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Toronto, Wednesday Evening, Fandom Time
Shit. Oh, oh shit, Sparkle had needed that chuckle something terrible.
City Council had made their judgment pretty swiftly. The home was going to be shut down, the kids were to be relocated to new homes, with a temporary place to stay somewhere in the interim until they could be assigned to somewhat more permanent lodgings. It was a pretty unanimous decision, though. Lewis wasn't to be taking care of any more kids. Ever. Because honestly, now.
So today had been spent packing. Or, well, mostly packing. Alternating between packing, and consoling teens who were terrified that they'd be split up with kids who were practically siblings, after living under Lewis' supervision for years and years. Sparkle had seen people start crying today who he didn't think had the ability to cry.
It had been... rough. So when he took a break from his own packing to check his voicemail, the pair of messages that had been waiting for him were a welcome reprieve from the ho-hum and the woe and the worry. Sure, Raine had looked at him funny when he started cackling like an idiot, but she understood quickly enough when he handed her the phone and played both messages for her to listen to, too, and she'd joined him in that laughter.
He was going to have to call the both of them back and take them up on those offers. You know, doing them the favours, and all. And not just for the free drinks and portal fare or anything.
Everything was packed. Or, anyway, everything that any of the kids wanted to take with them. There was no way Sparkle was going to let Raine crash in some interim home, so he'd made arrangements for the two of them to camp out in a hostel for the night, and he was just doing one last check for anything he might have missed in the kitchen while Raine waited outside.
When he was finished, he couldn't help but sort of pause in the doorway with his suitcase and eavesdrop for a minute when he realized that Lewis was talking to Raine.
"You are giving up," Raine accused.
"No. Listen, just layin' low for a bit," Lewis protested. "Got things to take care of back home, Raine."
"Hah! You are so full of shit."
Raine wasn't exactly wrong, there.
"I'm passin' the torch to you, Raine," Lewis replied. "Are you gonna take it?"
Raine didn't reply to that. Not in words. She just looked utterly disgusted, spat on the ground at Lew's feet, and turned to stalk away. If Sparkle knew Raine at all, she'd probably wait up for him around the corner, out of sight.
He tentatively took a few steps out of the house, and caught Lewis' eye. Lewis hesitated there, looked at Sparkle for a long, wavering moment. And then turned and walked away.
Sparkle's lip curled up.
Fine. Fucking fine. He had more important shit to worry about, anyway.
As Sparkle walked away to catch up with Raine, he pulled out his phone. He had a call to make. One that had nothing to do with drinking or even to do with Lewis. Lewis was throwing down the torch, not passing it on. Which meant somebody had to pick up the pieces, here.
Asshole.
[OOC: Sparkle is phoning one person in particular, but the post is open for phone calls after that thread, chronologically!]
City Council had made their judgment pretty swiftly. The home was going to be shut down, the kids were to be relocated to new homes, with a temporary place to stay somewhere in the interim until they could be assigned to somewhat more permanent lodgings. It was a pretty unanimous decision, though. Lewis wasn't to be taking care of any more kids. Ever. Because honestly, now.
So today had been spent packing. Or, well, mostly packing. Alternating between packing, and consoling teens who were terrified that they'd be split up with kids who were practically siblings, after living under Lewis' supervision for years and years. Sparkle had seen people start crying today who he didn't think had the ability to cry.
It had been... rough. So when he took a break from his own packing to check his voicemail, the pair of messages that had been waiting for him were a welcome reprieve from the ho-hum and the woe and the worry. Sure, Raine had looked at him funny when he started cackling like an idiot, but she understood quickly enough when he handed her the phone and played both messages for her to listen to, too, and she'd joined him in that laughter.
He was going to have to call the both of them back and take them up on those offers. You know, doing them the favours, and all. And not just for the free drinks and portal fare or anything.
Everything was packed. Or, anyway, everything that any of the kids wanted to take with them. There was no way Sparkle was going to let Raine crash in some interim home, so he'd made arrangements for the two of them to camp out in a hostel for the night, and he was just doing one last check for anything he might have missed in the kitchen while Raine waited outside.
When he was finished, he couldn't help but sort of pause in the doorway with his suitcase and eavesdrop for a minute when he realized that Lewis was talking to Raine.
"You are giving up," Raine accused.
"No. Listen, just layin' low for a bit," Lewis protested. "Got things to take care of back home, Raine."
"Hah! You are so full of shit."
Raine wasn't exactly wrong, there.
"I'm passin' the torch to you, Raine," Lewis replied. "Are you gonna take it?"
Raine didn't reply to that. Not in words. She just looked utterly disgusted, spat on the ground at Lew's feet, and turned to stalk away. If Sparkle knew Raine at all, she'd probably wait up for him around the corner, out of sight.
He tentatively took a few steps out of the house, and caught Lewis' eye. Lewis hesitated there, looked at Sparkle for a long, wavering moment. And then turned and walked away.
Sparkle's lip curled up.
Fine. Fucking fine. He had more important shit to worry about, anyway.
As Sparkle walked away to catch up with Raine, he pulled out his phone. He had a call to make. One that had nothing to do with drinking or even to do with Lewis. Lewis was throwing down the torch, not passing it on. Which meant somebody had to pick up the pieces, here.
Asshole.
[OOC: Sparkle is phoning one person in particular, but the post is open for phone calls after that thread, chronologically!]
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The next part, she leapt on with both feet. "They've created their own family. They just need a place to put it." She was already pacing, thinking aloud, voice taking on a note of surety. "Right. We can do this. How many kids. How old. And how many have records of some kind? Do any have physical disabilities, or health problems, that we need to be careful of?"
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Like her warehouse lair, with all its security and open space to see people coming--
Oooo. If they were anything like her-- well, they *were* like her. Maybe....
"Sparkle? I think I have an idea. At least for the where. I need to check in with Hardison, and make some phone calls." She paused. "The social workers are going to be trickier. But maybe, maybe-- are Lewis's superiors angry, or embarrassed?" Easier to know how to work them if she knew the lay of the land going in.
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Because, you know, it was maybe a little personal.
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And a deep breath. He hated feeling so helpless, but this was the first thing he'd done since this whole mess started that actually made him feel like he was doing some good in a non-destructive way, for once.
"I'll get you everything I can. And... um... Thanks again, Parker. This... I mean... you probably know how much this... you know. Means. To us."
Words. Stupid words. They were hard. Who authorized that?
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More than he generally meant a lot of things. Sometimes, Sparkle was honest when he opened his mouth.