Chapter Text
“Can I talk to your manager for a moment?” The question hung in the air as Topaz waited, demanded, with a tight smile eyeing the black haired honest-to-god dead tired man just behind the front desk of Penacony's Grand Hotel.
While Topaz was a reasonable woman most of the time she wasn't about to let this pass by her, this insolence, this laughable matter that she could just brush off but she just needed a place to sleep for tonight as she just came from a very far away place from Penacony, after getting a demotion handed to her ass in a sudden voice-only meeting–which was very unprofessional by the way–she just wanted a warm bed to crash and maybe some snooze and giggles afterwards. But, who was she kidding?
‘Aventurine…’ she gritted her teeth in silent agitation while thinking about it. That scam of a man successfully lured her to Penacony with the promise of cleaning her image within the ranks of the stonehearts. She tried not to think about her recent demotion, the thought that Aventurine of all people was now her superior just pulled her blood pressure to the highest. But she willingly accepted it, his invite, not knowing the foolish accommodations that would be welcoming her once she stepped foot just past the door of the reality hotel.
She saw how the tired man gave a sigh, and she couldn't stop staring at his eyebags, those dark circles must've been an effort to achieve. “You're already talking to him.”
She blinked, “Oh.” Topaz started to function like a person again, with words. “Well I am just bothered about the room you gave me. Nothing concerning the whole place. I actually liked the aesthetic, however, I think you've mistaken the number of rooms.” She took a deep breath. Topaz grinned, “Surely with the IPC you could give a senior manager like me a room of her own? I'm sure my colleague–” ooh she dreaded that word. “reserved individual rooms for Topaz and Jade, yes?”
Honestly, they could give her the standard single tiniest room and she could manage.
But no, unfortunately for her, today was not her day. The manager only stared blankly, while reading a small piece out of his parchment paper. “I'm sorry madam but mr. Aventurine only reserved a suite for his named guests: Jade and Topaz of the IPC.” The man gestured the paper to her and her eyes saw that he wasn't lying.
“...Are there any other available rooms at the moment? I can pay double–extra.”
“Due to the upcoming festival taking place, there was a large influx of tourists and the whole hotel was packed. This is why we advice to book a room or two in three months advance and settle a down payment of–”
“Okay, thank you for the time.” Topaz began walking back towards the reality hotel and towards the elevators that would soon get her to her floor, the 15th floor, and towards her room.
She didn't have to knock anymore as she already had her own keycard. Swiping it and after hearing a small beep, she proceeded to unlock it, then stepping inside to the suite that now housed two stonehearts. Topaz stopped and watched the scene, an older woman languidly resting on the king size bed while nursing a cup of red wine. An older woman that was already looking at her.
“So, how did it go?”
“It was unfruitful.”
“Told you so,” Jade said so simply as shrugged, body already far too relaxed to even care that her colleague was just gazing with a whole question and exclamation marks above her head. “What made you all work up? We're both women.” she pointed out. The elephant in the room.
“I'll just… lay here.” Topaz ignored her and groaned, settling on the cold hard luxurious floor of the hotel, only the carpet could salvage her entire being. Numby was quietly cuddling up to her and she welcomed the trotter in her arms, only moments after when she took a good look at the pet when she noticed something different. “Bread crumbs…? Have you been snacking?” She turned an accusing look at her pet.
And Numby just gazed up at the figure laying on the bed. Jade.
Topaz sighed heavily, first she took her room, now she was about to take her way to Numby's heart through the stomach. In response, Topaz's own tummy growled in protest.
“Come join me up here and maybe I'll call for room service.”
“Tempting, but I'll have to decline.”
“I will give you a minute to rethink that.”
‘Why is she so??’ They were not even close. There. Topaz already said it, albeit in the comforts of her mind. She was just a colleague, a co-worker with a higher rank than her, not really a superior but not really a friend. And well, she had known that Jade was pushy, demanding, she remembered the times where she put Jade's call above others and rescheduled her meetings just because Jade needed her input about something, but those were in respect to work and they needed to put out an output or numbers as soon as possible, it was the life with the IPC. She just didn't expect that even outside work hours Jade was… Jade.
The ideals of a work-life balance were now getting blurry.
But the point was she wasn't one to share a bed with someone she wasn't close with, much less someone not a friend.
Topaz was about to recite those words as she rose up from the cold floor when she felt her back crack. Ouch.
“On second thought, I'll take you up on your offer…” Jade smirked as she proceeded to dial on the telephone near her side of bed, hushing up some instructions on what food to make.
“Does pasta bolognese sound good to you?” and when Topaz only groaned in response as her mind started to succumb to the softness of the bed did only when Jade was reminded that she had someone waiting on the telephone.
The older woman then continued cleansing her palate by drinking her red wine, looking over at the other occupant of the bed she said, “And what made you head over to Penacony? Last thing I heard you were all over Jarilo-VI.”
Topaz was getting good at ignoring her questions. “And what made you put your hands on Penacony too?”
Two colleagues talking about work after work hours. Tale as old as time.
