Chapter Text
The air was thick with the smell of salt, the sound of clanging metal, seagulls, and crashing waves told Yaz that she was getting close to the shore. Yaz broke through the tree line and looked out over the sea, seeing the Sun hanging low in the sky. She quickened her pace, determined not to be late for her shift. She stepped off the road onto the boardwalk, her heels tapping along the wood. The docks were busier than usual, there was a ship docked that Yaz had never seen before, workers carrying crates onto the deck. She dodged a particularly large man carrying a barrel and approached the tavern door. She shoved through the door and was immediately met with chatter and music. She weaved through the tables to the back of the tavern where the owner, Dan, was working at the bar.
He smiled as she approached, “Alright, Yaz? Good to see you,” he called through the tavern din.
“Hiya, Dan,” she grinned back. “It’s busier than usual, what’s going on?” Yaz asked as she leaned across the bar.
Dan leaned forward too, “there’s some big cargo ship in the harbor, big crew. I guess a bunch of them are in here while they load up.”
Yaz cast a look around the tables, noticing how many of the customers were wearing sailor uniforms. She nodded, “well, I guess that’s good for business.”
“Absolutely. Except,” Dan’s expression turned to one of concern, “are you sure you’re okay working ‘til after close tonight? I’m sure it’s not going to be an easy shift with this many sailors in.”
Yaz smiled, “of course, I can handle it. Who else is closing with me tonight?”
Dan pointed across the room at the two other barmaids, “Clara’s closing, Martha is getting off at midnight. Amy just got off,” he explained.
Yaz nodded, following his gaze. “Alright. Well, I’ll get to work then.”
Yaz retrieved a wooden tray and set to work delivering drinks and meals to the tables around the tavern. As the evening wound on and the sun drew lower and lower, the tavern filled with more people. Judging by their uniforms and the snippets of conversation she picked up as she wound through the dining room, Yaz supposed most of them were the workers who had been loading up the ship. She sighed, occasionally exchanging tired glances with the other waitresses. Sailors were far from Yaz’s favorite kind of people. They were loud and boisterous, and many times rude. Not to mention, they were fickle. Always coming and going without a care in the world. She had known plenty of girls to fall in love with sailors who got their hearts broken in the end. Many of her fellow barmaids and friends had fallen for a sailor at one point, it wasn’t uncommon in a coastal village. Of course, that wasn’t every story. One of her ex-coworkers, Rose, had actually run off with her sailor. Yaz on the other hand had never met a sailor she liked. A few she tolerated, perhaps, and she pasted on a smile while working the tavern, but she failed to see the appeal. She dropped off a few mugs at a table of men who had clearly already had too much to drink. She turned to return to the bar, pushing through the crowd of dancing sailors. There was loud music playing through the tavern, and somewhere nearby, she could hear a female voice singing. She pushed her way through until a drunk patron stumbled into her. She staggered sideways into someone and looked up to apologize quickly. She saw that the person she had stumbled into was in fact a woman. She wasn’t someone Yaz recognized, wearing a blue vest and trousers. Her short blonde hair was disheveled and her cheeks were slightly flushed. Yaz brushed herself and moved to step away when the woman caught her by the waist and pulled her back. She began to sing, and Yaz realized hers was the voice she’d heard. The woman captured Yaz’s hand with her left and pulled her to dance. Yaz stumbled in surprise. The song the woman sang was light and jaunty. It must be a shanty, Yaz thought vaguely following the woman’s movements clumsily. She continued gripping her tray with her left hand as the women lead her in an energetic dance. Yaz was caught completely off guard, the music was loud, the woman’s voice ringing in her ears, and it was everything she could do not to trip as she danced with the strange woman. The woman released her waist and twirled her around. Yaz spun and found herself gripped in the woman’s arms and being dipped. The song came to an end with a round of cheers and applause from the sailors surrounding her. Yaz righted herself and attempted to straighten her skirts.
“Thanks for bein’ my dance partner,” the woman grinned at Yaz before disappearing into the crowd and a new song began. Yaz stared after her in disbelief. She’d never danced with a customer before. What’s more, she’d never danced with a woman before. All at once, she couldn’t even see the woman anyone. She shook her head and went back to work, trying to forget the strange event.
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The Sea Side Tavern was quiet. The last customers had left about half an hour before, and Clara and Yaz were cleaning up the dining room which had been left in a nearly disastrous state by the crowd of sailors. Yaz stifled a yawn and she wiped a table down with her wet cloth. She cast a look out of the window and saw the sky lightening slightly. The sun would be up in a few hours. Yaz wanted nothing more than to return to her bed and sleep through the day. Not long now.
“Right, I’m going to take all these dishes back, you alright out here?” Clara called out to Yaz from where she was gathering an armful of mugs and plates.
Yaz nodded, “yep, I’ve got the tables covered.” Clara nodded and disappeared through the doors to the kitchen, leaving Yaz alone to wipe down tables in silence.
