All In Good Time

Originally published May 17th, 2020.

~~~

1. Alive

There was no way they could have survived that. There was no way they should have been able to.

The five of them lay there, eyes wide as plates and staring at the (now ruined) building they had just fled. The countdown that played over the loudspeakers was still ringing in their ears, and ashes were beginning to rain down from the sky. 

Shaggy let out a shaky breath. "Like... oh my God." 

Meanwhile, Velma stood up swiftly, checking everyone over with trembling hands. She started with Fred, who was at a loss for words, and then moved onto Daphne, who gave her a smile that would have looked strong to anyone that didn't know her. Next were Shaggy and Scooby, who were already huddled up next to each other.

Once Velma had moved on, Fred and Daphne looked at each other. 

Daphne gave him the same smile she had given Velma, but it broke almost immediately. "Well... I'm glad we're okay."

Fred's response was to wordlessly place his hand on her shoulder and scooch towards her. Seamlessly, they pulled each other into a hug, the tightest hug they'd ever shared. She buried her nose in the dip of his neck, and his hand rested on the back of her head. Their breathing was still heavy, and their torsos moved together as they tried to regulate their breaths.

They gave their private hug as much time as it needed, which was exactly eight seconds, and then simultaneously pulled apart, gesturing for Velma, Shaggy, and Scooby to join them, seeing that they had just finished their post-disaster inspection.

2. Burst

Daphne loved hearing Fred talk about traps. Well, she wasn't really enthusiastic about the subject matter herself, and sometimes it seemed to be all the big guy could focus on. But it was so darn endearing watching him get all excited about something as unexciting as a Rube Goldberg Machine. The way he bounced back and forth on his feet when he got in the zone, you'd think he was gonna explode.

3. Insidious

One thing that Daphne and Fred's parents had in common was that they masked their stinging judgment in sickly sweet words. The Blakes and the Joneses had never met, but their children made the assumption that their parents probably would have gotten along swimmingly. 

Growing up being stung by insults (that were coated in sugar and disguised as concerns for the kids' well-being, or as simple observations) leaves scars on one's mind. The entire gang had scars from their childhood, but Daphne and Fred found particular comfort in their shared experiences. 

4. Dress

Daphne didn't think she'd be spending her Saturday night hastily changing into a dusty, old wedding down in the backstage of an abandoned theater so that she could lure a groom ghost into a trap, but that's how life went sometimes. 

She blew dust out of her face and coughed as she stepped out from behind the changing curtain, glancing over at the still-waiting Fred. "How do I look? Convincing?"

Daphne took his wordless stuttering to mean "you look great, Daph, you're gonna catch this ghost so good", and hastily ran to take her position.

5. Skylark

Mystery Incorporated sang often. Frequent, day-long road trips in the Mystery Machine meant that they had to find something to occupy their time, and singing was easy and low-effort. And none of them were exactly virtuosos, but none of them were tone-deaf, either. 

They each had their favorites. Shaggy, surprisingly, liked the top 40's, while Velma had an affinity for stuff like Aerosmith. Scooby would sing and howl along to whatever you put on the radio, whether he knew the lyrics or not. 

Fred and Daphne were partial to ballads and duets, and their favorite song was Don't Go Breaking My Heart. That one was their song. They knew every beat, every lyric, every inflection. It had been theirs since they were kids, and they refused to sing it alone or with anyone else.

And they knew that neither of them were the best singers in the world, but there was something about singing along to a song they knew as well as they knew each other that made them giggle like little kids. Their hearts always skipped when they vocalized the "ooh-oohs" together.

6. Cloistered

The secret passageways in this castle were extremely narrow; only one person could go through at a time, and you had to turn sideways just to fit. They had to scour the entire place for clues, though, so it was unavoidable. As Fred and Daphne stepped inside, single-file against their will, their arms silently reached behind and ahead of each other and their fingers instinctively interlocked. Their grip was tighter than the walls could ever be.

