmm.”

“Because you love me, right?”

Bianca grinned, dimples deep in her cheeks as she pulled Adore in for a big hug. “With all my heart, pussycat.”

***

“So…what exactly are we looking for here?” Shangela asked, following Danny through the outlet mall. As requested, she’d picked him up at 9 am on the dot. When Bianca tried to ask her what was going on, all she said was that she was ‘just the driver,’ pulling away before Bianca could ask any more questions while Danny grinned mischievously, waving.

“Well…” Danny wasn’t exactly sure how much of the plan Adore had revealed to Shangela, but he knew that she was one of Bianca’s oldest friends, and someone he could trust. “We’re kind of trying to recreate…a night.”

“Uh huh…” Shangela raised an eyebrow, clearly waiting for Danny to continue.

“Um…this date that they had. It was when they both came out. And we want to get clothes that are like…what they were both wearing.”

Shangela was silent for a few moments, then nodded. “Okay, so…who’s first?”

“Mum,” Danny said, smiling. “She was wearing a light pink dress.”

“Ah…what about this one?” Shangela asked, holding up a nearby dress, but Danny shook his head.

“It’s the wrong pink. See, the one she has here is lighter, and it’s…” Danny showed her his screen, zoomed in on a picture of Courtney. “It’s almost peach.”

“Okay. Pale peachy-pink it is,” Shangela said with a grin, turning to another rack.

“We just…really want it to be right,” Danny explained. “We want them to really remember that night.”

“I understand,” Shangela said simply. After a few moments, she cleared her throat and added, “You know…when they first split up, I didn’t really believe it.”

“You didn’t?”

“No.” She shook her head. “They just seemed so happy to me, so perfect for each other. And I know your mama, maybe better than anyone else…they really loved each other. I assumed it was just a fight, and they’d figure things out. For a long time, I assumed that they’d get back together. Hoped that they’d get back together.”

Danny was quiet, trying to collect his thoughts. On the one hand, it was so nice to know that Shangela recognized how special their relationship was, and knowing that she was rooting for them to get back together affirmed that he and Adore just might be on the right track after all. On the other hand…

“You’re using a lot of past tense,” he said softly.

Shangela turned back towards him, pulling him in for a hug before placing her hands on both of his shoulders.

“I’m glad that you guys have hope. I think it’s great. But…I just don’t want you to be too crushed if it doesn’t work out. Because it’s been a long time. And…you know…Mama’s engaged now.”

Danny nodded. She was right, of course. It was a longshot. They knew that already. He tried not to feel too deflated.

“Hey! What about this one?!” Shangie suddenly exclaimed, pulling another dress off the rack.

Danny looked at it—the perfect color, the right kind of fabric and even the right length. It could certainly work.

“Yes!” he cried, then looked up at Shangela with a grateful smile. “Thank you.”

“No problem, kiddo.” Shangela said, slinging an arm around his shoulders. “Why don’t we get a couple of sizes and you can return the ones she doesn’t need?”

***

Courtney took a deep breath, trying to stop her hands from shaking as she tied her robe. What was wrong with her? Why was she suddenly so self-conscious? It was never like this before—if anything, her friends accuse her of being an exhibitionist. And as Willam said all the time, ‘If you’ve got it, flaunt it.’

Of course, Willam was also the one who tried to convince her to get double-D tits back when she was contemplating surgeries.

“Come on! You’re going under the knife anyway, why not leave with a set of huge knockers? That’s what I’d do!”

“Well Bill, you and I are very different people.”

After considering all of her options, she opted out of any top surgery at all. Instead, she stuck with the boobs that grew on their own—after two years on HRT, she had a generous B cup, and that felt like plenty. Bianca certainly hadn’t ever complained.

It wasn’t self-consciousness, she realized, once she thought about it some more. It was the idea of being naked in the same room as Bianca—even turned away, facing the lockers. Even though they would be putting on robes to walk around. The intimacy of it freaked her out. Which was why she pretended to be answering some urgent text messages while Bianca changed, why she never once looked up at her. Why she’d waited until she’d left the changing room to take off her own clothes.

She headed towards the spa facilities. It was a huge place, and with any luck, they could keep a safe, comfortable distance from each other all day. But just her luck…as she turned the corner, Bianca was rising up out of the jacuzzi.

Courtney tried to look away quickly, but found herself unable to. The clingy white bikini had gone translucent in the water, and Courtney didn’t know how it was possible, but she was even sexier than she’d been back when they were together, luscious curves making Courtney’s vision blur. This was why she’d avoided seeing her change before…because that intense physical attraction that had been there before was back, so strong it nearly knocked her over. She could almost feel the wet fabric of Bianca’s bikini strings in her hands, pulling them until the bathing suit fell to the ground, pressing her against the cool marble walls.

It wasn’t until she’d paused to catch her breath, staring at the tile floor, that Courtney realized what she should have earlier.

Bianca was wearing a bathing suit. Everyone here was wearing a bathing suit.

Courtney felt like kicking herself. For years, she’d been going to a spa in Santa Monica, where nudity was basically a requirement, all members walking around without a stitch of clothing. But this wasn’t Santa Monica, this was the Hamptons. Of course ladies in the Hamptons would wear bathing suits in the spa. She was frankly surprised they weren’t in strings of pearls.

She backed out of the spa area, panicking. Normally, this would be a no-brainer—her usual underwear was black cotton panties and soft bras that could easily pass for a bathing suit. But of course, today she’d opted for a red lace thong and matching embroidered bra, both unmistakably lingerie. Why had she done that?

Who was she kidding, she knew why she did it—in case Bianca happened to catch a glimpse of her changing, that was why. In her haste to run back to the changing area, she nearly knocked over some poor girl attempting to restock the towels.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry!” she exclaimed. “I just, I realized that everyone wears bathing suits here and in my spa at home, we-”

“Do you need a suit from the gift shop?” the girl asked calmly, catching onto the situation right away like some kind of guardian angel.

“Yes! Omigod, yes, where-”

“I’ll bring a selection right away,” she said, checking the locker number on the key around Courtney’s wrist.

It only took Courtney a few minutes to change—she chose a paisley-print bikini that was more cute than sexy—but another five to stop her heart from hammering in her chest. By the time she made it back to the jacuzzi, Bianca was nowhere to be seen, and she breathed a sigh of relief as she sank into the water.

For the rest of the day, they managed to stay out of each other’s space, seeing each other only in passing in between getting scrubbed and buffed and soaked and rubbed. By the time Courtney had her final service, which was a 90 minute hot-stone massage, she was almost feeling relaxed. Afterwards, she lay on a chaise lounge in the quiet room, sipping some peppermint tea.

When she felt a hand on her shoulder, she nearly lept out of her seat.

“Sorry, sorry,” Bianca said, trying to keep her voice soft. “But we should probably shower and change. It’s almost 5:30, and I’m kind of freaking out about what the kids have gotten up to.”

“Yeah, of course,” Courtney said. “I can be ready in about 20 minutes, is that okay?”

“That’s perfect,” Bianca said, giving her a smile. “In fact, I’ll be generous and throw in an extra…7 minutes, if you want.”

“Wow. Thanks,” Courtney laughed, finishing the last of her tea, wondering why they’d avoided each other all day. But she also supposed it had been safer that way.

***

The ride home from the spa was quiet, both Bianca and Courtney feeling relaxed and maybe a bit afraid to break the peace. When Bianca pulled the car into the driveway, the first thing she saw was Danny, waiting outside the front door. He ran up to greet them, and then gave them solemn instructions to go directly upstairs to their rooms, where they were supposed to get ready and then await further instructions.

“No coming out until we say!” he insisted.

“You know this is my house, right?” Bianca asked, but went along with the plan, since at least there were no fire trucks or ambulances around yet.

“Your wardrobe for the night is on your bed.”

“Is the surprise a costume party?” Courtney asked, perking up.

“Mmm…no. But we do want you to wear what we put out for you. You can choose your own underwear.”

“Wow, thanks, how generous of you,” Bianca said drily.

“We’ll come get you when everything’s ready,” Danny said.

The outfit laid out on her bed was black pants—rather unseasonal for mid August, but she decided to be a good sport about it—with a pair of strappy black stilettos, a blue top that she didn’t recognize, and some chunky silver and black jewelry. She had to hand it to the kid; he wasn’t bad at styling. She got dressed and put on a simple face of makeup—just the essentials. She was finished and just beginning to get antsy when Adore knocked on her door, telling her it was time to come out.

When she saw Courtney, she knew immediately what they were up to. She was in a simple, pale pink silk dress, one strand of freshwater pearls around her neck. The memories came flooding back instantly. She looked at Courtney’s face, trying to see if she knew, too, but all she got was a small smile, no indication that she’d caught on.

Then, they followed Adore outside. The deck was covered in colorful Chinese lanterns and fairy lights, one little table set up, complete with a bucket of pink champagne and something under a cloche in the center. Courtney inhaled sharply, turning to look at Bianca with wide eyes, recognition clear as day all over her face, pink creeping into her cheeks.

“Did you know they were-”

“No.” Bianca shook her head.

“Please have a seat,” Adore said brightly, as Danny came out through the other doors, from the kitchen, holding a tray.

Courtney was hesitating, and Bianca resisted the urge to guide her forward with a hand on the small of her back. Instead, she took a deep breath and went to the table, pulling out her chair for her. Courtney sat down gingerly just as Danny placed two salad plates down in front of them.

“Your first course is an arugula and avocado salad,” he proclaimed.

“And,” Adore added, pulling a cloche from the center of the table to reveal a platter of raw oysters on ice. “Oysters with a chili ginger sauce, to share.”

“Guys-” Courtney began, looking like she would rather be boiled alive than spend one more second at the table.

“Enjoy!” Danny exclaimed, taking Adore’s hand and running back towards the kitchen.

Bianca looked from the oysters back up to Courtney’s face, which still seemed to be in a state of shock.

“I…”

“I know.” Bianca let out an incredulous chuckle, shaking her head. “It seems that the ulterior motive for this whole switch nonsense is, uh…becoming clearer.”

“Yeah.” Courtney swallowed. “I mean, I guess it makes sense…that they just want-”

“Right. We should just…go along with it, right? I mean they did…put a lot of effort into it.” She stuffed a bite of salad into her mouth, then looked back up at Courtney, trying to gauge her feelings.

“They did, but…so you don’t mind? Having our faces smashed together like Barbie dolls?” she asked. She was twisting a napkin in her hands, cheeks still red.

Bianca paused, taking a breath before saying, “We’ll be okay. It’s one night, right?”

Courtney nodded, green eyes locked with hers for a few moments, and Bianca swore she could feel her heart in her throat.

Then Courtney looked down again, shaking her head. “Oysters, though?”

Bianca began to laugh, deciding that this was the perfect time to crack open the alcohol. They were going to need it. She poured glasses of champagne for both of them, then lifted her own in a toast.

“To um…reliving a pretty great night.”

Courtney’s expression shifted slightly, and then Bianca found her own cheeks grow blazing hot.

“Not all of it, just, I mean…uh,” she stammered out, feeling like an idiot.

“Well that’s good…’cause I think we have our hands full with these two,” Courtney said, her face now wearing a cheeky grin. Apparently Bianca embarrassing herself had a soothing effect on her.

“Just fucking toast me,” Bianca groaned.

“Cheers.” Courtney clinked their glasses together, then took a very large swig of champagne.

“My point is…there’s worse nights they could’ve chosen. This one was….”

“I know.”

They exchanged a look, Courtney holding her gaze just a beat too long before awkwardly averting her eyes, picking up her fork. Bianca swallowed down another gulp of champagne, wondering if the rest of the night was going to make her feel as strange as she felt right then.

#rpdr fanfiction #courtney act #bianca del rio #bitney #adore delano #shangela laquifa wadley #bitney parent trap #lesbian au #trans character #kid fic #s6 #angst #fluff #masters of the scene #veronica

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artificialqueens · 1 year

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Masters of the Scene, Chapter 23 (Bitney Parent Trap AU) - Veronica

A/N: Hey all! Sorry for the unintended break! When we last left off, Bianca had taken the initiative to confess her feelings, and how much she wanted to be a family again. After trying to deny that she felt the same way, Courtney had finally given in an allowed herself to return Bianca’s feelings.

Click here for prequels and previous chapters, or here if you’d rather read on AO3.

Chapter Summary: Family bonding all around. (FYI: While things do get a little spicy in this chapter, there’s no actual smut.)

***

Bianca exited the bathroom, tying the belt on her silk robe. She’d wanted a shower since arriving, always feeling strangely dirty after a cross-country flight, and had just taken full and glorious advantage of Courtney’s spa shower.

She felt incredible—and not just because of the luxurious spa shower, or the sheer number of expensive moisturizers she’d massaged into her skin. A huge, oppressive weight had been lifted from her chest and she felt better, and lighter, than she had in years. They still had a lot to talk about, of course, but knowing that they were on the same page was exhilarating.

She padded across the floor to the walk-in closet, where Courtney had helpfully set up her luggage, suitcase open on top of a dresser and every item from the overstuffed garment bag hanging up. She’d even set out a steamer for her, knowing how meticulous she was about wrinkles.

Bianca pawed through the suitcase for a pair of underwear, catching a glimpse of a red gift box and nearly reaching for it, before realizing that it would be way too much, too soon.

Slow down, bitch.

She shook her head, pulling out a pair of plain black cotton panties, then changing her mind and reaching deeper, fingers closing on some delicate mesh.

Couldn’t hurt to be prepared.

She stepped into the sheer, bright pink panties, sliding them on as she considered what to change into. Most of what she packed was for work; there wasn’t a lot of leisurewear. She made a mental note to do some shopping during the week, pick up some cute things to wear around the house. A fantasy began to take form in her mind, just a simple one: the two of them curled up on the sofa in the family room, a glass of wine in one hand, the other trailing her fingers through Courtney’s hair.

A gentle knock sounded on the door, breaking her out of her thoughts.

“Come in!” Bianca called, smiling when Courtney opened the door. “You really don’t have to knock. It’s your room.”

“Well, you still deserve privacy…” Courtney said, smiling back. She shut the door behind her. “I just wanted to check and see if you found everything you needed. Um, towels, and…”

“Yeah. I got everything I need,” Bianca said. It was true, in so many ways, and the comment hung, pleasantly heavy, in the air between them. “Sorry, I maybe took a little too long in the shower. I know you probably try to conserve water.”

“Actually, we have a greywater filtration system, so it mostly goes to water the plants. And then any extra goes to a community fire-fighting reservoir. And, um…” Courtney trailed off, sitting on the edge of the bed, pressing her lips together.

Bianca got the sense that she was stopping herself from giving a full TEDTalk about sustainable water use, and found it incredibly charming. “So…I don’t have to feel guilty about the 45-minute shower, is what you’re saying?”

“No. No guilt.”

“Good to know…” Bianca held Courtney’s gaze for a few seconds, leaning against the closet door frame, until an adorable shade of pink began to creep into her cheeks.

“So, um…” Courtney cleared her throat, looking down, and Bianca got the sense that her mind was running at a million miles a minute.

“Listen,” she began, wanting to nip whatever intense thought spiral Courtney was going down in the bud. She walked to the bed and sat down gingerly beside her, a respectable distance away. “I know we have a lot of…heavy things to talk about.”

“Yeah,” Courtney agreed softly.

“But I think, and I’m not saying we should ignore them or avoid them, but, just, for the sake of having those discussions in a way that feels…uh…safer, I guess—I think maybe we should save those topics for Tuesday. Is that…would that be okay with you?”

Courtney nodded, looking as relieved as she felt. “Yeah, I think that’s…a good idea.”

It would be so easy for them to fuck up any progress they’d made, and right now that was Bianca’s worst fear. That she would say or do something to ruin the most long-awaited reunion of her life—one that she’d frankly considered an impossible dream until recently.

“Okay,” Bianca said with another smile, the tension in her shoulders melting. “Um…are the kids getting along okay?”

“Totally!” she said. “They went for a swim, and now Danny’s showing Adore the Instagram profiles of all their classmates. I said that wasn’t a good way to judge people and I was quickly told off.”

“You said that social media isn’t a good way to judge people?” Bianca asked, amused, one eyebrow lifting as she reminded Courtney, “You’re an influencer.”

“Yes, they pointed that out,” Courtney admitted with a sheepish chuckle. “They also perhaps used the term ‘hypocrite’ and possibly requested that I leave the room. Or, well, demanded, actually. Which is fine. It’ll be nice for them to have some time to bond.”

“Mmm. So…that gives us time to bond, huh?” Bianca asked, tilting her head, fingers playing with the edge of her robe.

“Yeah…I suppose so,” Courtney said lightly, as if it was the first time it occurred to her. Her eyes traveled slowly up Bianca’s body.

As Bianca met her gaze, a pleasantly tingly feeling curled in her abdomen, the potential for the afternoon blossoming into something wonderful. Courtney looked away bashfully, her cheeks flushing. Bianca’s mind immediately went back to that red box.

“I, um, have something for you,” said Bianca carefully. “Would it be okay to give it to you now?”

“Really?!” Courtney clasped her hands together, showing the same childlike glee at the thought of a present that Bianca remembered, from so many years ago.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” Bianca said with a wink, and got up to get it. “I noticed that you wear those Cartier bracelets a lot, and we did some work with them on this editorial shoot recently, so…”

She pulled the signature Cartier red box from her suitcase and handed it over. She pushed down the pang of her earlier anxiety as Courtney opened the box with a curious smile.

A small gasp fell from her lips once she opened the box, seeing the necklace laying on a cushion of black velvet. It was a Cartier ‘LOVE’ necklace in the same yellow gold she favored. As the grin disappeared from Courtney’s face, Bianca felt a flash of her earlier anxiety—should she have waited?

“Bianca,” Courtney breathed. “This is…”

She looked up, her eyes misty with tears, and Bianca forced out a laugh.

“Don’t worry, I got a real good discount,” she joked.

“I…” Courtney began to speak, but then bit her lip.

“I just, I really want you to know that I’m…all in,” Bianca said softly. God, why did she suck so hard at this? She squeezed her eyes shut, embarrassed, only to feel Courtney’s hand against her cheek, lips being pressed to hers.

She kissed Courtney back, savoring the taste of her, the softness of her touch. When they parted, she took a shaky breath, trying to stop the tears that burned in her eyes.

“I’m all in too, B,” Courtney murmured, nuzzling into her cheek.

Bianca smiled, her heart finally at peace as she wrapped her arms around Courtney’s waist.

“And this is…I mean, thank you,” Courtney added, swallowing.

“You’re welcome.” Bianca brushed a lock of hair out of Courtney’s eyes. A moment of silence passed between them, and Bianca cleared her throat, hoping that she hadn’t made the vibes too heavy. “So…bonding, huh?”

“Right.” Courtney grinned, giggling cutely.

Bianca grinned back, dimples deep, finally feeling confident that everything was okay.

“Did you, um, have enough closet space?” Courtney then asked, clearing her throat again, gesturing behind them to the walk-in. “Because if not, we could-”

“No, it’s fine. And honestly, if anyone ever complains about space in this house, you should punch them in the face.”

“I would never punch you,” Courtney said gravely, adding a coy, “Maybe a…gentle spanking. If you asked nicely.”

“Nice to know that’s on the table,” Bianca told her with a smirk.

Courtney giggled, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

“Seriously, the closet’s fine. Thanks for hanging everything. And, um, once I have more stuff, I can always add another dresser or something,” said Bianca.

Courtney opened a door next to the closet, showing Bianca the adjacent office with a computer desk and bookshelves, and quite a bit of unused space.

“But I don’t use it that much anymore, so if you want…”

“Oh, this is perfect,” Bianca said, stepping inside. “That corner over there has plenty of room for another dresser, some shelves for shoes. And even some hanging racks if we need that.”

“Sure, yeah, we could do that,” Courtney said. “Or…”

Bianca looked at her curiously.

“I mean, it’s been part of the long-term plan for awhile, but before now I didn’t have a reason for it. But, if we knock down that wall, we can make the whole office a giant walk-in and dressing room. It would quadruple the space in the current closet, at least.”

Bianca’s eyes widened in delight. “Are you kidding? Or just talking dirty…?”

A wicked glint flashed in Courtney’s eyes as she reached forward, toying with the silky belt on Bianca’s robe. “With custom shelving…”

Bianca smirked, playing along with a breathy, “Keep going…”

“Racks of clothes sorted by type…length…color…” Courtney’s hands were on her hips now, guiding her backward into the bedroom until her knees hit the bed frame, where she pushed her gently onto her back.

“Uh huh…”

Courtney crawled forward, continuing as her fingers trailed teasingly up Bianca’s thigh, “Floor to ceiling, light-up display shelves for your shoes and handbags…”

Bianca moaned, now only half-kidding as Courtney’s lips found her pulse point, brushing over the tender skin and sending a wave of electricity down her spine. “Fuck…”

A whimper fell from her lips as Courtney’s fingers found the edge of her panties.

Then suddenly, without warning, aggressive pounding on the door startled her out of her bliss.

“Hey! Open up!”

They instinctually sprang apart at the noise, panting.

“Ugh,” Bianca groaned good-naturedly, “You didn’t tell me you have kids.”

“Yeah, a couple,” Courtney laughed as the pounding continued.

