Chapter Text
Over the almost 5 years that Yasmin Khan has been friends with Bill Potts, the Friday night tradition of a film/food/proper catch-up has been an almost constant thing.
It started about 2 weeks after Yaz began working at Mickey’s, a garage, car repair shop - whatever you want to call it – owned by Mickey Smith. Working there had happened with a helping hand from Ryan, her best friend since primary school. He had seen how unhappy Yaz was at the place she’d been at for only just 2 months and suggested she take the open spot they had there.
It was the best decision she’s made.
She left the testosterone filled garage where she was constantly looked down on for being “a woman in a man’s profession”, and was clearly only hired for her colleagues to have something to look at while they worked rather than for her skills - she’s a very talented mechanic, they had been lucky to have her – and began working at Mickey’s within a day.
The whole vibe there was different.
Mickey might have been the boss, but they were all equal. It was a bit smaller but that meant less workers and gone were the days of being the only woman surrounded by 4 men because here there was Bill.
They had gotten along straight away, bonding over the awful garages they’d worked at before - Bill having finished her apprenticeship 2 years ago at a place that was as bad as where Yaz had just escaped from.
It was Bill who suggested the Friday nights.
Well, originally it had just been an invite round to her flat to hang out, which turned into sticking a film on, which by the end turned into a “we should do this again” after they realised they really got along even outside of work.
Over the weeks they learnt more and more about each other.
Yaz told Bill about her family. The home she was hoping to move out of if this job went well, her horrible and depressing love life that is full of one-night stands and awful dates. They laugh over the many date stories she has. The woman who kept calling her Jasmin all night, despite the corrections, and then ended it with a “I just don't think we have anything in common, Jasmin.” The guy who chewed with his mouth open and so loudly she had to call it off before they even made it to the main course, and another guy who ended up flirting more with the woman working at the bowling alley than Yaz.
She really had too many stories when it came to bad dates.
Bill tells Yaz about her family. Old family friends, Bas and Missy, who adopted her at 6 after her birth mother died unexpectedly. Her older sibling who they adopted a few years later and is currently living in Australia, having moved over there with their partner to chase after their dream job. Yaz learns that photos are precious to Bill, precious in the sense that she doesn't have many out at all out of fear of them getting damaged. The only photos she has on display is one of her with Bas and Missy when she was 7 and they went of their first family holiday together, one of her and her sibling, Theo, when Theo was adopted – they’re 11 and 13 in that one, and one of her birth mother “I have two copies of that one” Bill tells Yaz as she smiles at the photo of the woman who looks so much like her there is no doubt who she is.
They kiss one night.
Almost two months into their friendship.
It's a short kiss that they almost immediately laugh about and decide that no, never again, they’re much better suited as friends. It is something they bring up jokingly every now and then though and actually brings a shift in their relationship where they’re even more comfortable with each other.
Something that comes in handy when you fast-forward to present day, two weeks ago to be exact, when Yaz is nervous for a date and Bill tags along, sitting at the bar on watch in case she needs saving – which she does. Yaz texts Bill while the guy, Zach, is in the bathroom. They come up with a plan that will kick off as soon as he sits back down.
“Yaz? Hi!” Bill says as she comes over.
“Bill? Oh my God, what are you doing here?” Yaz gets up and hugs the other woman, holding her in an embrace that anyone can see is more intimate than one between just friends.
As they pull away Yaz keeps her hands on Bill’s arms, Bill’s hands find her waist.
“I’ve been trying to get the barmaid to go on a date with me for weeks, hoping one day the drinks will work and give me the courage to ask.” It’s an unexpected honest statement because Yaz knows that Bill likes Heather, the reason they chose this place for Yaz’s date was because it was a place they go to often and were comfortable in. Bill moves to take Yaz’s hands in her own, leaning back and making a show of checking her out. “But look at you.” Bill whistles. “Breaking up with me did you some good because fuck, Yaz, you look incredible.”
“I could say the same about you.” Yaz flirts back.
The bait was set.
“Breaking up?” Zach’s voice appears, just as they’d hope. They both look over, the look on his face says enough. “You dated her?”
“Yeah. Is that a problem?” Yaz asks, innocently. She knows it is.
“I thought you were straight?”
Yaz laughs. “I don’t know where you got that from, mate, because I never told you that.”
“Maybe the fact you’re on a date with me. A man.” He tries to counter.
“Yeah. And I like women, too. Bisexuality. Look it up.”
“That doesn’t exist, you’re just-”
“I’d choose your next words carefully if I were you.” Bill says in a steady voice, eyes fixed on Zach and you can see him shrink down.
He gets up, puts his jacket on, and looks at them both. Scoffing, he mumbles some comment that definitely had a slur in it as he walks away.
“What gave away that he was homophobic then?”
“You don’t wanna know Bill, trust me.”
While it had gone horribly for Yaz that night, by the end Bill had finally got the courage to ask Heather out. Finally. Turns out Heather was planning on doing it herself one day but just wanted to see how long Bill was gonna keep up what she was doing first, she was going to give it another week but as Bill had, with encouragement from Yaz, invited her out for a drink she now didn’t have to.
