Chapter Text
Holtzbert or Erillian
ERILLIAN
IM CRYING
ITS SO FUNNY
"You almost what?!" Erin shouted startling both herself and all her squad. They just got back from a call and were relaxing at their new lab. They were trying to document on paper all the things they figured out from possessions and that was when the story of Holtzy almost being thrown out the second floor window by a possessed Abby came up.
All eyes were on her and she continued.
"You almost threw Holtzmann out the window? How come I hear about this just now?" She asked again worry still present in her voice. Patty shrugged.
"Between saving the world and the new calls we got, we really didn't have time to look back you know, not that possessed Abby choking Holtzy is a nice picture to remember" she said and shivered.
Holtzmann grinned.
"It was more of a remake of the Mufasa and Scar scene, you know me being Mufasa and Abby here" she went and side hugged Abby. "Was Scar and she grabbed my neck, smashed me through and out the window! And almost dropped me! But Patty saved me, like Simba did" Jillian went on with the re-tale, her voice and dimpled smile growing with excitement. The gloved hands accompanied the tale with wild movement, as they tried to illustrate the story. Patty looked at her with narrowed eyes.
"Have you seen the lion King" she asked but the smaller woman ignored her.
"It was awesome, a great experience" she said instead.
Erin though didn't think so, quite the opposite, she turn to glare at Abby, a glare her old friend knew far too well.
"I was possessed! I didn't mean to! Holtzmann knows that" the shortest of the group started to protest and the blonde nodded.
"And look at her she is fine!" Abby continued and grabbed Jillian's face, squishing the soft cheeks and making Holtzmann lips pout.
"I'm fine" the blonde tried to say.
"Hell yeah you are! I saved your ass Holtzy like man! Fighting Abby was so scary and messed up and weird" Patty rambled and waved her hand as to wave the disturbing memory away.
"Don't worry Gilbert, I'm not dying anytime soon" Holtzmann said in a serious voice Erin never heard. It made her gulp and she smiled weakly at the blonde who returned the gesture with a beaming of her own. Erin cursed that smile as made a burst of butterflies go crazy in her system. Ever since meeting the blonde, Erin's hormones have gone haywire and as she slowly got to know her, Erin felt herself falling face first into loving her. Yes Erin Gilbert fell in love. With a woman. A thought that scared her so deeply. Not that she was homophobic but the feeling caught her so much by surprise that she didn't know what to do! It was driving her nuts. She was so, so scared. She felt like a child again.
So when Kevin stumbled in and he was so very hot Erin threw all her confusion and frustration there. Somewhere in her mind Erin needed to get laid with that epitome of heterosexuality to be sure that she loved and wanted Holtz not as friend and somehow part of her family but as a lover and her partner. And so she started hitting on Kevin, which went as good as trying to catch a mosquito with Chinese sticks. And Erin?
Erin was tired.
Patty stared at her as she pulled her jacket on. The gang were going to a bar, it was 80's classics night and Holtzmann was dragging everyone.
Everyone except Erin, who fought against the big blue eyes as she denied the offer.
"I'm tired and I need to finish up solving this equation, it's be bugging me all day"
"Jesus Gilbert! live a little" Abby protested and gave her a pointed look.
"I might go later" she added with the voice of her heart as it jumped at seeing Holtzmann slightly devastated of her absence.
She likes you.
As family.
Her head argued.
That's why Erin was alone at the headquarter at her desk, with her head softly banging against it as she cursed her troubled mind.
"You alright boss?"
Erin jumped at the sound of Kevin's voice beside her ear. She looked up to see the smiling man above her.
"Kevin" she sighed and tried to calm her heartbeat by placing a hand on her chest.
"You scared me, what are you doing here" she asked with an easy smile. The man was a good guy, yes he was as dumb as a door but he had his charm. Kevin took that as an invitation and sat beside her.
"I forgot my hat" he said and pointed at a scarf hanging on his desk.
"Oh... That's a scarf" she corrected but he didn't seem to take notice.
"Are you okay... You seemed a bit" he trailed off and made a frowned before he went back to his default smile.
Erin didn't know what it was, maybe it was that she was tired of her head and body being a mess.
"I'm just tired of not understanding!" She yelled and buried her face in her hands. Erin cringed at her outburst and she hears Kevin hum.
"It's a love problem isn't it?" He asked and she slowly nodded her head cupped in her hands.
"Is it Holtzmann?" Kevin asks and Erin's head snaps up.
"Wha-?! How did you know" She asks panicked and Kevin frowns and shrugs.
"It's pretty obvious I mean you've been hitting on her since forever"
"I've been hitting on you since forever"
"Yeah but that was to make her jealous right?" Kevin says and winks at her with s proud smile.
"Remember you told me you wanted to make Holtzmann jealous and you needed my help, and I agreed" he continued as she didn't answer.
"Kevin... That never happened"
"Oh" he said and frowned at himself, his hand rubbed his chin as he thought.
"But it worked, I mean for me" he says and smiled brightly. Erin was confused.
"What do you mean"
"Patty" he says as if it explains everything. Kevin says a small duh and pushes his glassless glasses up.
"You flirting on me got Patty to ask me out" he says and sighs happily with big eyes that Erin recognized. Saw those same eyes reflected on her mirror every morning as she prepared herself for work and thought about how she was going to see Jillian today.
"You like Patty" she says shaking her head as she snaps back into the conversation and Kevin nods enthusiastically but then sobers.