“Dealbreaker,” Bianca grumbled, pulling her robe closed.

“Sorry.”

“Why’s the door locked?!”

“Just a moment, darlings!” Courtney called, rising from the bed.

“Good call on the lock,” Bianca muttered quietly.

“Not my first rodeo,” Courtney whispered with a wink. She walked to the door and pulled it open, the kids all but falling inside. “Yes?”

“Hi,” Danny said casually, strolling in. Adore followed with a knowing grin on her face.

“Sure, come on in,” Courtney joked, flopping down on the bed.

“Whatcha doin?” Adore asked coyly.

“Talking,” Bianca replied.

“Uh huh, is that what you kids are calling it these days?”

“You know-” Bianca began, a sarcastic comeback on the tip of her tongue, but Courtney put a hand on her leg and cut in.

“Are you guys alright?”

“Yeah, we were just thinking…” Danny said, “Wouldn’t it be fun if we went out somewhere really nice for dinner?”

“Hmmm, what did you have in mind?” Courtney asked, wrapping her arm around Danny’s shoulders.

“Well…” Adore crawled forward on the bed as well, curling up next to Bianca. She patted her on the thigh, saying, “Keep your legs closed. Don’t want to give poor Danny a sex ed lesson he’s not ready for.”

“I’m wearing underwear,” Bianca informed her. Sheer, mesh underwear, but they didn’t need to know that.

“Good for you, want a medal?”

“I know all about anatomy,” Danny piped in. “Mum bought me books when I was like 5. They came with little dolls.”

“Gross,” Adore said, wrinkling her nose. “Also, pretty sure looking at a doll is not the same as looking at your own mother’s bush.”

“Once again! I’m wearing underwear! No one’s seeing my bush!” Bianca insisted, though she made sure to clamp her knees together tightly, and put a throw pillow on her lap for extra safety.

Danny looked at Courtney, cringing.

“Yeah, you were embarrassed this morning when I mentioned boobs,” she teased. “They’re gonna talk like that every day.”

“Sorry, bunny,” Bianca said, chagrined. She supposed that the way she spoke to Adore might not always be terribly appropriate for Danny.

“Bunny’s gonna grow up fast,” Adore giggled.

“Can we just get back to the restaurant?” Danny pleaded.

“Oh yeah. We both really like Nobu,” Adore said.

“Ahh, sushi, speaking of vaginas…” Courtney chimed in, making Bianca snort with laughter.

“Mum!” Danny said, looking ten times as horrified as he was before. Clearly, he held Courtney to a much higher standard of appropriateness. Probably justified.

“Sorry,” Courtney gave a cheeky smile that said she wasn’t sorry at all.

Bianca turned to Adore, pinching her thigh lightly. “Nobu, huh? Are you two paying?”

“I would, if you gave me the Amex again,” Adore offered generously.

“It’s not the Amex, it’s my Amex,” Bianca clarified.

“Potato, po-tah-to…”

“There’s also that place by the pier, the Malibu Farm,” Danny suggested.

“More fuckin’ farms?” Bianca asked. “What is it with LA and farms?”

“We like vegetables,” Courtney said.

“Oh! Or that one where we went in Santa Monica, some kind of weird fruit…uh…pomegranate? Or kumquat?” Adore said.

“Fig?” Danny guessed.

“Yeah!”

“Okay, so what I’m understanding is that you guys are pretty open to any restaurant, as long as it’s expensive,” Courtney said, laughing.

“Yes. Because it’s a special night.”

“Alright. Well let me see what I can do.” She hauled herself off the bed and pulled out her phone.

“Why is she calling? Do you not have Open Table here?” Bianca asked. “Are we time traveling to the 90s for dinner?”

“Omigod, I wish,” Adore breathed.

“She’s using her celebrity status to get us a table,” Danny explained. “Since it’s kinda last minute.”

Bianca nodded. “Ahh, I see. I didn’t realize she was that level of celebrity.”

“Oh yeah,” Adore said. “At least C-list.”

“So, what’s the difference between D-list and C-list?” Bianca asked.

“Money,” Danny said, making Bianca chuckle, just as Courtney hung up and gave them all a bright smile.

“Alright, we got Nobu at 6:45! Don’t say I never did nothin’ for ya!” She climbed back on the bed, tickling both kids, who squealed happily.

Bianca leaned her head back on a pillow with a contented sigh. The last time they’d all piled on a bed together was when the kids were 4 years old. It was a much smaller bed, in a much smaller living space, back when they were doing everything they could to hold their lives together, clinging to the shreds of their relationship by their fingernails.

In the back of her mind, Bianca had been a little worried that things might be awkward or strange—after all, the kids didn’t remember their lives before. Would there be an adjustment period? But seeing her family all together, it just felt right.

“I have another question for you guys,” Courtney said, “Since it’s your birthday next weekend…”

“Oh yeah, it is…” Danny said, tapping on his chin, as if it had just occurred to him for the first time that he had a birthday coming up.

“Yeah, and we’ve been planning a party at the La Brea Tar Pits for Danny…”

“Tar Pits? That sounds like a school trip,” Adore said, making a face.

“No, it’s really fun!” Danny exclaimed, “There’s a 3D movie and a show all about the Ice Age, and you get to see the paleontologists excavate fossils live! It’s so cool!”

Adore turned to Bianca, her face contorted into a helpless grimace that told her exactly how she felt about a live fossil excavation.

“Be nice,” Bianca told her.

“Honey, it’s okay, I kind of assumed that the Tar Pits wouldn’t be your cup of tea,” Courtney said. “So I think we should plan something special for you, too. I mean, 12 is a pretty big birthday.”

“Well…I can’t have a party,” Adore said, her lower lip sticking out in a pout, “I don’t have any friends here yet.”

“I did consider that. Which is why I was thinking that maybe we could start planning something once you’ve been here for a few weeks, and you know who you’d want to invite.”

“Yeah, maybe…” Adore shrugged.

“And that means having the party in about a month, which just so happens to be real close to Halloween…” Courtney trailed off. “But, would you like that, or…?”

“Oh, I dunno, Court,” Bianca said, catching on. “I don’t think she’d be into a Halloween party. All that spooky stuff?”

“Shut up, I love spooky stuff!” Adore cried. “Halloween is my favorite!”

“Oh right, now I remember,” Courtney teased. “So…then should that be our plan? A Halloween-slash-birthday party, once you’re settled in?”

“Yeah!” Adore sighed happily, resting her head on Bianca’s shoulder.

“Fantastic,” Courtney said, pressing a kiss to Danny’s head. “So…let’s get ready for this special dinner, hmm?”

***

Courtney walked into the kitchen, where Bianca was sitting at the table, typing at her laptop. She looked incredible, in a scoop-necked, hot pink sweater and studded black leather jacket. As usual, her hair was shining, and every accessory was immaculately selected to compliment her ensemble. Her makeup was perfect, too, a glamorous smoky eye and her usual ruby lipstick traded for a brighter pink.

Even better than how amazing she looked, though, was what an absolute joy it was to see her so casually comfortable at the kitchen table, one elbow resting under her chin, a tall glass of iced coffee beside her. (Courtney didn’t miss the fact that she’d put a coaster under it to protect the reclaimed wood, or that she was using a metal straw.)

Courtney was flooded with gratitude—that Bianca had taken such extreme measures to come here, to prove her devotion, to be the one brave enough to put her heart on the line when she’d been too terrified, too defensive. For a second, she wondered if she deserved it, that fear sneaking into her stomach when she was least expecting it. Could she ever measure up to Bianca’s expectations?

But then, Bianca looked up from the computer, and her face melted into the most charming, dimpled grin. “Hey there.”

“Hi,” Courtney said shyly, biting her lip. “How do I look?”

Instead of a knee-jerk response, Bianca took her time taking in Courtney’s whole outfit, her eyes traveling up and down her body. She was wearing a black sundress trimmed with Spanish lace, gladiator sandals, and a canary-yellow cashmere pashmina thrown around her shoulders. She hoped that the yellow and gold jewelry she had on didn’t look tacky with her shiny red nail polish. She especially wouldn’t have wanted to cheapen the absolutely beautiful gold necklace Bianca gave her earlier, now proudly around her neck.

After a few moments, when Bianca still didn’t offer any comment, Courtney prodded, “So…is it okay? Do you approve?”

“Yes,” Bianca said simply, eyes raking over her body once more, adding, “You look perfect.”

“Thanks. And you…” Courtney felt her cheeks heating up as she basked in the glow of Bianca’s attention. Finally, she bit her lip, breaking eye contact, trying not to let herself get distracted from the mission at hand, which was a wholesome family dinner with the kids. “Um, are you ready to go, or-”

“Oh, yeah, almost. Two minutes and I’ll be done here,” Bianca said, giving another dimpled grin before returning to the computer.

“Sure,” Courtney said. She went over to the stairs to call the kids down, her hand grazing Bianca’s arm as she passed by, the smooth leather luxurious against her fingertips.

Adore came skipping out first, looking every bit as adorable as her name in a little black denim skirt, distressed jean jacket and tights, a plethora of goth-y silver jewelry, and ankle boots that could have been stolen from Bianca’s closet. But the icing on the cake was her T-shirt that read ‘Favorite Daughter.’

“Hi Mum! Whoa, you look hot, nice dress,” Adore said.

“Thank you, baby, and you look absolutely beautiful.” Courtney wrapped an arm around her, kissing the top of her head, right in between her purple space buns.

“You like the shirt?” Adore asked, fluttering her lashes.

“It’s perfect. And you are my favorite daughter.”

“Ooh, don’t let Danny hear that,” Adore teased.

“Well, he’s my favorite son-and there he is!” Courtney exclaimed, as Danny sailed into the room. He had really outdone himself, wearing a rainbow romper and an assortment of butterfly clips in his hair.

“Who’s your favorite son?” he asked, hopping up onto one of the bar stools at the counter, crossing his ankles delicately. He’d put on some colorful, glittery eye makeup and carried a little black cat wristlet purse that Courtney had put in his Easter basket the previous year. Blue, heart-shaped sunglasses were stuck into the neck of his romper.

It made Courtney sublimely happy to see both of her kids expressing themselves exactly the way they wanted, in a way that she’d never felt safe to do growing up. She reached for his huarache sandal-clad foot and gave it a squeeze.

“You are, without a doubt,” she told him. “And stunning, too.”

“Aww, thanks Mum!” he said, tossing his hair and giving her a charming smile, so much like Bianca’s that it warmed Courtney’s heart.

“Alright, done,” Bianca proclaimed, shutting her laptop with a sigh. “You guys ready to go?”

“Yup!”

Bianca rose from the table, giving Courtney a better look at the high-waisted leather shorts that showed off her long, shapely legs perfectly. She picked up her Birkin from the table and surveyed the kids, saying, “Wow, we are quite a group, aren’t we?”

“Hashtag fam goals,” Adore said.

“Uh huh, very that. Although, uh, Danny…”

Courtney tensed up slightly, praying that Bianca didn’t say anything to undermine his confidence.

“...You know it’s fall, right bunny?” she finished, and Courtney exhaled, relieved and a tiny bit ashamed for doubting her.

Danny giggled, sliding off the counter with a shrug.

“That’s your issue with his outfit?” Adore asked, heading for the door. “That it’s out of season? It looks like a rainbow fairy threw up on him.”

Bianca swatted her on the butt as she passed, barking, “Be nice!”

“I don’t mind that description,” Danny said. “Rainbow fairies are cool.”

“Indeed,” Courtney chimed in.

“I just don’t want you to be cold,” Bianca told him.

“He’ll be fine. We dress for summer year-round here,” said Courtney.

“You’re wearing cashmere.”

“It’s just a wrap, for when it gets chilly later,” she said. “And I’ll share with him if I need to.”

“Sorry, nobody is gonna ask why he’s got sunglasses on?” Adore asked. “It’s almost dark.”

“They’re in case we get papped.” Danny put on the heart-shaped glasses and diva-walked to the door, proclaiming, “Let’s go!”

Adore followed, rolling her eyes, and Courtney’s eyes met Bianca’s, both of them laughing at their kids’ antics.

Outside, the sun was in fact low in the sky, making everything glow with soft pink light, which they decided they needed to capture, having a little impromptu family photo shoot.

“Mum, this would be such a good look for your Insta,” Adore said, “Go stand over there and I’ll take your picture.”

Courtney laughed, handing over her phone and saying, “Okay, but quick, because I’m hungry.”

She posed where Adore had directed, giving her best model faces while Adore called out, “Yaaaas! Werk! Stunning! New pose! Yaaaas! C’mon angles!” while Danny laughed and clapped.

“Are you actually planning to use these pictures?” Bianca asked.

“I guess, if they’re good,” Courtney said, changing her pose again for Adore.

“Work it, gorge! Stun! Omigod, you’re a model!”

“Alright, give me that,” Bianca said, snatching the phone out of Adore’s hand.

“Rude!” Adore exclaimed.

“Watch and learn,” Bianca said, then turned to Courtney, directing her to, “move a little to the left. Now, think of the shawl as a background to silhouette the dress, so create a nice shape, draped behind you.”

“This feels weird,” said Courtney, trying to follow her instructions without being awkward.

“No, that’s good. Hold that. Tilt your chin down. Not that much. Look at a spot like…there,” she said, pointing, “and think about something deep… Not that deep, we want model, not astrophysicist.”

“Don’t make me laugh!” Courtney warned, trying not to move too much.

“Just think about, uh…love… Good.” Bianca snapped a few shots, then said, “Now think about sex…”

Behind her, the kids tittered with laughter, and Courtney felt her cheeks blaze. Bianca reached behind her and snapped, causing them both to shut up instantly, before directing her full attention back to Courtney, who swallowed. The confidence, that air of authority she’d always had, made Courtney’s pulse quicken.

“Ignore them, listen to me. Yup, better.”

Bianca’s voice was soft but firm, and Courtney found it easy to go along with her. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up as she imagined that voice in her ear, Bianca’s hands sliding up her thighs.

“Now, without turning your head, look at me…”

Courtney shifted her gaze to lock eyes with Bianca, a thrill rippling through her as she did.

“Got it,” Bianca said, then showed the phone to Adore triumphantly. “See? That’s Insta-worthy.”

“Oh, those are better,” Danny said, peering at the screen. “Like way better.”

“Exactly. And that’s why you don’t hire a child to do a woman’s job,” Bianca teased, popping her tongue. She handed the phone back to Courtney, eyes sparkling, fingers brushing against hers.

“Thank you.” Courtney dropped the phone in her bag and pulled out her car keys, letting Bianca take her other hand as they headed for the car.

“It’s not really fair to compare them,” Adore complained. “I can’t tell her to think about sex and look at me. I mean, I could, but-”

“Please don’t,” said Danny.

“I second that request,” Courtney giggled, giddy from the feeling of Bianca’s fingers laced with hers.

***

“So…what do you kids feel like doing now?” Courtney asked, after they arrived back home.

They’d eaten a delicious dinner, but even better than the food was how easy it felt for the four of them to be together. Bianca had been a little concerned when the night began; that nagging voice in the back of her mind telling her not to get too comfortable, because she could—and would—screw it up at any time. Probably by getting into some stupid and avoidable fight.

But so far, it wasn’t like that at all. For most of the meal, the conversation was dominated by the kids chattering happily, across the table from them, she and Courtney only occasionally chiming in. It seemed that both of them were content to simply relax and enjoy the evening, the feeling of being beside each other at last.

It was the little things that Bianca found herself appreciating. The way she rested her arm casually on the back of Courtney’s chair, fingers occasionally brushing her bare shoulder where the shawl had slipped down. Or the way Courtney would cast furtive glances at her throughout the meal, a naughty gleam in her eyes, anticipation building in her belly for what would happen later, when they were alone. Or even just the way she laughed along with the kids—Bianca had missed hearing her laugh.

Now, back at the house, Courtney continued, asking the kids, “Do you want to watch a movie, or-”

“Actually,” Adore cut her off. “I’m like, super tired.”

“You are?” Courtney asked.

“Yeah, it’s past midnight in New York. I really think I should go to sleep early. Right, Roach?”

“But I’m not tired,” Danny began, and Adore elbowed him in the side.

“Don’t you need to rest your foot?” she asked pointedly. “The one that you hurt earlier?”

Bianca smiled at the blatant lie, catching Courtney’s eye and exchanging a secret grin. Adore could be a tremendous cockblocker when she wanted to be, but it appeared she could also be a great wingman. She was really living up to that ‘Favorite Daughter’ shirt.

“My foot?” Danny asked, brow furrowed in confusion. “What are you talking ab-OW!”

“Adore!” Bianca scolded, since she’d clearly stepped on his poor foot behind the kitchen island, and it probably hurt like hell, given that he was wearing sandals and she was in chunky-heeled boots. Courtney rushed to his side, concerned.

“What? He hurt his foot, I was just reminding him,” Adore said innocently.

“Be nice, before we both get kicked out!” Bianca barked, annoyed.

“Are you alright?” Courtney asked Danny, who was still grimacing in pain and scowling at Adore.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I just need to rest my foot, apparently.”

“Aw, want me to help you upstairs, bro?” Adore asked sweetly.

“Sure. Thanks, sis!” Danny said sarcastically.

“Don’t you guys want us to tuck you in?” Courtney asked, her arm still around Danny. She pressed a kiss to his temple.

“No, that’s okay. We’ll manage.” Adore gave a dramatic, exaggerated yawn. “Man am I beat.”

“Yeah, we’ll be fine,” Danny added. Somewhere along the way, he seemed to have caught onto Adore’s unsubtle plan.

“Okay, if you’re sure,” Courtney said, hugging them.

Bianca stepped forward to hug both kids and kiss them goodnight as well.

“Goodnight, guys. Sleep well.”

Once they’d headed upstairs, she turned to Courtney, a rush of butterflies filling her belly as she took in her soft expression. A lock of blonde hair had fallen into her eyes, the same one that never cooperated, and Bianca reached forward to brush it away.

“So…”

END NOTE: Click here to see the absolutely gorgeous artwork that @artificialcandycane made featuring the outfits from this chapter, as well as the kiss at the end of Chapter 16.

#rpdr fanfiction #veronica #masters of the scene #s6 #adore delano #bianca del rio #courtney act #bitney #parent trap au #bitney parent trap #lesbian au #trans character #kid fic #angst #fluff

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artificialqueens · 2 years

Text

Masters of the Scene, Chapter 10 (Bitney Parent Trap AU) - Veronica

A/N: Thanks as always to @tumble4rpdr for her indispensable beta help.

Click here for prequels and previous chapters, or here if you’d rather read on AO3.

Chapter Summary: Bianca confronts Courtney about her surprise appearance at the party, and the two of them reach a very tentative peace.

***

“Ow!” Courtney exclaimed, as Bianca grabbed her arm and dragged her behind a pillar.

A thought flashed through her mind; this was the first time they’d touched each other in over seven years. And the fact that Bianca’s fingers were digging into her upper arm so tightly that she could’ve bruised it was not a very good sign. It certainly wasn’t the touch that Courtney remembered, the one she secretly still longed for.

After a moment, Bianca seemed to realize the same thing. Or at least, she must have regretted being so rough and loosened her grip, giving Courtney a flash of hope until she saw her mouth, still set in a firm line.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” she hissed.

Not a great start. Courtney took a breath and spoke very slowly, measuring each syllable so as not to escalate the situation. “I had to come anyway, and deal with the kids-” she began.

“Here?! Now?! We agreed on next week!”

“Well, I thought…” Courtney trailed off, looking at Bianca’s enraged expression, trying not to think about how even in this state, her ex-wife looked unfairly beautiful, dark eyes that pierced into her soul, full lips…

She swallowed, shaking herself out of her thoughts and rubbing her arm where Bianca had grabbed her. Why did Bianca’s withering glare still have such a strong effect on her, this many years later? She felt like she was shrinking in on herself, a lump rising in her throat.

“I can’t believe, after all this time, that this is the way you’d choose to-” Bianca cut herself off, closing her eyes briefly before saying, “And using the kids that way? That’s fucking low, Courtney. I never thought you would-”

At that, Courtney bristled. She was trying to be a good sport, but even the very accusation was offensive.

“I wasn’t using them!” she exclaimed, aware that she was getting defensive, that her voice was getting higher in pitch and volume. “They wanted to come. They were excited-”

“Yeah, well this isn’t a party for children, in case you haven’t noticed.”

“You don’t want your kids at your engagement party?” Courtney asked suspiciously, turning the tables back on her. “Why not?”

It seemed crazy to celebrate an upcoming marriage and exclude half of the family members. Was this really what Bianca wanted? Courtney couldn’t help wondering if it was actually Fame who suggested an “adults only” party. She didn’t know her, of course, but she didn’t appear to be all that child-friendly.

“First of all,” Bianca began through gritted teeth, practically growling, “I don’t owe you any explanations-”

“I was just asking because-”

“And second, you really think they should be running around a cocktail party with an open bar?” Bianca asked. “No, scratch that. You really think Adore should be running around a cocktail party with an open bar? I love her to death, but I don’t trust her for a second.”

“They’re 11. No one’s giving them alcohol,” Courtney reasoned.

“Wow, someone’s clearly never read Drew Barrymore’s memoirs,” Bianca scoffed, rolling her eyes like a slot machine.

