Chapter Text
As the door opens the door chime rings throughout the store. Belle, lying on the couch, puts down her phone and sits up, her head drawn to the sound of some very familiar voices.
“Hoo, finally! That was a close one! That last Ethereal almost got me!”
“It would not have been so close if you did not forget to bring half of your ammo after binging Starlight Knights again.”
“Oh knock it off you two, we finished the job and we’re home safe and sound! Just focus on that sweet, sweet commission pay we’re about to get!”
A warm smile forms as naturally as a breath on Belle’s face as she stands up and motions to Bangboo 6 to open the door.
As the three members of the Cunning Hares enter, they are greeted by Belle standing in the middle of the room, one hand on her hip.
“Hey guys, welcome back!”
“Manager!!! Thanks for guiding us again!” Billy attempts to run at Belle with arms wide open, only to stop in his tracks as Nicole holds his jacket by the collar.
“Hey, don’t embarrass us in front of our clients you idiot!”
“I believe it is too late for that, Nicole.”
“Oh not you too, Anby!”
Belle giggles at the sight of her three favorite Hollow Raiders arguing, Nicole essentially beating Billy with her case while Anby continues to quip at her.
Truly, she can’t help but smile when she sees these people. Especially…
“Huh, so that’s what we are to you, Nicole? Just clients? I thought we were friends~”
“W-what? No, that’s not what I meant! I- you-“
Belle breaks into a hearty laughter as she watches a flushed Nicole stammer and stutter, who also probably doesn’t notice Billy silently running away and Anby sneaking a picture of her blushing face.
“Haha, just kidding! Now, let’s talk business and get this over with.” As Belle’s laughter finally dies down she walks to the computer to begin preparing the bank transfer process.
“Ugh, finally!” Nicole lets out an exhausted sigh as she tries to calm down, letting herself fall down onto the couch and relaxing into the soft leather.
Belle spots a pink blob in the corner of her eye and unconsciously turns her head, giving the leader of the Hares a surprisingly strong glance.
“Wh-what? Am I not supposed to sit here?”
Belle’s eyes travel up and down Nicole until she finally comes to her senses and turns her head back to the monitor swiftly, hiding her subtly warm cheeks.
“N-no, you can! Sorry just..” Belle scrambles for an excuse, trying to stealthily observe the room for something to change the topic to. Her eye lands on the Hares’ movie geek standing in the corner staring at a movie poster.
“Uh, Anby, you can go now if you want! I’m just gonna discuss the commission pay with Nicole for a bit.”
Anby turns around and stares at Belle.
“But I do not want to go.”
“Uhhh, oh yeah! We recently stocked up on some new movies! Go ask 18 or Heddy outside, I’m sure you’ll find something you like.” Belle stammers out with urgency and a nervous smile she is unable to hide. She spots Nicole giving her a vague expression in her peripheral vision.
“Oh, okay! Thank you Manager! Can I go now Nicole?”
“Uh, yeah…. Sure….” Nicole says, her perplexed gaze not once leaving the half of the legendary Phaethon.
After Belle turns back to the computer, the room is dead silent until Anby leaves, the only sounds the loud clacking of a mechanical keyboard and a struggling receptionist trying to find a “new tape” even the great Anby hasn’t seen yet.
Nicole is the first to open her mouth, her head lazily draped onto the headrest as she stares a hole into the back of Belle’s jacket.
“So, Manager. What’s up?”
The typing stops suddenly as Belle yelps, Nicole observing the Proxy swiftly turn in her seat towards Nicole.
“H-huh? What do you mean?”
“What even is there to discuss about the pay? Didn’t we finalize the details before?”
“Well…” Belle scratches head and diverts her gaze, looking at anything but the girl before her.
“I just thought that, since you’re all such loyal customers, maybe I’d consider giving you guys another discount! You know, what’s that thing Wise told me about… customer retention! Yeah, that!” Belle lets out an awkward, obviously feigned laugh.
