Work Text:
Alicia glanced over her shoulder to where Leighton was on the opposite side of the room, cleaning up plastic cups after poetry night at the Women's Center, which to her surprise Leighton had attended voluntarily – even though she did have AirPods in her ears the whole time, hidden by her hair. Alicia was even more surprised when she told her she’d need to stay late to clean up, she offered to help, putting her earbuds back in before turning away from her to get to work.
It was obvious now that Leighton was listening to music, she wasn’t bothering to force herself to sit still and pretend to being paying attention, and was now nodding her head to the beat of the song. Alicia let her eyes wander down her girlfriend’s body, landing on the curve of her hips, which were also moving to the music.
She finally forced herself to turn away from Leighton, smiling to herself as she covered food that had been brought and put caps onto bottles. She didn’t look up as Leighton started humming a song she vaguely recognized, laughing softly. It was rare that she saw Leighton this relaxed outside of the confines of her apartment, she wasn’t going to ruin it by teasing her about the music she listened to.
Alicia worked in silence for a few more minutes, stopping when she heard Leighton sing. Her voice full, like she couldn’t help not belting the words.
“Maybe we got lost in translation. Maybe I asked for too much, but maybe this thing was a masterpiece till you tore it all up. Running scared, I was there, I remember it all too well. And you-”
Leighton went silent suddenly, Alicia had to shake herself when she realized she was staring, and now Leighton was staring right back at her, taking the earbuds out of her ears. “I didn’t know…” Alicia started but Leighton cut her off.
“Shut up,” she muttered, walking over to her bag and pulling out the AirPod case, shoving them into their ports before snapping it shut and tossing it back into her bag. “Let’s just finish up.”
“That was beautiful,” Alicia told her.
“Shut up,” Leighton said again. “You don’t have to say that.”
“I’m not just saying it. I had no idea you could sing like that.”
Leighton shrugged. “Thanks, I guess,” she muttered, turning away from her again.
“Why are you being so weird?” Alicia asked with a laugh. Her smile disappeared when Leighton didn’t answer. “No one’s ever told you how great of a singer you are?” she guessed.
Leighton shrugged again. “No one’s ever heard me. I don’t sing in front of people, usually.”
“Hey,” Alicia said softly, crossing the room to go to her, she took the cup Leighton was holding out of her hand before taking her hand and looking up at her. “That was amazing,” she told her. “I mean, Jesus Christ, you look like that and you’ve got that voice, only a matter of time before you figure out you’re out of my league.”
“Stop,” Leighton told her, rolling her eyes. “That’s not gonna happen.”
Alicia grinned. “I had no idea you were a Swift-Head.”
Leighton rolled her eyes. “I’m not. And they’re Swifties.”
“Okay, sure,” Alicia said with a laugh, picking up a cup and tossing it into a trash bag before going back to the desk and picked up her phone.
“What are you doing?”
“Nothing,” she replied simply as she searched through her phone. She finally found what she wanted and turned the volume up on her phone before setting it down on the table, as piano and violins started playing.
Leighton frowned as she listened to the first couple lyrics. Heart beats fast, color and promises, how to be brave. How can I love when I’m afraid to fall? “Is this the song from that Twilight movie?”
“I went through a phase,” Alicia told her quickly. “Besides, Kristen Stewart’s really hot.”
“You’re not wrong,” she agreed with a shrug. “I hope you don’t think I’m singing this though.”
Alicia shook her head as she walked back to Leighton. “I’m hoping you’ll dance with me,” she said softly, holding her hand out.
“You’re such a dork.” Leighton smiled, putting her hand in Alicia’s and allowing herself to be led to the small open space next to the couches. She put her arms around Alicia’s shoulders as hers moved to her waist. They swayed softly to the beat of the song, Alicia’s head leaning against Leighton’s shoulder.
“Jake really needs to give that fucking scarf back though,” Alicia muttered after a moment.
Leighton laughed, pulling back to look at her. “Now who’s a Swiftie?”
Alicia shrugged a shoulder as the song ended, the room went silent again. She glanced around quickly. “You know what, I can finish this up in the morning. Want to get out of here?”
“Oh, absolutely,” Leighton told her.
Alicia kept her arms around Leighton’s waist. “Will you sing in the car?”
Leighton rolled her eyes. “Do you actually want me to?”
“Oh yeah,” she told her, kissing her quickly. “I really want you to.”