After a few minutes, she heard the entrance swing open and someone entered the tavern. “Sorry, we’re closed for the night. We’ll be open again at lunchtime,” she called out, not looking over her shoulder at first. She glanced over and saw the woman. She was still dressed in her vest, white shirt, trousers, and brown boots, but she seemed considerably more rumpled than she had when pulling her along to dance earlier that night.
The woman stared at her before seeming to find her voice, “oh yeah, ‘course. I was just… I left something in here, I needed to get it,” she muttered sheepishly.
Yaz nodded, “alright, go ahead.” She went back to work wiping the tables, watching the woman out of the corner of her eye in curiosity. After their brief dance, Yaz saw her periodically through the crowd, but she never actually spoke to her. The woman walked around the tables, searching under the seats for something. After a few moments, Yaz spoke up again, “d’you need any help?”
The woman looked up at her and grinned awkwardly, scratching the back of her neck. “I, er, seem to have misplaced my coat.” Yaz dropped her cloth, crossed the room to the bar, and looked into the bin they used for items that were left behind at the tables. There were a few watches and compasses, the odd scarf and hat, and a large, dark blue coat.
She tugged the coat out of the bin and held it up for the woman, “this coat?”
The woman brightened up immediately, “yes! That’s it.” Yaz walked back around the bar to pass the coat back and the woman pulled it on quickly. It was long, falling past her knees, with a series of silver buttons on both sides and a few stripes at her wrists. The woman had a satisfied look on her face and Yaz brushed past her to get back to work. “Er, sorry,” the woman piped up and Yaz turned back to look at her questioningly. She fidgeted with the end of her sleeves and took a moment to meet Yaz’s gaze. “I just wanted to… apologize for my behavior earlier.” Yaz quirked an eyebrow, “the dancing? I know I should have asked before just dragging you along like that. I’d had a few too many and was a bit caught up in the music,” she explained.
Yaz studied the woman for a moment. She was being genuine. “It’s alright. I’ve had to deal with worse than a dance before,” she tried to sound lighthearted.
The woman smiled. “What are you still doing here? It’s practically morning, I would have thought you’d be home by now,” she asked.
Yaz shook her head, “I’m on the closing shift. And after the busy night we had, there was a lot to clean up, and not everyone had left until almost an hour ago,” Yaz replied.
The woman grimaced, “I’m sorry if the extra customers made things difficult tonight, but we’re setting sail this morning, so you won’t have to deal with us much longer.”
“Ah, right.” Yaz was surprised at her use of ‘we’. It hadn’t occurred to her that the woman was herself a sailor as well. “It’s fine, we have our busy nights, we know how to manage. Thank you though.” She turned away to continue wiping down tables.
“I didn’t catch your name,” the woman prompted. Yaz was halfway between irritated that she was still here and intrigued by the sailor who was seemingly much more polite than any she had met.
Yaz replied without looking up from her work, “it’s Yasmin.”
“You’re cleaning up all on your own, Yasmin?” she asked.
“No, Clara is cleaning dishes in the back.”
“I see.” It was then that Yaz noticed the hand the woman outstretched to her. A few coins rested in her palm. She looked at the woman quizzically. “I’m Nerissa,” she said.
Yaz blinked at her. “What are you doing?”
The woman – Nerissa – shook the coins slightly, “tipping you. For all your trouble.”
Yaz scoffed in disbelief, “you don’t need to…”
Nerissa reached out grabbed Yaz’s left hand. She turned it over gently and dropped the coins into Yaz’s palm. “Maybe not, but you deserve it.” Yaz closed her hand around the coins and continued staring. Nerissa nodded curtly, “right, so it seems we will be in port quite frequently from now on, so I hope I’ll see you again,” she turned her head slightly as if it was a question.
Yaz blinked. “Yeah, I work here pretty regularly, so… I’m sure you will.” She wasn’t sure why she was still talking to the sailor, but she still wasn’t leaving.
Nerissa grinned again. “Good, see you around then. Thanks again.” She smiled warmly and made her way to the door. She threw one last smile over her shoulder and disappeared.
“Well well well, you and the captain, huh?” Yaz jumped and whirled to find Clara standing just behind her.
She cocked her head, “captain? What captain?” Clara gestured with her head to the door and looked at Yaz expectantly. Yaz glanced at the now shut door quickly. “Nerissa? She’s not a captain,” she protested.
Clara quirked an eyebrow. “Didn’t you see the stripes on her coat? Yes, she is.”
Yaz gaped at Clara. She looked back to where Nerissa had disappeared. How had she not noticed? “I’ve never known you to be the type to be flirting with sailors, Yaz,” Clara said, amusement in her voice.
Yaz whirled on her, “I’m not! I wasn’t. What are you even talking about?” She crossed her arms.
Clara gestured toward Yaz’s hand, “’ for all your trouble?’” she echoed Nerissa. “Maybe you weren’t flirting with her, but she was flirting with you. Besides, I saw that dance,” Clara smiled mischievously.
Yaz flushed, looking down at the coins still folded in her palm. She pocketed them hastily. “We have work to do,” she stated and turned to resume wiping the table. She ignored Clara’s chuckle as she continued wiping down the table for much too long, distracted by thoughts of the blonde, grinning captain.