She was deflecting. That was clear. The truth was, Courtney wasn’t sure why she’d chosen to show up this way, other than morbid curiosity about the fiancée—which she had to admit, could have easily been satisfied in another, less dramatic way. Maybe she did want to prove something, despite what she’d told Adore.

The only thing Courtney was certain of at that moment was how agitated Bianca was, and she suddenly felt guilty, knowing that she was responsible. This should have been a happy night for her, and it wasn’t fair for Courtney to be intruding. She’d not sure what she was thinking, how she could have justified this in her own mind.

“Look, I’ll…I’ll go. And I’ll take the kids; we can go out to dinner or something.”

“Okay. Yeah, that’s…okay. Thanks.” She seemed to calm down almost immediately at that suggestion, face softening.

Courtney nodded, shoulders sagging a bit. Knowing that her presence caused Bianca that much stress, that even the thought of her leaving eased her tension, was somehow both unsurprising and deeply unsettling. She had to fight back tears, but fight them she did, because there was no way she was going to let Bianca see how easily she’d gotten under her skin.

“Okay, then. I guess…I’ll be in touch about a good time to talk.” Courtney bit her lip, avoiding Bianca’s big brown eyes.

“Wait. Um…” Bianca sighed. She pinched the bridge of her nose, then said, “If you want to crash at my place, there’s a guest room.”

“Are you sure?” Courtney asked. She knew that’s what the kids wanted, of course, Danny whisking her bags into the guest room almost the second they’d arrived. However, she figured that staying there would be out of the question, so she’d reserved a room at a bed and breakfast a short distance from Bianca’s house and was planning to check in later that evening.

“No. I’m not.” Bianca let out a dry chuckle. “But…it seems like the right thing to do,” she added quietly. She followed up her statement with a tiny smile, dimples only barely appearing in her cheeks.

For a second, it caught Courtney off-guard, as she did what she’d been avoiding throughout their entire exchange, locking eyes with her, seeing the softness that she’d spent so many years missing. After a moment, she managed to tear her eyes away again, remembering where they were.

“Thanks. Um…have a good party. And…congratulations. Again.”

***

Bianca slipped off her heels the second she walked in the door, sighing with relief. It had been a grueling night—her heart never fully recovered from the shock of seeing Courtney up close, in the flesh. She’d tried to stay present, and on the surface, she’d done a pretty decent job. She’d laughed with friends, shared cute stories about how she and Fame met, managed to keep up the facade of a perfectly content and unconflicted bride-to-be. Inside though, she was reeling. She couldn’t help the racing thoughts that kept entering her mind, about Courtney and their awful break-up and even worse, the early days when they were so blissfully happy.

“I’m fucking exhausted,” Fame said, and Bianca letting out a dry chuckle, nodding in agreement. Exhausted was an understatement for what she was.

Bianca dragged herself up the stairs to the bedrooms, cursing her past self for demanding cathedral ceilings in this stupid house. Fame turned towards their bedroom, looking back over her shoulder when Bianca didn’t follow.

“You coming?”

“Yeah, in a minute. I’m just gonna check on the kids. Make sure Adore settled in okay.”

“Alright.” Fame pressed a kiss to her cheek and then headed for their bedroom, while Bianca crept the opposite direction down the hall.

She was careful to be quiet, in case they were already asleep—which she hoped they were, since it was past 1 am. She pushed open the door to Adore’s room, and was met with an unexpectedly heartwarming sight. Courtney was lying in the middle of Adore’s double bed, reading a book in the low light from the bedside lamp, with both kids curled up against her, sleeping soundly.

The three of them looked peaceful and cozy, and seeing it made Bianca feel strange, something akin to regret. It was like a window into another life, an alternate reality where she hadn’t fucked up so phenominally the first time around. She swallowed, pushing the door open a little more.

“Hey.”

Courtney looked up, quickly shutting the book. “Hi. Um…where’s…um, your-”

“She’s getting ready for bed,” Bianca said, keeping her voice as low as possible so as not to wake the kids.

“Oh.” Courtney started to slowly extricate herself from their clutches, untangling their limbs.

She’d traded in her party clothes for a pair of yoga pants and a baby-blue tank top, her hair tied up in a messy bun, clear frame glasses on her face. Bianca couldn’t help thinking that she looked even prettier like this, immediately annoyed at herself for the thought. When she was finally free, she crawled to the edge of the bed, kneeling there. Bianca could tell that she had something to say, so she waited patiently.

“Listen, I’m…I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to ambush you.”

“Oh no?” Bianca asked, eyebrows shooting up nearly to her hairline, wondering what else she could possibly have been doing. “What did you mean, then?”

“Well…I guess I thought…” Courtney hesitated, then continued, “I thought that showing up that way, everyone would have to be on their best behavior. But…that wasn’t fair to you. I’m sorry.”

Bianca stared at her for a few moments, trying to gauge exactly how full of shit she was, before realizing that she might actually be telling the truth. She nodded, sighing a little.

“I uh, may have overreacted.”

“No, you?” Courtney teased, a smile pulling at her lips.

Bianca chuckled, then gestured to the kids, wondering how their sleeping faces managed to look so innocent. “So…what’s going on with the monsters? Have you figured it out?”

“I think…I don’t know,” Courtney said, letting out a bit of a sigh. “I think we’re gonna need to talk to them together.”

“Yeah.” Bianca sank down into an armchair in the corner, rubbing her forehead.

Courtney adjusted the covers, making sure they were both tucked in securely, then touched Adore’s cheek gently.

“She looks like you,” she mused. “They both do.”

“Yeah, too bad for them,” Bianca joked.

“Shut up, you know you’re-” She stopped, narrowed her eyes, taking in Bianca’s growing smirk.

“I’m what?” Bianca asked, finding herself anxious for the praise that seemed to be on the tip of Courtney’s tongue.

“Nice try.”

Bianca laughed, shaking her head at how easily they slipped back into the kind of lighthearted banter they’d always had. If she wasn’t so tired, she might be more concerned, but for now, she tried to enjoy the moment for what it was.

Courtney switched off the lamp and turned back to Bianca, her face now illuminated by only the moon, turning her green eyes silver. Bianca found herself struck by how profoundly beautiful she was, how her very presence seemed to glow.

It wasn’t the first time she’d thought such things, but it had been a while.

“...Can I ask you something…kinda personal?”

“Okay…” Courtney approached her tentatively, perching on the ottoman across from her chair.

“How come you never...I mean, why are you still single? You must be beating them off with a stick.”

Courtney shrugged, doing a very poor job of suppressing the smile that tugged at her lips. Still a whore for a compliment, Bianca noted with some amusement.

“Well, being single is…kinda fun,” she said with a glimmer in her eyes.

Bianca rolled her eyes. Of course she thought being single was fun. She was probably still the belle of the ball wherever she went.

“But also. I guess I just never found anyone who…” She paused, and Bianca found herself leaning in, eyes locked with hers, hanging on her every word just like she used to. “...who frustrates me the way you did.”

Bianca laughed, releasing some of the tension in the room, relieved that Courtney chuckled along.

“I am pretty talented in that area,” she agreed, putting a hand down next to hers, their fingers millimeters apart.

Courtney glanced down at their hands and then back up to Bianca’s face. She leaned forward slightly, fingers edging closer until their pinkies just barely brushed together.

Her chest rose and fell rapidly, lips parted as if she could read Bianca’s mind—as if she knew how badly every cell in Bianca’s body ached to kiss her again. Almost unconsciously, Bianca reached forward to catch a lock of hair that had come loose from her bun, tucking it gently behind her ear.

As Bianca drew closer, she could hear the rapid pounding of Courtney’s heart—or was that her own heart?

Then, a loud creak caused Courtney to jump out of her skin, pulling back and clearing her throat. Bianca was grateful for the dark, which covered up her cheeks flushing with shame.

“It’s an old house, it’s just-”

“Right. Um…I should get to bed,” Courtney said quickly.

“Yeah. Okay.”

Bianca watched her leave, then heaved herself up out of the chair with a sigh. She glanced at the kids one last time before shutting the door and walking down the hall.

Adore turned to Danny, cracking an eye open, only to find her twin brother staring morosely up at the ceiling in the dark.

“So close,” Adore muttered softly.

“I know, right? Ugh,” Danny sighed.

“Well…there’s still time,” she said.

Danny turned toward her, a grin on his face, nodding. “There is.”

***

When Danny and Adore had first cooked up their whole harebrained scheme, he’d known what a longshot it all was. He wasn’t stupid or naive; he knew that people who got divorced rarely got back together. And when the divorce was as contentious as his moms’ was, it was even less likely.

Still.

He couldn’t help the glee he felt when he entered the kitchen and saw Mum at the stove. From the looks of things, she’d already found the nearest Whole Foods, and was whipping up a batch of his favorite quinoa pancakes with a banana coconut topping. That was all nice enough, but his chest flooded with almost irrational joy when Bianca entered, taking in the scene with a slightly puzzled look.

“What are you…?”

“Well, I haven’t seen my son for 2 months, so I thought I’d make the quinoa pancakes that he loves.”

“Ahh,” Bianca grimaced slightly. “Yum.”

“Don’t worry,” Courtney said, pouring a cup of coffee, her voice gently teasing, “There’s plenty for everyone.”

She handed over the cup, and Bianca accepted it gratefully.

“Thanks.”

“Mmhmm.”

It was all so cozy and domestic, and almost made him forget about the dreaded fiancée still sleeping upstairs. Adore was next to enter the kitchen, hair a mess, rubbing her eyes. She didn’t even make a face or pretend to be grossed out by the quinoa pancakes. She simply took a plate and helped herself to a couple.

Bianca raised an eyebrow, asking. “You eat quinoa now?”

“Yeah, well,” Adore shrugged, sprinkling the toasted coconut over her pancakes. “I tried these when I was pretending to be allergic to gluten, and they’re not bad.”

“Hey, yeah, that’s right.” Bianca looked over at Danny curiously. “You’ve been eating tons of gluten and dairy and all the crap she always does…have you been sick?”

“Nope.” Danny took a sip of the fresh-squeezed tangerine juice that Courtney had given him. He looked at her, head cocked. “Is that weird?”

“Well,” Courtney began, stammering out, “I mean, gluten sensitivity is not quite...I mean, he may not be ‘allergic,’ per se.”

“So...I’m not allergic to gluten?”

“Well...perhaps not? I just wanted us to eat healthy, and gluten is in so many of the worst foods, so...are you upset?”

Danny considered this for a moment, extremely aware of Bianca and Adore’s eyes on him, all of them expecting him to throw a fit over being deprived of donuts or whatever. Instead, he shrugged.

“Nah. I know you just want what’s best for me, Mum.”

Courtney grinned, wrapping her arms around him and kissing his forehead. “I do, precious.”

“Gag,” Bianca muttered, then nudged Adore’s shoulder. “How did you fake that for 2 weeks?”

“I deserve an Oscar,” Adore said, sticking her tongue out.

Courtney let go of Danny and turned to her next, smothering her face with kisses. She seemed to resist at first, but soon relented, letting Courtney do her thing, even enjoying it.

Danny caught Bianca’s eye roll and gave her a grin. She reached over to squeeze his hand, face melting into a matching smile.

“Well, isn’t this nice?” came a voice from the doorway. “Family breakfast?”

Danny turned, looking at Fame with a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. Why did she have to show up now, just when things were starting to feel normal? When he could pretend, just for a few minutes, that they were a real family? The way Fame had said ‘family,’ with a note of disdain—he’d been doing his best to be nice to her ever since his talk with Bianca, but in that moment, he could have kicked her.

“Yeah, so what are you doing here?” Adore muttered under her breath, and to Danny’s surprise, it wasn’t Bianca who shot her a Warning Look, but Courtney.

“Exactly! So glad you’re joining us!” Courtney enthused, returning to the stove. “I’m whipping up some quinoa pancakes, would you like some?”

Bianca looked from Courtney to Fame, a bit like a deer in the deadlights. When Fame gave a shrug and said, “Alright,” she seemed to relax.

“Help yourself. Or, you can wait for the fresh ones, which will be ready in a few minutes.”

“Uhh…I can wait, thanks.” Fame turned to Bianca. “Can we talk for a minute?”

“Sure…” Bianca followed her into the foyer, Danny watching them both with his brow furrowed.

As soon as they were out of earshot, Adore leaned forward and stage-whispered to Courtney, “I don’t get it.”

“You don’t get what, love?”

“The weird nice game you’re playing with Fame? Are you buttering her up so you can poison her or something?”

“God, no,” Courtney laughed. “I’m being nice because it won’t help you guys if I have a bad relationship with your new stepmother.”

Adore visibly shuddered at the word, and Danny felt it like it had been his own body.

Stepmother.

The very word conjured up images of fairytale monsters and heartless homewreckers. Which maybe wasn’t fair, but so far Fame hadn’t done anything to show him that she would be a positive addition to the family.

“And you should be nice too,” Courtney said, pointing the spatula at Adore before flipping the next batch of pancakes. She was rewarded with one of Adore’s best mega eyerolls, tongue sticking out in disgust.

“Look, I’m just trying to make the most of a shitty situation,” Bianca whispered, trying to get Fame to understand.

“I know you are, but it all just feels a bit…fucked up.” Fame’s arms were crossed in front of her chest, foot tapping impatiently.

“Well…exactly. That’s exactly what it is.” Bianca put her hands on Fame’s shoulders. “That’s my point.”

Fame sighed, rolling her eyes. “I think I’m gonna go back to the city until this all blows over. I don’t like the vibe, and it’s just…a little too strange for me.”

“Okay,” Bianca said, nodding. “If that’s what you want, I-”

“What I want is for you to not be sharing a house with your ex, but,” she shook her head. “I know this isn’t your fault, so…”

“I’m sorry. This is the first time the kids have done anything like this, and we just…we’re not sure exactly how to deal with it. A simple punishment doesn’t feel like the right move.”

“Right.” Fame sighed again. “Why don’t you call me when they leave?”

“I will.” Bianca leaned forward, kissing her gently. “Thank you for being so understanding. You’re the fucking greatest, you know that?”

“Hm,” Fame chuckled, “I know. You should really marry me.”

“I intend to.” Bianca kissed her again, arms around her waist.

“I’m gonna go grab my bags. Can you get me an Uber to the Jitney?”

“I’ll do you one better,” Bianca said. “I’ll get you an Uber back to your apartment.”

“Wow, big spender.” Fame gave her a wink and one last peck on the cheek before heading upstairs for her things.

Bianca took a deep breath, relieved and even a bit proud of their ability to handle this like adults, and went back into the kitchen.

“Is everything alright?” Courtney asked sweetly. Her faux concern was really too much, but Bianca wasn’t about to make a scene.

“Yeah, everything’s fine. She has to go back to the city to take care of some things.”

“Bummer!” Adore exclaimed insincerely, mouth full.

Bianca slung an arm around her. “But she’ll be back in a few days, and then you have the rest of the summer to bond your little butts off.”

“Can’t wait,” Adore said drily.

#rpdr fanfiction #bitney #adore delano #courtney act #bianca del rio #miss fame #bianca x fame #s6 #veronica #masters of the scene #parent trap au #bitney parent trap #lesbian au #trans character #kid fic #angst #fluff #domestic fluff

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artificialqueens · 1 year

Text

Masters of the Scene, Chapter 22 (Bitney Parent Trap AU) - Veronica

A/N: Thank you if you’re still reading. I love you. And I love @tumble4rpdr for being a fantastic beta.

Click here for prequels and previous chapters, or here if you’d rather read on AO3.

Chapter Summary: Bianca gets an answer to her question.

***

Bianca’s question hung in the air, glimmering with possibility, Courtney’s hands clutched in her own.

“I…I love you too,” Courtney said, her lashes wet with tears that had yet to fall. “And I do…want to be with you. But…”

Bianca felt herself deflating. Good news didn’t begin with ‘but.’

“I really appreciate you finding that therapist,” Courtney continued, squeezing Bianca’s hands, sniffling a little. “I think we should go, and talk, in a safe place, get all of our baggage out in the open. And then, we can make a rational decision about…whether we should try getting back together. Whether…whether to get the kids’ hopes up. You know?”

Bianca nodded, the disappointment like a splash of cold water in the face. She let go of Courtney’s hands and backed up a little. She’d been telling herself all along that whatever Courtney said, she would accept. But the reality of rejection was a hell of a lot worse than the hypothetical. Courtney reached forward to catch her sleeve, then seemed to think better of it, letting go and looking down.

“I just think that’s more responsible, than rushing into-”

“No, you’re right,” Bianca agreed quickly, letting her off the hook. There wasn’t any reason to prolong this. “It is more responsible. And it makes sense.”

Courtney swallowed, her eyes shining with tears, voice imploring, “I’m not saying no, you know. Just, not yet.”

“Okay...”

It was true. She hadn’t said no. So why did Bianca’s heart feel like it had been run through a meat grinder? Why did she want to curl up and cry like a pathetic loser?

Being vulnerable sucked.

She needed to get out of here, fast, before she fell apart completely. If they had any chance in hell, she wasn’t about to ruin it by making Courtney feel guilty for simply being honest with her.

“Um…okay, so, I guess I should probably take off. I’ll, um, I’ll go grab Adore’s bags from the car.” She rose to her feet, and Courtney followed.

“You don’t have to go, you can…you can stay here too. We have, um, plenty of space.”

“Yeah, I know,” Bianca said, giving her a wry grin. The space. “And I appreciate the offer. But I think we probably need clear boundaries. Otherwise it’ll be confusing. Especially for the kids. And…anyway, this gives you the night with them.”

“Okay.” Courtney nodded, teeth worrying her bottom lip. “If that’s what you want.”

It wasn’t what she wanted, of course, not even close. But it seemed like the most sensible choice, given the circumstances. When she got back from the car with Adore’s suitcases, Courtney was in the kitchen, taking care of the mess they’d left earlier.

She turned over her shoulder and yelled, “Guys, I mean it, come down now! Or I’m going to disconnect the-”

Just then, Danny came bounding out from the stairs cheerfully, Adore appearing a few seconds later.

“Sorry Mum! Adore wanted to try using the Splatana Wiper in a Turf War after I showed her how the Ultra Stamp works!” he exclaimed.

Bianca blinked, confused, but Courtney just smiled and nodded.

“That’s great, love. And did you tell her that we don’t play until after all homework is done?” Courtney asked.

“Uh…yeah,” Danny lied, nodding seriously. “All that.”

“Hmmph…” Courtney narrowed her eyes, reaching out to ruffle his hair. “Go say goodbye to your Mama, she’s going to her hotel.”

“Oh no, why?” Danny asked, turning to Bianca with big eyes. “Why don’t you stay here, Mama?!”

“Uhhh…” Bianca racked her brain for an answer that wouldn’t hurt his feelings, or put Courtney on the spot. “Yeah, I would, but I need to be closer to work. And plus, the hotel has a very nice spa, and you know I’m a sucker for a massage.”

“Alright,” he nodded, a note of sadness still in his voice.

“But hey, I’ll call you guys tomorrow! Maybe we can have brunch, or dinner,” she suggested.

“Okay. Sounds good.” Danny gave her a big hug, and she squeezed him back tightly, kissing the top of his head. “I’m so glad you’re here in town, Mama.”

“Me too, bunny. And I promise I’ll see you again soon, okay?”

“Okay.” Danny gave her one last squeeze and then let go.

Bianca turned to Adore, who had slunk in behind her brother and was currently leaning morosely against the kitchen island. The look on her face made Bianca feel so much worse than she did already, as if that was even possible.

She longed for the days when her daughter would gaze up at her as if she’d hung the moon and stars. As if she was a hero. Bianca had never felt worthy of that look, but as uncomfortable as it made her sometimes, it was a million times better than the way she appeared right now.

Not angry. Disappointed. Like she didn’t have any faith left in Bianca at all.

She made no move, so instead, Bianca walked to her, scooping her into a hug; Adore allowed it, at least, which felt like a gift.

“I’ll call you tomorrow-”

“What did you say to her?” Adore asked quietly, accusingly, before Bianca could finish.

“I did my best, pussycat,” Bianca whispered, voice breaking. She cleared her throat, releasing her from the hug, knowing she had to get out of there quickly. She added a louder, “See you soon, okay baby girl?”

“Yeah. Okay.”

Courtney dried her hands on a dish towel, trying to come to grips with the confusing storm of emotions swirling inside her. It had all happened so fast, like a blur. One second, Bianca was near tears over Adore, then they were essentially moving to LA, and then she was yelling. And somewhere in there…

So…that’s what I want. For us to actually try. To put in all the work, get through the hard part so that we can…be a family. So we can be…us, again. But better.

Courtney nearly broke down when she heard that. The words that she’d been longing to hear, for over eight years. Ever since that awful night, the one that made late May feel like the coldest winter of her life.

She knew, of course, that they still loved each other. Love like theirs didn’t just go away. But what she’d been telling herself since the Hamptons was that love wasn’t enough. They just didn’t work, and never would. There was simply too much pain there; they’d hurt each other too much. Were destined to hurt each other.

But even so, she’d longed to say yes. To throw caution to the wind. She almost had, too, but then her stomach seized with fear, over how awful it would be if they didn’t make it.

