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“And so then I said…”
Jill sighed, listening to her patron go on and on about the recent troubles in her life. If she was honest, she really loved this job, even if that would sound weird to some. She found it fun to listen to people, to talk back with them, to build relationships with what used to be total strangers. It wasn’t all good, but it was nice. That’s all she needed, right?
“Okay and you’re never gonna guess this but–”
“Betty.”
“Hwuh?” An interrupted Betty turned quickly to her Lilim companion with an odd expression on her face. “What’s up?”
“Well,” It was Deal’s turn to sigh. “It’s getting quite late, we should really get on our way. We have work tomorrow, you know.”
“Aww c’mon it’s not that late.” Betty frowned, pulling out her phone to check the time. Her facial expression shifted suddenly to one of surprise. “Oh shit you’re right. It is that late…”
“Alright then, get up.” Deal insisted as he relinquished his own seat.
“Bah, fine fine…” Betty sat up as well, stumbling a bit as she was slightly drunk. “We gotta head out. Thankies for the drinks, Brand-sender.”
“Yes, thank you for dealing with us for so long.”
"Hehe..." Jill snorted. "Deal-ling."
"Can you two stopp with that already." Betty scowled slightly. "Issnot funny."
Deal flashed Jill a nervous smile, and she responded with a knowing glance.
“Yeah, yeah.” Jill replied professionally. “Please come again.”
The room suddenly got very quiet, the only sounds coming from the echoing steps as the clients exited the building. The second she heard the sound of the door closing, Jill let out an exasperated breath and leaned over the bar to rest her head.
“You alright there?” Gillian called over as he set down the last batch of glasses in the sink and began to wash them.
“Oh my god I thought they would never leave…” Jill slowly pulled herself off the bar counter. Her hair was slightly messed up from flopping over so suddenly. “I was seconds away from just telling them to get up.”
“Why didn’t you? I mean, it’s past closing. It was within your right.”
“Ugh but they’re so nice though…” Jill grumbled. “I didn’t wanna…”
The sound of a door opening echoed from behind them. Jill and Gillian turned to see their boss exit from her office, a typical smug smile on her face.
“Jill ‘didn’t wanna’ do what?” Dana inquired, walking her way to a spot between her two employees. She rested her hands on the bar and pushed herself up to sit on it. Jill and Gil but rolled their eyes at this. “C’mon tell me tell me.”
“Honestly, Boss, it’s more fun if we don’t tell you.” Gil answered, receiving a glare from his boss. “Maybe live on the suspense a bit?”
“That's not fair, I wanna know!” Dana turned to face her other employee, still sitting on the counter herself. “Jill, please… I can’t not know.”
“I don’t know, Boss...” Jill smirked, she almost started laughing at how badly Dana wanted to know something which was, in reality, so mundane. “Why don’t you tell me about your mechanical arm and we can call it even?”
“You think you're slick but you’re not getting to find out that easily.” Dana scooched herself over until she was sitting right in front of where Jill was standing. She leaned down and looked the bartender dead in the eyes, which caused Jill to start blushing slightly. “Please, Jill, honestly. I’ll do anything, you gotta tell me.”
“A-Anything…?” Jill voiced shakily. She let her mind wander. And then wander. And then wander… Her face reddened, a lot. Not wanting to make a total fool of herself, she relented over the pressure. “I-It was just me saying I didn’t want to kick Betty and Deal out even though it was past closing. It wasn’t really anything… sorry.”
“Huh… well that’s boring.” Dana scooched over and stood herself off from the bar. “Well we gotta close up, good work today guys.”
“Damn, Jill… You really wasted your ‘anything’.” Gil said with a shit-eating smirk on his face.
“Shut up.” Jill scoffed. “It didn’t feel earned.”
“Good luck earning it then!” Gillian called over as he started to make his way out of the bar, having already collected his things.
“Guh…” Jill let out another sigh, a common occurrence as of late. Gathering together her stuff, she was ready to head out as well before she got interrupted by a tap on the shoulder. Jumping slightly from surprise, she calmed down noticing it was just Dana getting her attention.
“Mind if I come over to your place tonight?” Dana asked, her eyes fidgeting downward for just a second. She seemed slightly nervous, which was very obvious against her usual attitude.
