Chapter Text
The clock ticked loudly on the wall as Sage strolled into her workplace at 7:48 AM that morning. She could hear the bass of the studio rooms as she passed them, she could smell the fresh donuts that were ordered every Monday morning like clock work and she was more than thankful for the lack of greetings she received as it was much too early for someone to be this chipper in the mornings.
She however did push past a couple of bodies as cries of ‘sorry, Sage’ or ‘my apologies, Miss Palmer' filtered through her ears. Sage simply nodded in acknowledgment as she continued down the long corridor, a bag hung off of her lean shoulder. Sliding her glasses down that acted as makeshift headband, she placed the spectacles on the bridge of her nose before entering her office, a smile dawning her face as she saw the coffee that awaited her situated on her desk. A gift from her best friend, Mags, she was sure.
One thing that Sage wasn’t sure she was ever going to be able to do before the revolution was to get a higher degree. College wasn’t something that was often at the forefront of anyone’s mind in New Babyl. More often than not, you were assigned a sector at birth, worked your way up through your teenage years and settled. Settled : the one word that Sage hated the most. She had settled for not knowing her real parents, she had settled for doing what everyone else always wanted and expected of her and she had certainly settled for ….
“Ms. Palmer, Mr. Tempo is on line 2 for you. He says he’s made reservations for you both at 7 PM so try not to work too hard. Did you want me to put him through?”
With a shake of her head, Sage took a seat behind her desk. “Please do let him know that I will try my best, but I have a meeting in 5 so I will have to call him a bit later. Oh, and Apollo - it’s just Sage.”
Apollo was a new graduate from the Industry sector. He hadn’t always lived in New Babyl but once the veil had been dropped to expose the other nations, there had been a huge integration amongst everyone. Especially those that wanted higher education which New Babyl had quickly implemented and was now known for.
In all honesty, Sage wasn’t sure what she wanted to do after she got her degree. For the past few years, she had drowned herself so much in her studies that now that she no longer had school to absorb all of her time, it left her thoughts wandering. School had been the only thing that took her mind off of what had happened three years ago and now that she no longer that one constant, things had been hard but she knew that she couldn’t sit in her own pity party of one for long. It was time for her to let go.
Her heart had always been pulled towards the music industry, wanting to be the next big thing or help that person(s) get to that point. Dance had always been her first love but amongst many other things, she’d let that go all those years ago as well. With the help of Tempo, she had managed to put a few resumes in to a number of places, applying from music studio to music studio just attempting to gain an entry job somewhere.. Tempo had managed to push her to go for it - he was good at that...good at making sure that Sage was being the best she could be.
It wasn’t until a year later that the two decided that Sage should just open her own label. She’d manage to obtain a few gigs here and there but there was nothing that really stuck or that she had a passion for. Of course she was glad for the opportunities she had secured but it wasn’t enough. That wasn’t to say that she didn’t learn a lot, she definitely did; she was like a child all over again, sucking in as much of the information as she could but she needed more.
The brunette swiveled around in her large chair - much too large for someone of her stature, the plaque on the desk gleamed broadly underneath the light: Sage Palmer, CEO/OWNER/PRODUCER S5P RECORDS. There were a few pictures that aligned the opposite side of the desk, some of her and Tempo, a few of her with Mags and their other friend Bodhi, and of course her family. There were awards and plaques on the wall - not many but they were there and platinum frames acknowledging some of her first and recent accomplishments.
Her eyes darted across each and every one slowly. She’d accomplished a lot on her own but she honestly had so much of where she was to dedicate to him and how much he believed in her. If anything, she owed him that much.
“Oh and Ms. Sage?” Hearing the response of the young boy knocked her back into focus. Her eyes narrowed but she didn’t chastise him. “Your new assistant just arrived.”
Shit . She forgot that was her 8 AM meeting. She had no idea who she was scheduled to meet with, she just knew that HR had hired someone and that she was set to start today.