She looked at Bianca, who was standing by the island, watching the kids go back upstairs. There was a sadness in her dark eyes, an emptiness that Courtney longed to fill. Bianca’s gaze shifted, catching her eyes for a brief moment, letting Courtney see all the anguish she normally kept deeply hidden before looking away, clearing her throat.

“So, um…I should take off,” Bianca said, picking up her handbag from the kitchen table.

Courtney swallowed, trying to get rid of the lump in her throat, nodding. “Are you sure you don’t want to stay? You’d have the pool house all to yourself. You could come and go as you please, and-”

“It’s just…not a good idea,” Bianca said simply.

“Okay.” Courtney nodded, accepting her choice. Reminding herself that she was the one who’d said ‘not yet.’ And though she tried to make it clear that she wasn’t saying no, there was no doubt that Bianca was feeling it as a rejection. Something else for them to work out in therapy, she supposed. “Oh! What about, um, that therapist you mentioned?”

Bianca was already almost to the door, and Courtney hurried after her, certain that they had some unfinished business before she actually left.

“Yeah,” Bianca said. “I’ll send you all the info. It’s Tuesday at 11.”

“Okay, thanks,” Courtney said, walking beside her. “And I guess I’ll make sure that Adore has what she needs for school. Maybe we could take her together, on Monday morning.”

“Sure.”

“And um, you told the kids you might see them tomorrow. Should we make a plan, or-”

“Why don’t we touch base in the morning?” Bianca said. Her tone told Courtney that she was anxious to get going

“Of course, yeah,” Courtney said, unable to shake the feeling that she had more to say. “Oh! Their birthday! Next weekend. We should definitely talk about-”

“You know you have my number, right?” Bianca asked tensely, and Courtney bit her lip, tears brimming in her eyes.

“Yeah. I’m sorry. I just…”

Bianca inhaled deeply, closing her eyes briefly before speaking. “No, I’m sorry. It’s been a long day already, with the flight and everything. I’m tired, and I’m cranky and I’m…sorry.”

“Right.” Courtney knew it was true, and tried not to take it personally, how desperately Bianca clearly wanted to flee. “So…okay. Are you good to drive?”

“Yeah. I’ll be alright.”

“Okay.” Courtney swallowed again, nails digging into her palms. The lump in her throat didn’t budge.

“Okay,” Bianca repeated, giving a halfhearted smile. “See you.”

She turned and walked towards the car, trying to navigate over the grass in those Louboutin stilettos. It would be funny if Courtney wasn’t seconds from bursting into tears, her heart pounding, her stomach twisting.

Finally, she couldn’t hold it in anymore, calling out, “Wait!”

Bianca stopped, then turned back around slowly. She looked fucking exhausted.

“Don’t go,” Courtney said, knowing it wasn’t the time to mince words. For Bianca’s sake, as well as her own, knowing she had a finite amount of time before the tears would take over. She took a few steps forward through the grass, saying, “I don’t want you to go. Please don’t go…”

“I…” Bianca still looked skeptical, frozen in place, like she didn’t quite believe what Courtney was saying, or what it meant.

Fear had prevented her from speaking up before, but now, the thought of Bianca leaving felt so much worse, so she continued in a quivering voice.

“I know what I said earlier, but…but fuck that, I don’t want to wait. I want…everything you said. I want to skip ahead, can’t we…please just…”

Bianca finally took one tentative step toward her, head tilted and eyes soft. “What about being responsible?”

“I’m always responsible,” Courtney said, voice breaking as she added, “For once, I want to be happy instead.”

“Yeah?” Bianca asked, looking as overcome with emotion as Courtney felt.

“Please,” was all Courtney managed to whisper, one tear slipping down her cheek.

Bianca dropped her handbag in the grass and walked forward, closing the distance between them. As she wrapped Courtney into an embrace, it felt like every emotion she’d ever had, every hope, every dream, every heartbreak, all came rushing to the forefront.

She melted into Bianca’s arms, the dam that had been holding her feelings back for so long bursting open. A sob escaped, and then another, and soon she was clinging to Bianca for dear life.

Bianca held her tightly, cradled her, letting her fall apart. When she whispered, “I’ve got you,” Courtney finally let go all the way; her shaking legs ceased to support her as she gave in, allowing Bianca to hold her up.

She continued to cry like a baby with great, gasping sobs that wracked her body. The whole time, Bianca just held her, rocked her, murmuring, “I’ve got you…I’ve got you…”

Courtney wasn’t sure how long they stayed like that, only that when she finally lifted her head to look into Bianca’s eyes, there was nothing but love written on her face.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, and Bianca shook her head, lifting a hand to her cheek, gently brushing away her tears with her thumb. “I’m sorry that I-” Her voice broke.

“It’s okay. I’m sorry too,” Bianca whispered back.

Courtney nodded, trying to catch her breath as more tears slid down her cheeks.

“So…” Bianca began, a soft and loving smile pulling on her lips, “…you happy yet?”

Courtney laughed through her tears, fingers digging into Bianca’s shoulders as she held her tighter, gazing up at her through blurry vision. “Just shut up and kiss me already,” she requested.

A grin immediately lit up Bianca’s face, deepening her dimples as she answered, “Gladly!”

She took Courtney’s face in both of her hands, cupping her cheeks, and leaned in slowly.

“And after a few rounds there’s a big boss called King Cohozuna, and he drops scales you can spend on stuff. I just need one more Silver Scale and I can get a new Slopsuit!”

“Uh huh…” Adore gazed out the loft window, only half listening to Danny explain the basics of Salmon Run. If she craned her neck, she could see Bianca and Courtney talking on the grass.

“We need to get you a Switch too,” Danny said. “Oh! You should ask for one for your birthday.”

“Mmm...” Adore watched as they paused, Courtney stopping on the grass while Bianca continued on towards the car. She sighed unhappily, turning to Danny. “Kind of a nerd present.”

“Well what did you want?” Danny asked, laughing.

“I thought the room was my present,” Adore said.

“Furniture? That’s not a present.”

For someone so smart, Danny could be a real dummy sometimes. That room was the biggest, and probably most expensive, thing that anyone had ever given her.

“I’m pretty sure it is,” Adore insisted.

“I think Mum will still want to get you something to open,” Danny said.

“Maybe…” Adore looked out the window again. They were still on the grass, still talking, but now standing far apart.

“I mean, what else would you want? Besides a Switch?”

“Well…I dunno. A cat?” Adore said with a shrug.

“Isn’t Mama allergic to cats?”

“Yeah, but Mama doesn’t live here. Plus, I just moved to a new school and stuff. No friends. Seems like a good time to ask.”

“You’re a monster,” Danny chuckled, his voice full of affection.

“Yup. If you’re nice, I’ll teach you all my tricks,” Adore told him, then her eyes lit up. “Roach! Come look, they’re hugging!”

“Like, a goodbye hug?” Danny asked, but he did manage to tear himself away from Splatoon for long enough to walk over to stand beside Adore.

“I’m not sure. Maybe…” Adore kept watching. He was probably right, they were probably just saying goodbye. But…if so, it was an awfully long goodbye hug.

“Is Mum crying?”

“I don’t know, is she?!” Adore peered closer, brow furrowed. Anger rose up in her chest, a sour taste filling her mouth, making her turn away from the window. Not long ago, she’d been the one causing Mum’s agitation. But now, seeing it made her feel horrible.

“Adore!” Danny suddenly cried, grabbing her hand.

She looked back outside, eyes widening in amazement.

Because on the grass, where they’d been standing awkwardly just a minute earlier, her mothers were kissing.

Not a goodbye kiss, either. An honest-to-god kiss kiss, like the kind in the movies.

“Holy fuck!” Adore squealed happily, watching with pure joy, hands pressed to the glass. This was beyond anything she’d dared to wish for, even in her most secret dreams. After a few more seconds, though, she wrinkled her nose. “Alright, get a room.”

Danny laughed delightedly, as giddily happy as she was herself. She turned to him, taking in his crooked, ear-splitting grin that mirrored her own, and squeezed his hand.

“Let’s go down!” she exclaimed, tugging him away from the window.

“Okay!”

The two of them turned and thundered down both flights of stairs, then ran through the kitchen, throwing open the sliding door and racing barefoot over the patio.

Courtney and Bianca were still kissing, deep in their own world, as Adore and Danny ran across the grass, their happy shrieks the thing to finally break their mothers out of their romantic reverie, just in time for both kids to tackle them to the grass.

“Adore!” Bianca exclaimed, “This is fucking Prada!”

“Oops,” Adore giggled, and Courtney laughed along with her, reaching over to cup her chin.

Bianca shook her head, but there wasn’t an ounce of anger in her as she wrapped an arm around Danny.

“So…I guess this saves us a conversation, huh?” Bianca asked.

“Yeah, I think we’re up to speed,” Danny laughed.

“I hope it means you’re not gonna go to some dumb hotel,” Adore added.

“Well…” Bianca and Courtney exchanged a look. “Yeah, it seems that the dumb hotel is off the table. At least while your Mum wants me here.”

“We’ll see how long you can behave,” Courtney laughed, her eyes sparkling with joy.

“Don’t worry, Mum, we’ll keep her in line,” Adore said, leaning on Courtney’s shoulder with a happy sigh.

#rpdr fanfiction #veronica #masters of the scene #s6 #bianca del rio #courtney act #adore delano #bitney #parent trap au #bitney parent trap #lesbian au #trans character #kid fic #angst #fluff #hurt/comfort #parenting au

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artificialqueens · 2 years

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🙋‍♀️🤍💚 Masters of the Scene, Chapter 9 (Bitney Parent Trap AU) - Veronica

A/N: Hey y’all! This chapter is brought to you by the AQ Pride Challenge! It uses joy, party, and “make it rain” during the shopping spree section. I could probably also make an argument for lust, but I don’t want to push it. 😜 As always, thank you so much to @tumble4rpdr for being an amazing and incredibly thoughtful beta reader.

Click here for prequels and previous chapters, or here if you’d rather read on AO3.

Chapter Summary: Adore helps Courtney prepare for their trip to the Hamptons, the twins are reunited, and Bianca gets a shock.

***

“Well? What do you think?” Courtney asked.

They were in the salon, Adore waiting for her at reception, flipping through magazines. Adore pulled out her ear buds and looked up, a huge smile spreading across her face.

“You look so good!” she squealed, and then crossed her arms smugly. “And come on. I was right about the lashes, wasn’t I?”

Courtney rolled her eyes. It wasn’t something she planned on making a habit of, but lash extensions did seem to make a huge difference on her face, especially since her own lashes were blonde. “You were right. I guess.” She stuck out her tongue playfully.

Adore giggled, then reached out to grab her hand. “Time to shop!”

“I have to pay first,” Courtney laughed, “But I wanted to make sure you approved.”

She headed back to the reception counter, Adore practically skipping at her side. Courtney squeezed her hand, feeling incredibly grateful for this time together, and for the way their relationship had deepened so much over these past few days. It was what she’d always wanted—and what part of her dreaded that she’d never have when Bianca and Adore had moved to New York.

“Okay,” Adore said, showing Courtney a map on her phone, “I think we should go to Beverly Hills. Saks and Neiman Marcus are on the same block, and then we can hit Rodeo Drive.”

“Since when are you so label-conscious?” Courtney asked, pulling out her wallet.

“Well…I’m not. But Mama has really high standards.”

Courtney suppressed another eye roll, saying, “I know that, but I’m not trying to impress anyone.”

“You’re not?” Adore raised an eyebrow.

“Well…I don’t want to pretend like I’m something that I’m not,” Courtney explained. She supposed, if she really broke it down, that she did want to impress Bianca. Of course she did—but she didn’t want to appear as if she was trying too hard. It was a delicate balance that she wasn’t sure she could explain to an 11-year-old, no matter how precocious and seemingly sophisticated she was.

“Okay…but what if you were yourself, only with really nice clothes?”

“Believe it or not, I do have nice clothes. I just don’t wear them when I’m gardening.” Courtney finished signing the receipt with a flourish for dramatic emphasis.

“I know, but won’t it be fun to splurge on some new things? You deserve it.” Adore looked up at her, that irresistible, mischievous smirk on her face.

“I could use some shoes,” Courtney admitted, putting her wallet back into her bag.

“There ya go! Mama likes Louboutins.”

“Of course she does.” Courtney wrapped an arm around Adore’s shoulders and led her towards the door, shaking her head.

Eight stores and six shopping bags later, Adore was finally satisfied. And the truth, that Courtney didn’t care to admit, was that once she started trying on clothes and shoes, the whole process was actually really fun. Especially letting Adore style her and give her advice; it was hard to tell based on how she dressed every day, but Adore had clearly absorbed buckets of fashion knowledge from Bianca over the years. Her favorite part was emerging from the dressing room, how she always knew when something looked good from the look of sheer delight on Adore’s face—and the opposite, how her complete lack of a poker face told Courtney right away when something wasn’t working.

Either way, she would ham it up, spinning and twirling and serving model poses until Adore was either shrieking with excitement that she buy the outfit immediately or doubled over laughing, begging her to “take it off, for the love of god!”

Really, the hardest part for Courtney, ever since Adore had revealed her identity, was to refrain from smothering her with heaps of affection, showering her with all the love she had. But by today, it seemed like Adore was willing to accept it. At least, she didn’t seem to mind when Courtney impulsively gave her big hugs or kissed the top of her head or cupped her cheeks to marvel at how lovely she was. Adore even initiated some of the affection herself, revealing the cuddly nature that Courtney remembered from when she was small, before all the shit hit the fan.

Their last stop was at Gucci, pure indulgence in the form of new luggage to replace the beat-up set Courtney’d been dragging around the world for five years.

“Alright,” Courtney said, shutting the bags in the trunk of her car, a bright blue hybrid Subaru Crosstrek that Adore had taken to calling ‘LG’ for ‘Lesbian Goals.’ “Wanna walk to Urth Caffe for a bite to eat? It’s only a few blocks away.”

“Walk? In Los Angeles?” Adore asked, eyes round with surprise, tone dripping with very familiar sarcasm. “Are you even allowed to do that?”

Courtney pulled her in for a hug, laughing. “I got special permission from Mayor Garcetti, since my child is a bona fide New Yorker.”

Adore giggled, hugging her back tightly around the waist. “Well in that case, sure.”

***

Danny waited anxiously by the bay window, drumming his fingers on the sill. Bianca had left with Fame for the venue a little while before. Frankly, he thought it was pretty rude that he wasn’t invited to the party. But as Bianca explained when she was giving him a hug and kiss goodbye, ‘it’s a grown-up party,’ and they’d have a chance to celebrate as a family when he visited over Christmas.

He supposed it was good that he could be here when Adore and Mum arrived, too. Where were they? It was a Saturday, traffic from the airport shouldn’t be this bad. Maybe they’d gotten stuck behind an accident. Maybe they’d gotten stuck inan accident. He picked up his phone, panic filling his chest just as a text buzzed in.

ARIEL: 5 MIN! SEE YOU SOON, ROACH!

The second he caught a glimpse of the town car pulling into the driveway, Danny leapt to his feet and shot out the door, running barefoot across the grass to fling himself right into his mother’s arms. She embraced him tightly, let him bury his face in her shoulder, inhaling the familiar scent of her. It had been almost two months since she’d dropped him off at camp, and while he already knew that he was missing her, it didn’t hit him exactly how much until that moment. The warmth of her arms had always been the safest place in the world, and inhaling the subtle, familiar scent of her rose perfume and fair trade coconut oil made him burst into unexpected tears, wetting her soft cotton top.

“I missed you so much, Mum,” he sobbed, sniffling and clinging to her. Adore would mock him mercilessly for this, but he didn’t care. “And I-I’m really sorry for lying.”

“I know, precious, and I missed you too.” Courtney swayed slightly, almost like she was rocking him to sleep, letting him cry it out. She waited until his grip released a bit before pulling back, drying his cheeks with her thumbs and then holding his face affectionately. “Your hair got longer.”

“Oh…yeah. Do you like it?”

She nodded, pulling him in for another hug. “Of course I do, I love everything about you.”

He sighed happily, a feeling of relief washing over him as the tension and anxiety that had been building up in his body seemed to melt away.

“Uh…what am I, chopped liver?” asked Adore, standing in front of a pile of suitcases with a hand on her hips.

Courtney pressed a messy kiss to his cheek and then opened her arms to release him. “Go say hi to your sister.”

Danny turned to Adore, mirroring her pose when he saw what she was wearing, one hand on his hip, head tilted. “I can’t believe you’re wearing that shirt,” he said, gesturing to the Misfits t-shirt, the one that had landed her in the lake back at camp.

“Why? It’s my favorite,” she said, a cheeky grin on her face.

“Adore, if you think that I-” Danny was cut off when his sister leapt forward and tackled him into a big bear hug.

��Missed you, Roach,” she murmured.

Danny laughed, hugging her back, thrilled that they were finally going to be the team he always wanted. Suddenly, the shirt didn’t matter—if she wanted it, she could have it.

“Aww, you guys!” Courtney clasped her hands together, clearly thrilled to see them so close, and wrapped her arms around the both of them.

***

After a quick snack of the healthiest things Courtney could find in Bianca’s fridge (plus a Snickers bar that Adore swiped from the freezer when she wasn’t looking), they all went upstairs to get ready for the party. Danny had already put Courtney’s bags in the guest room, leading Adore to ask him where he planned to sleep.

“Where I’ve been sleeping,” he informed her, pointing to her hastily-made bed.

“This is my room!” she shrieked.

“Yeah, well, I was pretending to be you, where did you think I was gonna sleep?” he laughed.

“I guess I didn’t think about it.” She wrinkled her nose, slightly disgusted at the thought of a boy in her bed all this time. “I guess we can change the sheets.”

“Excuse me, only one of us goes to sleep with dirty feet.”

“You love my dirty feet!” Adore tossed one of her socks at him, giggling when he grimaced in disgust and batted it away like it was on fire.

“Besides, why are you worried about sheets?” he asked. “We’ve been wearing each other’s underwear.”

“Omigod, gross!” Adore moaned, slapping her forehead. She really hadn’t thought this through.

“Hey so, I picked out an outfit for you to wear tonight,” he said, switching gears. He looked so proud that Adore almost hated to burst his bubble. Almost.

“Aww, that’s so cute that you think I’d wear anything you chose, Roach.” Adore ruffled his hair.

“Listen, I got pretty good at imitating your wannabe punk style, so…come on. Be honest. You would totally wear this.”

He pulled a black dress out of the closet. It was short and off the shoulder, with a fluffy tiered shirt. He’d paired it with black fishnet tights covered in purple flowers, black leather fingerless gloves, and shiny purple docs. She folded her arms, trying to be annoyed at how well he’d done, but failing.

“Well..fine, I’ll wear it,” she sniffed, “since I don’t want to hurt your feelings or anything.”

“Right,” Danny laughed.

“That bag is your stuff.” Adore pointed to the red suitcase they’d packed for Danny. “I’m sure you can find some boring button down or whatever. You should probably go change in Mama’s room.”

“Fine, fine. See you in a few.”

Adore took her time getting dressed, then sat down to fix her eye makeup and clip in her extensions for the first time since camp. It felt nice to be wearing them again, although she’d forgotten how heavy they were. She added a bunch of silver bangles and was just putting in the black sugar skull earrings Courtney had bought for her on Melrose when there was a knock at the door.

“Come in.”

Danny opened the door, striking a sassy pose. He was wearing a turquoise shirt, black pants, and way too much product in his hair. Plus a couple of bracelets that she was pretty sure he’d stolen from her, but she decided not to make a big deal about it.

“Well? What do you think?” he asked.

“It’s alright. You looked cuter the last time I saw you.”

“You mean when I was dressed as you?”

“Exactly,” Adore smirked.

He rolled his eyes and flopped down onto the bed, looking way too comfortable. “I did a good job with your outfit though, didn’t I?”

“Not terrible,” Adore said, standing and giving him a twirl.

“I guess you’re over that whole padded bra thing, huh?”

“Don’t look at my tits!” Adore shrieked, covering her chest with both arms.

“What tits?”

Adore stuck her tongue out at him, laughing when he stuck his right back. She pushed him slightly, making room for herself on the bed, when she caught a glimpse of something new pinned to her bulletin board: sketches of some rather cute dresses signed with both ‘BDR’ and her own name. “What are those?”

“Oh. Well, when I was pretending to be you, I went into work with Mama a bunch of times.”

“Willingly?”

“Yeah, it was fun.”

“And she still thought you were me?” Adore laughed.

“Yeah. We, uh, kind of made them together. Do you like them? I was really trying to channel you.”

Adore looked at them closer, nodding. “They’re cool. I guess it doesn’t suck that my name is on them.”

Danny smiled proudly, and Adore felt compelled to ruin the moment by slugging him on the shoulder. He grabbed it dramatically, clearly about to make a fuss, when a soft knock sounded on the open door.

“You can come in, Mum!”

“Okay, um…” A few moments later, Courtney pushed open the door, standing there with an uncertain expression.

She looked amazing—Adore took at least half the credit, because the salon excursion was doing most of the work, her hair shiny and healthy and spilling over her shoulders in beachy waves, not to mention how the lash extensions made her green eyes pop. Adore also had to hand it to her; she’d done a decent job with her makeup, the smoky eyes and red lips giving her naturally pretty face a kind of dramatic glamor.