7. Advice

As Velma's friends, Fred and Daphne took it upon themselves to set her up on dates. Before she started dating Marcie, if she so much as looked at a girl for more than a second or two, the duo would soon chat the stranger up and try to exchange numbers on Velma's behalf. She pulled them aside one day, telling them they shouldn't be trying to meddle in her love life when they're so clueless about their own. The confused looks on Fred and Daphne's faces were satisfactory enough for Velma, and she left them alone to wonder what she meant

8. Zephyr

Had Daphne's hair always done that when it was windy? Moving, shifting, just a little bit. Not enough to make it unruly, but enough to make the deep orange waves look like lava, her lighter, natural undertones serving as the sparks. Daphne caught Fred staring, and his lips parted in response, trying to find something to say. She just grinned, bobbed her shoulders up and down, and looked away, like nothing happened.

9. Hurt

"Fred Jones, if you don't give me your wrist right now, I'm going to scream."

He pouted, completely sincere in his childish reaction. "I'm gonna be fine!"

"Now."

"You can take a look at it, but I swear it won't -- YEOWCH!"

Daphne had barely wrapped her fingers around his wrist before Fred's reaction slipped out. He looked guiltily into the back of the Mystery Machine, making sure that the others were still asleep.

Daphne shook her head. "Sprained it. I told you not to push yourself at the rock climbing range earlier. That crook was getting caught either way, whether you stepped in or not. Velma and I had that one covered."

Fred sulked as Daphne reached into the van's first aid kit and pulled out a wrist brace.

10. Pathetic

Fred led the way. He always led the way. Not cause he was the strongest guy, or anything dumb like that, no -- he was just the leader. It was his job to make sure everyone stayed safe. Which was exactly why being visibly frightened several times during their previous mystery had made him feel pretty stupid. It didn't help that Daphne had kissed him on the cheek afterwards to try and make him feel better; that was great, and he had been replaying that exact moment in his head, but it didn't help. He'd just have to do better next mission. Be braver. That deserved a kiss, too.

11. Toiler

Daphne's eyes fluttered open, her vision taking a moment to adjust to the road in front of her. She stretched in the passenger's seat, an involuntary noise of strain escaping her lips, barely audible over the rumble of the Mystery Machine's motor. At the wheel, Fred mumbled a 'good morning' to her, and she wondered how long he had been awake.  

12. Flower

It was dumb, but Fred liked scrapbooking. It was a nice way to unwind after a mystery, and it was a lovely way to keep a record of the gang's achievements. His favorite page was one for a picnic he and the others had one day. Next to the polaroid of Shaggy with french fries in his nose, there was, pressed and preserved in a plastic film, a white flower that Daphne had put in Fred's hair. He didn't know what kind it was, but it was the prettiest he had ever seen.

13. Longing

The feeling was always there. It was always hanging over their heads, like a swarm of gnats, or maybe a white, fluffy cloud, the kind that you'd never suspect of bringing rain. If they brushed hands by accident, it was stirred up like a cloud of glitter, and it shone in sunshiney meadows when they hugged. But it was always there, even if they were apart. A constant.

14. Shiver

Daphne never had to ask for Fred's coat when they were in a chillier part of the world. The Mystery Machine was stocked with heavy winter gear for each member of the gang, so none of them ever went cold. Still, he offered it to her with routine consistency, and she declined with the same politeness he showed her, her cheeks tinged pink from more than just the cold.

15. Plentiful

Around May every year, the gang made sure to stock up on face paint for June. They always tried to hit as many Pride parades as possible per year on their summer mystery road trips, and everyone but Velma loved painting their flags on their cheeks (she hated the sensation, but she had more than enough lesbian merchandise to make up for not doing the face paint). 

They gave away the extra face paint (there was always extra) to younger kids they met at the parades. There was always a crowd around the Mystery Machine at these events.