When one hears the name New Babyl, there’s a number of things that instantaneously come to mind, but not necessarily all good. Hindering, recusant and abysmal just to name a few. Those are the terms that would typically come up in conversation whenever Brooklyn had to explain where she was born. Prior to three years ago, she wouldn’t have deemed it as such but now all of her previous good memories were so far removed that she couldn’t even remotely align them with the place that bred her. Before the revolution, things had been a little less than pleasant to put it lightly and in turn, the effect had done wonders for her own actions too which was something she didn’t often nor proudly bring up in conversation yet now that she was back, she couldn't really allow herself to dwell on the past.
"Do you have everything, hunny? An extra charger? Your debit card?"
“Madre, it’s fine. You’re acting like it’s my first day of school or something.” Brooklyn chuckled as she exited the passenger side of the SUV and glanced up at the big neon sign on top of the building: S5C Records. This was it. This was happening.
After finally getting her mom to relax, Brooklyn smoothed out the wrinkles in her navy blue dress as she strutted towards the entrance of the establishment. This was a new start for her.
Three years ago when Brooklyn made the decision to leave New Babyl for good, it wasn’t because she necessarily wanted to, but she had to. If not for her head, most certainly for her heart. Before shit went up in flames, if you asked Brooklyn back then, she would have told you she had the perfect life. She had the perfect job, the perfect group of friends, the perfect wife.
Brooklyn : I messed up.
Sage : By the ring on your finger, it doesn’t look like it.
Brooklyn : Sage….I mean it. I’m so sorry. I fucked up.
Brooklyn : I miss you.
Sage : If you would have said that 3 months ago, I would have believed you.
Brooklyn : Why don't you believe me? I've never lied to you and I wouldn't start now.
Brooklyn : Sage, please.
Sage : Maybe because you said you wanted me and then decided to take back Sierra???? MAYBE that's why...and maybe I know how you feel now, and for that I'm truly sorry.
Sage : I'm not an after thought, Brooklyn. You lost me when you got back together with her.
Brooklyn : I know, I know but I love you so much, Sage and letting you go was the biggest mistake I've ever made. This isn't what I want. I want you.
When Sage didn’t respond, Brooklyn couldn’t just leave it at that. She had to fight one last time. She had to make sure that Sage knew how she felt.
Brooklyn : Sage.
Brooklyn : You've always said all you wanted was for me to be happy. You told me that...you're my happiness.
Brooklyn : I fucked up, I know that now but I was scared so I ran. I thought that not being with you would keep me from getting hurt but not being with you only hurts more.
Brooklyn : I never meant for this to happen! I took the easy way out but I want you. It's always been you. Baby....please.
Sage : Yes, I said that and that's still true. I do want you to be happy, I want you to be the happiest...that's not with me. You wouldn't have had to second guess it if it was true.
Sage : I'm sorry, Brooks... I'm happy...with Tempo. You should be too.
Brooklyn : You can't tell me that you don't still love me...that you don't still think about me. You can't tell me that he makes you feel the way that I did, that your body heats up at just the slightest of her touch. You can't tell me that he compares to me...to us. You can't!
Brooklyn : You may be happy with him right now but you can't recreate what we have. You and I both know that.
Sage : Brooklyn just stop! Just STOP. Dammit...can't you see i'm trying to get over you?!
Sage : And I won't and I don't want to recreate what you and I had..I want to create something new.
Sage : You know how I feel about you...you know what you mean to me. But I don't want to be with you...
Sage : I'm sorry..
Brooklyn : I....wow. Don't be.
That was the last time she'd spoken to Sage. Brooklyn had left those 3 years ago and vowed to herself to never return. She packed her bags that following week, headed straight to LA with her then fiancee Sierra and never looked back. At least until now.