And her dress was gorgeous, though not one of the ones they’d purchased together—short, red, covered in beads, tailored perfectly and showing a lot of leg. Plus, a pair of Loubs that Mama would definitely appreciate. Adore wouldn’t have changed a thing.

“Wow!” Danny exclaimed, mouth opening slightly, clearly not used to seeing her like this.

“But do you think it’s too…” Courtney tugged slightly at the hem, and Adore shook her head vigorously.

“No. It’s perfect.” She jumped up from the bed, suddenly excited for this dumb party, and especially to see the look on Mama’s face when they walked in.

***

Courtney hesitated. Just a few more steps and she’d be in the party, facing Bianca once again. Seeing her face up close, actually up close, for the first time in years. Her chest felt tight, stomach in knots.

This was a terrible idea. What was she thinking, coming here like this? When the idea first occurred to her, she’d been positive that the party would create a kind of neutral safe-zone. That it would force them all to be on their very best behavior, to put the kids first and avoid an argument.

It suddenly occurred to her that this was a very dangerous assumption. And even if it was true—even if they managed to be civil—she was still about to see her. Part of her knew that she’d have no control over her physical reaction to being in the same space as Bianca again, and that thought was terrifying.

“Oh god,” she murmured, barely audible. Because as foolish as it was, it seemed far too late to back out now. She swallowed, steeling her nerves. Danny sensed her anxiety like the angel that he was, and took her hand.

“You look really pretty, Mum,” he said softly.

“Pretty?” Adore chimed in, taking her other hand. “She looks fuckin’ hot.”

Courtney pressed grateful kisses to both of her kids’ foreheads, unable to put into words how much she loved them, and then took one last deep breath to calm her frantic heartbeat before stepping inside.

“Here we go.”

“Thank you,” Bianca smiled, accepting a hug from one of her work colleagues. “We’re so happy you could make it. Right, honey?”

She was surprised to see the sour expression on her fiancée’s face.

“Are you okay?” she whispered.

“Is that your ex-wife?” Fame asked, face scrunched up into a pout.

“What?!” Bianca turned in the direction she was looking, surprised. There was no way that Courtney would show up here, not tonight...right?

But there she was. Flanked by both Adore and Danny, strolling towards them with a sunny smile as if it was the most normal thing in the world. Bianca’s heart nearly leapt out of her chest.

“Omigod,” she exhaled, more air than voice, watching them in slow motion, a lump growing in her throat.

“I thought you said that you didn’t speak!” Fame muttered through clenched teeth.

Bianca tried to respond, but found her throat dry and tight. She felt like she was frozen in time, eyes glued to Courtney, unable to look away. Not that she really wanted to look away.

Because this wasn’t the relatable, casual, wholesome-mum Courtney that she’d been projecting recently on social media. This was a next-level, glammed-up goddess. The smoky-eyed, long-legged vixen that she’d been years ago, back when Bianca hadn’t been able to keep her hands off her.

And to top it off, she was wearing the hand-beaded red cocktail dress that Bianca had made for her, oh so many years ago. They’d written “summer chic” on the invite, and so the patio was a sea of pastels and neutrals, floaty sundresses and flowing linen. And here was Courtney, the scarlet of her dress as dark as Bianca’s cheeks must be.

The dress still fit her like a glove, the subtle stretch in the fabric molding to her body perfectly. If possible, it looked even better now than when Bianca first made it.

It was a dream—a fantasy that Bianca had had more times than she could count, over the years.

“Bianca! Congratulations!” Courtney sang, lashes fluttering, the picture of good-natured support.

Bianca’s eyes still didn’t know where to land—her heart was racing, cheeks flushed, knees wobbly—as Bianca became aware of the eyes on her, especially Fame’s, the dream turned into a waking nightmare. In spite of everything, she continued to gape at Courtney with her mouth hanging open.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, she managed to choke out the understatement of the year. “Wh-what are you doing here?”

“Oh, well,” Courtney said, swinging the kids’ hands at her sides like they were five-year-olds. “I just came to fix our little mix-up with the children, and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to meet their new mother, could I?”

Bianca’s heart was still pounding in her ears, brow furrowed in confusion, her grip on the wine glass so tight she thought it might shatter. She watched helplessly as Courtney reached out to Fame, pulling her in for a warm hug.

“You must be Fame. Oh my gosh, you’re just stunning. Danny told me you were beautiful, but...I mean, you’re gorgeous!”

“Thank you,” Fame said primly, clearly wishing she was anywhere else on the planet, and for that, Bianca couldn’t blame her one bit. The whole situation was horrendously awkward.

“Courtney, maybe we should-” Bianca croaked out, but she didn’t get very far before Courtney clasped Fame’s hand in hers, continuing on as if she was invisible.

“I can’t wait to get to know you! Now, is Fame your given name? It’s so unusual.”

“It’s my brand,” Fame replied drily.

“Ah! Wonderful!” Courtney flashed another dazzling smile. “Oh! You haven’t met Adore yet, have you?”

“Uhh. No, I guess not.”

Bianca hadn’t gone into too much detail about the twins’ switch, just enough to explain why there was suddenly a young boy in their house where there had previously been a girl. Which probably explained why Fame looked incredibly uncomfortable.

“Adore, say hello to Fame,” Courtney coaxed, her arm around Adore’s slim shoulders, prodding her forward.

“Hello, Fame, charmed,” Adore held her hand up as if she expected Fame to kiss it, hamming up the moment like only she could.

“Alright, knock it off!” Bianca barked, downing her wine. It was much easier to snap at Adore in this scenario than Courtney, even though the whole awkward encounter was her fault.

“What?” Adore asked, eyes wide, doing a perfect impression of Courtney’s whole innocent angel act. “Aren’t you happy to see me, Mama?”

“Yes! Yes, of course. I’m…come here.” Bianca pulled Adore in to give her the proper greeting that she’d failed to before due to shock. She hugged her tight, kissing the top of her head, trying not to notice that her hair smelled like Courtney’s shampoo, the sense memory nearly knocking her over. “Nice to see you, you little shit.”

Adore giggled, resting a head on her shoulder and squeezing her back just as tight. Over the top of her head, Bianca looked at Courtney, who was still smiling like a lunatic, holding Danny’s hand.

“Mum!” Danny exclaimed. “Let’s go say hi to Shangela! You haven’t seen her in ages, right?”

“No, I…sounds great,” Courtney said, letting him pull her away, but not before turning back to Fame and gushing, “So wonderful to meet you; I really hope we’ll become very good friends. And congratulations!”

Bianca took in the dazzling smile, the wink, the general joyful air. Most people would have bought the whole thing, but Bianca could see right through her. Could see the manic gleam in her eye that gave away everything.

What fucking game was she playing?

“What in the hell was that all about?” Fame muttered under her breath, mirroring Bianca’s thoughts perfectly.

“I…have no idea,” Bianca admitted. She shook her head, snatching two glasses of champagne from a passing tray.

“I’ve already got a drink,” Fame told her, tapping the side of her martini glass with an acrylic nail.

“I know,” Bianca said. She drained one glass and then the other in rapid succession. What a fucking night this was going to be.

#rpdr fanfiction #masters of the scene #veronica #s6 #adore delano #courtney act #bianca del rio #miss fame #bitney #bianca x fame #parent trap au #bitney parent trap #fic challenge #pride 2022 #lesbian au #trans character #kid fic #angst

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artificialqueens · 1 year

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Masters of the Scene, Chapter 21 (Bitney Parent Trap AU) - Veronica

A/N: Okay, I apologize because this group of chapters moves kind of slow; this one in particular is literally one long conversation that doesn’t even end until the next chapter. So…lol, I would understand if anyone following this story wants to wait until 22 is posted to read it. Anyway I love you, thank you for reading either way. Also, thanks so much to my absolutely fabulous beta, @tumble4rpdr

Click here for prequels and previous chapters, or here if you’d rather read on AO3.

Chapter Summary: Bianca and Courtney continue their difficult (but necessary) conversation.

***

The point of starting the whole thing with small talk, as Bianca had discussed with Shangela over and over, was to disarm her. Test the waters a bit. She knew going in that Courtney would be understandably angry and defensive. That she would be guarded, have all kinds of walls up. So rather than launch right into Serious Mode, Shangela reminded her one of the better sides of their relationship was their ability to banter back and forth, to make each other laugh, even when things were shitty.

“It’s true,” Bianca had agreed, hugging a pillow tightly while she spoke to Shangie late one night. “Maybe…maybe I can try to make her laugh a little.”

“Right! And if you do that, then you open the door. You have some chance of actually communicating,” Shangie said.

“Yeah, otherwise…things are probably still too raw.”

As it turned out, the strategy had worked. The problem was that it worked too well. And not only had she managed to disarm and charm Courtney, but she’d allowed Courtney to charm her right back. Finding out that she and Danny regularly watched her shows was incredible, and hearing her absolutely gush over the dresses was even better.

But the best part was just her. How, once she relaxed a little, she laughed charmingly at Bianca’s jokes, just like the plan. How she sassed back at her, easily falling into their typically comfortable banter. It was enough to fill Bianca with hope—not an easy feat.

So when she turned things around, asked her point blank about the ‘real reason’ she wanted to talk…

Oof.

Bianca tried to gather herself together. She should be ready for this. She’d been rehearsing to herself during every sleepless night for the past week.

“Okay. I guess…I should start with an apology…” She took a deep breath, eyes meeting Courtney’s, then quickly looking away, unable to face her until she’d gotten it all out.

The curiosity and expectation in her green eyes was too much pressure. She knew Courtney must be surprised—apologies had never been Bianca’s strength. She swallowed hard and continued, clutching pieces of a napkin she’d ripped apart.

“I know that the reason things went sideways last time is because you think that I was saying that you make Danny anxious, but I never…I would never have said that. Not even to be an asshole, or to win an argument.”

Bianca shifted uncomfortably, the fabric of the blazer too heavy, too hot in this sunny weather.

“I think-” Courtney began, but Bianca cut in, needing to get it all out.

“I know we have our shit. But I think you’re a great mother. The…the best, actually. I think Danny is the luckiest kid in the world. And I just…I’m just sorry that I ever made you think that I thought otherwise, even for a second.”

When she finally looked back into Courtney’s face, she was nodding slightly, her eyes a little misty.

“You may have…hit a nerve,” she admitted softly, chewing on her bottom lip. “I mean, you said that he’s not anxious with you. So I figured you meant that my neurotic energy or whatever was-”

“Court…I get why you thought I meant that. I do.” Bianca reached across the table, unable to stop herself.

Courtney hesitated before letting Bianca take her hand, but when she did, she gripped it firmly.

“But please hear me,” Bianca continued, not looking away this time. “That’s not what I meant.”

“What did you mean, then?” she asked, head tilted curiously.

“I meant…” Bianca took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I meant that he just doesn’t seem that anxious to me, period. He seems like a normal, happy little boy. I mean, he’s loving and kind and easygoing and funny and…in my own fucked-up way, I was trying to compliment you. You’re raising a great, great kid.”

The truth was that even before Danny’s problems began, it had been one of Courtney’s deepest fears. That her anxieties, her insecurities, her fears, even the ones she never spoke about, would somehow rub off on him. And when he was suffering the most, of course it was something she worried about obsessively. Had she made him this way? Had she been too wrapped up in her own problems to protect her baby?

The knee-jerk reaction to what Bianca said had been because she believed it. Or at least, part of her did. Deep down. That she was the reason for his pain.

But now…hearing Bianca describe her parenting in such glowing terms was almost unbelievable. An approval that she’d been craving for years, coming right out of the blue when she least expected it. She closed her eyes, feeling like an absolute fucking idiot for losing her mind so completely over what was essentially a misunderstanding.

Although…

“Wait, so…you were saying that you don’t think he’s anxious at all?” Courtney asked, her brow furrowed, removing her hand from Bianca’s. “You think all the therapy and the home-schooling and the meds and all of that was just…what, for fun?” she asked pointedly, “Or that I was making it up?”

“No, no, of course not. I guess…I thought that he did have a problem, but that you’d handled it, and handled it well, and now…he was fine. But that maybe that was hard for you to recognize because you were still in like, Mama-Bear mode, worrying about him. And maybe you were, um…not making it up, but like…putting your own anxieties, uh…”

“Projecting?” Courtney offered, one eyebrow raised, disbelief still clear as day on her face.

“Yeah, that,” Bianca said, cringing a bit when she saw Courtney’s expression. “It was a dumb thing to say, I’ll admit that, but…not as bad as what you thought I said…right?”

Courtney sighed, putting her head in her hands. She supposed that it wasn’t as bad, but it was still frustrating. Did Bianca really think that Courtney couldn’t tell the difference between her own anxiety and when her son was in genuine emotional and physical pain?

“He’s just…” Bianca continued, “He’s not what I think of when I imagine an anxiety-riddled person-”

“Because he’s not in distress!” Courtney cut in sharply, and off Bianca’s nod, added a softer, “At least…not right now. Not…anymore.” Her shoulders slumped. She could feel herself getting defensive, feel that tension returning to her body. Bianca was trying to compliment her, as she said. That she’d done a good job taking care of their son; she tried to take that in, rather than her frustration. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, I get it. I told Shangela what I’d said. And like, how you misunderstood, and what I really meant. She didn’t quite agree with my psychological assessment,” Bianca said drily. “In fact, she had some pretty choice words for me.”

“Oh yeah?” Courtney asked, one eyebrow arching slightly.

“I believe the phrase ‘ham-fisted moron’ was thrown out,” Bianca said, smiling sheepishly.

Courtney chuckled in spite of herself, saying, “I’ve always liked Shangie.”

“She likes you, too. And she made me realize that I didn’t really understand…anything. About what had been going on with him. I know you gave me Dr. Caldwell’s info, but I always felt like calling would be like…I dunno, overstepping.”

“Why? I talk to Adore’s therapists, and doctors, and-” Courtney shook her head.

“Yeah, I know, and sometimes it feels like you’re…second guessing how I’m handling things,” Bianca said pointedly.

Courtney bit her lip, feeling a little guilty. She did second-guess how Bianca handled things with Adore sometimes, and maybe that was part of the reason she hadn’t told Bianca everything there was to tell with Danny. Unlike her, Bianca didn’t push and prod and ask a million questions and get in direct contact with the doctors herself. She’d probably have felt some type of way if she had. So maybe Bianca had a point.

“Look…maybe I should have kept you more in the loop, when things were really bad,” Courtney admitted. She took another breath, wanting Bianca to understand that though she might be a little bit right, it wasn’t 100% selfish or defensive motives that kept Courtney from sharing every detail of Danny’s struggles. “But honestly, I’m really glad that you didn’t have to experience the nightmares, or stomach issues, or the meltdowns at school dropoff. Or the calls from his teacher about how he spent every recess by himself, sitting alone on the bench. Or the time when he locked himself in the bathroom stall for 3 hours. Or when he finally told me about how the relentless bullying had been going on for years, and the school just denied it all, trying to fight them and get him the services he needed and finally pulling him out because I just, I didn’t know what else to do…”

“I’m sorry you had to go through all that on your own,” Bianca said softly, shaking her head.

“I probably should have shared more with you, but…” Courtney could feel a lump rising to her throat, tears stinging her eyes.

“No, I get why you didn’t.”

“I didn’t want to burden you. Especially when I didn’t have any answers,” Courtney said. She looked down, hating the memory of her sweet little boy suffering so much, and how powerless she’d felt.

“Maybe you also didn’t want me to judge you.”

“Or that.” Courtney dabbed at her eyes with a napkin. “Um…what did Dr. Caldwell say? When you spoke to them?”

“Just that…he’s a fantastic kid, and he’s been doing so much better since he started at Crossroads, like you said, and…and that you’d done everything you could to protect him, even when that fucking school was trying to gaslight you both. And that you probably have grounds for a major lawsuit.”

Courtney chuckled, shaking her head. “I’d rather put the resources we have into helping other kids, not taking money from LAUSD.”

“Saint Courtney strikes again,” Bianca teased.

“Hardly. I’m just…glad he’s in a better place now. I’m glad I could afford to get him what he needed. It’s hard enough even when we’ve got resources, you know?”

“I fucking do,” Bianca said, nodding. “I’m sure you’ve heard all about Adore’s current…situation.”

“I know she’s struggling with school, and I’ve been doing what I can to help, but-”

“Oh, it’s way more than that,” Bianca said bitterly. “She hasn’t told about how much we’re fighting?”

“The two of you?” Courtney asked, and off Bianca’s expectant nod, shook her head. “No. I don’t think they like to tell on us that way. What’s going on?”

Bianca let out a tense exhale. She seemed to be considering what she wanted to say, or maybe how to say it.

“Our apartment’s turned into a fucking war zone,” she finally admitted, sounding and looking more defeated than Courtney could ever remember. “She’s so angry, all the time-”

“At you?” Courtney asked.

She was having a hard time picturing it. Not because she’d never seen Adore angry—on the contrary, Adore had always been a kid very much in touch with her inner rage. But Adore idolized Bianca. She always had. And regardless, what Courtney had seen lately from her daughter wasn’t anger, it was hopelessness. And self loathing. Thinking she wasn’t good enough, wasn’t smart enough, would never live up to anyone’s expectations.

More often than not, their homework FaceTime sessions involved Adore’s head on the table, tears dripping down her face as Courtney told her to put the schoolwork away and did her best to remind her that she was loved and supported and that things would get easier eventually. That an ability to solve algebraic equations, read Mandarin and understand The Iliaddidn’t determine anyone’s worth.

Frankly, knowing that Adore’s fiery temper was still present made Courtney feel a little bit better. Knowing that she still had fight in her, that she wasn’t completely engulfed in hopeless despair.

It didn’t seem to be any comfort to Bianca though, who answered, “At me, at her teachers, at the world. Once she decided that she couldn’t do this schoolwork, she stopped trying at all, which of course led to disciplinary problems, and of course that meant that all her snotty little friends’ parents deemed her a troublemaker and-”

Bianca looked down again, her breath hitching. The napkin in her hand was shredded to bits.

“And I know I’m doing everything wrong,” she finished, voice breaking.

“I’m sure that’s not true,” Courtney said gently. She may have occasionally questioned Bianca’s decisions, but there was never any doubt how much she loved their children.

“No, it is. I can’t help it. We’re too much alike, I think,” Bianca let out a disappointed laugh. “I can never stay calm, not like you. I scream back at her, like a complete asshole. Like my…fucking father.”

“You don’t think I ever lose my patience?” Courtney asked.

“Not like this, not…I can’t get through to her. So I lose it, and it’s not…I know it’s not okay, but I don’t know how to…”

Courtney could see it in her eyes: the self-loathing, the anger, the frustration. Bianca had always been hard on people, but she was hardest on herself. Just like their daughter. She reached across the table to put a hand on hers, before she had time to begin tearing apart the new napkin she’d picked up. It was meant to be soothing, but it only seemed to make Bianca more emotional. She shook her head and looked up at Courtney.

“I don’t know why I feel like this. I mean, I’m supposed to be the parent, I’m supposed to be the mature one. But when it feels like she’s mad at me, I just want to fucking cry…” Bianca let out a humorless laugh, “What’s wrong with me?”

“Nothing’s wrong with you,” Courtney said. “She’s cool, and you want her to like you.”

“Ugh, god, that’s so pathetic,” Bianca groaned. “What am I back in high school wishing the popular girls didn’t hate me?”

“Awwww…” Courtney squeezed her hand one more time before letting go.

“Don’t ‘aw’ me, you were a loser in high school, too,” Bianca said, rolling her eyes and sniffling.

“Was not! I was very popular in high school!” Courtney insisted, laughing.

“Really?” Bianca lifted one eyebrow, a corner of her mouth twitching up as the mischievous twinkle appeared in her eyes. “Cause the pictures of you in headgear beg to differ.”

“Um, excuse me, I got that off when I was 16, and became friends with all the cheerleaders,” said Courtney, crossing her arms, glad that Bianca seemed shaken out of her gloom and all too happy to play along with this bit. “And all the jocks were super jealous.”

“Oh yeah?” Bianca asked, tilting her head.

“Yeah!”

The smirk pulling at her lips made one dimple appear in Bianca’s cheek, giving Courtney a sense of victory. “Of you, or them?”

“Listen…when they weren’t calling me faggot, they were pretty well convinced that I was fucking all their girlfriends,” she said triumphantly.

“And were you? Fucking all their girlfriends?” Bianca asked, now fully amused, dimples deepening in both cheeks.

“Well…” Courtney faltered a bit, slightly chagrined, before explaining, “Not…all of them, I’m not an animal.”

“Good for you.”

Their eyes met, both of them laughing now. It eased the tension enough that Courtney felt brave enough to broach the subject that had been nagging her for the past five minutes.

“So, um…I know it’s been pretty stressful, but I hope you’re taking care of yourself,” she said. “Because…I know how hard it was for you to quit smoking before…”

Bianca’s eyes widened in alarm, and she began to ask, “What are you-” before stopping abruptly, shoulders sagging. “How the fuck did you know?”

Courtney pointed out the pile on the table, of shredded remnants formerly known as Napkin.