"But something went wrong because when I went to our date, she got out a book called in-cyclops-Pedia and started teaching me, it was really interesting, we talked about everything and the world and history! Did you know cities have history!? Patty knows them all! She's so bright, such a genius she is and so pretty and hot" Kevin's rambles completely lost in his admiration for the tallest buster.
Erin drew her brows together in a small 'huh'. Her thoughts a ran per minute and then she looked at Kevin.
"I love Jillian" she said to him, her mind and heart finally agreeing. Kevin frowned and nodded.
"Uh...who is Jillian?"
"That's Holtzmann"
"I thought her name was Holtzmann, you know Gilbert, Yates and Holtzmann" he lists off and counts with his fingers.
"No Kevin... It's Jillian, Abby and my name is Erin"
"And I love Patricia Tolan!" He jumped back into the other conversations proudly and stood like a superhero. The guy looked as strong as the God of thunder.
Maybe it was that his energy was contagious or that she finally knew what she wanted and Erin jumped with his in a similar proud pose.
"And I love Jillian Holtzmann!"
"We should go back to the bar" Kevin says with bright eyes and suddenly fear creeps back into Erin.
"You think so?"
"Yes mate! You need to get your girl! Use those dancing moves you used on me" he says finally and gives Erin an earnest encouraging smile.
"Yes! Let's go to the bar!" Before she could head to the door Kevin stopped her and cupped her face.
"We are not going anywhere until I fix you up"
"Until you what!?"
.Oh boy.
Patty sighed and checked her phone. Kevin left an hour ago and she was starting to get worried. She looked at Holtzmann who was moving her hips to the beat but was not being herself. The blonde was distracting herself as she stared at the couple dancing.
"Who would have thought huh" Patty tried snapping Jillian off her thoughts.
"Circle of life" the engineer said with a small smile. Patty laughed and looked at Abby and the delivery guy, Benny or Bennie ?, dancing rather obscene and weird but the brunette was having fun so, it didn't matter at all!
Patty realized that the blonde was tensed and obviously not having a great time. How she realized? Holtzy was completely quiet and nibbling intently on her lower lip.
"Where did Kevin go" Patty's face grew hot at the mention of the man and she thank the dim atmosphere bar to hide it.
"He forgot his hat at the station"
"Do you think he went after Erin" she asked quickly and something clicked inside Patty's mind
"Aw Holtzy! Are you worried he is going to steal your girl" Patty asked and it was as if a fish bit the bait. Holtzmann eyes grew and she even hear the sharp intake of breath the woman made.
"Whaaaat!? Patty, patty,patty, krabby patty, my tall, slang bang talker patty! Please! What jibber jabber are you saying?" She says and laughed nervously. Patty keeps staring at her and purses her lips, still waiting for the truth.
"Holtzy you better be straight with me, cause you get even weirder when you're nervous, like some weird ass hyena, I can see through your bullshit girl" she said and Holtzmann's smile drops.
"How do you want me to be straight, if I'm anything but straight!"
"Holtzy!" Patty warned and Holtzmann sighed.
"Fine! Back to the pretty situation" she says and Patty nods.
"Then that validates my theory, not that it's a surprise, I'm always right, it can be a blessing and a curse" Jillian says and sighs.
"What was your theory" Patty asked and Jillian went back to watching Abby grind against wanton guy.
"That the master piece of a woman that is Dr Erin Gilbert isn't interested in me, I've been using all my seductions skills on her ever since my eyes saw her" Jillian explained and groaned taking her beer and downing it.
"Aw come on baby girl, you don't know that"
"Then why hasn't she responded back?! I even made the mating dance and she responded a little but then she started to flirt with that half baked, simple minded primate called Kevin" Patty's eyes grew as Holtz became uncharacteristically angry. The tensed blonde released a breath and deflated like a balloon.
"Look Holtzy, even if Erin flirts on Kevin you gotta tell her man! And don't worry about the beefcake I've got you covered" she said with a playful smirk.
The blonde raised her brows at that and her mouth pulled into a smile.
"I don't know what you mean but I like what you're saying" Holtzmann says with her usual tone and high fives Patty. Just in that moment Kevin sneaks behind them and taps Patty's shoulder.
"I'm back! Did you miss me" he says in that Australian accent of his.
Patty can't help but to smile and turn around, her hands go to her hips.
"Why yes Kev, why did you take so long" she asked and Kevin smiled brightly.
"I went to fetch my hat but it ended up being a scarf" the man says and points at the blue scarf adorning his neck. Patty hums approvingly at the image and her hand tugs the scarf.
"And also I brought Gilberg" he says suddenly and swallows hard.
"Gilbert" Patty and Holtz correct in unison both surprised.
At her name, Erin popped behind Kevin and waved her hand.
"Hi" she says and steps up beside them.
Holtzmann seems to snap back to her quirky self in an instant at smiles suavely at Erin.
"Gilbert, you came in the end! Couldn't resist all this?" She blurted and does a small dance.
The now ginger head blushed and emitted a strangled giggle. Patty stared at the big loose black vest Erin was wearing, that look very familiar to the one Kevin wore today at work, which now was missing from the man's body. Also the woman was wearing jeans with the crisp white shirt she was wearing today, but the jeans were new, she didn't wear those today at work.
"Kevin, wanna go fetch another drink" Patty suddenly says to the man who had been staring intently at her. The man nods and gives Erin a not so subtle thumbs up as he gets dragged by Patty.