LA wasn’t all that it was cracked up to be to say the very least. Ever since she could remember, Brooklyn had dreams of being a super star. Everyone around her had always deemed it as this pipe dream that would never happen for her but she knew that she had potential and she knew that she wouldn’t stop until she accomplished her dream. If there was any place that seemed like the most logical solution to her problem, it was LA. That hadn't been possible before the revolution but amongst many things that it took away from her, it also gave her a chance to get out. With nothing left for her in New Babyl, she set her sights on something new. However, LA definitely wasn’t what had envisioned and music careers certainly didn’t happen overnight. Things had worked out well enough for Sierra - dancers seemed to have an easy in via most places but singers were definitely a dime a dozen.
But Brooklyn needed something. Sierra had been more than okay with fronting their bills every month but for someone as strong minded and independent as Brooklyn was, that didn’t work for her. She tried her hand at a small boutique but she quickly found out customer service wasn’t her strong suit, she took an odd gig as a fashion assistant the style between LA and New Babyl was drastically different and she didn’t last there either. After hearing about an escort business, she decided to see what that was about; she was a pretty girl and apparently they were just rich men needing some eye candy for random events so she figured why not? Easy money. Brooklyn did that for some time with no issues until one night, she got caught in a scandal that she had no control over….it just changed her life forever but she had too much pride to go to her best friend, Aliyah or her family. She didn’t need the ‘I told you so’s so she kept up this fantasy life for as long as she could. No one knew about her split with Sierra or about her...daughter.
Before she could get the door open, she heard a small voice behind her followed by little rapid footsteps. “Wait, mommy! You didn’t say bye.” Brooklyn stopped and turned around with the brightest smile.
“You were asleep munchkin, I didn’t wanna wake you. C’mere.” Picking the girl up, she tickled her sides as she peppered kisses all over her little face. “Mommy has to go to work now, okay? Go back to abuela. I’ll see you later.”
“Okay, mommy. Have fun!” Brooklyn watched as the little girl scurried off back to the van and her mom helped her in the car. “We’ll be here at 4 PM sharp, mija.”
Brooklyn mouthed a simple ‘okay’ before turning around and heading into what she hoped would be the first day of the rest of her life.
“Hi, I’m Brooklyn Cortez, today is my first day.”
The blonde who appeared to be about her age stood up with a smile. “Right this way, Brooklyn. I’m Stephanie. Your new boss just got in.
Following behind the receptionist, Brooklyn’s heels clicked against the tiled floors as she took a look around taking everything in. She was far too excited but she kept her composure. She missed this. She missed doing what she loved. She missed feeling a sense of accomplishment and this was only the start.
“Ms. Palmer.” Stephanie spoke softly as she held the office door open and allowed Brooklyn to step inside first.
Brown orbs glanced at the name plate that adorned the glass beside the door. Wait. Ms. Palmer. S5C Records. No fucking way.
Everything suddenly clicked into place. “Shit.” She hissed under her breath as she walked further into the room.
Sage didn’t bother looking up. “That better be the new assistant, Steph.” She murmured, her eyes roaming through her many emails; yeah, this was certainly going to be a task for the assistant. It wasn’t a putting down tone at all, Sage was welcoming of the stress, it came with the territory but another set of hands definitely was not something she was opposed to. The company was growing and well, she was just one person.
“It is, Ms. Palmer. This is….” Before the receptionist could even introduce Brooklyn, she was being assisted to the chair - she hadn’t even noticed she was frozen in her spot - and she slowly sat down. “Good luck.” The blonde whispered as she exited the office and softly shut the door behind her.
Sage saw a shadow sit across from her but she was too absorbed in a group chat between her clients to bother looking up.
