Work Text:
Glitch City, Valhalla
207X, December 22nd
A shit-eating piece of shit. The lowest of any possible life form you could encounter, one that Nanobes look down to in revulsion knowing that they're easily superior.
Jill kept calling herself statements such as these in her head. To her, it was true to the highest degree.
She should've gone back to Lenore to apologize sooner, she shouldn't have lashed out at Gaby yesterday, she shouldn't have...
...God fucking damn it.
And worst of all, Gaby in all likelihood hated her forever after that incident. She really was sure that Jill was one of the main causes of Lenore's death if not *the* main cause altogether. Being called an idiot by Gaby could very well be the last time they would ever interact. All these regrets and grieving put into one scarring argument.
First the "breakup" with Lenore years back, and now this. History fucking repeated itself.
The fact that Jill was in this bar was to Gaby a clear sign of throwing everything with Lenore away to have this job and have all these friends around, for the sake of "freedom".
Jill had to slump down for a second out of quick realization that she had developed a headache, aka another thing to ruin the mood, not to mention the slight lingering fear of a sudden panic attack.
At the moment, all that could be done for distractions was clean some nearby glasses as Jill's legs shook slightly out of mental instability, even if a few of those glasses were already cleaned due to no clients showing up so far due to Valhalla's "hole in the wall" status.
To that end, there was only hope that who/whatever the first client was, it'd be a pleasant one such as Sei. If not, they could very well end up being attacked like Gil earlier pointed out.
"*sigh* Maybe I shouldn't have come to work today after all."
Jill was starting to consider the possible option, if Dana would even let her go home during her shift at this point. If not, then maybe at least a second or extended break later down the line?
Being in the bar all alone to inevitably deal with bothersome clients as always would frankly in the end make things worse for her current mental state, compared to being at home on her own with Fore and the ambience of Glitch City's streets.
...Fuck it.
Jill stumbled her way over to Dana's office near-strangled by her thoughts, and knocked on the door out of courtesy. As the door was opened, her and Dana's eyes met.
"Ah, Jill. How are you feeling?"
Jill shook her head, her expression worsening which was plain as day. "...I still feel like shit."
"Do you want to talk about it? Or did you want to go home to clear your head?"
Jill was surprised, not even getting the chance to ask for an early leave.
"I find it easy to read people sometimes. But feel free to go home, Jill. You need it. Unfortunately I can't leave the bar for too long during work hours thanks to BTC laws, but I'll call you later, okay?"
Jill smiled back somewhat, glad at this resolution. "...Thanks Boss."
Once Jill had left the office, she went to her coat put behind the counter and prepared to go outside, feeling going home was the right decision now with Dana's approval, even if it probably wasn't needed given the circumstances.
Once leaving, Gil had noticed this departure while doing his own cleaning in the bar and shot Jill a nod, voicing his own form of concern and care. He'd try to work hard today for Jill's sake.
...
As ever, it was without a doubt cold as balls. December was never a pleasant month in the Neon District. All the snow was another downside.
Glitch City never changed. The neon lights, the constant risk of getting hurt, it was never-ending. The city never rested.
Jill had almost bumped into a few people on the way home as a result of this deep thinking and thus lack of focus elsewhere, leading her to realize how fucked up she was as a result of yesterday, a clear sign of being in no state to bartend or work at all today.
But nevertheless, she had soon arrived home to Fore greeting via a soft meow, in the middle of pawing at a cheap toy from JC Eltons.
The cutesy game poster that Jill wanted to buy before going to work in hindsight didn't do much to help today's mood, but it was at least something alongside Fore's presence.
Soon enough like usual, Jill was settled into the Kotatsu and browsed the Augmented Eye's app, her square TV producing some ambient audio about a historical nature event to serve as a distraction from inner thoughts.
"Alice Rabbit's biggest attacks of last year", "Mummy found on lost luggage in airport", the same absurd articles as ever. It was boring at this point to most as anything could happen in Glitch City on a whim no matter how extreme. Jill's own experiences were one proof of that. Even something like death wasn't good enough anymore for clicks.
An hour passed of Jill's mood settling on near self-loathing, until she got a call. As predicted, it was from Dana who was now finished with assorted BTC paperwork.
"Hey Jill, called like I said I would. How're you feeling?"
"...A bit better. But maybe I shouldn't have shown up to work, I'm sorry."
"I understand why you wanted to come in today, but even though I agreed with you at first, maybe dealing with the bar's clients wasn't something you needed."
"Probably."
"By the way, that Sei girl said hello. She wanted to see you at the bar while with her Cat Boomer friend."
"Really? Tell them I said hi."
"Sure. And to help your mood, there's a surprise coming for you at your apartment soon."
"Huh, seriously?"
"Anything to help, Jill. I try to look out for everyone I can, especially my employees."
"...Thanks Boss, I really mean it. I'm glad to have you."
"No problem Jill. I need to go. Take care, alright?"
And just like that, the call ended, prompting Jill to lay down to just think for a few seconds and breathe a sigh of relief.
God, she was so grateful to have such a great Boss, and friend at that.
"You really love her, don't you?"
Jill frowned at the black mass laying on the kotatsu. "...I'll throw you out, furball."
But what did Dana mean by the surprise? Did she buy something special from her own funds? Or is someone like Sei coming to visit?
In the meantime, another hour passed of Jill resting in an attempt to take her mind off things, just hoping Gaby was fine despite everything, until there was knocking on the small apartment's door. Jill was skeptical, but got up to answer it anyway.
And on the other end of the door, was a small figure with pale skin and a short skirt. Who else could it be, but Dorothy?
"Hi Honey!" The soft and warm Lilim called out, hugging the bartender at the first possible moment.
This was going to be a long night.