“Fuck,” Bianca muttered. She dropped the second napkin, sighing. “It’s less than half a pack a day. Don’t look at me like that-”

“I’m not-” Courtney began.

“-It’s my only vice.”

At that, Courtney couldn’t help raising her eyebrows. “Your only vice?”

“Okay, besides alcohol,” Bianca conceded. “But I don’t binge drink anymore. Usually. And I haven’t done drugs in like, years.”

“How many years, exactly?” Courtney asked, curious.

“Oh, shut up, like you’re so squeaky-clean, Ms. Burning Man?!” Bianca scoffed.

“I never claimed to be!” Courtney laughed, holding her hands up innocently. “But B, cigarettes?”

“Please don’t start…”

“I’m just saying. There are better things. You know weed is legal here,” Courtney said.

“Oh yeah? Got any on hand?” she asked, giving another big eye roll.

“Sure.”

“Seriously?” Bianca actually looked shocked.

“Yeah,” Courtney nodded. “Not for smoking though, just edibles. Do you want some?”

“Uh…kind of,” Bianca admitted. “Well, I don’t know. Do I?”

“You’re not planning to drive, are you?”

“Why?”

“Just that you probably want to be alert for these curves. Otherwise I’d have made the coffee Irish.”

“Oh. I wish you had,” Bianca groaned, rubbing her forehead.

“Sorry.” Courtney bit her lip. She probably should never have brought up the smoking issue. “I’m sorry if I made you feel like I was judging. I just-”

“I know how you feel about cigarettes,” Bianca said. “It’s why I quit the first time.”

“I know.” Courtney gave her a soft smile.

When they met, Bianca had considered herself a ‘casual’ smoker, but even her one-pack-a-week habit was too much for Courtney. She hated the smell; it had always been a migraine trigger. So Bianca quit, slapping on a patch and spilling the rest of the pack she’d started into the toilet, flushing them down. “I’m pretty sure that’s for narcotics,” Courtney had informed her, but Bianca had insisted that it was “symbolic.” She wrapped her arms around Courtney’s waist, giving her a soft, nicotine-free kiss. “If I’ve got you, I don’t need cigarettes.” Turned out, she was perhaps a little too hung-ho, since kicking the habit altogether was easier said than done. In fact, she probably would have taken it up again had she not gotten pregnant with the twins.

Courtney swallowed, conflicted about how the memory made her feel. Bianca’s voice was what snapped her out of it.

“Look, if it makes you feel better, I’ve never smoked around Adore. Not once.”

“Okay,” Courtney said. “Thanks. I’m sorry if I was too…personal.”

“It’s fine. I should…” She sighed. “I should stop anyway, I just…it’s been fucking rough. You know?”

“Yeah.”

“Which is why, uh…” Bianca swallowed, shaking her head. “You know how much I hate to admit when I’m wrong, but…”

“Wrong about…?”

“The kids, school, how…how hard this year would be for Adore. So…” She closed her eyes, letting out a soft, “sorry…”

“Take your time…” Courtney assured her.

Bianca sighed and opened her eyes again. “I think maybe you were right about the kids going to school together. I think…I think it would help Adore to have Danny around. And to be in a school that’s less…traditional, I guess. Competitive. Or…”

“Okay, that’s…so, are you looking for other schools?” Courtney asked, not quite following where Bianca was struggling to say but attempting to be helpful. “Do you need advice, because I know a website I could send you that evaluates-”

“I registered her at Crossroads,” Bianca cut in.

“You…” Courtney blinked. Crossroads was Danny’s school. It was a 20 minute drive from them, but a very long way from New York City.

“I’m here for awhile, while I get the new stores up and running. The investors are in Century City, and they want me to have an office there. So I asked the school if she could enroll, as like a trial thing, to see if she does any better, and they said okay. She still has to officially go through the whole application process, but unofficially, they said it’s pretty-”

“You’re planning to move to LA?” Courtney asked, still trying to wrap her mind around what Bianca was saying.

“Maybe. I mean, yes, part time. I don’t…I don’t know. It depends how things go, I guess. I just, I’ve been thinking a lot about what you said, about what went down when I was moving to New York, and…I think you were right about how fucked up that letter was. And if I’d played fair, we probably wouldn’t ever have left. So…”

“So…she’s going to school here? And she’s okay leaving her friends, and-” Courtney suppressed a smile, trying not to show how utterly thrilled she was. It would be too much like gloating.

“Yeah, she’s very excited to learn how to braid hemp,” Bianca deadpanned.

“Funny,” said Courtney, attempting sarcasm but failing, the grin spreading across her face. “I think she’ll really like Crossroads, actually. I think this will be…really good for her.”

“Don’t look so fucking proud of yourself,” Bianca said, rolling her eyes. “You were wrong about some things, too!”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, like you said I can never compromise, but here I am. Fucking compromising. Are you gonna give me any goddamn credit for that?” she barked.

“I…” Courtney raised her eyebrows, unsure of how to respond.

“And you’re supposed to be the optimist here, but you didn’t give us any credit!” Bianca burst out, getting more animated as she spoke. “You acted like we can’t change, we can’t learn, but both of us already have, so much. So why can’t we teach them what love should look like?! Huh?”

“I…” Courtney looked into Bianca’s brown eyes, which were flashing with anger. But something else too, something like hope. Courtney wasn’t sure what to think, what to make of this, which felt like it had come out of nowhere. “I don’t-”

“Fuck!” Bianca exclaimed suddenly, making Courtney jump, startled. Bianca covered her face with her hands, shaking her head. “This is all wrong, I did this all fucking wrong. This isn’t how I wanted to…”

It had been so simple, in her head. How she wanted to tell Courtney everything she felt. Profess her love, her desires, and then leave it in her hands. No expectations. Calm, gentle, loving... Instead, what was supposed to be a declaration of love had turned into a shit show. She was fucking yelling at her. No wonder her face was a mix of confusion, fear and horror.

“Look, I just think that…” Bianca took a deep breath, trying to explain calmly, ignoring the tears filling her eyes. “I just think that the most important thing, about love, is that you don’t walk away. You…don’t give up, even when it’s hard. And yeah, we’ve got problems. I know that. No one’s ever accused me of being Pollyanna. But…look, we can learn how to fight properly. They teach that shit. We just need a good therapist.”

“Therapist?” Courtney asked, face still a strange combination of hard-to-read emotions. “I thought you were against couples therapy.”

“No, I was against spending money, when we were poor.” Bianca quickly wiped the tears off her cheeks.

“Oh.”

“But you know what, let’s add marriage counseling to the list of things you were right about.”

“B…” Courtney began, and Bianca shook her head vigorously.

“Don’t…don’t answer yet. I just wanted to say that I think we can do it. We’re older, less stupid…most of the time. We’ve got more resources. So…why not focus on what we do well? Like…raising really fucking great kids.”

“We do,” Courtney said, a smile tugging at her lips.

“Right! And…we’re really, really good at loving each other. We are.” Bianca had a flash in her mind, of Courtney’s letters, the passionate, messily-scrawled love notes, her heart on the page, how everything she wrote was still inside of her somewhere. It had to be. “You even said that when it’s good, it’s…it’s amazing. So let’s do that part, the amazing part, and fucking fix the rest.”

“I…” Courtney faltered. “I just…I don’t think-”

“And before you decide,” Bianca barreled on, determined to get it all out before Courtney had a chance to push her away, “You should know that I already found a therapist, who specializes in like, complicated queer family situations. Dr. Caldwell recommended her. She’s based in the Palisades, and she’s trans. I have an appointment for Tuesday at 11. I really hope…that you’ll come. Whatever happens with us, we owe it to each other to work this shit out. As much as we can. Even if it’s just for the sake of the kids.”

“Yeah, that’s…that’s a good point,” Courtney said, her voice thick with emotion.

Bianca could see that she was melting, that she was truly listening.

“Look, you don’t have to give me an answer now,” Bianca said, taking her hand. “I’ll be here for awhile, so…just…think about it. And then tell me what you want.”

“What do you want?” Courtney asked softly, eyes shimmering with tears.

This was it. Her actual chance, to say what she wanted to say.

“I want to be with you,” Bianca told her, voice breaking, but continuing anyway. “I fucking…I fucking love you, so much. I’ve never stopped loving you. Another thing you were wrong about, by the way, is when you said that I probably don’t follow your career. I’ve watched every video you’ve ever made.”

Courtney laughed incredulously, gazing at Bianca in disbelief. “Really?”

“Really. And if you need to be here, to be comfortable, or happy, or secure, whatever your reason is…then I want to be here, too. Wherever you are. You kind of undersold this house, by the way. It’s…pretty spectacular.”

“Well…selling out can be lucrative,” Courtney managed to joke through her tears.

“I see that.” Bianca moved closer, taking slow, shallow breaths, their eyes now locked together. She reached out for Courtney’s other hand. “So…that’s what I want. For us to actually try. To be a family. To be…us, again. But better.”

“I…” Courtney breathed, and Bianca waited, her heart in her throat, to hear what she would say.

#rpdr fanfiction #veronica #masters of the scene #s6 #bianca del rio #courtney act #bitney #parent trap au #bitney parent trap #lesbian au #trans character #angst #fluff

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artificialqueens · 1 year

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Masters of the Scene, Chapter 18 (Bitney Parent Trap AU) - Veronica

A/N: Thank you to the irreplaceable @tumble4rpdr for her beta help, and to grown-up video game aficionado @aqalbatross for their help with the Animal Crossing dialogue.

Click here for prequels and previous chapters, or here if you’d rather read on AO3.

Chapter Summary: You know that episode of F.R.I.E.N.D.S. when Ross and Rachel break up and you’re like “Um, hello, writers? This is supposed to be a sitcom. So like…please can we be funny again?” It’s kind of like that.

***

Courtney paused, just outside the kitchen, leaning on the doorframe, heart still pounding in her ears. It had been less than two hours since she’d left the twins, but she felt as if she’d aged years. She was physically and emotionally exhausted, a husk of her former self.

As she composed herself, attempting to numb her shattered heart and contort her expression into something resembling normal, she listened to her children chatting and laughing, not a care in the world. They clearly had no idea what had been going on, hadn’t heard any of the fighting. Thank fucking god. She swiped at the last of her tears with the back of her wrist and took one more deep breath, then entered.

“Danny!” she began, all business, fighting to keep the trembling out of her voice, “Go finish packing! The car will be here in less than an hour. I’ll take some of this food for the ride so you can-”

Danny grinned, his voice sing-song as he began asking, “How do you know which one of us is-”

“I said pack your fucking bags, Daniel! I am not playing around!”

Courtney didn’t generally bark at him that way, but her nerves were utterly shot. Seeing his face, though, she immediately felt guilty. He stood up from the table quickly, nearly knocking over his chair, his lower lip trembling.

“Sorry, Mum.”

“It’s fine,” Courtney sighed, trying not to let his big hazel eyes get to her. Things were already bad enough. “I’m sorry for snapping, I…please just go pack. I’ll be up to help you as soon as I can.”

He gave one quick nod and hurried from the room.

“Don’t forget to check the bathroom!” she called after him, trying to sound cheerful and lighthearted, still feeling guilty for her initial tone. He paused in the doorway, nodding again but not glancing back.

Courtney bit her lip and looked tiredly over at the counter, which was still laden with food. Why the hell had she cooked so much? She knew she should probably pack it away, maybe freeze some of it. Just because their relationship was in ruins didn’t mean she wanted to give Bianca a headache to clean up.

She opened a cabinet to look for some foil and containers, only realizing after a few moments that Adore was staring at her from the sink, one of her purple space buns unraveling, her expression forlorn.

“You’re really leaving?” Adore asked, her voice small. “What about…I thought we were supposed to have lunch all together…”

Courtney walked over to Adore and cupped her face in both hands. Adore put on such a tough girl act, most of the time, and had always spoken and behaved like a sassy teenager. It was easy to forget that she was still a little girl, not even 12 years old.

“I love you so, so much. Do you know that?” she whispered.

Adore nodded, her already misty hazel eyes filling with tears. Even seeing it was enough to choke Courtney up, but she swallowed and continued, thumbs stroking her daughter’s cheeks.

“We’re going to work on the schedule, and make sure we have a lot more visits. And no matter what, you can still come to LA for Thanksgiving. We already agreed on that. I’ll teach you how to make that cornbread you like. Okay?” she sniffled, trying unsuccessfully to hold back her own tears.

Adore nodded again, fat tears slipping down her cheeks.

“It’s not gonna be like it was. I promise. We can talk whenever you want. Day or night, anytime you call me, I’ll pick up.” By then, Courtney was fully crying as well, so she just wrapped Adore up into a hug, rocking her. “My beautiful, beautiful girl.”

Adore clung to her tightly, sobbing against her chest, her tears wetting Courtney’s top.

“I’m gonna text you every night, before I go to bed. You’re gonna wake up to my annoying inspirational messages…you’re gonna be so sick of me…”

Adore laughed, relaxing slightly as Courtney rubbed her back, kissing the top of her head. It wouldn’t be easy, but they would get through this, just like they always did.

***

Danny pawed through the bathroom drawers, trying to see if he was forgetting anything. He felt terrible, and not just because of Mum yelling at him. Because he saw something in her expression that looked so, so sad. There’d been a part of him that really thought, when Fame was gone that morning, that there was a better chance than ever that things would finally work out between her and Mama.

And then when they were really talking, just the two of them, it seemed like it was all coming true. They’d finally be a family.

But now, it had all fallen apart again. He was sad for Mum, sad for himself and Adore, sad for Mama, and frankly exhausted from all of it.

He sighed, gathering the bottles and containers in his arms, and pushed open the bathroom door with his foot, just as Bianca’s bedroom door opened. He froze in place, watching with wide eyes as she appeared, looking as terrible as Mum had—even worse than she had earlier, which was saying something.

She looked at him in the doorway, blinking. “Hey. What are you up to?” she asked hoarsely.

“Um.” Danny swallowed nervously. For some reason, he felt guilty, like he’d been caught going something wrong. “I…Mum told me to pack. Th-the car is coming soon.”

“Oh. Right.” Bianca nodded slowly, shoulders slumped. “Do you want some help?”

“Okay.”

“Let me get the door for you.”

She walked down the hall, putting a hand on Danny’s shoulder as she passed him, opening the door to Adore’s bedroom and letting him enter first. When she stepped inside, she looked around with a puzzled expression on her face as Danny dumped the toiletries in his arms into the suitcase.

“Huh…”

“What’s wrong?” Danny asked.

“No, nothing’s wrong, I just…did you clean in here?” she asked, brow furrowed.

Danny snorted out a laugh before shaking his head and saying, “No, definitely not.”

“Right.”

They exchanged a look for a moment, both clearly understanding who must have cleaned the bedroom. Bianca sighed, closing her eyes.

“Listen…I want you to know that I’m not mad at you. I know you guys thought that I was this morning, but I wasn’t. Not at you, or your sister. I was just…I’m sorry if it seemed like I was mad at you guys. That wasn’t fair.”

“Who were you mad at?”

“Uhh…I guess, myself? And Fame, maybe…but…really, I was more sad. I guess it’s just easier to be angry than sad.” Bianca sighed again. “I’m sorry though. Not a good way to end our visit, huh?”

Danny walked forward and wrapped his arms around Bianca’s waist, giving her a tight hug.

“I’m sorry you’re sad, Mama.”

“Thanks, bunny.” She hugged him back, resting a cheek against the top of his head, nuzzling into his hair.

“So…it’s not our fault? That Fame left?” he asked, looking up at her.

“Of course not. You guys were great.” Bianca smiled, smoothing his hair down. “Thank you for that.”

“Mum told us to be nice,” Danny said, unable to help himself.

“Of course she did,” Bianca muttered, releasing him and walking to the bed, where she sat down.

“Did you and Mum have a fight? Is that why…” Danny swallowed, not sure how to finish the question he wanted to ask. Is that why we can’t be a family?

“It’s complicated, bunny,” Bianca said. “We just think…we think it’s better this way. Come here.”

Danny walked over and let her pull him into her lap, wrapping her arms around him. Her face was a reflection of his own—pure defeat, exhaustion, dejection. How is this ‘better’?

“I wasn’t in a very good mood today. So…I probably wasn’t very nice. But…” Bianca sniffled, hugging him close, “But I want you to know what a great time I had with you this summer. I’m really gonna miss you. I love you so much.”

“Me too, Mama,” Danny said.

“I guess you’re keeping these huh?” Bianca said, touching the turquoise space buns in his hair.

“Shoot, I forgot I was wearing them. I should give them back to Adore, they’re really hers.”

“Nah, you should keep them,” Bianca said. “They look good on you.”

“Really?” Danny asked, smiling shyly.

“Yeah, she’s got plenty. I can buy her more if she wants. And if you want, I can buy more for you, too, so you can have different colors. You’ve got a birthday coming up, right?”

“That would be awesome!” Danny squealed, already thinking about what colors he would get. Adore’s were mostly in dark, gothy colors, but he wondered if they came in pastels or neons. That would be super cool.

“Alright, I’ll send you the link, and when you choose what you want, I’ll have them shipped to you in Cali.”

“Thank you, Mama!” he exclaimed, hugging her again. “Only…”

“What?”

“It’s just, um…” Danny bit his lip, cheeks feeling a little hot, a teasing smile twisting his mouth into a smirk before saying, “You really shouldn’t say ‘Cali.’ No one in LA says that. It makes you sound kind of…old and lame.”

“Noted!” Bianca said, letting out a cackle, tickling him in the side. “Alright, you should probably finish packing. Do you know when the car’s coming?”

“No, Mum just said soon,” Danny answered, sliding off her lap. “But I’m almost done.”

“Okay, well, what do you still need to-oh my god, who folded these clothes? Raccoons? What the hell?!”

Danny laughed as she pulled a shirt out and re-folded it, lecturing him about space-saving techniques while he only half-listened, mostly just enjoying the sound of her voice before they had to say goodbye.

“Danny, do you need-oh-” Courtney stopped abruptly in the doorway as the two of them turned around to look at her.

“Hi, Mum,” Danny said, eyes moving from her to Bianca and back again.

“Hi, um…just wanted to give you a fifteen minute warning. For the car.”

“Okay. My suitcase is packed, I’m just doing the carry-on. Mama helped me,” Danny said.

“Great…thanks,” Courtney said tensely, and Bianca nodded.

Danny looked from Bianca to Courtney. Was it really so bad that they couldn’t even talk to each other anymore? A sick feeling began growing in his stomach.

“Um, make sure you leave enough time to say goodbye to Mama, and to Adore. She’s waiting for you downstairs.”

“Okay.”

***

Adore poked at the grass with her bare foot while Courtney and Danny helped the driver load their luggage into the car. When they were finished, Danny turned towards her, a sad smile on his face.

“Well…I guess we’re leaving now…”

Adore nodded, swallowing down the lump in her throat. When all was said and done, she had grown attached to her brother. Sure, he was a bit weird and awkward, but he was also smart and funny and talented, and he was the only twin she had.

She pulled him in for a tight hug, and managed to croak out, “Goodbye Roach.”

“Bye, sis.” He pulled back, hands on her shoulders, eyes a little misty, and said, “I’m gonna miss you.”

“Me too,” she said, and he released her, sliding into the car, pulling the door closed. “Text me when you land, okay?”

“Of course.” Danny smiled through the window, then seemed to remember something and leaned out, calling, “I made you a cheat sheet for Animal Crossing! It’s in your Notes! Try to check on the islands at least once a day!”

“Okay, Roach,” Adore said, rolling her eyes.

Adore felt arms wrap around her from behind and she turned, burying her face in Courtney’s chest. It wasn’t fair that she was leaving. Not now, not when they were finally so close. Adore was too choked up to speak, but in that moment, she knew she didn’t need to. Courtney rested a cheek against her hair, stroking her back, whispering to her about how they’d be together again before she knew it. That she was so very loved.

When Courtney let go, she kissed Adore’s cheeks, then her forehead, and finally the palms of both of her hands.

“I love you with my whole, entire heart,” Courtney said softly.

Adore just nodded, pressing her lips together. She wanted to say something back, but her throat felt dry and scratchy.

“Well…” Courtney sniffled. “I guess…we better get on with it, hmm?”

Adore nodded, tears burning her eyes as Courtney cupped her face one more time.

“Goodbye, my love.”

“Bye,” was all Adore could manage to whisper.

Courtney pressed one more kiss to her forehead before getting into the car, then rolling down the window to blow kisses as they pulled away.

Adore watched until the car disappeared from sight, then wiped the tears from her cheeks and turned to go inside the house, which suddenly felt bigger and emptier than it ever had. She trudged up the stairs.

Mama’s door was cracked open just slightly, so she pushed on it and saw her lying on her bed with a wet washcloth over her face. She stepped inside, arms crossed.

“What?” came Bianca’s voice, muffled under the cloth.

“They’re gone,” Adore reported, as anger began to crackle under her skin, burning away the sadness, hands clenching into fists, eyes narrowing, voice rising in volume as she continued, “No thanks to you!”

“Right…”

Adore marched over to the bed and snatched the washcloth away, causing Bianca to immediately flinch away from the light, rubbing her eyes. Adore hesitated. She’d been ready to confront her, to blame her for scaring Mum off.