“Huh?” Jill swallowed, looking down at her boss, slightly nervous in her own right. “Why?”
“Well… we’re friends, right?” Dana smiled… Her smile was adorable. “Besides, it’s been awhile since I’ve last been able to just… hang out with you. Work is fun but it’s too much ‘Boss’ stuff, you know?”
“Ah, well…” Jill’s heartbeat started to pick up a bit. Sure she’s had her boss over in the past, but it felt different today. Regardless… she really did want to spend more time with Dana, and she had no good reason to refuse. “Of course, I’m glad to have the chance.”
“Great!” Dana seemed to be back to her usual self, that was always nice. “Gimme a sec to grab my things, then we can head out.”
Jill struggled with her bag for a second, sorting through her things until she found her key. Quickly unlocking the door, she pushed it open, allowing Dana to go in before her. Her boss quickly obliged, and Jill came in shortly after, closing the door promptly as she got in.
Flicking on the lights, Fore came running out of the bedroom, perking up as he noticed his owner. Noticing Dana, however, he quickly changed his manner and started to glare over at her.
“This little guy will never like me, huh?” Dana squatted down and reached her hand over towards the cat. Fore turned and trotted off to the other side of the room.
“I dunno.” Jill replied, smiling at Dana squatting down on the floor. “Maybe he’s homophobic?”
“What the hell…” Dana stood up, looking over at Jill with a more serious expression than you might expect. “How does he even know I’m gay… wait how does he not know you’re gay?”
Jill started laughing, leaning over on her wall for support. She tried to stop herself but struggled, finding it a bit too humorous. Dana looked over at her with a confused expression on her face.
“You’re just messing with me, huh…”
“I thought it was obviously a joke!” Jill called out, still caught in her fit of laughing. After a few minutes, she managed to calm herself down.
“Tsh…”
“Well I gotta change,” Jill called out, walking her way across the room towards her bedroom. “Can’t just stay in this the whole time, gimme a few mins, okay?”
“Aww… “ Dana pouted. “But you’re so cute in it…”
“Wait, Boss?” Jill stopped herself in front of the bedroom door. “You think these uniforms are… cute?”
“Hell yeah I do.” Dana said confidently. “Cute… but with an air of sexiness. Sexy-Cute if you will.”
“I won’t.” Jill hurried along into her room.
“Alright, sorry for taking so lon…” Jill opened the door of her room, only to stare slack jawed at Dana crawling around on her floor. “W-What exactly are you doing??”
“Oh, I thought I could communicate with the cat easier like this.” Dana called up with a smile. Fore sat in a corner of the room, unimpressed. “Ahaha… I got bored…”
“Well…” Jill rolled her eyes. “I got beer. Want to join me outside, like a normal person?”
Dana stood up, still grinning. Despite everything, she always had a smile on her face, it was one of the things that Jill liked about her. One of many, but she would never really admit that, she couldn’t. There was never a proper time.
Dana said something, but Jill didn’t catch it, still stuck in her own thoughts. Snapping out of it, she followed her boss out onto the balcony. The cool night air struck at her in contrast to the warmth of her room, but she was glad she had changed into something cozy. Noticing Dana already sitting down herself, Jill took a seat right beside her. It was where they had their chat the last time Dana was over, but something felt different now… and it wasn’t just the time of day.
“Want one?” Jill instinctualy offered after pulling out a pack of cigarettes. She always had a habit of offering them to people, and she never quite figured out why.
“Jill, you know I don’t smoke.” Dana replied with a slight smile, maybe she found it a bit funny.
“Honestly?” Jill started, putting the pack away before even grabbing one for herself. She just didn’t feel like it tonight. “I don’t know why I still do.”
“Nicotine addiction?” Dana offered. Jill burst out laughing.
“You might be onto something…” Jill replied, smiling over at Dana. She was never really sure how to talk with her boss. There was a lot there was to say, but it was really hard. So maybe it’s best to let alcohol talk for her. Dragging over a container of beers between them, Jill grabbed one for herself.
“Glitch City is really pretty at night, huh?”
“You think so?” Jill questioned. To her it just looked like a bunch of lights.