This will be the first time Yaz has seen Bill since she went on her date with Heather last week, well, seen her outside of work so they can properly talk about it. Although, Bill has been almost completely absent from work since then too.
They now share a business together, they left Mickey’s and bought their own garage last year with the help of some money that Bill had saved after receiving it when she turned 18 from her mum’s will. A completely women run mechanics. Rose joined them straight away, a friend of Bill’s who worked in the office but a couple of months ago started training to become a mechanic herself, and Clara who joined them a month after they opened and had become a good friend and valuable member of the team.
Yaz and Bill tell each other everything, and Bill had text Yaz to inform her that a family emergency had come up, but that was it. Yaz had no idea what this emergency involved, just that it had kept her almost completely off work. So Yaz was left to train Rose on her own instead of the alternating they were doing, and Bill only popped in to collect paperwork and then took it home to do.
They had missed their usual Friday night last week.
This week it was back though. Yaz could hopefully find out today what had been going on with her best friend. Of course, she could’ve gone round and checked on her, she did text and told Bill to let her know if she needs anything – the message was responded to with a thank you and a promise that she would – but she didn’t want to barge in on something that she knew Bill would tell her about when she was ready. The last time she saw Bill she had come running into the garage looking, honestly, exhausted and stressed, calling out a “I really can’t stay sorry guys!” And then was gone.
That was 2 days ago after having not seen or heard from her at all in 4 days. Not even a text confirming all was okay which had at least been a regular small bit of contact as physically seeing each other wasn’t happening.
It was a text of “Friday night comeback tomorrow?” last night that started the first proper conversation they’d had over those 6 days, one that consisted of an apology, a promise of an explanation and an added promise to cook Yaz’s favourite.
And so Yaz was now walking down familiar corridor, the swirly navy carpet that sometimes Yaz swears she sees move... she may have been a little tipsy when she made those claims though. It feels like forever since she’s been here, 10 days had dragged by, but she was glad to be back.
She almost saw Bill’s flat like a second home with how much time she’s spent here, even more so since they opened the garage together and would have hang outs that were spent sitting at Bill’s kitchen table going over paperwork.
When she knocks on the door, Yaz looks down as she readjusts the bag on her shoulder, it's the socks that appear in her view after the door swings opens that confuse her. She frowns as she looks at the shark patterned material.
Bill was more of a colourful striped sock person.
“You alright?” A voice asks her, one that is definitely not Bill’s. Despite living here, Bill isn’t northern. It has her head shooting up.
The person in front of her confirms them not being Bill even more. The sun-kissed blonde wavy hair with an undercut just peeking out from where it's tucked behind their left ear, the freckles dusting their nose, hazel eyes that sparkle... Dungaree's hang off one shoulder to reveal that the shark theme continues with a yellow t-shirt with one on. A full sleeve tattoo covers their right arm, going from underwater into space as the design travels from their wrist to under the t-shirt.
“Am I...” Yaz leans to check the flat number on the door. If she is at the wrong flat, she’s not complaining and might have to come back here. But she isn’t... this is flat 12. This is Bill’s flat. It just confuses Yaz even more, especially as now she thinks about it there’s something familiar about the person in front of her, she just can’t place where she’s seen them before. “This is Bill Potts’ flat, right?”
“Yep.” The blonde confirms with a pop on the ‘p.’
“I’m Yaz, I was-”
“Oh!” They practically jump on the spot. “You’re Yaz!” The realisation hits them, Bill had probably informed them that she was coming round. They lean back into the flat a little. “BILL, YAZ IS HERE!”
Yaz jumps a little, not expecting them to yell about her arrival.
Within seconds Bill appears from the kitchen, rolling her eyes as she approaches. “Thank you for your doorman service, Theo.”
“Oh, you’re Theo!” It’s Yaz’s turn to have a revelation.
“The one and only.” Theo smirks, leaning against the door, stumbling a little as it wasn’t against the wall so had more to open, they try and play it off though.
That’s why they felt familiar to Yaz. The photo that still sits in Bill’s living room from when Theo had been adopted back when they were 11 and 13. The grinning, natural back then rather than now dyed, blonde with the scrunched-up nose in a t-shirt with a rainbow stripe on it and her arm around Bill’s shoulders.
This was that 13-year-old kid 18 years later.
“Come in, Yaz. Ignore them.”
“Hey!”
Yaz had initially assumed that Theo was there because of whatever this family emergency was… turns out they were the family emergency.
Theo had dropped it on Bill just over a week ago that they were coming back home, the full details as to why were skipped over but, from what Yaz could gather, it was due them having a rather messy split with their now ex-girlfriend last year.
But that had meant Bill had 3 days to get her spare room sorted for them, and then she flew out to Australia to meet with Theo and help them bring their stuff home. Something that Theo had said she didn’t need to do but Bill had insisted. Her sibling had gone out there with someone and was returning by themself, she wasn’t gonna let them do it alone. Yaz knows she would be the same if she was in that position with Sonya.
The trip to and back from Australia was why Yaz hadn’t heard from Bill in 4 days.