Scooby painted Shaggy's face, since he had an astonishingly steady hand for a dog, and a rainbow flag was pretty hard to mess up. Fred and Daphne painted each other's faces. Fred always got two trans flags under his eyes like a football player, and Daphne got a bisexual heart on one cheek and a trans heart on the other. 

Every year, she told Fred that he painted the best hearts. He wasn't sure what that meant, exactly, but he was always happy to hear praise from Daphne. 

Every year, he tried not to make eye contact with Daphne when she was painting his simple stripes. She thought it was overwhelmingly endearing how he always sat there so politely, his hands in his lap.

Once they were both done, they'd get one of the others to take their picture together, both pride and something fluttery growing in their chests.

16. Defeated

They didn't win them all. They couldn't win them all; that was a statistical improbability, as Velma emphasized whenever a crook got away. Sometimes, there was nothing to be done when a mystery had to be abandoned or left unsolved.

Fred and Daphne were both, for lack of a better term, sore losers. On the rare occasion that no unmasking took place, and the gang had to leave town without a sense of closure, the two sat in the back of the van and sulked and complained together, combing over minute details and things they could have done differently.

Shaggy, Scooby and Velma took to the front seat when this happened. They just had to let the pair get the loss out of their system. 

17. Charming

Daphne's face was sour as she noticed a gaggle of three girls hover around Fred. Every single one of them was twirling their hair around their fingers, and she couldn't hear what they were saying, but she wagered their words were just as flirty as their expressions. He seemed oblivious to their interest in him, and he was only conducting a routine interview for their latest case, but the sight made her grit her teeth. Why did he have to be so charismatic and likable and sweet and...

18. Toothpaste

Fred grunted in exertion as he tried to get a sufficient amount of toothpaste out of the emaciated tube. On their last shopping trip, he had forgotten to pick up a new pack of the stuff for himself, and now he was paying for it.

Daphne looked at him in sympathy as she passed by the sink in the gang's shared hotel room. Without a second thought, she walked over, reached around him, and pushed her own tube towards him. "Here, just use mine for now."

"Huh?" He blinked at her in the mirror after processing what she said. "But you hate sharing stuff like toothpaste. It's like sharing a cup."

She shook her head at him. "It'll be alright until we can stop by a store on our way out. It's just one time."

"You sure?"

"It's fine, Fred. I don't mind."

He gave her a small, appreciative smile, and she nodded at him as she turned around to finish packing, hoping that the others wouldn't notice her cheeks getting warmer. 

(She was just doing him a favor. He can't just not brush his teeth. Why did she feel sheepish now?)

19. Contradiction

Fred Jones loved his friends so, so much. He loved them more than anything. Daphne, Shaggy, Velma and Scooby -- just their names alone were enough to make him feel at ease. He was so excited to live with them all one day. They were already family.

And Daphne? She was his best friend. She was special to him. He felt like she understood him even at times when the rest of the gang didn't.

So why did it seem to make her distantly disappointed whenever he told her she was his best friend? She was his best friend, and he knew that he was hers... so what was the problem? Why did he feel a little disappointed, too?

20. Complete

“…”

“What’s up?”

“Huh? Oh, nothing. I just remembered I was supposed to be on a date with that guy from pre-cal tonight.”

“Really? Oh.”

“Yep.”

“…if you gotta run to make it, Daph, we’ll all understand.”

“Nah, I’ll just text him when we get out.”

“You sure?”

“I’d rather be mystery solving right now, anyway, Fred.”

“You’d rather be in a fungus-ridden cave looking for the ghost of an explorer?”

“Yes.”

“This stuff is interesting, but these tunnels aren't exactly optimal conditions. I mean, if anything happens to damage our hazmat suits, we could breathe in deadly poison spores, and the suits themselves are pretty itchy–”

“Freddie. I’d rather be here with you.”

“I… oh! Okay, Daph. Me too!”