Work Text:
Kori King was a lot of things.
Bold, loud, unafraid, all words that fit her well. As such, when she auditioned for Drag Race, she had no doubts that she’d make it. She had the body of a goddess and she knew she was funny.
Going into Drag Race, Kori had a few goals. She wanted to eat up the confessionals, become more iconic than her dear sister Plane, and become the personality of Season 17.
She also wanted to find a man. Kori had said in her audition tape that she knew her man was waiting for her on set and she’d be damned if she didn’t find him.
When Lydia B. (the B stands for Butthole) Kollins entered the Werkroom, Kori was intrigued. Hers was a style of drag vastly different to that of the queens she’d seen so far, Lexi and Joella. It reminded her of the vibe inside a Hot Topic. Not that Kori ever shopped there, it was too dark for her tastes.
When everyone started getting out of drag, Kori’s eyes roamed around the Werkroom, seeing what her competition gave. She noted Lana's long legs and Sam’s Colgate smile before turning her attention to the mirrors. She found herself looking at Lydia’s reflection as she took a makeup wipe to her face. She had the most brilliant blue eyes Kori had ever seen. She felt her heart stutter for a moment, and quickly looked away. However, her eyes found their way back. This was not a Hot Topic diva like Kori had originally thought. Lydia looked more like someone you would expect to see behind the counter at your local coffee shop crafting a mocha or something.
Kori felt something stir within her. She didn’t know Lydia at all, but something made her want to.
It was Week 3. Kori and Lydia had been getting pretty close pretty quickly. Kori felt like she was watching herself get swept up in a current that she didn’t want to escape from. Watching as Lydia created her outfit for the Monopulence runway, she knew that this was something she wanted to pursue. She found she didn't care whether or not Lydia felt anything towards her or not, she just wanted to enjoy it.
As the weeks drew on and they got further into the competition, Kori found herself in the bottom two with Lydia. It felt like someone had stabbed her in the gut. She knew Lydia could lip sync, she remembered Boogie Wonderland. Kori also knew that whatever happened, she would be going home. If she somehow won the lip sync she would channel her inner BenDeLaCreme and get Ru to send her home. Eliminating Lydia was simply not an option.
During the lip sync, Kori held back. Lydia wanted this so bad. She was so passionate that Kori couldn’t fathom her leaving this early. She watched as Lydia danced. She looks beautiful, Kori thought. Suddenly everything she felt for Lydia was at the forefront of her mind. This would be the last time she saw Lydia for a while. Maybe even the last time she saw her, full stop. Would this really be it? A last lip sync, a walk backstage, and what? Pack her stuff alone and go back to Boston without so much as a final goodbye?
In the midst of her sudden inner turmoil, she made eye contact with Lydia. Her blue eyes swirled with countless emotions. Sadness, anxiety, frustration, but the one most obvious was longing. Kori knew this was it. Her last chance to show Lydia how much their relationship meant to her.
They met in the center of the stage and kissed. Kori felt every worry she had vanish. She poured her love, her sadness, all of it into the kiss. Kori wanted Lydia to feel what she wouldn’t have time to tell her.
After a moment that felt like an eternity, they broke apart and the lip sync ended.
When Ru announced Lydia would be safe, Kori’s heart leaped. Of course, she was sad her time in the competition had ended, but it would’ve been so hard to convince RuPaul to send her home if she’d won.
So, Kori gave the camera a final kiss and disappeared backstage.
She made quick work of her mirror message: a simple “Goodnight Kingdom” finished with a lipstick print.
It was while packing her garments that everything came crashing down in her head.
Drag Race had been Kori’s dream for years. She’d wanted nothing more than to be on the show, especially after Plane got on. She’d been working toward being here for what felt like forever, and now it was over. The thought of returning to real, normal life in Boston felt like a small tragedy. Was she supposed to go back and pretend like she hadn't just had the most life-altering experience ever? Like she hadn’t made incredible friends here, or met the most amazing, beautiful twink?
Kori put the last of her things into their bags and signaled to production she was ready to go. As they took her bags out to the van, she took a last look around the Werkroom, doing her best to burn it into her memory forever. Flashes of moments she’d had in this room invaded her head. Arguing with Jewels about who would get the Good Witch in the Rusical, reading Suzie to filth every chance she got, and most of all falling in love with Lydia. She was worried that once she left this space, this bubble of isolated experience, everything would go back to how it was.
Later, as she watched the endless fields of the Midwest pass far beneath her plane on the journey home, she felt a sense of despair that was very out of character for her. She was really out. Every second was a second she got further from Lydia, from Drag Race, and from the single most perfect dream she’d ever achieved.
Plane picked her up when she arrived back in Boston.
“Hey sister!” Plane greeted her, pulling Kori into a hug. Kori said nothing, hugging her back tightly. Plane pulled back, brows furrowed. “Are you okay? You’re never this quiet.”
Kori took a deep breath. “Just tired.”
Plane clearly didn’t believe it, but relented. “Hey, I bet you’ve missed Dunkin’. Wanna hit it on the way home?”
Kori immediately agreed, both grateful for the change of subject and excited. She really had missed Dunkin’.
Watching the familiar sights of Boston roll by from the passenger seat of Plane’s car, Kori wasn’t convinced she hadn’t dreamed Drag Race. She wasn’t sure what, but something should’ve been different. Everything felt entirely too ordinary.
But she knew it wasn’t a dream. She felt the ghost of Lydia’s lips on hers, the sound of Suzie and Onya’s laughter echoed in her ears, and Lana and Jewels’ sayings nestled in her head.
Even if, or more likely when, life returned to how it was pre-Drag Race, Kori was a changed woman. She’d carry pieces of her Season 17 sisters with her wherever she went. She’d felt love unlike anything she’d known.
She could only hope to hear from Lydia someday. Hopefully soon.
The last thought she remembered having before falling asleep against the cool glass of the car window was Lydia’s blue eyes and a kiss that ignited a fire in her soul.