Family

I've been thinking a lot lately about Carmen and her rag tag family made up of a child hacker, two Bostontonians, and Dadosan, and the writing muse wouldn't leave me alone. Aka found family is my favorite trope and Carmen deserves all the love. This is my first shot at writing for this fandom, so I hope I did everyone's characterization justice. Please enjoy this brief exploration of Carmen and her disaster found family! Takes place sometime following the events of The Stockholm Syndrome Caper.

Her family is growing, Carmen muses one day not long after her most recent brush with death. She's known it for a while, now, deep down. This is just the first time she's considered exactly how different this family is from the one she grew up with. Shadowsan has yet to lift the strict regimen of bedrest he had inflicted upon her as soon as they had moved into their new (and first ever) home base. Which... probably is for the best, honestly. His mutterings about how he didn't rescue her from Coach Brunt so she could die from hypothermia do pose a very real point. She's not out of the woods yet and won't be for quite some time still. But laying on the couch watching Zach and Ivy butcher another karaoke song on the small machine they've hooked up to the tv while Shadowsan looks on in disgusted confusion, she can almost forget that.

"Dooon't stop belieeeevin!" Ivy sings at the top of her lungs as if she's never heard the definition of the word quiet. Her brother continues the song with equal enthusiasm.

"Just hooold on to that feeliiiiiing!"

"Streetlights people!" they finish, holding the end note longer than necessary.

Carmen's not sure she's ever seen her former teacher look so relieved when their singing finally dies off. As much as he'd probably deny it if anyone ever said so out loud, Shadowsan is definitely the father of the group. Consistently there to shoot them worried (or outright appalled) looks whenever they do something especially stupid or making sure they don't stay up too late during their off time. It's nice to have someone else around to do some of the worrying. Goodness knows how much of it she's done, herself, lately. And then there's Player, obviously the baby of the group, for all his intelligence and common sense. She's never asked his age, but he just seems so much younger than her, or Zach, or Ivy. With his youthful stature, it's difficult not to wonder how much his parents know about his hacking activities, but she can't dwell on it. She would never have made it this far without his help. Probably wouldn't have even left the island...

"You know I love you, bro," the female redhead starts in again, interrupting Carmen's thoughts, "but pineapple is not a real pizza topping."

"You're only saying that because you've never tried it." Zach insists with an eye roll.

"Nope, and I never will." his sister tells him. Carmen sits up a little, wondering what brought on this familiar debate. There are takeout menu's scattered across the coffee table not far away. Ah, that explains it.

"Must everything be a production with you two?" Shadowsan interjects tiredly. Although she has her suspicions that they've grown on him deep down, he has yet to warm up to their constant shenanigans.

"You do realize we could just order more than one kind of pizza, right?" Carmen reminds them, deciding it's time to step in. They freeze, only now realizing she's been listening to their conversation.

"Oh. I, uh, I'm sorry if we woke you, Carm." Ivy offers guiltily, only just realizing how loudly they've been bickering.
"Nah, it's okay. I was already awake." Carmen says with a shrug. The conversation has been keeping her entertained, if nothing else (though the singing would have been a deal breaker if she had been sleeping still) . Hyperactive, spontaneous, and more than a little crazy at times, Zach and Ivy are a bit harder to pinpoint when it comes to assigning them a specific role within this family of thieves and hackers, she thinks absentmindedly. Some days, it's like working with toddlers. Others, it feels like they've got years on her in age. Like when Ivy gives her that look of utmost concern that makes her feel guilty for nearly dying on them all over again. Or takes the lead on a mission because Carmen's out of commission. Or when Zach offers some piece of surprisingly insightful advice before fearlessly leaping into danger. They all take turns taking care of each other, the Argentinean supposes. And somehow, it works.

"If you're sure. You still need your rest, y'know." Ivy tells her after staring at her for a minute, wanting to make sure her sister of sorts really is okay.

"Trust me, I know." she confirms, snuggling back against the pillows arranged on the couch.

"You had better." Shadowsan comments with a frown. These reckless kids will be the death of him, he swears. But... in a good way, perhaps. They're nothing at all like his students from V. I. L. E. They're far more selfless and caring. He finds he's needed the change of pace.

"Anyway," Zach asserts, "we should get back to deciding what we're gonna have for dinner. Can't plot our next moves on an empty stomach..."

"I suppose that's true." Carmen agrees with a smile. She is starting to get a bit hungry.

"I guess pizza does sound kinda good. But only if you make sure you order some without pineapple this time." Ivy decides after a moment's deliberation. And this is all it takes for things to spiral back into utter chaos. If anyone had told her she'd end up finding a family so real and unbreakable under such bizarre circumstances a few years ago, Carmen's pretty sure she'd have laughed in their face. Yet here she is, caught in the middle of a debate over the merits of different pizza toppings. Somehow in running away from the only family she'd ever known, she's managed to find a new one, made up of individuals who are some of the most caring, selfless, and courageous people she's ever met. It may not be perfect, but it's hers. And somewhere out there, Julia is dead set on changing the world, and Gray – Graham – is performing charitable acts for those in need. Carmen would consider them family, too. They've changed her for the better. Even if she's not sure she's ready to explore exactly what the nature of her relationship with a certain Australian is. There will be time to worry about that later. Labels are awfully restricting anyway, on her opinion. And maybe, someday, she'll even find out what happened to her birth parents. But for now, she has her family, and they have her. No matter what. Which, in the end, is all she really cares about.