“Well to you it might look like a bunch of lights.” Dana answered. “But… I really see something here. It might be a smorgasbord of corporations and capitalism and terrible, horrible shit. Yet looking out at the city, through all the shining lights and jutting buildings, I see… This might sound weird, but I see diversity. All sorts of people from all walks of life. All trying to make the best of what they can here. Sure, shit may be fucked, but its our fucked up city, isn’t it? All of us come together to make this city what it is, and there's a lot of good. I love this city, and I love my bar, and I love… you guys.”
“'You guys'…?”
“Yeah, you and fuckboy.” Dana laughed, genuine pure laughter. “No no, but for real. I love you and Gillian. Maybe not in the exact same way but…” Dana brought her hand up to scratch the side of her head nervously. “You guys might be my employees, but you’re also my friends, and I trust you, and I want what’s best for you. And I was able to find that, here, in Glitch City of all places. Hell, I was able to find that because it’s Glitch City. So looking out on the cityscape, I see that, and it sure as hell is beautiful.”
“Wow… I…” Jill felt a sense of awe staring over at her boss, who was too busy looking out at the city to notice. She had always felt an immense deal of respect towards this woman, but right now she was reminded of another reason why. “I kinda see what you mean. I mean it still just looks like a bunch of lights but… despite it being a hellhole I like it here. I wouldn’t want to leave, well not permanently at least. And I do love y…”
Jill stops herself, despite everything, despite the fact that Dana had basically said the same thing about her, she can’t get herself to say it. It’s embarrassing, but the words just won't come out. She’s shaking, to the point she almost dropped the can of beer in her hand.
“Jill?” Dana turns to face her, a look of concern stricken across her face. “You okay?”
“Y-Yeah, I was just going to say…” Jill laughs it off, but Dana already noticed. There’s no way she didn’t notice, but Jill still can’t say it. “I love your bar, I love working there. And acknowledging that, I see it, the city really is beautiful.”
“I’m glad we feel the same way. It’s nice.”
Jill wanted to reach out to her. To say something equally as awe inspiring. To make a connection, maybe just to touch her hand. Yet she was still held back by a web of embarrassment and fear. She loathed this feeling.
“Boss?”
“Hmm?” Dana turned to look over at Jill again. The city was illuminating her just enough to make out her dark red eyes.
“Why did you want to come over tonight?” Jill asked, taking a sip of the drink in her hand.
“Like I said, we’re friends. I wanted to hang out–”
“No, you didn’t listen.” Jill stared down at her feet, she found it easier this way. “Why tonight? What made you decide to ask me?”
“To be honest,” Dana set down her drink, she hadn’t even had much of it in the first place. “You’ve seemed a little off lately… I wanted to know why, and I wanted to see if I could make you feel a little better.”
“Oh…” Jill smiled, she didn't try to smile but Dana’s sincerity forced one out regardless. “You being here does make me feel better. But, I felt fine already, what do you mean by off?”
“Well at first I thought it was the stuff with your ex, but then…” Dana averted her gaze slightly. “I’m not going to say you ‘got over it’, I know stuff like that isn’t something you can just get over. But you worked things out as best you could, and you seemed a lot better. Yet, and I don’t know if this is just me reading too much into things, but it still seems like you’re weighed down by something. You’re a strong girl, you’ve been through a lot, but if there's something on your mind, I want to hear you say it.”
“Wow. You’re really insightful…” Jill chuckled, to calm herself down more than anything. It wasn’t really the time to laugh. “But I guess you’re right, there’s something I can’t get off my mind.”
“Insightful?” Dana laughed, hers much more genuine. “Please, Jill, I’m more dense than insightful. I just care about you guys so I try to pay attention. Anyways, if you want to tell me, I’ll be glad to hear. If you can’t, I understand. But I don’t think bottling things up helps anyone.”
“I guess it’s just, life has sorta stagnated.” Jill set down her drink. Normally at this point she would grab another, but she wasn’t feeling it. “I know what you’re going to say, there was a lot of crazy stuff happening recently, yet all of a sudden it just... stopped. Things are better now, things are going well with Gaby, they’re going well enough at the bar, I still get to see and listen to my friends. Although, I can tell something is missing, but I don’t know what. I don't know why... I should just be happy, right?"
“Huh.” Dana sat for a moment fidgeting with her fingers. She seemed to be thinking through what Jill said, but the silence was aggravating. Had she said too much? Did it not make sense? Would Boss think she’s a weirdo? Eventually, Dana let out a simple: “Okay then.”