“Welcome, sit down, one second, please.” She took a moment to type something onto her phone before continuing, “First things first, 8am I like my coffee on my desk, two creams, two sugars…on the dot. That’s the only thing I’ll ever ask you to go do for me. As for your regular duties, you’re in charge of taking calls for me if I cannot get them, here is a cell phone that is paid by me,” She slid another device across the table, “It’s strictly a work phone. I am a very busy woman, I don’t get much sleep as it is, but I won’t contact you when you’re not on the clock unless it’s absolutely necessary which is usually a rarity since everything I do is on point, penciled in right down to when the plumber is coming to fix the bathroom here or something.” She waved a hand dismissively in the air. “I like to stay on top of things as much as I can. You’re more so just a back up and I mean that in the less condescending way possible.”
Brooklyn remained quiet as Sage began to rattle off all of her job duties and what would be required of her. She’d missed the first bit of information because she was too entranced and shocked that her ex wife was really opposite her. Once she snapped back to, she quickly pulled her notepad from her purse and pulled the top off her pen with her teeth before quickly trying to jot everything down. She needed this job.
“I do have a boyfriend who helps out from time to time. He also may request things here and there but it won’t be anything too far from your own daily responsibilities. Fair warning, this job not only is as assistant but as a position for another position for my team. It only takes one wing to carry you on to the next thing in life.…six months down the road and you’re still here, and have taken to the business we can sit down and discuss…” Pushing her glasses back up, she then placed her phone down on the table. If there are no questions, we have to be in the studio with these folders…” Casting her eyes up to finally look at the woman opposite her, all she could see before her was the woman who had left her life three years ago. “Brooklyn…”
Falling back onto her bed, Brooklyn started blankly at the screen on her phone. The contact ‘madre’ scrolled across in big bold letters. It took a moment for her to answer but she sucked it up and did so. Ever since returning to New Babyl, she had tried to keep a low profile. Showing up 3 years later unannounced with a child didn’t exactly bode over well with her family so she wasn’t exactly keen on anyone else knowing she was back in town either. “Brooklyn, you have an interview at ten tomorrow morning. It’s a new record company, it’s only a starting position as an assistant but it’ll get your foot in the door.” Her mother, Miranda, purposely left out the information about Sage owning it. Brooklyn thanked her mom, bouncing up and down excitedly on the bed. After having her daughter, it was now harder to have to afford a living for two people so after her split with Sierra and finding a roommate, he managed to help her get on her feet for a while but she still struggled immensely. He’d pretty much been her back bone for the past two years but Brooklyn knew that she needed better…she needed more. Not for just her, for her baby as well. After swallowing her pride and dropping out, she found herself on the doorstep of her parents’ home 3 weeks ago. She couldn’t do this alone.
“H-h-hi.” The brunette managed to stammer out as she stared wide eyed at the raven haired woman. She was even more beautiful than she remembered her to be. “I didn’t know you….no one told me this was your record label.” She swallowed thickly, her eyes never once being able to leave Sage’s.
“I stopped, Sage. I’ve been wanting to stop, I just wasn’t sure how to tell her that - “ She was immediately silenced by the scoff that left Sage’s lips.
“Wow. You weren’t sure how to tell her? So you were more concerned about her feelings than hurting me? Just wow.” Brooklyn was just digging herself into a bigger hole and Sage was already beyond over the entire conversation and it had barely started.
“No! That came out so wrong.” She absentmindedly played with her wedding ring that still displayed on her finger. “That’s not true...I feel nothing for her, it was just me being a stupid idiot. I love you.”
Sighing as the other girl started, Sage couldn’t help but roll her eyes, although she really did try not to. “I really don’t want to do this, Brooklyn.”
Taking a step forward, Brooklyn was now face to face with her wife.
“Then what do you want? I want to know because I can’t read you..I can’t read you anymore other than you’re pissed off and hurt and I understand, I would be too and I’m pissed at myself for that...for hurting you.”
“Does it even matter what I want anymore, honestly?” The brunette questioned with a bitter laugh. “I get it, Brooklyn. I wasn’t enough so you can stop whatever charade this is. Do you.”
“Just…listen. Before you decide to fire me….I really, really need this.”