She couldn’t think of any other reason for Courtney and Danny rushing out the way they did. But the way Bianca looked right now, small and brokenhearted, Adore suddenly found the righteous anger melting away, fizzling as quickly as it had erupted, replaced with actual concern.

“What happened, Mama?”

“I…I don’t really know, pussycat,” she said, showing more vulnerability than usual in her brown eyes as she admitted, “It’s just been one of those fucking days, I guess.”

Adore sighed and climbed onto her bed, and Bianca wrapped an arm around her.

“Are you alright?” Bianca asked, smoothing down her hair.

“Well…I’m pretty bummed that they left.” Adore let her head rest on Bianca’s shoulder.

“I’m sorry,” she murmured, holding Adore close.

“Can I tell you something kind of silly?” she murmured.

“Sure, baby.”

“Well…me and Danny…we kind of thought…especially after Fame left, but, I don’t know, even before that, I guess. Um, we kind of…” Adore bit her lip, wondering if it was betraying her brother’s trust to even admit this, and deciding that it was okay. After all, it was her own feelings too. “We kind of thought, or hoped, maybe, that you and Mum would…decide that you still loved each other and get back together. And then…we could all be a family again. The four of us.”

Adore felt dumb, even saying the words out loud. Worse, that she was crying again, a few silly tears trickling down her cheeks. She sniffled, and Bianca wiped her tears away, a sad smile on her face, her own eyes looking misty as well.

“You wanna know something, baby girl?” she asked softly. “I think part of me hoped we would too.”

“Really?” Adore’s eyes opened wide. She wasn’t sure that she believed that it was really, truly possible until that moment. But hearing her mother say it out loud suddenly made all their dumb fantasies real in a way they never had been before.

“Yeah.”

Adore could feel her heart beating wildly out of her chest, her thoughts racing. If this was true…actually true, then what had happened? Danny was so utterly positive that Courtney still loved Bianca. And Fame was out of the picture. And now, hearing Bianca admit that she wanted them to be a family? Adore didn’t know what to think, but she was overcome with emotion, first laughing, a weird laugh that sounded strange to her own ears, and then crying, harder than before, messier and angrier, nose running. It just wasn’t fair.

Bianca pulled the comforter up and over the both of them, letting Adore cuddle close and sob in her arms until she finally fell asleep.

Hours later, when Adore woke up, sweaty and disheveled, stomach rumbling, Bianca was on her back, snoring lightly. She crawled out of bed and stumbled downstairs, rubbing her eyes. It was almost 11 pm. By now, she figured that Mum and Danny would be landing soon.

She opened the fridge, grinning happily when she saw the bounty before her. She’d almost forgotten the amazing meal Courtney had cooked earlier that day—it felt like forever ago. But there it was, almost all of it stacked neatly in containers. She pulled a couple of them out, polishing off the rest of the tostada pizzas and half of the street corn fritters, both of them cold and straight from the fridge. She almost stopped there but then heard Mum’s voice in her head about balanced meals and also took a few mouthfuls of mango slaw from the container before closing it up.

She headed back upstairs with a full belly, finding her phone and shooting off a message to Danny that they had to FaceTime the second he was home, no matter how tired he was. After what Mama had told her, there was no way she could wait until morning to talk to him. While she waited, she supposed she could take a few minutes to open up his dumb baby game and check his islands.

***

“Well? What’s the emergency? ‘Cause I’m really tired,” Danny said, his eyes half closed.

He’d landed to about twenty emergency SOS text messages from Adore, and even though his eyelids felt like they weighed a hundred pounds and his bed was just about the most comfortable place in the universe, he was doing his very best to stay awake.

“Why?” Adore countered. “Were you flying the plane? Or just eating snacks and napping?”

“Alright, alright…sorry, what’s wrong?” he asked, stifling a yawn as best he could.

“Well for starters, this whole thing fucking blows!” Adore said.

“Yeah, tell me about it.”

“Mama hasn’t left her bed all day. If Mum hadn’t made all that food, I’d have died of starvation.”

“I don’t think you die of starvation in one afternoon,” Danny said.

“I’d. Have. Died,” Adore insisted.

“Fine, sure,” he said. Right now, he didn’t have the energy to argue.

“Was Mum like…was she upset?”

“Uh, yeah. She kept pretending that she wasn’t crying even though she was totally crying, the whole flight.” Danny didn’t like thinking about that. How he had to pretend he didn’t see her, even though all he’d wanted was to hold her hand or hug her or give her some kind of comfort, all because he knew that she didn’t want him to know. He swallowed, hoping it wasn’t a big violation of her trust to tell Adore.

“You know…when you first said that you think they still love each other…I didn’t really believe you,” Adore said.

“Really?”

“Well…I mean I believed that they did then, and maybe even that they missed like, being married, but…I don’t know. I think maybe I wanted to believe it more than I actually believed it, if that makes sense. Does that make sense?” Adore asked.

“I guess it kind of makes sense,” he said.

“But then, today I was talking to Mama. In her bed, of course, where I guess she just like…lives now. And she sort of admitted to me that she was hoping they’d get back together too. It wasn’t just us.”

“Wait…she really said that?” Danny’s eyes widened and his jaw dropped. This was news to him too. He was shocked that she would actually say it out loud. Especially to Adore, who everyone knew had a big mouth.

“Yes!”

“Wow.”

“I know!”

“But then…why…” Danny’s brow furrowed.

“I don’t know! I can’t figure it out!”

“Ugh!” Danny groaned.

“I know. They’re both such idiots, I swear. But what do we do now? We have to do something, right?”

“I might have an idea…” Danny said, tapping on his chin. They’d come so close, but maybe there was a way to show them that missing piece of the puzzle. The part they’d forgotten…

“Oh, because your last idea was such a smashing success.”

“Hey, listen-”

“I’m listening, I’m listening,” Adore laughed.

“Okay, so, in your closet, there’s a red shoebox. Got that?”

“Got it, Roach. Go on…”

***

Adore paced nervously up and down the hallway. She’d done exactly what Danny said, and left the box of letters on Mama’s nightstand that morning, when she entered her room to bring her some breakfast - a plate of food from the leftovers that Courtney made, which she’d actually heated up in the microwave, on a real plate, along with orange juice and a cup of instant coffee. She hoped the smell was enough to wake her up.

It was now past noon and she’d yet to emerge, and Adore was starting to get a little concerned. She knocked softly on the door, once again, and again, no answer. She pushed it open and tiptoed inside.

Bianca was curled in a ball, hugging a pillow to her chest, sleep mask over her eyes, blackout shades drawn.

The food was barely touched, but it was touched, so she’d clearly woken up at some point. The coffee cup was empty, OJ still full. A few letters were open on the bed, scattered around. When Adore crept closer, she could see the red box on the floor, a few feet from the bed, open on its side, as if it had been flung there, the letters spilling in every direction.

She took it in, getting a terrible, sinking feeling that they’d made a gross miscalculation. That they’d actually made everything worse.

“Fuck,” she whispered to herself, tears burning in her eyes. She swallowed, backing away from the bed and fleeing back to her room, where she pulled Mittens, the ratty old kitty plush that Mama made for her years and years ago, from under a pile of pillows, and buried her face in it.

It was getting dark when Bianca finally emerged from her depression-induced stupor. Adore had finished the last of Courtney’s leftovers and was seriously considering ordering a pizza when she appeared in the kitchen doorway.

“Hey…”

Adore looked up from her phone, surprised. She’s been playing Animal Crossing, trying to keep Danny’s stupid islands alive. The game was really dumb, obviously made for babies with too much time on their hands, but at least it was proving to be a good distraction from the fact that she didn’t have a conscious parent anymore.

“Hi.”

She looked like a zombie. A ghost of her former self. Dark circles under her swollen, red-rimmed eyes. Lips cracked. Hair tangled and greasy, skin sallow.

“How are you doing?” Bianca asked. She sounded as terrible as she looked, voice the kind of hoarse you only get from hours and hours of crying.

“I’m okay. How are you?”

“Same.”

Both of them were lying, of course, and both of them knew it. They looked at each other for a few long moments, Adore racking her brain to think of something, anything, to break the tension, make things feel more normal.

“Um…do you think you’d be devastated if we went back to the city a few days early?” Bianca asked. “‘Cause…I think I probably need to get back to work sooner rather than later.”

“No, that’s fine,” Adore said, nodding, adding, “But you should probably take a shower first.”

Bianca finally cracked a smile, a hint of one dimple appearing in her cheek, which felt like the biggest victory of Adore’s life.

“You think?”

“Well…it’s just a suggestion,” she said, flashing her most charming smile. “Because I don’t think you want to lose team members from toxic fumes this close to Fashion Week.”

Bianca snorted, shaking her head, both dimples appearing now. Adore jumped up from her seat to wrap her arms around her for a tight hug, toxic BO be damned. Things might be fucked up, but at least they still had each other.

#rpdr fanfiction #veronica #masters of the scene #adore delano #courtney act #bianca del rio #s6 #bitney #bitney parent trap #parent trap au #lesbian au #trans character #kid fic #angst #fluff

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artificialqueens · 2 years

Text

Masters of the Scene, Chapter 7 (Bitney Parent Trap AU) - Veronica

A/N: I know we’re not supposed to play favorites, but I think this chapter is mine. I think it’s actually the emotional core of the story (in every version, including the original novel and both movies). Thanks as always to angel on earth @tumble4rpdr for the beta help. XOXO

Click here for prequels and previous chapters, or here if you’d rather read on AO3.

Chapter Summary: Adore faces her biggest fear, and Courtney’s reaction is the last thing she expects.

***

“Wait...what?!”

Danny closed his eyes, hating the look of absolute devastation on his sister’s face, hating even more that he was the one who put it there. He nodded slightly.

“She told me today. And then Fame showed up tonight and she’s got like...an actual ring. I couldn’t believe it.”

“Well...you...you have to do something! You have to break them up!” Adore cried, desperation edging into her voice.

“How would I do that?”

“Be a cunt! Make her see that if she stays with Mama, her life will always be miserable!”

“Adore…” Danny didn’t know how to put it into words, how guilty Bianca had made him feel when he’d thrown his little tantrum.

“Please, Dan…” Adore’s hazel eyes were a mirror of his own, filled with tears.

“I think you better tell Mum what’s going on. Get her here, this week. I know you wanted two weeks, but I think-”

“Okay.”

It was a testament to how defeated Adore must be, the way she agreed so quickly.

“It’ll be better once you get here.”

“Yeah, maybe.” Adore looked down.

“They’re um...planning to have a little engagement party this weekend. So maybe-”

“They’re already having an engagement party?!” Adore’s head snapped back up.

“Yeah, I guess they think-”

“Whatever. This is so stupid,” Adore sniffled.

“Yeah, but if you can just get Mum here by Saturday…”

Adore nodded, wiping her eyes.

“I would tell Mama first if you wanted, but I think with how busy things are, she’d probably just stick me on a plane, so-”

“No, you’re right. It’s better this way.”

“Do you know what you’re gonna say?” Danny asked.

“No.”

“Are you okay?” he followed up gently.

“No.”

But before he could say anything else, offer any words of comfort, Adore’s face disappeared from his screen. Maybe it was for the best; he had no idea what to say anyway.

***

Adore knocked on Courtney’s bedroom door, shifting nervously, trying to hold back tears. It took a minute, but Courtney soon answered, worry creasing her brow, probably because of how late it was.

“Danny! Are you alright, precious? Are you sick?” She reached forward to feel her forehead, and Adore eluded her grasp.

“I have to tell you something.”

“Okay. Come in, love.” Courtney guided her to the bed, sitting down beside her. “What is it?”

“Well…” Adore took a deep, shaky breath. Her eyes still stung with tears, and fear swirled around inside of her. How would Courtney react to this? Would she be angry? Would she yell? After experiencing how deeply and profoundly Courtney clearly loved her brother, Adore didn’t think she could handle being the one who disappointed her yet again. And even though it was based in a lie, Adore had been relishing the new closeness with her mum that she’d experienced as Danny—the idea of losing that, of going back to their old dynamic, made her just miserable. “I…”

Words failed her, voice breaking as she tried to hold in a sob.

“Tell me what’s wrong, my love.” Courtney took one of her hands and held it gently, and all Adore wanted was to cling to her for dear life.

“I c-can’t.”

“Of course you can. You can tell me anything.” Courtney put a finger under Adore’s chin and turned her face upwards. She tried her best at a jovial tone, saying, “Remember, you’re my favorite son.”

“But that’s…” Tears spilled down Adore’s cheeks. “That’s the problem. I’m not your son. I’m your daughter.”

Courtney’s eyes widened as a look of realization dawned across her face. And for a split second, Adore thought she understood. But then, she cupped her face and said, “Oh, Danny...I love you so much. I always will. No matter what gender you are-”

“Ugh, no!” Adore pushed her hands away. Of course Courtney would think that was what was going on. She’d fucked this up royally. Now, instead of the perfect trans child she could relate to, she was going to have to deal with the troublemaking brat that always frustrated her. “You don’t get it! I’m not Danny!”

“Oh, I’m sorry, darling. What would you like me to call you?”

Adore closed her eyes. If tears weren’t pouring down her cheeks, she might have laughed at the utter absurdity of her situation. “Jesus fucking Christ,” she muttered, too exhausted to keep up with the farce.

There was a moment of silence, then another, Courtney staring at her with that same loving concern, which slowly melted into confusion, her brow furrowing. And then-

“...Adore?”

“Yeah.” Adore nodded, fresh tears blurring her vision, voice quivering as she asked, “Are you mad?”

“No, just...a bit confused. How...are you here?” Courtney asked, taking Adore’s hands once again. A good sign, maybe, but Adore knew she wasn’t out of the woods yet.

“We switched. After camp.”

“Okay. But...but why, darling? You know you can always come here. If you wanted to visit, I’d have been happy to-”

“I just...wanted to know what it would feel like. To have you love me the way you love Danny,” she admitted, voice still shaky and pitiful, shame coursing through her. “And-and not just love me, because you have to, but to like me.”

Courtney’s mouth fell open, and as a fresh round of sobs shook Adore’s shoulders, her mum gathered her into her arms, rocking her gently, face buried in her hair. Adore finally let it all out, crying her eyes out, not realizing until her sobs began to subside that Courtney was crying, too.

She sniffled, wiping her eyes on Courtney’s pajama top, finally hearing the words Courtney whispered to her: My love, my light, my sweet baby girl.

Was it possible? Had Courtney really loved her this much all along? If so, why was everything so fucked up between them?

“Come with me,” Courtney said, wiping her eyes and pulling Adore to her feet. “I want to show you something.”

She took Adore’s hand and led her from the bedroom into her adjacent office, where she opened up a cabinet and pulled out a bunch of boxes, then set them down on the rug.

“Do you remember, when you were little, how I used to send you letters?” Courtney asked, and Adore nodded, a bit confused.

The letters used to come every week—long and detailed, filled with pictures, going on and on about things happening with her and Danny, random facts and stories. Adore remembered dreading the envelopes, the thought of having to read three whole pages (or more) of Courtney’s scrawled handwriting. Adore had a hard time reading, especially when she was younger--yet another reason that she was inferior to Danny, who was always a perfect student, who liked to go to bookstores and libraries as a treat. Anyway, she’d thrown a couple of fits over the letters, and after that, they started to slow down. Only short little notes here and there, usually written on the back of postcards in big block letters.

“Yeah, I remember.”

“Well, your Mama and I agreed that the letters were a bit overwhelming for you. And so I stopped sending them. But...but I didn’t stop writing them.”

She knelt down and opened one of the boxes, gesturing for Adore to peer inside. Adore’s eyes bulged, seeing the piles of fat multicolored envelopes, packets and packets of them held together by rubber bands.

“Holy shit…” Adore whispered, reaching out to touch one of them. She plunked herself on the rug beside Courtney. “This is all for me?”

Courtney reached out and cupped her cheek.

“I never stop thinking about you, Adore. Or missing you. Or wishing that we were...closer.” Courtney bit her lip, green eyes still glassy. One tear slipped down her cheek. “I do love Danny with all my heart, but that has never meant that I love you any less. You’re my baby too, just like him. And I like you too, just as much as him.”

"Why?" Adore couldn't help asking, unable to believe her.

"Why? So many reasons! You're funny and charming and creative, and independent and confident and talented and beautiful, and honestly...everything I wish I could have been when I was your age."

Adore looked back down at the boxes, the years and years of proof of Courtney’s love. But if Courtney really loved her this much, then...

“So then it’s my fault?” Adore asked, voice breaking.

“What?”

“The reason we...the reason we’re not close. It’s my fault?” Adore’s lip quivered, stomach twisting with guilt.

“No! Oh darling, no!” Courtney shook her head, pulling Adore back into her lap. She took a deep breath, voice sounding soft and a little shaky as she said, “It’s not your fault. It’s just this situation, it’s-”

“It’s not fair.”

“You’re right.” Courtney pressed a kiss to Adore’s forehead. “You’re totally, completely right. It’s very much not fair.”

“Mum?”

Courtney lifted her head, a smile pulling at her lips. “Yes, love?”

“Do we have to switch back, like right away?” Adore asked, voice hoarse from crying. “If we could just have a few days-”

“Of course we can have a few days,” Courtney said, squeezing her tightly. “I would love a few days with my girl more than anything in the world.”

***

“Yeah, but you know what they’re wondering now, don’t you?”

“Why you left, Geri!” Courtney exclaimed, and Adore laughed. They’d had an amazing day: the morning spent together in the garden, lunch at the Grove and then shopping on Melrose, Courtney showing Adore all of her favorite vintage stores and even letting her buy a couple of things that Adore thought she’d proclaim “too mature.” They’d gotten mani-pedis and then picked up some pizzas to eat together at home, and finally settled into Courtney’s bed for a mother/daughter slumber party, complete with homemade vegan gelato (that was shockingly good) and a big bowl of popcorn. Courtney had shown Adore an absolutely kick-ass movie called The Craft before putting on Spiceworld.

“What happened to the bomb on the bus?”

Adore laughed as a bomb exloded offscreen and all the girls gasped. “This movie is so dumb.”

“Excuse you, this movie is art,” Courtney countered, tossing a piece of popcorn at Adore, who giggled and ate it.

“Thanks, Mum!”

Courtney broke out into a grin, eyes bright and soft, and Adore found herself getting a little self-conscious.

“What?”

“Nothing, I just...really like it when you call me Mum. It reminds me of when you were little.”

“Oh. Yeah.” Adore bit her lip and snuggled up to her, admitting, “Me too.”

Courtney let out a happy, contented sigh, one arm wrapped around Adore’s shoulders.

“Did you know…” Courtney paused for suspense, waiting until Adore looked up to see the playful smile on her lips, “...that I’m the one who picked out your name?”

“You are?!” Adore didn’t know why she was so surprised. After all, ‘Adore’ wasn’t exactly the kind of name that she’d have expected Bianca to pick. But nevertheless, she felt surprised. “Where did you get it from? People always ask me, and all Mama says is that it’s from a book.”

“Well…” Courtney pursed her lips, then admitted, “Yeah, that’s what I told her.”

“Wait, what?” Adore turned to look at her, intrigued by her own origin story. “Where was it really from? Was it an ex-girlfriend?”

“No, not that…” Courtney laughed. “I was, um, driving through this neighborhood to get to a gig, and it was like…this huuuge graffiti on the side of a building. And I thought it was cool.”

“Omigod, that’s so cool, are you kidding me? My name is from graffiti?”

“Yeah. Luckily, your mama never asked me what book.”

“That’s probably because she thought you’d make her read it,” slipped from her mouth before she could stop herself.

“Adore-” Courtney covered her mouth with her hand to stifle a laugh. “That’s not nice!”

“Yeah, well…it’s not like I’m some amazing reader either.” Adore relaxed back into Courtney’s arms, content to let the slight shade against Mama stand. “So…how did you decide who would name who?”

“Mmmm…” Courtney stroked her back, rubbing it in gentle circles, making her feel safe and sleepy. “We each picked out two names, and then we flipped a coin to see who would name the first twin and who would name the second one.”

“Do you remember the other ones? Like if I’d been first, what would Mama have named me?”

“All of her choices were very...classic. I think you would probably have been Hannah. Or Elizabeth.”

Elizabeth Del Rio? Adore pulled a face, disgusted with these generic choices, and Courtney laughed.

“What, no good?”

“No,” Adore said, shaking her head. “Okay but more importantly, what name did you have picked out for Danny?”

“Uhhh...I don’t want to tell you.”

“Why?!”

“Because, you’re gonna make fun of me,” Courtney giggled.

“Yes, probably, but I still want to know. Come on, they can’t be worse than what I call him.”

“What do you call him?” Courtney asked, a note of sternness creeping into her voice.

“Well it's just like a nickname based on a joke, and like, he loves it,” Adore explained.

“Uh huh…” Courtney looked skeptical. “What’s the nickname?”

“Roach?”

“Adore…” Courtney shook her head disapprovingly, but Adore could see the hint of a smile still in her eyes.

“I swear he loves it!” Adore said. A white lie wouldn’t hurt in this case.

“Yeah, I’ll bet.” Courtney reached out to tug playfully on her hair.

“So are you gonna tell me? Is it really dumb? Can I guess? Is it like...Kale Cholula?” Adore giggled.