Turning her whole body to face Jill, Dana leaned forward and reached out her hand. Jill almost jumped from shock as her hand was gently intertwined with her Boss’. Regardless, the warmth was so soothing that Jill didn’t feel the need to react strongly (despite the internal screaming).
“I want to do my best to help you.” Dana averted her gaze again. Was she… blushing? Jill had never seen her even remotely blush before. The closest thing was the drawn on blush on Jill put on her current wallpaper. “Like I said, I care about you. So if I can help, let’s work on this together, okay?”
“T-Thank you.” As quickly as it came, Dana’s hand slipped away from Jill’s. Dana’s expression turned into her usual goofy smile, and Jill didn’t know if she had just imagined the blush in the first place. Still, she needed a moment to decompress. “Excuse me, I… need to use the restroom.”
Rushing into the bathroom, Jill turned on the sink. Splashing water on her face made her feel a little bit better, a little bit calmer, but she still couldn’t go out there and face Dana. Scrambling for a second she pulled her phone out of her pocket. Milling over her contacts for a bit, Jill took a deep breath in and called the best person she can think of at the moment. It is important to note she is not thinking well at the moment.
“Heya, Honey~!” The familiar voice of Dorothy Haze called out over the phone. “Oh my god… Is this a booty call? I’m so proud...”
“No, it’s not, I…” Jill regretted calling Dorothy already, but she was stuck with her choice. “I need your help with something.”
“...” Jill can almost hear Dorothy raise an eyebrow over the phone. “Are you sure this isn’t a booty call?”
“Dorothy… I’m seconds away from hanging up.”
“No! No, Honey, I’m just joking. I’ll be happy to help however I can."
“Thank you.” Jill let out what was halfway in between an exhaustive breath and a sigh. “So… Dana is over at my place–”
“Honey, are you gonna fuck? Are you calling me for fucking advice?” Jill rolled her eyes again, but despite everything it was kind of endearing.
“No! Well– maybe?? Augh, probably not. Look, I just need some help talking to her. I’m kinda freaking out here.”
“I appreciate it, and I’ll do my best to help, but why did you call me of all people? I’m not exactly the relationship advice girl.”
“Well I wasn’t gonna call Alma.”
“Fair enough.” Dorothy giggled. “Now, context, honey, context. I can’t help if I don’t know.”
“Okay so, we’re out there talking. She’s saying some insightful shit, I’m trying not to make a fool of myself. Anyways, we get to the point where she says she notices that something’s off with me. I say I feel like my life is missing something, I don’t know what I’m even talking about. And then she reaches over, grabs my hand, and says she’ll do her best to help me out. Ugh why does she have to be so cute when she does it, this is going to drive me insane.”
“Honey, you have to be the cutest 27 year old I know.”
“...What does that mean?”
“You have a schoolgirl level crush on this girl. I should know– I spend half my time roleplaying schoolgirls with crushes. My honest advice is this: just ask her out. You like her, I’m pretty damn sure she likes you too.”
“What makes you think she likes me?”
“Honey.”
“You don’t get it. She’s my boss… I-I can’t just ask her out. It’s weird. And unprofessional! Why did I get this dumb crush on my boss of all people…”
“I won’t stand for this. Please. I can’t see you digging yourself into a hole because the woman you love is your boss. You deserve to be happy, don’t you think she deserves to be happy too?”
“But…”
“If nothing else, remember: Dorothy Haze believes in you! Bonus: If you pull this off I’ll let you call me Becky whenever you want.”
“Tsh…” Jill laughed to herself. Laughed about how silly it is to be freaking out in the bathroom about this. Laughed about how lucky she is to have her friends. “Sincerely, thank you… Becky.”
“I SAID IF YOU PULL THIS—”
Jill hung up.
Exiting the bathroom, Jill nearly jumped seeing Dana entering the room at the same time. They stood looking at each other for a few seconds, before both bursting out into laughter.
“I was just coming in because I was worried.” Dana answered the question Jill was about to ask. “You, uh… we’re in there for a while...”
“I’m going to die of embarrassment now.” Jill paused for a few seconds. “Dorothy, um, called right as I finished up. She needed my advice on something so I just stayed in there while I gave it. Sorry to worry you.”