Yaz knew there were details being kept out from the whole story but that was fine, it wasn’t her place to know everything about someone who, despite being their sister’s best friend, she hardly actually knew.
And so, Theo instead moved on to telling Yaz about what they did out there. How they’d moved to go and do their dream job – working with sharks. Something Yaz could tell by their socks and t-shirt was clearly a big love for them.
Their enthusiasm only confirmed it even more.
Theo worked for a recuse centre that rehabilitated injured sharks before letting them roam free again and looked after any who were too weak to go back. They clearly loved every second of their job, except of course the really tough cases, and Yaz could see that it was really hard for them to leave the job.
Whatever had gone on in their personal life had clearly had a big effect if it had them leaving behind something they loved and were so passionate about. And something had left them with a hidden look in their eye that Yaz couldn’t quite work out.
After leaving the job they’d gone travelling, went from where they lived in Connewarre, a small town near Geelong which was just outside of Melbourne, all the way up the east coast of Australia jumping from jobs - like working in cafés and on the beaches as a surf instructor (something they had trained to do while out there) – anything to make them a little money and then they were off again.
Theo told Yaz about the show they saw at the Sydney Opera House, what it was like teaching people to surf on Bondi Beach and the wave that almost swallowed them up... one of a few. They had photos on their phone and sat close to Yaz so she could see them all as they scrolled through. Shoulder to shoulder it was clear Theo had no issues when it came to personal space – except the fact they didn’t seem overly aware of where theirs ended and Yaz’s began.
She was far from complaining though.
Photos from a visit they made to Taronga Zoo and more from a ride they had on a boat around the Sydney Harbour. More stories from their time spent in Newcastle, which they informed was not like the place over here, and beautiful photos from their visit to Byron Bay and Cape Byron Lighthouse. There were stories from Brisbane, a place called Rainbow Beach, all sorts of little spots that they visited all the way until they made it to Cairns – they wanted to explore further up but they didn’t have time as they’d booked to fly from there to Auckland so they could do New Zealand next, their flight was just 2 days after they arrived. They’d got a bit too distracted in the other places they visited.
Every place that Theo told Yaz about they had the same level on enthusiasm for, it was enough for all three of them and probably everyone else in the nearby flats.
It was infectious.
Bill had left to finish off and serve up their dinner, having already heard all the stories and so let Theo have the time to also share it all with Yaz.
The story telling is interrupted by Bill bringing in their food, only briefly… even though photos can’t be shown, Theo still shares a few bits and pieces while they eat about their time in New Zealand this time as well as back in Connewarre. Anything that pops into their head is shared. Some of the stories are a bit all over and jumpy but still, it’s all fascinating and Yaz finds herself a little jealous. She’d love to go out there and see all these sites, have all those experiences.
She watches as Theo continues to talk.
Theo with their stunning hazel eyes that look more green when the light from the setting sun hits them from through the window.
Theo with the husky laugh that Yaz finds warms her chest every time.
Theo who is a little overly tactile and keeps putting their hand on Yaz when they talk… She doesn’t mind, she just wonders if they feel the spark every time like she does.
Yaz doesn’t want them to stop, finds herself missing their hand when it moves away so they can take another forkful of food.
She shakes her head a little, looking away from Theo to focus on her bowl.
This is Bill’s sibling, she can’t be thinking about them like that. The fact they’re just so fucking captivating really makes it difficult not to though… There’s an unsaid code about not dating your best friend’s sibling, right?
One Yaz should really be repeating to herself right now.
One she’s really trying to but then Theo laughs and her attention is brought back to them.
“…Then me and Kat,” who Yaz had come to learn was an old friend that Theo and Bill made when they went on holiday over there when they were 21 and 19 – the holiday that really kicked off Theo’s want to move out there. She lived in Connewarre too. “With her on my shoulders, decided it was a really good idea to try and ride the massive wave that was heading for us.”
“And? Did you make it?” Yaz asks, pretending she hasn’t been stuck in a bit of a daydream. Bill’s sitting back, it’s another story she’s clearly heard before, and she shakes her head knowing what’s about to be said.
“Not quite.”
“Not quite? Mate, Kat literally had to drag you out because the board almost knocked you out.” Bill pipes up, sitting forward. “I have no idea how you made it home in one piece, although… you may have lost a few brain cells.”
Theo throws a cushion at their sister, it’s just sibling banter and it’s entertaining to watch.
“Y’know people will start thinking you’re the responsible older one if you keep going on like that. In fact…” Theo gets up, dumping their empty bowl on the table and has a closer look at Bill, their nose scrunching as they inspect. “It is! That’s a grey hair!”
“Fuck off, it is not.” Bill slaps Theo’s hand away from where they were about to grab the non-existent grey hair. “If I did have any they would be down to you.”
“You’re welcome.”
“That’s not a compliment, T.”
“Hmm, well, I’m taking it as one.” Theo says as they plonk back down on the sofa next to Yaz, a little closer than they were before they got up. “Hey, Yaz?”
“Yeah?” She puts her now empty bowl on the table.
“You wanna see this shark I helped swim again?”