“No. But...well it is...a bit...food adjacent,” Courtney said, then clarified, “Organic.”

Adore thought for a moment and then guessed, “Watermelon Mung Bean?”

“No!”

“Parsley?”

“No, but you’re getting closer. And that’s kind of cute. Parsley,” she repeated. “If I ever have another baby, remind me-”

“Mum, you’re stalling. Just tell me what the name was!” Adore urged.

“Okay, fine. It was...Sage.”

“Oh.” After a pause, Adore said, “That’s not as terrible as I expected. But...I think Danny’s awkward enough without being named after an herb.”

Courtney pursed her lips, tilting her head and giving Adore a Warning Look, and Adore responded with a sweet smile and flutter of lashes.

“We’re actually getting along a lot better these days,” she said, and Courtney’s face melted into a happy smile.

“Yeah? Really?”

“Yeah. I guess sending us to camp together wasn’t the worst idea you’ve ever had.”

“I’m really glad.” Courtney pulled her in for another hug, kissing the top of her head. Adore sighed happily, loving the feeling of being in her arms.

“Did you really not suspect anything? Like, when you saw me?”

“Well...I mean first of all, humans are quite notorious for succumbing to confirmation bias-”

“Uh, what? Remember, you’re with the dumb twin right now.”

“Adore, you’re not dumb. Not even a little bit,” Courtney said, brow furrowed.

“I just meant, like...I just didn’t understand what you meant,” Adore explained. Frankly, she’d always thought of herself as the dumb twin. Danny had done everything first, like walking and talking, and he was good in school, and never had the same trouble she did. But it felt good to have Courtney so adamantly defend her.

“I meant that...we usually just see what we’re expecting to see. And plus, you and Danny are both at that age where you can change a lot, really quickly. So...yeah, I noticed that you looked a little different, but I thought...okay, he’s going through some changes.”

“I guess he’s more feminine than me anyway. Is that why you weren’t that surprised when you thought he was trans?”

Courtney laughed. “Danny has a...lot of compassion, and a gentle soul, and those are things that we often equate with femininity. But that doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with gender. So...you know, I never tried to make assumptions. But...to answer your actual question...no, I wasn’t that surprised. I always considered it a possibility.”

“Yeah, that’s fair. He really loves wearing my clothes and stuff.”

“Well, they do say that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, eh?” Courtney gestured to herself.

Adore chuckled, then looked at Courtney curiously. “It’s kinda weird to think about the fact that you’re like...technically our dad.”

Courtney laughed. “It’s very weird. But kinda cool, right?”

“Yeah. Totally.” Adore settled back against her shoulder, asking, “So...what are we watching next?”

“Hmm...are you up for Priscilla?”

“Yeah, sounds great,” Adore yawned.

“Or if you’re tired, we can just go to sleep-”

“No, put it on. I want to listen.” Adore snuggled into Courtney’s side, eyelids feeling heavy, but not wanting the evening to end.

“Okay, my love. Whatever you want.” Courtney pressed a kiss to her forehead and picked up the remote.

***

Courtney stared at her phone, dread creeping in. After a few years of communicating only through their attorneys, she and Bianca had managed to graduate to civil but frosty emails.

They’d never moved beyond that, and the thought of calling her directly for the first time in years was terrifying. However, Courtney knew that “hey FYI our kids switched places and we need to switch them back” was an inappropriate email, and a text would be worse. Her fingers hovered over Bianca’s contact, a tightness in her throat.

Here we go…

#rpdr fanfiction #veronica #masters of the scene #s6 #adore delano #courtney act #bitney #parent trap au #bitney parent trap #lesbian au #trans character #kid fic #angst #fluff

10 notes · View notes

artificialqueens · 2 years

Text

Masters of the Scene, Chapter 8 (Bitney Parent Trap AU) - Veronica

A/N: Thank you so much to @tumble4rpdr for being an irreplaceable beta!

Click here for prequels and previous chapters, or here if you’d rather read on AO3.

Chapter Summary: Bianca has a heart to heart with Danny, and Courtney and Adore make plans to head east.

***

Where we left off: Courtney stared at her phone, dread creeping in. After a few years of communicating only through their attorneys, she and Bianca had managed to graduate to civil but frosty emails.

Here we go…

“We could wait another day, you know,” Adore said hopefully.

Courtney touched her cheek softly, saying, “I think she deserves to know what’s going on.” After seeing Adore’s slightly resigned nod, she added, “I’m not saying we need to rush off to New York right away. I still want to spend time with you. I just feel like it’s important to be honest.”

“Okay.” Adore bit her lip. “She’s gonna be mad. At us but, also at you, if you’re the one to tell her.”

“Yes, well…it wouldn’t be the first time, would it?” Courtney said drily, then quickly added, “I’ll be okay.”

Courtney took a deep breath, then finally just bit the bullet and hit call, nerves kicking into high gear as it rang, pulse racing as a dozen questions spun circles through her mind. What should she say? What would Bianca say? Would there be any glimmer of the affection that once existed between them?

It was five rings before she answered. Courtney could practically see her staring at her phone in confusion.

“Fuck, what’s wrong?” she barked out, sounding as irritated as Courtney expected, but something else, too. Possibly worried, about what could have brought about this unexpected phone call.

Courtney attempted to collect herself from the abrupt greeting by saying, “Nice to hear your voice too.”

But Bianca was clearly not charmed by her attempt at levity, saying, “Courtney, I’m not in the mood for whatever you-”

“Do you know where your daughter is?” she asked. Clearly, there was no time for niceties, and she figured she’d better get straight to the point.

“In her bedroom.”

“No, she’s here in California,” Courtney said. “With me.”

“What the fuck are you talking about? She’s in her room, I can hear her shitty grunge music playing.”

“That’s Danny,” Courtney explained, putting an arm around Adore, who was chewing nervously on her fingers. “Danny’s playing the shitty grunge music. Adore is here.”

There was a pause, followed by a dry chuckle, and then Bianca barreled on.

“I don’t know what kind of bullshit mind games you’re playing, but they’re not cute, and I don’t have time for this-”

“This isn’t a game, Bianca. They switched on us,” Courtney said.

“Mama-” Adore began, but before Courtney could hand the phone to her, Bianca raged on.

“Fuck off! I think I can tell my own fucking kids apart!”

“Fine, suit yourself!” Courtney hung up, exasperated, muttering, “Jesus Christ…”

“She probably just…needs a minute,” Adore said. “She usually needs a minute.”

“Right.”

“She’ll call back.”

“Yeah.” Courtney opened her arms and wrapped Adore into a hug, trying to reassure her that everything would be okay, even if she wasn’t so sure herself.

***

Bianca stood in the hallway outside Adore’s bedroom, Courtney’s word’s echoing in her head. Was it really possible? That her kids had switched places and she hadn’t even noticed? She’d seen them together at camp, for god’s sake. She’d put Danny on a plane. Had she put Adore on that plane? Could she truly be that clueless? The thought made her feel ill.

Her door was cracked open, allowing Bianca to peer through into her room. Adore was standing in front of her full-length mirror, looking the same as always: cat eyeliner that she’d yet to perfect, messy pigtailed extensions streaked with pink. She wore unseasonal black jeans, cheap fishnet sleeves and a cropped band t-shirt that was falling off her shoulder.

Adore gazed at her own reflection, head tilted. Then she tossed her hair, and that was the move that did it—there was definitely a preciousness that wasn’t consistent with Adore’s rough and tumble personality. In that moment, Bianca also recalled their conversation about Fame, and how in the two days since then, she’d gone out of her way to be nice, asking Fame questions and including her in conversations. Not exactly in character.

Fuck.

Bianca pushed open the door a bit more, calling out, “Hey Danny?”

“Yes?” Adore, who was actually Danny, looked up. And then, immediately realizing his mistake, tried to backtrack, stammering out, “I mean, uhh…who’s Danny?”

He punctuated this with a charming smile as Bianca crossed her arms, pushing the door the rest of the way open with her foot. Taking in her stern expression, his smile dissolved a bit and he managed to look chagrined.

“Shit.”

Bianca heaved a sigh and walked forward, shaking her head.

“What the fuck, Daniel?”

“I…well…um…” Danny scratched his head. “Surprise?”

Bianca closed her eyes briefly.

“I’m sorry, Mama. I really am. I just wanted to spend time with you, and Adore-”

“Don’t worry, bunny,” Bianca said with a groan. “I know this was her idea.”

“I mean, not exactly. We both-”

Bianca smiled, waving her hand. “It’s nice of you to defend her. Anyway…how do you feel about getting out of those stupid clothes and into something more comfy?”

“That sounds good. I really hate these,” Danny said, pulling off the fishnet sleeves with a giggle.

“That’s because you have taste,” Bianca said.

“I do like the hair, though,” he said softly, touching his pink-streaked pigtails.

“Well then, we’ll have to get you some of your own.”

“Really?!”

“Sure.” Bianca tugged gently on one of the pigtails, then let her gaze fall to his chest. “And uh…what about what I’m assuming is a wonder bra?”

“Oh. Yeah. I guess I should take that off.” He twisted awkwardly, trying to undo the clasp on his bra.

“Let me,” Bianca said with a chuckle, quickly undoing the clasp and then giving his back an affectionate pat.

“Whoa, did you do that with one hand?!”

“Not my first time,” Bianca told him, and he laughed, nodding.

For a few moments, he said nothing, and then bit his lip and offered, “I’m sorry for lying to you, Mama. But…I’m kind of not sorry we did it.”

“Oh no?” Bianca arched an eyebrow.

“Well, I mean…” Danny swallowed, looking almost shy as he twirled one of the pigtails and quietly explained, “it’s been really fun to spend time with you. And see where you work, and…”

Right. Bianca should have known it wasn’t Adore the second he expressed interest in her job. Thinking about it now, though, Bianca realized that she should probably be paying more attention to her son—this bright, artistic, thoughtful boy. He was so much like Courtney; Bianca didn’t like to admit that, how much his mum’s personality had clearly rubbed off on him, but that was the truth. So even though she was still exasperated at the whole situation, part of her was grateful, too.

“Yeah, I’ve liked that too,” she admitted, leaning forward to kiss him on the head. He beamed up at her, smile only slightly faltering when she added in her most menacing mom voice, “But you know that you’re both in big fucking trouble, right?”

“Worth it,” he replied, giving her that charming smile again, and Bianca couldn’t help the dimples that poked through her cheeks.

***

Adore sat, curled up with Courtney on the sofa, looking over her shoulder at her laptop screen.

For years now, Courtney had been trying to coax her into adding some more personal touches to her bedroom in the farmhouse. Adore had refused, saying she wasn’t there enough to care. Part of her wondered if it was yet another way that she tried to put up a wall between herself and Courtney, a wall that she was all too happy to tear down.

Because now, they were having so much fun picking out things together, scrolling through lighting fixtures on the Z Gallerie site before a trip to Lowe’s to choose new paint colors. (Adore was already excited about that, since Courtney had promised about 4 times that yes, she could pick any colors she wanted, it was her room.) The best part was that they were doing it together, Adore couldn’t help thinking, taking in all the pictures on the screen.

“There!” Adore exclaimed, eyes widening with delight at the gothic-looking chandelier, covered in gray smoke glass crystals. “Omigod, I love that one. But is it too expensive?”

“No, it’s on sale,” Courtney said, clicking on it to make the picture bigger. “You want it? Or should we save it and keep looking?”

“I want it,” Adore said, grinning.

“Decisive. Love it.” Courtney added the chandelier to her cart, which was already full of throw pillows and a cool-ass new zebra print area rug, not to mention the custom bed frame.

“Uh oh,” Adore said, as her phone lit up, buzzing on the coffee table.

MAMA

“Looks like she took her minute,” Courtney said gently.

“Yeah.”

“You should answer.”

“I know.” Adore bit her lip.

After another beat, Courtney said, “Adore-”

“Yeah, yeah. Alright.” Adore took a deep breath and answered the phone, putting it on speaker. “Hi. Am I in trouble?”

“Yes,” Bianca said, and Adore groaned slightly. “What the hell were you thinking?”

“We just wanted to see…if we could do it.”

“Well, congrats, you’ve made a huge fucking mess. And I have no doubt that you were the mastermind behind this little prank-”

“That’s not fair! Danny wanted to-”

“Save it. Put your mum on the phone.”

Adore hung her head, handing the phone to Courtney.

Courtney took it, her arm slipping around Adore’s shoulders.

“I’m here. Listen, she’s just a kid, Bianca. Why do you have to-”

“Don’t tell me how to-” Bianca cut herself off abruptly with a huff of air. “Nevermind.”

“Look, we have to switch them back, and I really think we should sit down and talk to both of them, so that-”

“This timing could not be worse. I’m planning a party for…shit.”

“Sorry?”

“Can you put Adore back on?”

“She’s right here.” Courtney tried not to let her eye roll show as she held the phone towards Adore, wondering why Bianca was acting so neurotic and jumpy. These weren’t the circumstances under which she’d planned to see her in person for the first time since their divorce either, but what else could they do? No matter how bad it got between them, they’d always agreed on one thing: the kids came first. So to Courtney, it all seemed like a no-brainer.

Would it be horribly awkward? Maybe, probably. But she’d suffer through it because there was no other logical choice.

“Hey.”

“Mama, I really am sorry, but-”

“I know, pussycat. Listen. We’re gonna deal with this little switch bullshit soon, but first…I need to tell you something.”

“Okay…”

Adore’s shoulders slumped at this, as if she was preparing for something horrible, and Courtney began to rub her back.

Bianca cleared her throat uncomfortably before saying, “Remember that letter I sent to you at camp? With the pictures?”

“Yeah…”

“Do you remember the picture on the boat? Me and Fame?”

Adore’s face looked pained, and Courtney continued rubbing her back. Who or what was Fame? Why did the mention of them cause Adore so much distress?

“Well, things have gotten pretty serious with her, and I…” Bianca hesitated, her voice getting slightly softer as she finished with, “well, we’re going to be getting married.”

Courtney blanched, hand gripping the phone as her stomach dropped straight to her feet. There was ringing in her ears, and she wondered if perhaps she’d misheard. Married? To someone named Fame?

“Dore? Are you there, pussycat?”

“How can you marry a woman I’ve never even met?!” Adore choked out angrily, one fat tear starting its journey down her cheek, betraying her real emotion.

“Well…you would have met her, if you’d been where you were supposed to,” Bianca barked, before letting out a long sigh.

Courtney could picture exactly the way she was rubbing her forehead. Maybe taking off her glasses to pinch the bridge of her nose. Did she still wear glasses, around the house? Or was it contacts all the time these days? She used to talk about Lasik, had she gone through with it? Courtney shook her head, told herself to stop obsessing and stay in the present, for Adore’s sake.

“Look, there’s plenty of time to get to know each other, alright? But we’re supposed to have a small engagement party with some of our friends this weekend, and it’s too late to cancel, so…I don’t know, maybe we can deal with the whole switch thing after that?”

Adore sniffled, and Courtney leaned over, swallowing down the flood of emotions that swirled inside of her. This wasn’t any time for her relationship angst. She gave Adore a squeeze, then managed to make her voice as normal as possible, saying, “Sure, we can hold off until next week. We’ll come to you.”

“Oh. Okay. Um…thanks.” Bianca seemed surprised by this, almost disappointed. Which made sense. After all, she loved an argument.

“Mmhmm. We’re gonna let you go now.” Courtney gestured for Adore to say goodbye, and she shook her head vigorously.

“Okay. Dore, please call me later, okay?”

“She will. She just, uh, needs a minute,” she said, before managing to choke out a hasty, “Congratulations.”

“Thank-”

Courtney hung up, barely holding it together, and then turned to Adore, who was sniffling and red-eyed.

“So…that was a big surprise, huh?”

Adore cringed. “Well. Actually, Danny already told me. I’m sorry for not warning you. I was kind of hoping he was wrong. Or lying. Or…I dunno.” Fresh tears slid down her cheeks.

Courtney nodded, breathing through her nose in a feeble attempt to slow her racing pulse.

“I’m sorry, Mum,” Adore repeated, and Courtney squeezed her shoulder, shaking her head. This wasn’t about her. She could have her own feelings later, in private.

“It’s alright. But…are you okay?” Courtney asked.

Adore shook her head. “How can she decide to marry someone when she doesn’t even know if I like her?”

As emotional as she was, she made a good point. What was the rush? And too late to cancel a party? That was three days away? How big was that party?

“Well…maybe you’ll love her,” Courtney offered tentatively.

“No, I hate her! She’s a cunt!” Adore spat out, more tears filling her eyes.

“Adore…”

Adore’s face crumbled, and Courtney pulled her in for another hug, rocking her, letting her cry like the world was ending.

“It’s okay, love, I promise. It’ll be okay.”

“It won’t,” Adore sobbed helplessly, acting out Courtney’s internal feelings more than she’d ever know.

An engagement party on a scale that couldn't be canceled meant that this marriage was a done deal—something she’d thought through. Not a whim, like their own marriage over ten years earlier. Strange that she hadn’t said anything to Courtney, though. Yes, they’d been divorced for years, but bringing a new wife into the picture would affect their kids, so it seemed only fair that she should have been notified.

And despite her desire to bury her head in a pillow and cry just like Adore was doing now, Courtney found herself getting curious. What kind of woman would captivate Bianca so much that she’d rush into a marriage without knowing how her own daughter felt?

“Hey…I have an idea, if you’re up for something a little…naughty.”

Adore’s head snapped up, her tears stopped in their tracks. “What?”

“Well…have you ever crashed a party?”

Adore’s eyes lit up, joy apparent on her face for the first time all day. Courtney should have known—she was always up for something naughty.

“So…I guess we should book a flight to New York,” Courtney began.

“Yeah. Although…” Adore gave Courtney a once-over. “Maybe we should do a little shopping first.”

Courtney scoffed, but then looked down at her ensemble: a gray cotton cardigan over a plain white t-shirt, baggy jean shorts and Ugg boots. “Okay, maybe.”

“And like…hit the salon. For a little…touch up,” Adore gestured to her roots.

“Excuse me, my roots are-”

“Horrible. They’re horrible. And you could use a trim. Maybe some layers. And ooh, have you ever tried those eyelash extensions?”

“What are you, my beauty consultant now?” Courtney asked her, hand on her hip. She’d had an insane summer, spending most of her time furiously editing videos and recording podcasts so that she’d have enough content for this month off when Danny returned. She’d barely appeared on camera at all, and maybe didn’t want to admit how long it had been since she’d gotten dressed up for a formal event, or wore her hair in anything besides a ponytail.

“You wish!”

“I’ll have you know that I am a beauty icon,” Courtney said, unable to keep the giggle from bubbling up at such a ridiculous statement. (Even if others had made that claim about her first.)

“Oh yeah? Prove it,” Adore sassed.

“You know what? I will prove it. Come here…” Courtney grabbed her and began attacking her with kisses, both of them laughing.

***

After years of struggling, working multiple jobs and freelance gigs to make ends meet, Bianca had managed to hit it big with her own fashion line when Danny and Adore were about 9 years old. She was currently doing pretty great, financially, but they still lived in an apartment in New York with what she described as “less than ideal closet space.”

That was why the attic of the Hamptons house, which they used during the summer and rented out the rest of the year, served as an unofficial storage unit. Danny crawled through the boxes, brushing aside some cobwebs that made him shiver, trying to find a space to hide all the stuff that Adore had impulsively ordered on Amazon before Bianca found it and began asking questions.

Over on one side, there were a few boxes that looked relatively new, like that hadn’t been sitting around gathering dust for months (or years) like the others. One of them was a shiny red shoebox, labeled ‘From C’ that made his eyebrows raise curiously.

He peeled back the scotch tape that held down the lid and opened it, both surprised and not at all surprised to find it full to bursting with letters, envelopes all labeled with Mum’s most careful handwriting. He’d assumed, back when he found Bianca’s letters to Courtney, that there would be counterparts somewhere. After all, Mum loved writing notes and frequently sat curled on their sofa scrawling out long letters to friends and family.

There were a lot there…close to five times the number as what he’d found under Mum’s bed. He covered the box and put it aside, shoving the Amazon stuff behind a tall wardrobe box. He crept back downstairs, trying to be quiet as he slipped the shoebox into Adore’s closet. He was still staying in her room, because Mama said that there was no use messing up the guest room where he usually slept. He was just closing the closet door when the phone buzzed on the dresser.

COURTNEY J.

Of course, Adore’s phone didn’t say “Mum.” Danny rolled his eyes and picked it up.

“Hello?”

“Hello? That’s your opening after lying to me all this time?” Courtney asked.

Even though he could tell that her tone was gently teasing, Danny cringed. The truth was, he did feel a bit guilty about all the lying, especially to her. “I’m sorry, Mum. I really am.”

“Nevermind, love, it’s all gonna be fine,” Courtney assured him. “Listen, Adore and I are booking our flights and we need your help. Are you alone?”

“Yeah…” Danny said slowly, sitting on the bed, suddenly deeply curious.

***

#rpdr fanfiction #masters of the scene #veronica #s6 #adore delano #bianca del rio #courtney act #bitney #parent trap au #bitney parent trap #lesbian au #trans character #kid fic #angst #fluff #bianca x fame

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