“The entertainment that it would bring me,” Jade said, biting her lip as she smirked. “And maybe I fancy a dream or two.”
“Weird, you've been entertaining all my queries…”
“Is it? What if I'm just willing to please?” She was looking like she was challenging her to oppose it, as if they hadn't been in this kind of situation before, but those were acquired within work hours, and now she just didn't know any better than bite her tongue and hope to appease.
Topaz was about to reply when there was a knock heard. Their kind of connection was broken and replaced by placid nature. They were once again sitting side by side in a lone bed, the situation dawned. Jade cleared her throat, standing up while gathering her things, “Night is fast approaching, it's best if I should go wash up first.”
And Topaz could barely utter a reply as she scrambled to her feet, monotonous steps going to the door and opening it just to see the room service that served up her much warranted food. Pasta Bolognese, her stomach grumbled up a storm as soon as the taste of scent hit her. She thanked the attendant who trolleyed her food to her bedside, and minutes as she enjoyed her food was when Jade finally got back. Topaz made a mistake of actually looking at her.
“Oh? Dinner is served.” Jade noted the plate in front of the younger woman, while she graced past the latter and towards her side of the bed, only wearing the most intricately crafted nightgown known on all amber eras. Again, Topaz made the mistake of actually looking at her.
And now she was busily fighting for survival by coughing, she must've choked on some noodles, or maybe even the sauce. She heaved as she struggled to clear her windpipe, and as soon as a glass of water was presented to her she grasped it like it was mere oxygen, a key thing to survival.
“Thanks,” she said as soon as she was able to breathe. Numby was happily trotting as the pet took the empty glass out of her reach. Soon they settled in a comfortable silence with her hugging her trotter. Jade just looked on and arched an eyebrow at the scene.
“You look like you are dying to say something. Just say it.”
“Okay, it's just that you look so uncomfortable right now, in this awfully soft bed.”
“...”
“...Do I make you uncomfortable, Jelena?”
“No,” Topaz groaned, getting up. “It's not you, it's the entire situation.”
“Pray tell?” Jade was getting ready to settle comfortably on her side of the bed.
“I-... Penacony wasn't even in my schedule, it just happened.”
“... you just happened to lend a helping hand to Aventurine?”
“He just opened an opportunity for me,” Topaz shielded her face as if embarrassed. “I had to make some amends, somewhat… with that turmoil that happened in Belobog, I–” Jade raised an eyebrow at that.
“–I mean, Jarilo-VI…”
What really impressed her about the younger woman is her uncanny ability to still be righteous in places where she was the one who was doing the taking. To still have her moral compass in this line of job they all handle was a miracle and Jade was a tad bit dazzled, if she was being honest.
“So…” Jade started, tasting her words. “That's why you're bummed that you're rooming with me. Because I don't make it easy for you to–”
“–let it all out. Yes.” Because you're my colleague. Because we're not close. Because I don't want a stranger to see what's beyond what I let on. Because it will be messy.
Words she didn't let out were kept still inside her head. Topaz only leaned sideways–as far away as possible from the other warm bodied individual–and closed her eyes shut, arms around Numby as she prayed herself to sleep, although sleep hadn't overtaken her as countless thoughts swarmed her mind. It was minutes after when Jade finally closed shut her lamp on the side of her bed when the night became still, only the overtune of her fast heartbeat and the calm breathing of the older woman rang clearly on the sounds she could hear, everything else unnoticed.
Topaz didn't know for how long she was counting sheeps in her head, or for how long she was edging, haphazardly inching towards the ground as she busied herself to go to sleep at the opposite end of Jade's, she just felt that at some point in time she was feeling cold, no fur of Numby that she could squeeze could appease to the sensation that chilled her bones, so she just let her body moved on its own, mind slowly overtaken by tiredness as she rolled over, maybe over-crossing the invisible line they both upheld in the center of the bed and chartered undiscovered territories. And when her hands finally held something much warmer than before was when she stilled, and soon she relaxed, body finally succumbing to sleep and mind finally getting to rest. In her weariness she didn't register the notion that she would be enjoying another's company, that only her subconsciousness saw a hint of pink and then there was none.
Topaz soon woke up to something soft and smelled good.
She quietly wondered what time is it, and had a motion to stretch her bones when something stopped her from moving. “Huh?”
Her eyes were still squinting due to sleepiness when she got a sight of soft pink folds and a soft body against her. Huh…
And there was only one person she knew who had those pink tresses, someone who she might be sharing a bed with, and someone she was now tangled up.
“Ah!” Topaz jumped as far as she could, away from the already waking up individual who was just playing footsies with her under the covers. Her legs stung as phantom sensations covered her lower half, the older woman's legs were all up and wrapped around hers. Like a serpent she enveloped Topaz while she rested.
“Hmm, Jelena?” Jade's voice was husky, sleep still hadn't left her. And Topaz, for the love of Qlipoth, stood up and rushed for the bathroom, only herself and her little sanity that was left fueled her to get away from that woman, that woman that suddenly evoked something within her, something she didn't want to acknowledge.
Especially when she was about to confess that it was the best sleep she had in a long time.