“Since when did you start offering discounts? I don’t mean to look a gift horse in the mouth, but… what’s the catch? I’ve been on these streets long enough to know nothing’s ever truly free.”
“Uhm…” Belle’s gaze drops to the floor, her chair swinging subtly from left to right.
“I-I promise it’s nothing bad! I was just thinking…”
“Yeah?” Nicole stares at the ceiling and closes her eyes, presumably to prepare herself for whatever comes next. She was exhausted enough and needed to prepare for whatever might come next.
“Would you… wanna go see a movie with me?”
“Hmm, that sounds like a good offer- wait, what did you say?!” Nicole’s eyes shoot wide open as she sits up and stares at Belle in surprise.
“Y-you know! There’s a cinema on 7th street with a really big screen! I was wondering if you’d like… to go with me to watch a movie?”
“But why me?? And how is this related to the discount??”
“I…. I mean, why not? I’m giving you a discount anyway so I thought…”
Nicole stands up and walks over to Belle, towering over the subtly quivering mess staring down at the floor.
The Raider never expected to see probably the most well respected Proxy she knows in… whatever state this is in front of her.
She found it kind of… well, on one hand it felt like a good opportunity to make a lot of dennies, but on the other…
Nicole flashes a bright, toothed smile at Belle.
“Hey, if all you wanted was to go hang out, you didn’t have to be so weird about it! Much less offer me a discount!”
Belle looks up at Nicole and her heart skips a beat at the charming face staring at her.
“Jeez, I know we’re mainly coworkers but…” her expression grows more warm, and the sight of it puts Belle in a daze.
“You’ve saved our lives many, many times, and I chose to trust you during that whole incident before. I’m glad I did, really. Like you said, we’re basically friends now!”
Nicole reaches out, gripping Belle’s hands with her own. Belle finds herself attracted to the beautiful nail polish on her fingers. Everything about this girl was just so… pretty.
Nicole pulls her up, Belle letting her until they are both standing on an equal level. Nicole grabs the Proxy’s head with her hands and forces her to look her right in the eyes.
“And since we’re friends, we gotta treat each other like equals! Don’t be shy in front of me, I don’t bite~”
Belle responds in kind; “But you’ve done much worse things to those Red Fang guys~”
She lets out a soft giggle, and before Nicole can retort to her little tease, she is encapsulated by that little bit of laughter coming from the Proxy in front of her.
Belle notices her silence and looks at her with a curious look. “Nicole?”
“A-ah! Yeah! I can do much worse things, so make sure you don’t betray me, friend!” Nicole blushes slightly and hides it with a laugh. Belle can’t help but do the same whenever she sees Nicole embarrassed.
“Ehehe, sure. So, this Saturday sound good?”
“I’ll talk with the team and check our schedule, but it should be fine! Let’s talk movie choice later, we gotta get the payment done so I can audit all of our stuff…”
“Then you should let go of my head first!” Belle laughs as Nicole apologizes and brings her hands away, blushing and looking away from Belle.
“Well then, let’s get this done, shall we?” The proxy flashes her with an innocent, carefree smile.
“Y-yeah…”
The two then proceed to sort out the payment process with slightly heated cheeks and elevated heart beats.
Once they finally finish, Nicole grabs her case and prepares to leave. Before exiting, she turns around one last time and calls out to the Manager.
“Hey Belle! See you on Saturday~” Nicole winks and turns around, opening the door and walking off into Sixth Street.
Belle sits alone in her computer chair, staring at the wide open door.
“Y-yeah… see you…”
Belle opens her phone and texts the other half of Phaethon, her one and only brother who she can always rely on.
Belle: Hey, Wise. I have a kind of important question.
Wise: What is it?
Belle: What’s the best kind of movie for a date?
Wise: A DATE????? HELLO????
“Yeah. Same reaction, bro.” Belle contemplates to herself as she leans back into her chair.
She closes Wise’s chat and navigates to Nicole’s, staring at her profile picture.
She says out loud, to no one in particular;
“Wow I’m a loser.”