“Oh, is that what happened?” Dana giggled slightly. “Mind if we stay in here for the rest of the night? It was getting really cold out there.”
“But the beer’s out there…”
“Today, we mourn a fallen soldier… Whilst they are gone from us, they are not forgotten.”
“Moving on…” Jill walked over to the center of the room, taking a seat down in front of her kotatsu. “If you’d like to warm up, you could always join me under the kotatsu.”
“Oooh! Kotatsu time~” Dana enthusiastically replied. Instead of sitting opposite Jill like she expected, the white haired woman scooched in right next to her employee. “Mmmmmm, warm… now I want one for myself.”
“You could probably get one pretty easily.” Jill offered. She felt even warmer than before with Dana sitting next to her.
“Yeah well,” Dana flashed a wry smile. “Gives me more reason to come over here, huh?”
“Y-Yeah…”
Jill looked across the room, spotting Fore lounging atop a pile of boxes. The cat seemed to be giving the both of them a glare again… Why couldn’t he just appreciate how great her boss is.
“What’s kitty say?”
“Ugh, I’m never going to live that down am I…”
“Come on, it was cute! And Dana Zane is all about cuteness.”
“Hmm, yeah turns out Fore says he hates gay people.” Jill turned to look at Dana, she looked so comfortable under the kotatsu. “Who knew?”
At this, Dana burst out into a fit of laughter. She didn’t stop for a solid minute, Jill would have thought it concerning if she didn’t also find it really endearing. Although, after her laughing fit ended, Dana got uncharacteristically quiet.
“Jill… Um…”
“Hmm? What’s up?”
“You know how I said I was dense right.” Dana fidgeted with her fingers while averting her gaze. “I want you to be honest with me. Completely honest, okay?”
“Okay…?”
“Jill,” Dana brought her eyes up to look straight into Jill’s. “Are you romantically interested in me?”
“W-wha… A-Are you serious?” Jill didn’t know what to say. She didn’t know what to do.
“Please, Jill. For me, honesty.” Dana looked away. “It’s not a joke.”
“I…” Jill took a deep breath. In, hold, out. She was planning on telling her anyways, right? Dana was just making that decision for her in the end. And once she started talking, she couldn't stop. “At first… It was just a little crush. I came in for the first day and it was like, ‘wow look at my hot boss’. And then… I started to get to know how funny you are, how strong you are, how genuine and nice you are. At some point it became more real than a little crush. At the end of the day… you’re really important to me, and I care about you, and I really really really like you.”
Jill looked away, tears had started to build up in her eyes. She couldn’t get herself to even look at Dana. She felt wrong, immature, gross. Then she felt a cool sensation on her face, the touch of cold metal, yet it somehow made her feel warm? Dana had reached out and gently grabbed Jill’s face with her mechanical arm and slowly turned the girl to face her. By the time she was looking at Dana again, the girl had leaned in and pressed into her lips with her own.
It wasn’t the best kiss she had ever gotten, but at the same time, it was. It was just for a second, just for a moment, her lips against Dana’s; It seemed like her worries had just melted away. It didn’t matter that neither of them were particularly good at it, nor the fact that they both smelled of alcohol. It felt right, for once, it all felt right. Then a second later, Dana pulled away, and Jill was brought back to reality somewhat. Yet this reality was better than before.
“Hwuh… I… uhm…. Dana, I–”
“You really are silly, huh?” Dana smiled brightly. “If you liked me this whole time, you should have just asked me out. I would've said yes.”
“R-Really?” Suddenly everything felt a bit silly. “But, you’re my boss… we shouldn’t…”
“‘We shouldn’t’?” Dana laughed. “Do you think this is a TV show or something about a forbidden romance? I like you, you like me. We work at a bar, it’s a bit silly to think that should hold us back.”
“Don’t be mean…” Jill scowled. “I really worried about this stuff…”
“Aww, if it makes you feel any better, I find it adorable.” Dana reached out to hold Jill’s face in her hand again, this time with the organic one. “God you’re adorable.”
“What would make me feel better…” Jill blushed further red than before. Yet she was just so, so happy to be experiencing these things with Dana. So happy that it didn’t matter. “...Is if you kissed me again.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Dana replied enthusiastically, leaning in to give Jill exactly what she asked for.